Athenian Academy

2289 North Hercules Avenue

School District

Pinellas
Grade

K-8
Teacher/Student Ratio

1:15
Type

charter

GreatSchools Rating

The school rating calculation is based on four ratings: the Student Progress Rating or Academic Progress Rating, College Readiness Rating, Equity Rating, and Test Score Rating each designed to show different facets of school success. Learn more about GreatSchools Ratings

Reviews

Submitted by parent on July 26, 2023

Looking for a small school that feels like family-We totally recommend Athenian Academy Clearwater. It has a private school feel with not so many kids. Clean, smells great,Awesome overall staff around. Everyone is so involved in caring for the kids, whether its lunch staff or PE, or the nicest guidance counselor they're all there to help. Front staff is always so helpful, welcoming, care about the kids and will help with anything quickly . Principal and Vice principal are phenomenal, so involved, such care for the students,staff and parents. Any questions or issues, it is resolved quickly. The teachers are engaging. Very hands on, helping the kids progress,building leaders, improving their strengths, creating a great environment they can grow in. Great curriculum. We love they are being taught Spanish as well. We're overjoyed sports are being brought back.Very involved resource officer on staff. The preschool is awesome as well, Need a VPK- definitely check them out. They get the kids extra ready for kindergarten. Great before /after care program. PTA is great, getting the parents involved and focusing on great ways to raise money for the school.My children have enjoyed going here for the last 3 years. Highly recommend.
Submitted by parent on February 09, 2023

If I could I would have given this school a zero star rating, teachers have no clue what they are doing, and my kids are barely learning anything. The principle is always gone and no clue what she is doing! I do NOT recommend this school.
Submitted by teacher on September 01, 2022

Don’t waste your time at this school. This school will go down the drain they let good teachers go and lies to them why they wasn’t coming back now look they looking for teachers.
Submitted by parent on April 12, 2022

to be honest Im use to be student from the school and theirs a few teachers that get on my nerves. theirs one that just doesn't know what she want and doesn't make up her mind if i were you don't bring your kids/child to the school its not worth it plus they put all there money into there security
Submitted by parent on January 24, 2020

Absolutely one of the worst experiences ever with a elementary school/middle in my life, I'm surprised their still operating
Submitted by parent on May 09, 2019

I would rate my experience amazing for this school. Every single teacher, student, school resource officer, and volunteer make my visits worth while. I will always recommend Athenian Academy even when my children leave! Thank you for all that you do and everything you continue to do!
Submitted by parent on April 30, 2019

My six year old is currently in KG with Mrs Noonan. She is doing an excellent job of preparing him for future educational success.
Submitted by parent on January 24, 2019

My girls are currently in KG with Mrs. Noonan and we all absolutely love our experience!
Submitted by parent on July 17, 2018

Our child completed KG with Mrs. Noonan and we couldn’t be happier being part of the Athenian family. Mrs. Hershelman defined AA as the place "where our babies will be loved like they are our own." And, she and her team have held true to this promise. Mrs. Noonan is an exceptional, dedicated teacher! Mrs. Noonan and the administration at Athenian understand that it takes a village to raise wonderful children that turn in to strong, smart, compassionate, successful adults. In my opinion, the negative reviews are a direct result of Athenian doubling in size. Athenian continues to adjust, recuperate, recalculate; however, you define it. Athenian’s cheese was moved in a HUGE way; and with great change, comes pain, and ultimately leads to great success!A word about test scores - Test scores are important; but they aren’t everything! There is ample research to support the hypothesis that standardized tests do not measure student success. This school is focused on the students’ individual needs, not just a number dictated by the state. Personally, we chose Athenian because they stressed, so deeply, how our child's education was about the child; not a group as a whole. Each child is different, with unique needs. If you want a school that recognizes those differences and will truly love your child - you have come to the right place.The one thing that the new administration needs to improve on is communication. We always felt well informed by Mrs. Noonan. However, there were many times when we experienced mixed or changing messages outside of the classroom. I know that the administration and the PTSA are actively working on this and I appreciate all their efforts; however, it really MUST change this year. Communication and teamwork is paramount! Administration and the PTSA need to work as a team to stay connected to parents and students. We should be over informed of everything/anything having to do with the school. If you want more parent involvement, ask for it, communicate expectations, ask parents what their expectations are of you, and then together let’s stick to that plan! Parents reading this…we need you, admin and PTSA can’t do it alone!Lastly, Thank you, Athenian family, especially Mrs. Noonan, Ms. Sara, Ms. Jeannie, Ms. Tavoularis, Ms. Masters, Coach Chris, Coach Romaine, Ms. Zoi, Senior Victor, Ms. Natalie, PTSA – You are appreciated!
Submitted by parent on July 15, 2018

This school is amazing! I have recommended Athenian Academy to several parents and they have been extremely happy with the level of education their children have received! I encourage any parent to take a tour at the other elementary schools in the area, and then come and take a tour at Athenian -there is no comparison!
Submitted by parent on March 23, 2018

