Community School

My son is in his last months of kindergarten at this school. Although we don't have many years to review it, overall our experience here has been excellent. The expectations for kindergartners are high, but the challenge has been rewarding for him. The teacher has met with us a few times about his strengths and weaknesses and we've developed strategies together that have been a great benefit. The new principal is extremely dedicated to education and doing her best to allocate the schools limited monetary resources to making sure these students have what they need to succeed and to be challenged including new technology for the classroom. The PTO is very active offering many activities for the students that keep them engaged. I especially like the "Clean" after school enrichment program. Currently my son is learning about astronomy. If grades 1-5 are as good as grade K, I fully stand by this 5-star rating.
—Submitted by a parent

Community is a GREAT school. I was given all I needed in supplies. This is rare in our cash strapped days. I was also comfortable in what I had been assigned to do and what I would be paid for it.All teachers were very helpful. I would only have asked that admininstration (they do not deserve a capital A" were a bit nicer. Cumberland school admin. is not great in my opinion at this date 7/9/12
—Submitted by a teacher

I've had the privilege of sending four kids through Community School. Two have graduated on to the high school and two are still at Community. We've had nothing but great experiences. The teachers are spectacular and parent involvement is always welcome.
—Submitted by a parent

My child is finishing up 1/2 day kindergarten as I write this. Pros: The school was very responsive to my request for help with my child's social behavior at school. Their teacher in particular, was attentive caring and set up a daily (PBIS influenced) plan. Parental involvement (CSA) at the school is very strong and they encourage all to help out, volunteer and be a presence at the school. Cons: If you have a bright child, they may feel "underwhelmed." There are no gifted programs at the school. Children are placed into groups (in the classroom) by ability level- but this may not be stimulating enough for a very smart child- I have my child given extra books and papers to do while waiting for other children to catch up/during downtime. We are going to see how well my child does here after full day school next year.
—Submitted by a parent

Disappointed with the school overall. It's certainly not school we heard so much about when and why we moved to this area.The general feel of a school starts w/ the principal, and the present one lacks command and direction. Mathematics is not strong. PTO is strong. Academics needs a boost. Great playground.An Ethics and Business class would serve the staff well.
—Submitted by a parent

Was not impressed with Kindergarten at Community. The teacher quickly chose favorites and shipped kids that she didn't favor out of the classroom whenever she got a chance. Principal was not helpful, and response from the school was painfully slow on all levels (responding to email weeks later or not at all is not acceptable). Glad my child is done with this school!
—Submitted by a parent

teachers are great, lots of extra curricular, principle is pretty concerned about the kids
—Submitted by a parent

I wouldn't recommend it if your child is weak in math. Math Investigations can be a confusing program for some children (and parents). Traditional math instruction is left to the parents. Having a weak foundation, both of my children needed tutoring in math when they entered middle school. Otherwise, it's a pleasant environment and it has a strong PTO.
—Submitted by a parent

So far I am very pleased with the teacher quality, parent involvement and leadership. This school has a positive environment that is conducive to learning.
—Submitted by a parent

It's a very fine school (depending on your values). They start sex-ed early, so we only used it for K twice. If the 'Safety and discipline' were split out to a Safety category and a Discipline category, I'd give safety a 5, discipline a 3. They have a hard time disciplining troublesome little boys (maybe girls too, but our experience was with troublesome boys). The community itself encourages parents to be involved, so even if your teacher doesn't, others in the area do. The school was always very clean and neat The teachers I saw always acted professionally and were approachable. No typical complaints for us, we just don't like the idea of sex-ed starting so soon.
—Submitted by a parent

Quality school. Went thru several principals, but now stability back with new one. Parents want to be very involved. Solid supportive PTA with the budget of a small business.
—Submitted by KB, a parent

Terrific school. Great teachers, admin, students and families. I've had the opportunity so far to send two of my children through this school from kindergarten to fifth grade and have had nothing but positive experiences.
—Submitted by a parent

Over crowded, and problems with bullying, makes this school a poor choice. The only kids that matter are the kids who are easy to teach. Parental involvement is not encouradged. Safety and displine are not a priority.
—Submitted by a parent