Challenger School - Sandy Elementary School

Wow, I just don't understand these negative reviews at all. My child has been going to the Sandy Challenger location for the past three years (two years in preschool and one year in Kindergarten) and it has been an amazing three years. All the teachers have been wonderful, the Director and Headmaster have been nothing but friendly and responsive, and my child has learned so much. I don't understand these reviews about teachers yelling and taking all the fun out of learning. My experience has been completely opposite. My child has learned so much and had so much fun. She is the only one of my three children who loves school and is sad for summer break to start. I would recommend this school to anyone. I also want to respond to the post that says "The student teacher ratio is 1:25 from first grade on onwards". We just got our yearbook and you can see from the class pictures that this is definitely not the case!
—Submitted by a parent

I've had the same horrible experiences as the previous posts, especially regarding the PreK teachers, the Director and the Headmaster. They have completely taken the fun out of learning and my child has been having nightmares for the last few months due to their constant YELLING and Bullying that amazingly enough comes from the Teachers! It's pointless to talk to the teacher and when I brought these issues to the Director, she unbelievably tried to turn it around on me and reprimanded me. She then interrogated my child - brainwashing him further! When I tried to bring the Headmaster into the situation that clearly the Director was not resolving, he wouldn't return my calls! Very Poorly Ran - needless to say, my child no longer goes to Challenger. They've cowed me into submission, so that the only way I can be heard is through this avenue. BE WARNED! This is not the school for you!
—Submitted by a parent

I was surprised to discover how inhumanely they treated the children at this school for the amount they charge; they sure don't teach the children much of anything but fear.
—Submitted by a parent

Watch out for the Pre-K! Ms Aubrey is horrible and the Directors at the Sandy campus are useless. Ms Aubrey, in particular, specializes in preaching instead of teaching and has absolutely no patience. She ll go over the concept one time and if the kids don t understand (which is every time) she will write a note on their paper saying the child wasn t listening. So the parent ends up teaching the kids at home. Now, I can understand every now and then, but this was happening every day! What was I paying $1,000.00 a month for? Ms Aubrey made my daughter so miserable that she was single-handedly turning her first learning experiences into a nightmare. I had to wait a full year to write this review, because the Teachers and Directors retaliate against the kids if you bring up any problems. I don t understand how anyone could treat these cute little kids the way Ms Aubrey does and the Directors are so defensive they can't see what is, so clearly, a big problem. Definitely a boot camp. :(
—Submitted by a parent

I will not give this school even one star!! I was shocked and very upset one day to find my daughter's teacher yelling at her to stop crying, so loud, I could hear her through the door. It was a nightmare from the start with my daughter waking up in the middle of the night, many nights, terrified to go to school. Now I understand why. I had words with her teacher right after and let her know I did not appreciate, at all, the way she treated my child. (It takes a lot for me to confront someone.) She then had the audacity to deny she had yelled at her. Then the Senior staff came, mainly to escort me out, without any solution. And, now, hours later I have yet to hear from the school. Needless to say, I took my daughter and left. I will be getting my money back! There is much more I could say, but please run the other way!
—Submitted by a parent

With this school you child swims or sinks. Those who swim get great attention and teachers boost their confidence. Unfortunately the kids who have attention or academic issues are left to drown, worse their confidence is so shattered it could have irreversible affect on them. Tread with caution.
—Submitted by a parent

The school is great for first three years from pre school to Kindergarten. After that it is a waste of money and does not help your child to be a social all rounded person you would want him or her to be. This is school program is very academic and does not allow the child to enjoy their childhood. the teachers are very mechanical and are driven by corporate policies. Not caring about the individual child's needs. I wish I took my child out after Kindergarten. Will definitely take him out for 2nd grade. It is not worth the money. The teacher student ratio is 1:25 from 1st grade onwards. For $800 a month, that is not worth it. The kid is unnecessarily pressurized with their boot camp style of working.
—Submitted by a parent

I won't recommend this school if your kid is social as they kill the innocent of a 5yrs old and ask them to act like 20yrs old guy....Teachers don't want to take the responsibilities to correct unacceptable behavior of pre-K or KG school kid at school and ask parents to do everything in one night....Won't recommend this school.
—Submitted by a parent

My child attended Challenger School for 2 years and overall I found the teachers, staff, and school to be good. Challenger is place where academics is the key focus and I found it a little over bearing for (some) kids. My child seems to have gravitated more to technology and we are now getting him involved in more in those area's where we see him excel rather than putting huge academic pressure on him as child. Challenger is a for profit school and its a good place for some kids but we listen and watch our childs needs, rather than we as parents thinking its a great school because its private and has a good reputation. Our child has excelled in public school and the class room sizes are smaller than they are at Challenger.
—Submitted by a parent

We had our Child in Challenger School for two years and it was so bad we had to quit. We found out our Child was bullied there. Our Child has Nightmares and Wets the bed, due to the high stress atmosphere. The love of learning is no longer there. The good teachers have left and poor ones have been hired. They have a high turnover rate with teachers. All they do is advertise for help wanted. All this for only 10,000 per year. Take my advise and go to Waterford or somewhere else.
—Submitted by a parent

