Cushing Academy

Po Box 8000

Ashburnham, MA 01430

12 Reviews

School District
Grade

9-12
Type

private

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Reviews

Submitted by parent on August 01, 2023

As an alum, current and past parent, I can only highly recommend Cushing Academy! The support from teachers and staff is incredible in academics, sports and all facets of boarding school life. After coming out of a difficult period during COVID, my daughter, a current student at CA, was hesitant to attend boarding school, especially as a foreign student. Once there, she quickly realized how the emotional and academic support from all the staff would help her transition to a thriving boarding school student whose grades simply soared more than we could have hoped for! The sense of family is strong and welcoming and creates a warm, safe feeling for the students. Cushing supports and encourages all pupils to challenge themselves and to make a difference both on and off campus. In a beautiful rural setting, the school's grounds are home to a diverse and vibrant group of students. The current Head of School has taken CA in a direction that leaves no child behind and it shows in their smiles as they traverse around the gorgeous campus.
Submitted by teacher on June 02, 2023

Two point perspective:1. Student perspective - students are welcomed, encouraged, provided with emotional support and academic. (Families pay for the education, and are accommodated; regardless of the situation of fault)2 Teacher perspective - Teachers are well compensated but the they own you. You live, work and breathe on campus with practically no say of your own free time.(Very few to no minorities. IN other words; as a former teacher - minoritiy teachers please don't go there. It's not very welcoming.There are a lot of "micro aggressions". Administration and surrounding area is very passive aggressive and a lot of micro aggression is welcomed by those in administration. I myself was offered to stay, but opted to leave based on my terrible treatment not only as a minority teacher, but as a human being. I can't say it enough; terrible place for minorities. Students have complained about this too during my tenure, but were in my opinionbullied into silence (as well were teachers) and their statements were brushed under the rug. It wouldn't surprise me if my review suddenly disappeared.
Submitted by parent on February 07, 2023

My daughter graduated from Cushing in 2022. She transferred into Cushing from another prep school in her Sophomore year. She drove the decision to transfer. Cushing was one of two schools she selected based on her research and visiting schools while playing 3 sports at her previous school. We all agree that transferring to Cushing was the absolute best decision we could have made for her. Three years later she is now a well-prepared Freshman at a strong engineering, science and technology college. We loved the campus since the first time we visited. We visited often to attend games, theater, musical performances and always felt welcomed. We love being on this campus. The students, teachers, administrators, and staff engage and show the pride they have in their school. All are very supportive of each other. The boarding experience for our daughter was excellent. Everyone knows everyone. Our daughter has many great friends from Cushing that we are sure will be life-long. Our daughter has the confidence and independence to live away from home at a young age, and as parents we were pleased that Cushing provided appropriate guardrails to ensure all students are safe on campus. The boarding experience is a highlight. The students learn responsibility and respect for others while the network of proctors, dorm parents, and dorm heads foster a wam, caring, inclusive community. We got to know our daughters school advisor well and he became our go-to person for all concerns related to the school - not just academic. When she struggled in one of her tougher classes, we contacted the advisor who worked with our daughter and the teacher to develop a plan that resulted in improvement of her grade. And he kept us informed along the way. This process worked much better than if we had contacted the teacher directly; as the advisor knows the student and the faculty and is able to come up with an appropriate plan. We used the parent portal on the website often. You can see your child's daily schedule, assignments, occasional notes from teachers. Most useful to us is a weekly report card that is online every Tuesday and informs us how our child is doing academically. Sports are important at Cushing. The school appropriately balances academics, arts, performing arts and sports. This is evidenced by the high quality of the teachers in these programs and the coaches. Many coaches have college coaching experience. We love Cushing!
Submitted by parent on September 11, 2019

The faculty and staff are exceptional, and in addition to providing a great academic experience, they foster a true sense of community that develops mature, confident and well-rounded students.
Submitted by parent on September 10, 2019

My experience, and my children's, has been nothing short of amazing thus far!
Submitted by parent on February 25, 2019

My experience at this school has been nothing less than excellence. They staff from top to bottom truly care about the student. They have become extended family to my daughter.
Submitted by other on October 16, 2016

Amazing community, great teachers, many events and challenging academics. Being 100% honest, this school will be one of the best boarding schools in the country in a couple of years.
Submitted by parent on October 30, 2015

Wonderful Campus, Modern facilities. Top level resources. Great faculty staff, human scale. Your voice will be heard, you will be called by your name. Hapiness rate and college acceptence rate close to 99%.
Submitted by other on August 29, 2015

All around fantastic school, although administration is tough on those who do wrong, they are creating a more safe and healthy environment for those who don't. The sports are award winning, the academics highly supportive, and the faculty very caring. Not to mention the family-like community and GREAT FOOD!! Myself and many others love everything about Cushing. Much better school compared to the public ones in the area. Phenomenal school as long as you give your best effort when attending!
Submitted by parent on July 09, 2014

This might be the worst place on earth. The only people who care are students and the teachers. The administration cares only about money, how much they can make, how little they can do. It seems like the rest make the place run despite them. If you want to waste your money and your child's time this is the place.
Submitted by student on November 29, 2012

I attended Cushing Academy from 2011-2012. After my first year, which was 11 grade, I tried to transfer, however, very few boarding schools accept seniors. I unwillingly came back for the 2012-2013 academic year to finish up high school. My experience at Cushing has been a miserable one. I have been made the bad guy by inconsistent administrators, belittled, and forced into things I was not willing to do. Although most teachers are invested, kind, and nurturing, I cannot say the same for the administration. My unpleasant and miserable experience have been due to the administrators--the headmaster, assistant headmaster, dean of students, dean of academics, and counselors, have all treated both myself and my father with disrespect and rudeness.
Submitted by parent on November 29, 2012

My daughter and I have had nothing but poor experiences here. Although most of her teachers were invested in their students, the administration is certainly not. There is hardly any foundation, and the current headmaster and assistant headmaster are rude, insufferable, and inconsiderate. Fortunately, the current headmaster has been given the boot and the Board of Trustees are currently looking for someone new. Hopefully they can find the person to bring this school out of the gutter.