Challenger School - Salt Lake

Since not every child learns the same way or excels in the same areas, I believe it is a good thing that different types of schools exist for different types of kids. Public schools may be forced to try and do everything for all of them, but Challenger as a private school is a lot more focused and thus does a better job in serving its niche. I’ve noticed the kids there are positive, and fired-up to be there. They are motivated and enjoy the place. This seems to be a reflection of the teachers who are themselves impressive in their energy and attitude. I don’t know how they keep so energetic and positive. They do a job I never could for sure. The school eschews field trips, and while some people may think is a bad thing I hold it to be a positive. My experience with field trips is that they tend to be a waste of time. I think it is the parents’ responsibility to provide out-of-school experiential trips for their children and schools should maintain focus on academics. The techniques, drills, and homework at Challenger really do crank up the grades and achievement scores. The child population at the Salt Lake location is incredibly diverse with a broad range of racial, religious, and cultural representation. I am glad I have this school nearby to send my kids, and I think I would have come out a better person if I had been able to go there in my childhood. more

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 turn out to be a rebel unfit for the society. Again, my pediatrician confirmed that my son is a normal 3 year old. \r \r They made false accusations that my son hit, ""tackeled"", bit kids, just in a matter of three days to force us to pull him out of the school. When i asked them if I can see the bite mark, they said he was ""amost"" going to bite the other kids. I felt like my kid was blackmarked and ostracized.When I was pulling my son out, I asked them for a report on him. They gave me one and it was a joke - they said he does not know numbers but can count and add. \r \r Well if your kid in inquisitive and chatty, this is not the place for your kid. If you kid likes to be a mindless sheep and gets intimidated by tall men, ofcourse then it is THE PLACE! more

Challenger School does very little to involve either parents or staff in decision making.The director prefers to do things her way and does not welcome input from anyone. Teachers are not required to be certified which is an issue for me. Also staff turnover is high. Some of this is due to the director and her refusal to listen. Curriculum rules to the point that teachers have little flexibility. There is also a lot of homework.There is no foreign language program which also bothers me.Elementary schhol is the best time to teach a language. This is the age when children are most capable of learning one. On the plus side, the kids are well behaved, safe and score well on tests. Pros: kids score well on tests Cons: no frills -foreign language etc more