I strongly disagree with the negative review below. Challenger School, especially the Sandy Campus, is outstanding. I have not experienced or heard of anyone having a poor experience this year. I honestly feel this year is by far the best year we have seen with the quality of education and fun at Challenger. My students love their teachers and classes, and I have no issues with the approachable, friendly, and transparent administration. You can t stop nor should you stop a person from wanting to pursue their happiness, having children and taking leave, but still Challenger brings in top quality teachers. It is disappointing to see a misguided and inaccurate critic of Challenger s, and to a degree shows some of the problems of our country, if people can complain about a school that does an amazing job promoting education and patriotism. Challenger is superior to our dismal public school and superior to any other school charter or private, because Barbra Baker is an amazing woman, with an amazing vision. I have no complaints and question the truthful nature of the author of that review. I love Challenger and am extremely fortunate such a school exists for my children.
—Submitted by a parent

The Sandy Campus has the potential to be a great school, however they continually miss the mark with their administration, parent interaction and teacher relations. They are very unwelcoming to any parent participation (no volunteers allowed here). The school refuses to integrate any technology, such as e-mails accounts for the teachers or an online grading system. The iron-fisted administration does not allow teachers to use any of their own creativity in their teaching - if it doesn't come from the corporate office, it doesn't get used in the classroom. While they feel they're superior to public schools, you won't see any wonderful teacher imaginations and creativity in this school. There is also a high teacher turnover because of that iron-fisted mentality I mentioned earlier and the harshness with which the school deals with varying personalities of the teachers. I watched many great teachers come and leave the Sandy Campus. There are a few exceptional teachers in that school, however they are not allowed to individualize their class activities or projects. It's a shame that this school is wasting a good curriculum due to it's heavy-handed dictator-like administration.
—Submitted by a parent

The best academic school Utah has to offer. Chec out the students test scores compared to the nation. These kids are smart!
—Submitted by a parent

This is not a school, it is a boot camp. Children should learn to love learning. Challenger seems to think children are robots, to be programmed tpo spit out multiplication tables and phonics rules on demand. The teachers are trained the challenger way to enforce rules and get results, not to do what is best for the child.
—Submitted by a parent

I met with the director of admission and they have tested my kid and determined he is capable of advance learning/knowledge at grade1 but since my boy is only 4 and they not allowing "jump grade" . Also, the teaching matter is just emphasis on pushing students to the limit without the joy of learning naturally. Tons of homework and no socializing and curriculum for outdoor activities. just a small playground that very crowded. Plus, for a private school, it has big class size, I think students will not given attentions much needed.
—Submitted by a parent

I was so excited when my son got into this school but I realized that it is not really a school - it is a slave house. They do not want a 3 year old to be a 3 year old - they even suggested that my son has ADHD because he was active (like a normal 3 year old, my pediatrician confirmed he did not have ADHD). They pull the paper out of the kids hands if they paint green instead of the teacher suggested blue. They said my son does not get intimidated by the 6'2" headmaster and hence they have run out of behavior management techniques. One of their problems for my son was that he was chatty and it takes him sometime to actually get to the chores and that if he is let to be himself, he will become a rebel!
—Submitted by a parent

The big classroom size is our frustration too. There's study showing that once the classroom size is over 25, the quality drops dramatically. With the budget cut in JSD and Canyon school district, both school district still work hard to keep the classromm size under 25. But the sandy challenger is very disappointing. Our kids have been in challenger for many years and we have been happy with the school's focus on accdemic quality. Now we are looking for other options.
—Submitted by a parent

This semester's 5th grade is a BIG problem, there are 34 students in one class! It just changed my good impression of Sandy campus. Many parents are complaining. My friends told me the 6th grade has 29 students. Not private school in size! If no change is made soon, we will definitely leave the Sandy campus.
—Submitted by a parent

Challenger School is by far the best private school available in Utah. They do only serve up to 8th grade however, but I have found it to be a wonderful transition into an ALPS HIgh School or JDHS. My children have all attended the Sandy location and I couldn't be happier. I am the Director of Academics at a private university with a MAEd, in my opinion Challenger School's curriculum is perfectly designed to give students the advantage not only academically but also philosophically for the rest of their lives. The administration this year (2009-2010) is wonderful and seems more stable than in the past, also the turnover rate with the teachers has stabalized this year. I recommend this school to everyone I talk to. They are a conservate minded institution. They are highly patriotic and are not afraid to teach values.
—Submitted by a parent

I have a 6 year old son attending Challenger in Sandy (First Grade). This is our first year here and I just have to say how TOTALLY impressed I have been. First, the office staff is incredibly friendly. I think every mom knows what a huge difference a friendly office staff makes. Second, the headmaster is awesome. He always has a smile on his face and practically radiates goodness and kindness. Even the staff that stands outside and loads your kids always look happy, and half of them know my son's name (with hundreds of students I think this is very impressive). They will say 'Good morning Jacob, ready for school today?' My son's first grade teacher is a perfect combination of no-nonsense teacher and kind encourager. The homework is not overwhelming, but I feel like he is being challenged at the same time. Great School!
—Submitted by a parent