Trinity Episcopal School

750 East 9th Street

Charlotte, NC 28202

23 Reviews

School District
Grade

K-8
Type

private

Find Homes for Sale in this School Zone

Reviews

Submitted by parent on November 12, 2024

My husband and I are eternally grateful for the support this school has given our 2nd grade daughter. She was recently diagnosed with a learning difference, paired with a high IQ, which can be extremely frustrating for her. They have helped us bring in the resources she needs to be successful AND helped us with how to talk to her about it, teaching her about classroom equity where every student has what they need to be successful, even if it's different than what someone else needs. She can't wait to go to school every day. It's the only school I've ever known where the students cry on the last day, as they don't want summer to come and school to be over.These teachers are one of a kind and get to know our children as individuals and celebrate who they are as students and as people. I'm thrilled this place exists, where she can be challenged and supported academically while also learning how to kind, love her neighbor and stand up for herself and others. We can't imagine being anywhere else.
Submitted by parent on September 18, 2023

I encourage all parents to really consider if this the right school choice for CHILD, not just your family. The school prides itself on inclusion, yet they are not inclusive of neurodiverse kids, especially boys. The school is harsh to these type of kids, including early elementary children, with a tunnel vision focused on punishment and reparation and zero attention on teachable moments. Over multiple years of being singled out, this will only leave a kid feeling anxious from being under a microscope with every mistake magnified. The kid will lose all sense of belonging in a school with a motto of “known and loved”. Parent and medical advice is not taken into consideration, no matter the circumstances. Trinity simply does not have the capabilities to support all children, nor are they willing to make any changes. Your child will never be truly accepted and will not receive the support(s)he/she needs and deserves.Teachers themselves are great. They are helpful and willing to roll up their sleeves to serve all children, however, they are micromanaged and their voices are not heard at the administration level. Finally, the academics are sub-par at best with many kids hiring private tutors after school.Every family is different and many have very positive experiences. However, I never wish my experience on another family and will encourage you to think about your CHILD and their individual needs when making your school choice and not get distracted by filters.
Submitted by student on September 15, 2023

It is fun and nice, and you make good friends that will last for a lifetime!
Submitted by parent on November 07, 2022

I have never seen my kindergartener more confident and comfortable. We had our first parent teacher conference in September and it brought tears to my eyes how well my child's teachers know her. The teachers are beyond dedicated, creative, loving, intelligent. She is so loved and taken care of, and she is learning to LOVE to learn. In fact, the other day she asked to skip movie night and work in a math workbook. When we play "school" at home, I'm able to see a glimpse into the classroom and the collaborative learning that takes place. It is so clear that these kids learn to think critically and creatively. The transition to Kindergarten has been seamless and I feel so lucky to have the chance to give the Trinity experience to my daughters.
Submitted by parent on September 20, 2022

Before moving to the Charlotte area, I had many people tell me that I should seriously consider looking at Trinity Episcopal School. These recommendations came to me from former facutly members, school founders, and various members of the Charlotte community. They were all right in their assessment. Trinity is a hidden gem in Charlotte ,and a place that truly teaches to the whole child. What I love most about Trinity is the welcoming feeling that everyone has. It is not hard to notice that the faculty honors and respects each other, and that the children are not only know by their own teachers, but by all members of the school's facutly and staff. I want my children to be challenged academically, to learn how to be kind and respectful people, and to make the world a better place for all. Trinity does all three and uplifts the values we teach our own children in our home. My children love to come to school every day, and that is a testament to this community. Another testament to the school is that a large number of the faculty choose to have their children attend. I believe that speaks volumes when teachers know the value of the education in their own school, and they trust their own children's education with those of their colleagues. We are grateful for the education they will receive in lower and middle school, and fully believe that they will be prepared for wherever their future takes them.
Submitted by parent on October 14, 2021

Trinity has been nothing short of a blessing to our family. Their "known and loved" tagline is more than just marketing - our kids are treasured and truly seen for their unique gifts by the staff and administration. There is a joyful buzz that radiates through the halls and you can't help but feel it when you step onto campus. I've seen the way that Trinity has cultivated a love of reading in my kids and has inspired diving deep into their curriculum (scuba diving vs. snorkeling). Trinity faculty is incredibly skilled at reaching each child on their level and we have seen our two very different learners both challenged with accelerated work and supported with extra help. During our conferences, I am always amazed by how deeply the teachers know our kids. They share small moments and glimpses into their personality that captures the spirit of our kids as unique members of their classroom. Now in our 6th year at the school, I can see the impacts of Trinity on our family as well. We have been inspired to connect with our city, stand up for what is right, and help our neighbors in need. Our kids are learning to be global citizens with hearts for service. We are proud of the work Trinity is doing and we are proud to be part of this amazing community!
Submitted by parent on September 22, 2021