Worst experience ever. I consider it my civic duty to warn others- this school is horrible. poor leadership is an understatement. Child attended k-3 kicking myself for not knowing any better. Here's your sign!
Submitted by parent on March 05, 2018

We came from private school a few years ago and were very hesitant to change but we have been so happy! We highly recommend this school!
Submitted by parent on February 17, 2018

Unmatched. We are grateful for all our daughters teachers (Mrs. Barber, Mr. CURD, Mrs. Lenning and Mrs Rodriguez) and Mrs Mizzi
Submitted by parent on February 11, 2018

I highly recommend this school! Our experience has been that this is the school that not only cares about education but the whole child! I look forward to the upcoming years my daughter will be at Athenian!
Submitted by parent on February 08, 2018

If you are looking for a smaller school with attention to the child's needs, then look no further and RUN to Athenian Academy. I am so grateful that my children have been there the last several years. The leadership is very strong despite of the prior reviews. Our experience as a family with the school has been very professional with high quality treatment in dealing with our children, as well as our interactions with them as parents. Ms. Mizzi is an OUTSTANDING school leader who genuinely cares deeply for all the students. Her personal care and attention is something not seen in a typical school at all. In a general public school, most students are not given the personal attention, and the parents are usually treated with distain for even bothering to ask questions to the teachers. Not only is Ms. Mizzi an outstanding school leader, there are also numerous teachers who also demonstrate the same high quality of care for the students. Ms. Barber, Ms. Lenning, Ms. Curd, are all excellent teachers. I am grateful for this school. I am so glad that my children have been at Athenian Academy and have a wonderful support system who has been involved in my children's educational journey. It is a GREAT school with excellent leadership. Don't let the other comments lead you astray. The parents that wrote the negative comments may have other motives, perhaps their child got into trouble and wanted to write a nasty review. (which is disgraceful and grossly inappropriate).
Submitted by parent on November 29, 2017

My child started Kindergarten in August 2017 at Athenian Academy. Our experience hasn't been very good - in fact I am happy to be leaving and going to another school. While many of the teachers are kind (we had a great teacher!), it's the school's leadership that is terrible - disorganized, poor communication, curriculum does not include art and/or music, there is no discipline of unruly kids disrupting the classrooms (food/candy is used as a motivator - like training a puppy) and the no bullying policy is not followed. This school used to be "A" rated but now is a "C". Their website is a good example of how the school operates - it is not up to date (they still reflect the A school rating though they did not earn that for 2016), the principal's note is from years gone by, etc. I'll stop with this - this is not an A rated school. If you just want your child to go to school where the teachers and administration tries hard and has good intentions, this school is fine ("C" or average), but be ready to poor planning, poor communication and poor testing results for your kids as a result of this good-enough type of attitude.
Submitted by parent on September 25, 2017

My child went to Athenian from K to 4th grade. We received straight As or All As and 1B each grading semester. We ended 4th grade with very poor FSA testing scores (1 or 2) for all categories. I was puzzled how my child scored so low when we were receiving such good grades. We changed schools for 5th grade. I was afraid if we stayed at Athenian my child would get further behind. We had our first teacher parent conference and they said my child is testing in math at a first to second grade level. To confirm we signed up for Mathnasium and again they stated my child is at a first grade level. It's not my child's fault but Athenian for allowing a child to get to 5th with a 1st grade comprehension of Math. My child is struggling but working very hard to compete with the new classmates. The school received a grade C for 2016-17 school year but deserved a lower grade. No child should be left behind or be led to believe they are performing at grade level when they clearly are not. The school needs serious changes to their curriculum and school leadership. Sad to see my child struggle so much since we believed our child was in good hands at a "B" charter school. Read between the lines parents. Not a good school in my experience.
Submitted by principal on August 06, 2017

Athenian Academy Charter School All Students Participating In FSA TestingEnglish (ELA)65%State Average53%Math 61%State Average56%Civics73%State Average67%Students per teacher 16 :1 State Average 17 :1 Percent of teachers with 3 or more years’ experience 83%State Average 87% % of full time teachers who are certified 100%State Average 96%
Submitted by parent on July 20, 2017

It is unfortunate how poorly this school is rin and it is now reflective in their 2017 test scores. They are one of or the worst charts in Pinellas. It doesn't take a very thorough search to see that the leadership of this school is horrible and that their attention is on expanding (which pays the former board member who runs the management company more money because it's a percentage of enrollment fees. the school leader is also a member of the management company !?). If you are thinking of sending you child here google the school and the school leaders and see what their time is really spend doing.With all that said there are people happy with the school, so do your homework and make the best choice for your child(ren)
Submitted by parent on July 20, 2017

Poor experiences over the years. My family has experienced problems in the following areas. 1) Poor communication, 2) Very unorganized, 3) School leaders do not take responsibility for their errors and pass off responsibility to another school leader, as there are 3 school leaders, 4) Poor action plan for bullying, 5) School leader dyes hair purple to teach kids her dedication to the FSA testing process, 6) Kids get good grades but test poor on FSA, 7) Focus is on Fun not learning. Bottom line. It is a risk to send your kids to Athenian given the poor leadership and focus on academics. The school needs new leadership.