East Arbor Charter AcademyReviews of eastarbor.org

Amazing school and staff!

i went here from kindergarten to 6th grade was there the first day of school for the entire school and it was great for the first year but then the teachers stopped caring, the principle changed and it went all downhill from there

My son has attended Easr Arbor for 3 yrs now. He's in eighth grade. Whenever there has been an issue regarding dicipline I think the teachers and deans are pretty fair. There have been some growing pains but over all I have been supportive of them and making sure my son is accountable whenever he needed to be. However, when a staff members behavior is questionable or inappropriate Mrs Newby and even the previous principal, Shaun Leonard were dismissive and neglectful. Mr Harding the gym teacher.does not mirror the moral codes that National Heritage Academies tries to instill in their students and in my opinion Mrs Newby is looking the other way. My son has complained about that teacher bullying him and singling him out in front of other students about a medical condition he has and all I got from her is "he said he didn't do that." Seriously?!? Thats it?!? Not 'Ms. Williams we take your childs concerns very seriously and we will keep an eye on the situation or someting!!!' I am furious! My son felt so defeated afer speaking with her today. He said "mom, he can get away with it because he's an adult." So here is my son's voice in this public forum speaking to you. If there is an issue with a teacher and your child, it will swept under the rug. The kids are expected to be accountable for their actions while the teacher's can wreak havoc on your child emotionally. Two more months and we won't look back.

My son attended East Arbor this fall and we have just registered him elsewhere. As attentive, caring and compassionate as some teachers are, neither Ms. Newby or Ms. Wilson seemed to lack those qualities. They seemed uninterested and slow in looking for other resources to help him emotionally. (I didn't realize until 2 weeks ago, when I scheduled a meeting, that there were other resources.) It is very disappointing and upsetting. The new school has been very warm, friendly and welcoming to him. They are aware of his situation and already have a plan in place when he starts on the 4th. Something, we did not experience at East Arbor.

Don't get me wrong, there are some excellent teachers at this school!! If I could rate the teachers my kids have contact with and the leadership individually, there would be some that would have 5-stars (such as the gym teacher, music teacher, library teacher), a lot of 4-stars, but there would be too many that would be 1-star (such as the new Principal, technology teacher, intervention specialist, special ed teacher). The "new" principal (was the old middle school dean) is unapproachable, rude, and will talk negatively about specific students in front of other parents (privacy violation), some teachers don't think twice about disclosing personal information about other students disabilities/medical/behavioral issues to other parents (privacy violation), the secretaries are most always grumpy and rude if they aren't busy gossiping about specific students (privacy violation) or parents that dared to ask them a question, and if you think that NHA's corporate office in Grand Rapids actually cares then you are wrong (I've talked to their parent relations, so if they truly cared then it would show). Staffing: If you have a child that is "at-risk" or low-performing on the NWEA or MAP tests, don't expect to have your child receive extra support from the Intervention Specialist... this school is too cheap to pay a substitute teacher, so they use the interventions teacher as a building sub. Only if there are several teachers out do they actually bring in a qualified sub to work. To every staff member in the building: If you don't LOVE your job, please LEAVE!! You expect every child and parent to follow your moral focus virtues, yet you don't provide a positive example. If you can't be compassionate, approachable, or understanding, then find another job. It's people that don't love what they do, don't respect the people they work with, and don't respect the parents or students that are bringing this school down and chasing good families out the door. The first 2 years that the school was open I would have given East Arbor a 5-star rating and wouldn't have a single negative thing to say. In the years following my rating in now a 2-star. I was hoping that with a new principal things would get better, but she has actually made things worse. NHA really should've hired someone from outside East Arbor. Unfortunately we live in (and East Arbor is right next to) a poor-performing public school district and right now it is the "lesser of 2 evils". Usually I'm sad when the school year is ending but I'm already counting down the days.

Teachers work close with you to ensure best possible learning your student is capable of. Happy they teach the four pillars mentioned above.

My daughter loves going to school. What more can a parent ask for =)

Ms. Newby is not approachable and appears to be hostile. Considering sending my students to another school.