Trinity Episcopal School is one of the best things that has happened to our family! We have three children with different personalities and very different learning styles. All three have thrived at this school. From coming in early to help with a math lesson, to sending an email to check on the children when they are sick, and even to meeting me at school during quarantine to give us extra math supplies to help my youngest grasp a concept, the teachers at Trinity go above and beyond for the students. Learning is extended way beyond what is being taught in the classroom. The service learning provides the students with opportunities to actively participate in the community by serving others. All students have the option to participate in any sport or musical/play they choose. There are no cuts, which allows the children to try new things that they may not have been able to, otherwise. As a middle school parent, their "no cellphone at school” policy has been such a relief. I also love that the school has a uniform. Between the cell phone and uniform policies, so many pressures are removed from my kids’ daily lives. Trinity also doesn't believe in too much homework, which allows the children to focus on learning at school, extra curricular activities, and just being kids. I can't say enough about this wonderful place!
Submitted by parent on September 30, 2019

I’d like to begin by saying that I have never written a review before but I was encouraged by other reviews to speak up about the things going on at this school. Leadership, staff, ideologies, Curriculum leave a lot to be desired. The issues at this school stem directly from Lower School Head (who runs the ‘show’) along with Head of School. Neither are effective leaders and they literally make it up as they go. The ‘known and loved’ motto at this school is nothing but propaganda. Two trustees pulled their children from the school last year, this speaks volumes.My 3-5th graders regularly brought home art projects more closely resemble preschool camp projects using wine corks and scraps from magazines to create self-directed art sculptures or their magazine scraps to make collages week after week, month after month, and year after year. I am not aware of our children learning about art history nor actual art techniques. My children took Spanish? I never would have known it. All elementary school classes through 5th grade are using age-inappropriate and ineffective Sesame Street Characters to teach Spanish. My children could barely speak Spanish after years of ‘Spanish’ classes at Trinity. After a short time at the new school our children are rattling off sentences in Spanish no problemo!In one word, their math curriculum is inadequate.They don’t have a library and tell you that your children will go to the library once per week. In reality, at times our children only went to Imaginon library 3 times in the entire school year. They do have in classroom ‘libraries’ (baskets of books) but they need to stop misrepresenting the frequency of trips to prospective parents.
Submitted by parent on September 25, 2019

It looks there were some honest reviews on here prior to the last two. Not sure if the school wrote those or if parents were asked to write them. It could be that they only have kids in Kindergarten. However, please read the reviews prior and take them to heart. You will kick yourself if you get to high school and your kid is not prepared. Just go in with eyes wide open. If you choose Trinity, make sure you are supplementing with tutors on the side. I know it sounds ridiculous because this is a private school and you are paying tuition. However, people pick schools for all kinds of reasons. Just be aware that this is not a school you pick for academic reasons.
Submitted by parent on September 12, 2019

I'm so thankful there is a school in Charlotte that is academically challenging, but works on developing the whole child.
Submitted by parent on September 12, 2019

My husband and I feel so blessed to be able to offer this opportunity to our daughter. We only wish we had found Trinity sooner so that our son could benefit from it, as well.
Submitted by parent on July 13, 2019

Do your research before choosing this school. This school is not what is appears to be. The focus on racial equity is great but sometimes misguided. Many of the issues they are trying to outwardly combat are still embedded in the top leadership. Academics are fair to mediocre or rigorous compared to Providence Day, Latin, Country Day or Cannon. Although we were conflicted at the time, the best decision I made was pulling my son from this school. I’d only choose this school if your CMS home school is a C or below.
Submitted by parent on June 09, 2019

Poor overall. There is a high level of teacher turnover with many good ones leaving in recent years. The administration at this school is not supportive of bullying victims. The most frequent method of dealing with it is long conversations with young students about how the bully really wants to be friends and drawn out emails with parents. The math curriculum does not prepare students to enter other schools. The head of school does not interact with parents or students directly. The school has an extremely liberal agenda. It does not help conservative or middle-of the-road families to feel included. Although the mission celebrates the school’s commitment to diversity, that only seems to extend to certain groups.
Submitted by parent on April 25, 2019

Trinity was one of the worst parenting decisions that I have ever made. Their math curriculum is non existent, the leadership is weak and ineffective, and the process for carrying out the diversity mission is very disturbing. Admissions and financial aid are intertwined for parents of color. They need kids of color to create social justice warriors. Trinity has an unspoken mission of creating white allies at the expense of kids of color.
Submitted by parent on April 05, 2019

