Parker Core Knowledge

My son attends PCK preschool. He has a developmental delay. The director while helpful and nice, began with the attitude of «if he doesn’t fit the PCK mold he shouldn’t be there». Continually pointing out, that they could not provide any extra special Ed support to meet his needs. She mainly focused on what they couldn’t do.
I still sent him there due to the high test rankings that PCK K-​8 has and with hopes he would benefit and be eligible for the junior preschool lottery. His results were mediocre according to their checkbox style test. (While he did make good progress in another non-​pck program.)
After a few months of attendance, I felt that push out the door again via continually discouraging me to reenroll him and restating that they could not provide any extra support for his needs. She again mainly focused on what they couldn’t do and questioned if my child could meet the advanced expectations.
I believe based on our experience that PCK Preschool’s agenda is not to do what’s best for my child’s needs but instead to not «tarnish» their performance metrics. They strongly discourage those that do not fit their ideal of an advanced child, leaving my developmentally delayed child out. It was clear to me that her job was to ensure that children that won’t «cut it» in their environment will be nicely pushed out with a smile. Only the strongest should move on in their program.
I considered re-​enrolling him there in spite of their exclusive attitude but there are plenty of schools that want my child there, root for him and meet him where he is and help him succeed. That’s where I’ll take my child.

I have kids.
I have 3 kids.
All boys.
Boys and learning and school and playing… Yikes!
Only my youngest was able to get into this school.
He started in kindergarten and is in elementary now.
This is a great school.
Is it the staff? Yes, they are aware of everything and they care.
Is it the teachers? Yes, they may not be perfect, but they are the cream of the crop and they care about my child’s education and behavior.
Is it the parents? Yes, we all volunteer and/​or contribute to our kids’ school. I have never seen so many volunteers that care so much about a school.
I only wish my older sons could’ve came here and…
I wish I had more time for volunteering.

Incredible school. Our son has been at PCKS since the start of this year (Kindergarten), and we’ve been very pleased with everything we’ve experienced to date. The curriculum, teachers, and programs are top-​notch, and our son is already topping out in his test scores. An excellent mix of challenge, motivation, and encouragement. My only complaints — if there are any to be had — are that there isn’t great follow-​through for volunteer work (e.g., the school fails to reach out when you volunteer… so you need to continually follow-​up with reminders) and that the school can be a bit strict with regards to student behavior (which isn’t a bad thing… just takes some getting used to). Overall, we’re huge fans of the school, and highly recommend it to everyone we know.

All three of my children have been at PCK, and I cannot say enough great things about the school. The teachers, the administration and the communications ARE top notch. I realize many people are not a fan of charter schools, however, when my husband lost his job and we could not afford private christian school, we were very fortunate to get into PCK. I now have one at Legend HS, and he is so far ahead with a 4.0 and getting so many awards and opportunities because of the stellar education he had at PCK. Teri Aplin runs a great program, and is on top of it daily! As for the comments on lunchroom and recess, I know these are volunteer parents — which a big thanks to those parents that can do this for our kiddos. I’m a working mom, and PCK has been a terrific partner to me and my family. Go PCK!

I had both my kids in PCK for only 4 months. This school was a HUGE disappointment. My children loved school until they started at PCK. As a former teacher, there were so many RED flags with the staff and administration. The communication piece was unacceptable! The only constant communication was about Testing and Fundraising! Lunchroom and Recess were a NIGHTMARE! I observed both these areas while my children were in school and quite frankly it was appalling! At recess you have staff busy talking and kids are pushing and shoving, throwing things… lots of bullying going on! At lunchtime… you have a loud, unfriendly environment where the staff blows whistles to get the kids attention. Now, when you have kids who don’t like recess and lunch… SOMETHING IS WRONG! Another red flag… had both kids in the same grade level that received the exact same report card grades, and when questioned at a meeting with director and staff… they seemed so surprised!
They could not answer questions on checkpoints! I was embarrassed for them!
This school has great CSAP scores… they rely on parents heavily to assist in teaching (which is fine) but material coming home was not covered in school! They sent home spelling words to be alphabetized but did not teach them how to alphabetize during school?
I could go on a and on… I just want to help parents who are considering this school, rethink your decision! This school looks great on paper but once your there… a completely different story!

First off, let me state I have no children (school age or otherwise). However, a friend of mine has a son who attends here, so I hear about the place all the time. The other day, we came down during his son’s lunch hour and munched on some sandwiches at the cafeteria table with the son’s friends. It was noisy, and chaotic, and brought back fond and not so fond memories. From what I saw of the school, décor, equipment, layout, theme, and staff, it seems like a nice place. I sometimes help my friend’s son with his homework, and PCK seems to have a rather rigorous and advanced curriculum here.
I also like the Mission Statement:
«PCK is committed to building a solid foundation of knowledge and skills, while challenging each individual to become a critical thinker, responsible citizen and future leader.»