Carden Academy Of Santa Clara

Recommends

parentsof2

Joined 2 years ago

Impressed with Carden Academy of Santa Santa. We've had our two children in other private schools and we've toured other private schools in the area, and we always prove to ourselves that Carden is the best. Carden does not try to be pretencious like other schools. The school provides a solid foundation in math, reading/writing, science, art, P.E., and foreign language. They have a lot of after school activities. Carden focuses on the child as a whole, not just academics. They are able to teach the kids well during class without excessive homework. We are always impressed with the amount of classwork the children are doing. A lot of the competitor schools say that they are a grade above the public schools, but they claim this by giving the kids tons of homework and giving them work that is too difficult for them to do, which some of the students don't end up doing anyways. Carden, on the other hand, is able to give a solid education without the stress.

Doesn't Recommend

cctctcct

Joined 3 years ago

Carden did not deliver the level of education promised. Carden Academy presents a good image at first glance. Unfortunately, they are unable to deliver what they promise. My child attended a public school prior to Carden & was unhappy that what Carden teaching was well below the grade level of the public school.

I discovered that there is a high teacher turn over rate at Carden, with little or no teacher training using the Carden method for new teachers. My son's teacher did not even have a teacher credential!

Too many of the Carden text books are outdated. Many are from the 1940s with no revisions or updates. I was very unhappy with mathematics curriculum. It was very weak, being about 2 grade levels behind the public school my son had attended. The Science was very weak- once a week with no experiments. As for French, my son learned more at a 1 week French camp than he learned all year at Carden. I don't speak French myself but several parents who did said that the French teacher had some problems with her pronunciation.

I had a real problem with the constant pressure from the school for more money - Buy this, donate that. It was never ending & frankly, annoying. I was paying a tuition- yet was hounded for more money for the school. I suppose I should have known what was coming when the list of required supplies at the start of school included boxes of tissues!

On the positive side, the class size was small and the school itself was well maintained. The campus is a nice looking place & was always quite clean. The school had some interesting week long festivals- themed activities that my son enjoyed. Unfortunately, what he liked best was that they meant no class.

Recommends

stenomom1

Joined 4 years ago

Great private, independent school!. Carden Academy of Santa Clara has small classes that gives individualized student attention. All three of my children attended Carden and they received a very solid foundation in the academics as well as music, art, foreign languages, p.e. and computer technology as part of the curriculum! The environment is great! It is a small school setting that is safe and well-protected and it was a great opportunity for them to grow up in a multi-cultural community. I whole-heartedly recommend Carden Academy of Santa Clara!

Recommends

tkdbuggie

Joined 4 years ago

This is the best kept secret in Santa Clara County. Great Core academics with a nice variety of other classes such as: Languages, Physical Education, Music, Art, Computer and Science Lab. And this is just during the academic day!!

There are many after school activity options as well.

The campus is secure and well kept. Must be why it has been here for decades!!!!

Recommends

parentoftwograduates

Joined 4 years ago

Great School. The children are worked with in small groups for core subjects.

The student-teacher ratio is perfect.

The children are nurtured and challenged yet not unduly pressured.

Many of the teachers have been with the school for a good number of years.

The curriculum is nicely varied and there is emphasis on values and fitness as well.

I like the fact that Carden really emphasizes analytical and critical thinking while providing a strong foundation!

Doesn't Recommend

chellstrong

Joined 5 years ago

Not a good school. I worked at this school as a Teacher's Aide in a kindergarten class a year ago. I barely lasted 2 months. The teacher I worked with was a total burn out! A number of teachers had warned me about her! She constantly yelled at the children and at me. To give you some examples; One child was yelled at everyday for saying ok after he was given instructions. She would yell "DON'T SAY OK, JUST DO IT!" I don't think a child should be yelled at for this. He was probably trained by his parents to say that. During the first month of school a little girl was yelled at for crying for her mother during class. "YOU WILL NOT DISTURB MY CLASS!" the teacher yelled. If a child talked out of turn, even to let another child know that they dropped something, or to say, you stepped on my toe, they were yelled at. I was yelled at in front of 2 other teachers and about 30 children because I lined the children up at 11:58 instead of 11:57. I am not exaggerating! Another time I was yelled at in front of the class because my paperwork was one day late. She knew my grandmother had died the day before, but there could be no exceptions. I spoke with the principal about these things and his reply was, "Its her classroom and she can run it the way she wants, if you don't like it you should consider leaving." There was a total lack of compassion for the children, except of course when the parents came around. If your child has lots of personality, BEWARE! This school is like a military for young children. I was told not to allow the children to raise their voices or run during recess. "They must maintain the Carden discipline", is what I was told. I personally think children should be allowed to play hard at such a young age. The books are very old and literally falling apart. There is terrible communication between teachers, which makes for a stressful environment for everyone, including the children. If the principal allowed this in one classroom who's to say its not happening in others

Doesn't Recommend

mrmprema

Joined 7 years ago

unhappy. This school is behind the times. They are especially weak in the areas of math and science .