Cary Academy

1500 North Harrison Avenue

Cary, NC 27513

18 Reviews

School District
Grade

6-12
Type

private

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Reviews

Submitted by parent on June 23, 2023

Cary Academy is truly a wonderful school, though I would like two more improvements: The pricey lunch money. Even if you bring lunch from home, you still have to pay for it, which is disappointing. The school lunch would also need an improvement: It is too much for my liking. Overall, it is a great school, it just needs the lunch problem to be fixed.
Submitted by other on April 17, 2021

I am a recent alumni of Cary Academy. Cary Academy is more of a business than a school. Rather than the success of their students, all the administration cares about is their public image and money. I say this, and the reason that I ranked teachers in the middle is because when I started my education there, the teachers were all very experienced, friendly, and frankly some of the best teachers I’ve ever had as teachers, but a few years into my education, almost all of the experienced teachers were fired and replaced by inexperienced new teachers, because their salary was higher and they wanted to save money, according to a former teacher I am still in touch with. Many of the current teachers are still great teachers, but this just goes to show how the school prioritizes their money rather than the learning experiences of the students. The school is really a pressure cooker where every student is as competitive as it gets, so if you don’t want your high school experience go solely towards studying day in and day out, this isn’t the school for you. While we are still on the topic of money, let me tell you that students who’s parents make large donations to the school suffer different consequences for the same actions as students who simply pay the $25000 annual tuition. As for discipline, the school is completely unreasonable. I had about 20 classmates who each had over 10 hours of “community service” (really just free labor for the school such as cleaning around campus) for simply seeing someone steal from the vending machine and not reporting it. Although the current head of upper school is a very sensible and reasonable individual, I can’t say the same about the dean of school. The man holds grudges against students who aren’t the perfect representation of the student he wants to display to the public and show how perfect his school is. Anyone who did anything to tarnish the public image of the school would be punished. There are many great private schools in the area, but unfortunately Cary Academy is not one of them anymore.
Submitted by parent on April 01, 2018

I feel extremely fortunate to have had this school recommended to me in 5th grade. No one in our family has ever attended a private school, but for our graduating senior, it gave him the exact formula for his personal success. The college counselors are wonderful too.
Submitted by parent on October 07, 2017

I emplore you not to send your kids here. Once they get into the upperschool, CA traps them by messing with their class rank if they leave.
Submitted by parent on April 28, 2017

My daughter got admission for rising 9th grade (2017-2018), but we had to withdraw her from the school (loss of $1500 deposit). There is something serious wrong with their math placement recommendation. My daughter (8th grader) is currently taking honor Math 2 (equivalent to geometry in old, non-common-core system) )with >90 overall, got 9's (stanine) in all 4 sections of ISEE test for upper school (perfect scores), with AMC and NC state math competition record. After making deposit, believing their ad on personalized opportunity for each student (as typical in private schools), they then told us that she have to repeat (standard) geometry class (not even honor geometry) for a year. They said if she wants to take honor algebra 2, which would be her regular track course for 9th as she would be taking honor math 3 in her home public school, she need to pass two placement tests (one for upping to honor geometry and another for algebra 2) during the summer. Their deadline for full tuition (>25K) is June 15. So, the only way we could find out whether or not she can take her due math class is to pay the full tuition first and then find out. We end up wasting our $1500 for nothing, and clearly there is no personalized or individually matched education for each kid, as opposed to what they advertise. No such thing in CA. You have to start from their "baseline" and move up by showing your true academic prowess (via placements for instance), but only after you pay all in full without knowing where your kid will be placed. If you think your kid loves challenging environment and pursue high-achiever track, "Beware!!"
Submitted by parent on September 02, 2016

Outstanding and dedicated teachers and administrators. Focused on developing academics and citizenship. Offers great variety of extracurricular activities.
Submitted by parent on December 18, 2014

Disagree with the parents saying CA is very liberal. Many minority students appreciate the diveristy programming like Affinity Groups but feel their safety/inclusion is an afterthought to most administrators. Students of color often faced with verbal slights that are not called out. Last year, students called for the school newspaper to censor another student for writing about LGBT issues and admin blithely ignored the situation. Good academics and teachers, but wish admin was less afraid to take a stand for minority students. Guess the reviews below indicate why.
Submitted by parent on October 24, 2014

These last two reviews pretty much sum up our years at CA. The school culture gets more and more liberal each year, and inundates the kids with sexually themed content constantly. The new headmaster calls it "desensitizing" the kids. But, if anyone objects to these non-curricular topics, they get labelled as "close-minded" by the administration and other parents. So much for tolerance and diversity of thought :( The core education is OK; better in some departments than others. Surprisingly weak on technology.
Submitted by parent on May 06, 2014

Love Cary Academy! Strong teachers, challenging curriculum, and a dynamic, diverse student body as valuable to my child's education as the classes themselves. We picked Cary Academy because we assessed it to be the most inclusive of the academically rigorous schools in the area. Sometimes wish it we more explicit with support for minority students, esp. gay and transgender students, but reading reviews like that submitted by the close-minded parent below make me appreciate how much it does do for the students most vulnerable to marginalization and self-hate.
Submitted by parent on November 06, 2013