Trinity is one of the worst decisions I've made for my children due to the lack of leadership, extremely WEAK curriculum and unhealthy OBSESSION with issues of racism. If you are considering a private, college prep school in the area, take this one off your list. I wish that more parents would have the courage and consideration to honestly review about the things happening at this school. It would have saved our family time, heartache, and a lot of money. If you have already paid a deposit and won't get it back, trust me when I say, it will be the best money you ever lost. It is tough for services such as Google and Facebook to receive honest reviews because people don't want to reveal their identities and negatively affect their children. Facebook if full of reviews from board members and staff resulting in a skewed rating. I applaud Greatschools.org for the way they handle reviews and the people willing to give honest reviews.You cannot tell a book by its cover.
Submitted by parent on March 24, 2019

The biggest issue is their constant insertion of inappropriate political views to the education of k-8 children. To help communicate this point, I'll share A Day in the Life at Trinity Episcopal School K-8 Chapel.A Friday morning chapel homily preaching (raised voice) about Colin Kaepernick and the National Anthem, the government shut-down, women being ‘groped,’ ‘white allies,’ and ‘white privilege.'Sweet kindergartners holding their ears.Upset parents walking out pondering how they will navigate a discussion about the homily with their children and how they bring up the issues with school leadership without forever 'marking' their family.Trinity students are fed a steady diet of the above brand of homily during chapels and adding the separation of “children of color” and “diversity & belonging” sessions that separate (read: segregate) children of color from white children on a monthly basis.School leadership takes advantage of their platform to voice personal and political opinions on material far too mature for a K-8 student-body while the Board of Directors bury their heads in the sand and pour another cup of indoctrination kool-aide. The messages being shared and their value in the big picture of effectively educating children is difficult to rationalize... but the leadership tries.Not a school for moderate thinkers and quite honestly, barely even a school.
Submitted by parent on October 09, 2017

Exceptional! Trinity is the heartbeat of our family. This is a place that lives deeply into its mission of scholarship, spirituality and diversity. Is there another place that kids are crying on "moving up day" every June because they are so sad to see summer come? Is there another place where a school dog greets you each day in carpool with unconditional love? This place welcomes different perspectives and supports kids in reaching their potential with humor and grace. It redefines academic rigor and meets each child's needs with two teachers in each lower school classroom. The kids spend time each week doing service learning; this is core to the experience at this very special place. As for the other reviewer--yes, the teachers and administration expect each child to work hard, play hard and be kind to others. Sometimes that's a challenge but it's one that Trinity believes is worth the effort. My kids love this place!
Submitted by student on August 19, 2016

I do not agree with previous reviews that the faculty and staff are the best in Charlotte. I agree with one other reviewer who said there are a few great teachers surrounded by average or sub par teachers. This school is on the way down. It's reputation is based on a moment in time 8-10 years ago. The administration does not have the ability to help its faculty and student body navigate the sticky, challenging issues that come up in the real world environment in which we all live. Issues regarding any racial component are mishandled routinely- either ignored altogether or blown way out of proportion. As students get up towards and into middle school they often fall behind- particularly in math. The Spanish program is a joke. The head of the middle school is ineffective, and that is an understatement. In the lower grades the small community-feel of the school and its focus on letting kids be kids (and not pile on homework) does succeed in making for a warm and positive experience. But from Third grade on, watch out. The cracks begin to emerge.
Submitted by other on February 24, 2016

I'm struggling to find words to describe the various problems I have with this place. First, your child won't go a week in middle school without being hounded about "racism". That's literally about 50% of the things we discuss here, and the other half is religion. Important math, science and geography classes and activities are often cut short from overextended "chapels." Other religious views are not welcome, despite what they may claim. Some of the teachers are OK, but others are rather sub-par. Trinity's policy for actual learning seems to be to just pile together the leftovers between religious and social justice learning. There seem to be Communist leanings here as well, in addition to rampant dismissal of scientific and Republican views. The uniform policy here is totally outrageous too. Students are forbidden to wear clothes without the Trinity shield on them, even SOCKS mustn't have a Nike symbol on them. Just to bring the points stated earlier into perspective, we spend as much time on religion as we do on math and science COMBINED. Of course, the word "Episcopal" is in the name, but so is "School". It can be sad to see some teachers genuinely STRUGGLING to teach students with all the time constraints placed on them by the various religious gatherings. In addition, students can be punished for alerts on their phones going off, REGARDLESS OF IF THEY WERE ACTUALLY USING THEM! Overall, the "Honor Council" is just the collection of teacher's pets, so don't expect fair treatment of your child. In addition, classes are often very repetitive, discussing topics such as metrics, slavery, and basic grammar over and over again. In addition to this, it seems that the community of students is remarkably complacent, trained since kindergarten by Trinity to simply be obedient and not to defy or question figures in authority, and it is people like these that allow problems to continue in the world.
Submitted by parent on February 10, 2016

My children spent their early years at this school until we moved out of state. I attribute their high school and college successes to Trinity. All three of my children were leaders in their classes and on their sport teams, my boys were Eagle Scouts,and all were awarded significant merit and achievement awards. Their love of learning and concern for the environment and community was fostered at TES.