Ridge And Valley Charter School

The school is sold very well, but the reality is there is a deep disrespect and disregard for parents, who often get communication from the school around dinnertime on a Friday so it takes multiple early week days to get a response sent and addressed. The leadership is disorganized and flighty. Guides have almost no freedom in that they need permission from leadership to do almost anything. It's a very disingenuous atmosphere socially. The whole experience was very disappointing.

The School has made great strides in its 6 years on some levels. The teachers do their best with limited curriculum and materials supplied. The certifications are not always important, however the lead school administrator is not certified, as an admin, a teacher or a sub. She shields the trustees and deflects questions from anyone. Several amazing certified administrators were pushed out by trustees to keep her in control of the school. The school needs elected trustees, certified admins in their area of expertise and at least one great communicator in a leadership role. Those changes would greatly improve the educational and academic experience of the kids who ask for more science, history and arts. The special ed leader excels in every area and is respected by kids, parents and teachers.

Small public "environmental" charter school. Academic programs are poor as evidenced by the scores at schooldigger.com and schoolmatters.com. Most classes are way below state averages. Approximately half student body NOT PROFICIENT in NJ ASK in most classes, and 60% NOT PROFICIENT in 8th grade GEPA. There is no certified music teacher, no certified art teacher, no certified gym teacher, no certified secondary language, math or science teachers. Lack of teachers certified in critical areas, combined with an approach where students get checks and check pluses instead of grades helps create an atmosphere where there is not realistic feedback - so their high internal "grades" and feedback make parents feel good, but do not reflect the NJ Ask or GEPA results. There are no sports teams. Facilities are modular trailers, but are more than adequate for the school environment. There is a core group of parents who are very involved. Many of the core group of parents serve as trustees. Trustees are not elected, as would normal school board members. The trustees are run by one or two members. After a candidate goes through an interview in front of the trustees, the trustees then decide if you can become one of them. This system tends to shield the group from the public accountability that you would find in a regular public school board. Perhaps that lack of accountability is part of the cause for the poor academic performance.

I love the small class sizes, the way the teachers and students collaborate, and how the grades all intermingle. Parents are pretty involved, and my kids both love it.