Solid academics, caring teachers, tech heavy and WAY over the line exposing students beginning in 6th grade to inappropriate sexual & personal topics in the name of "acceptance" and "diversity". Parents are not informed and students are required to participate. The faculty recently distributed condoms and "taught" details of a gang rape case to middle schoolers. Keynote graduation speech, endless school newspaper articles, assemblies & class discussions with both genders and multiple grades focusing on private, personal & family topics like sexuality, STDs, sex changes, feminine hygiene, etc. This is not limited to health or sex ed classes; it is ubiquitous. Parents and students both are treated like outsiders if they disagree; concerns raised to the administration are respectfully acknowledged but ignored. For families who believe some topics should be kept private or within the family, or that kids ages 11+ don't need to be exposed to TMI, you are misaligned with this school. Let's hope the new school head reins this in before further hurting kids and families, seriously damaging the school's reputatation and eroding future applicant pools.
Submitted by parent on May 09, 2013

We are parents of a sixth grader at CA, just completing our first year at the school, and we could not be happier. We feel warmly welcomed into the CA community, and our child has had a wonderful, nurturing first year of middle school. We have been very impressed by the quality and commitment of the faculty. The academics are rigorous, but you can literally see how much your child is learning and growing every day. I can't think of a finer middle school experience!
Submitted by parent on May 09, 2013

Cary Academy is a top-notch, academically rigorous college prep school. It does a wonderful job of preparing young people for the world beyond middle and high school in every way, academically, socially and emotionally. The teachers are outstanding, energetic and deeply committed to the young people they educate. We have yet to have less than excellent in the teaching department. The school also welcomes parental involvement. We have been very happy with CA on every level. It is a tough school, however, so your child needs to be academically motivated to succeed and thrive. The student body is cohesive and a nice group of kids. We have not experienced any meanness or bullying issues or any problems at CA.
Submitted by parent on February 07, 2013

I took my children out of Cary Academy when we moved to North Raleigh and enrolled at North Raleigh Christian Academy. Of the two schools my children and I both prefer NRCA because I believe the overall learning atmosphere is better. Cary Academy has an element of "troubled youth" that is unsettling. That troubled youth element is non-existent at NRCA. The course work and homework requirements are more rigorous at Cary Academy (which I personally prefer) but I have no doubt that NRCA is preparing my children for college.
Submitted by parent on July 08, 2012

Great school ! Founders are really behind this school and support faculty, students, and parents in every way they can. It seems the founders have a true love for the success of students and their community. Their commitment to the school and excellence in education is a key to the success of CA. Parents are mostly professionals and committed to their children s education. It is a total school for learning and achievement. Faculty are very much into teaching and are positive. Students like attending the school. Financial resources, technology, faculty, campus, and many more offerings of CA make it a top school. We have had one successful graduate and have a second child at the school and are VERY happy with CA. Many thanks to founders, leadership, faculty, and parents who are behind CA. A total team effort has made CA a shining example in secondary education.
Submitted by parent on March 30, 2012

CA is great at developing a kid's potential and helping them blossom into independence and adulthood. Lots of handholding and homework starting in the 6th grade leading to less handholding and more independence in the 8th grade. The Upper school focuses on learning using lots of creative methods to engage all the kids. Lots of club, arts, sports and other extracurriculars. 100% attend college. They really seem to 'get kids' and get kid behavior and channel all that energy into effective learning. You rarely see an unhappy face on the very welcoming campus. The parents are welcome and encouraged to join in and lend their talents at many different activities throughout the campus. Not in the classroom like elementaries did, but throughout the school where needed for assistance, time and talents. These kids are smart, and the teachers know how to manage these smarts kids and turn them into (hopefully) lifelong learners.
Submitted by parent on November 27, 2011

I am a parent of a female 8th grade student who will enter CA high school next year. As a parent of a middle schooler, I communicate and 'observe' the happenings of the many high schoolers we come in contact Fort those considering Cary Academy, I am breaking down my review in 5 topics: 1. Student comfort,, social fitting in 'how the student feels about himself/herself' : Cary Academy does exceptionally well in this. Students feel at home with no peer pressure or groups/cliques., Not tied to tiers of social or economical stds. 5 Star. 2. Academic: Very good -humanities and language arts & social studies etc., 5 star 3. Math and Science, Technology: Very good, though some highly driven 'merit based' Charter and public schools are doing equally well and better some times. Given the cost, this is a 4 STARS 4. College preparednes& proficiency: CA Prepares kids well, especially in college ramp up etc., but given the nature of lower educationsal standard of NC , local alarea, CA studfents do not end up at very high rates in top rated colleges. LAst few years, about 20 % students end up. 4 Star 5. Value: For a private school CA is GOOD VALUE. 5 Stars.
Submitted by other on November 13, 2011

Good for academics... teachers are very good and very challenging coursework. However you have to put up with: *rampant homophobia and bullying *lots of rich preppy jocks who act like they own the place *money is not spent wisely (like buying every student a laptop they don't need) *faculty that is not very interested in your problems... especially about bullying *in the high school you can only take up to a certain amount of AP classes and no more. This is because they don't want certain students looking better than others (even though they are and they should have the ability to take as many honors classes that they want). *more interested in the parents rather than the students because they are the ones who pay
Submitted by parent on May 15, 2011

Very happy CA family--Every child is unique and blossoms into their individual potential. We've had superb teachers-expecially in history, science and the Fine Arts.