Children's Community School

404 Armour Street

School District

Community School Of Davidson
Grade

K-12
Teacher/Student Ratio

1:15
Type

charter

School Map for Community School Of Davidson School District

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 September 02, 2024

We have three children at CSD. They transfered in from local public schools in 8th grade. The commitment from the leadership and teaching community at CSD has been amazing. The results for the schools performance across all categories speak louder than words. Children at CSD excel in all categories while being offered a safe, nuturing and challenging learning enviorment.We feel very fortunate to have our childern at CSD as do most parents. This is because the commitment from the teachers and leadership is evident in all they do each and every day. If you have the opportunity to send your child to CSD, take it!!
Submitted by parent on July 01, 2024

Look up Community School of Davidson Antisemitism online to read about this negligent school. They allowed raging Anti-semitism for 2 school years and the Department of Education got involved. The board of CSD and administrators are denying this to the community- think of what they are saying to Jewish families with that kind of response. It is appalling.
Submitted by parent on July 01, 2024

CSD has a systemic Anti-semitism problem and has been investigated by The Dept of Education Office of Civil Rights. They are now under OCR's jurisdiction for having violated the law. Jewish children are not safe there.
Submitted by other on June 02, 2023

We have been at this school for 6 years. We have had nothing but wonderful things to say about the school, teachers, admin and education provided to our children. There is a great sense of community and involvement. It may not be for every parent, but the school is for every child. As parents who can choose any private school we would like if we wanted to, we feel like this is still our number 1 choice school :)
Submitted by parent on December 21, 2022

We have been at this school for 9 years with one academically gifted child with an exceptional IQ and one with severe learning disabilities with an average IQ. Both students needs have been met at every step of their educational journey and I’m so thankful for this school. Our child who lives with learning differences would never have been successful at a larger school with less one on one attention. The school treats both of our children as exceptional in their own ways and strives to make sure they both know they are valued and important. They also have a full time contracted armed Davidson police officer on campus at all times for safety which isn’t mentioned in the ratings.
Submitted by parent on October 21, 2022

As a previous poster mentioned, after reading a couple reviews, I felt the need to provide our personal experience. Is CSD "woke?" If you want to call it that, possibly. So is the entire town of Davidson, and given the location, one should not be overly surprised. Does CSD respect conservative views? Absolutely. My kids are not as liberal in their views as some of the student body and teachers, but they have never felt like an agenda was being pushed on them. CSD highly values diversity and have been making intentional efforts to increase diversity, which sets them apart from similar charters in the area. That should be a priority for all schools and it's something our family appreciates about CSD. The school is absolutely for students of all abilities. Gifted? Yes, they will thrive. There have been numerous students admitted to IVY League schools (if that is a measure of "being gifted") but honestly what draws us to this school is the holistic approach. You will not have hours of endless busy work, or useless homework assignments. Teachers are intentional about the assignments and encourage students to take leadership through extracurricular activities. We have been at the school for 8 years and I'm struggling to come up with one complaint. Maybe parking? That's about it! Teachers and administration are beyond responsive, caring, respectful and genuinely care about each individual student in the school. We know how lucky we are to be enrolled at CSD, and truly feel grateful for a school that does not follow cookie-cutter norms, does not just teach to standardized test scores, but ignites a desire to learn in each student.
Submitted by parent on September 16, 2022

It has been fascinating for me reading reviews on this site. My conclusion is that not every good opportunity is suitable for all people. So it is best to write a review that focuses on personal experiences without putting other people down. I read reviews that said the school is for the simple-minded child or for children who are not academically gifted. That is an inaccurate statement, because there are children who thrive in this environment.I chose CSD over another charter school in the area, because of the school's philosophy. I wanted a holistic approach for my children. I was drawn by the fact that homework was not going to be all consuming for my children. My focus was for them to have the opportunity to fully establish what I had begun, which was the love of learning for learning sake and not a focus on grades. I wanted them to take initiative or responsibility in their education. My role was help them with values and mindset development. I knew CSD provide the environment for them to explore their educational journey.I know I will not always be with them. So it made sense for them to have the right resources and a nurturing environment without the restriction that stifles exploration. CSD was a partner for me in this goal. The boundaries were loose enough to provide stucture while giving them permission to push and reach for their full potential. My children and I revel in the joy of learning. Yes, I got an education as well while watching them grow in ways that I could only imagine when we started our journey.All three of my children thrived in sports, the Arts and academics. These are some of their accomplishments while at CSD: NCSSM (all), Governor's School, Summer Ventures, Parks Scholarship, Goodnight Scholarship, All State in Soccer, Alternative Violist for the National Youth Orchestra to name a few. College admissions: My two older children who have since graduated from CSD were accepted to all the schools they applied for. Some of these were: Chapel Hill, NC State, Duke, Yale, MIT, Stanford, Harvey Mudd, Columbia University, Cornell, UC Berkeley.... They are thriving and enjoying their college experience.So I will say the school is not perfect for everyone. The teachers are not perfect, neither are the parents nor the children. It is the phenomenon of life. Some people thrive in one environment and others do not. So do an in depth research and decide what is suitable for your family.
Submitted by student on June 11, 2022

i love this school. everything about it. from the moment you walk in everyone is so warm and genuine, and you really feel cared about. the teachers here are seriously amazing. they truly care about our wellbeing and work hard to make sure their classroom is a positive environment. this school is very supportive of our mental health and encourages us to open up to them. we have a great counselor, but the teachers are always willing to talk too, which i find very important. this school goes above and beyond for people with disabilities, aiming for good education for all. in my eight years of going to this school i have never witnessed serious bullying. even if there is a small argument between students the school is ready to come in and help, and most importantly, make sure all sides are heard. this school is always incorporating families into our work, and showcasing all of our accomplishments to them. words cannot express how grateful and lucky i am that i attend this wonderful school.
Submitted by parent on February 13, 2022

This is an amazing school! Don’t listen to any of these negative reviews which are completely without merit. Go speak with educators and ask them what they think. Any educator with a brain knows that the spirit, foundation, curriculum and principles of this school is readying our children for life. For some this is college. Our kids “lotteried ”into the school in high school. Not an easy task for a child. They were welcomed in and assimilated quickly. I cannot express, how proud I am of the staff at CSD. Just a bunch of smart people who always make the right decisions.
Submitted by parent on February 03, 2022

So grateful to have this school in our community. The education that our children are receiving is too notch. Teachers are well educated and truly care about the success of their students.
Submitted by other on December 29, 2021

The Community School of Davidson (CSD) started with good intentions and had a great reputation. It was never perfect, but it strove for excellence, and teachers were typically very good. Over the years it has become increasingly political and explicitly ideological, claiming that America is systemically racist, all whites (and indeed all peoples) are racist, and in line with the 1619 Project line, that America was founded on slavery. These views are pushed on students, in class lectures, assignments and quizzes. Last year, on July 4th, the founding of America, the administration chose not to acknowledge the holiday, but to send out an email offering a course in "anti-racism" for parents. This is not to say there are not good teachers at CSD, there are, and hence my two stars. But the school has declined rapidly in recent years as it has adopted and more consistently incorporated the latest (anti-) intellectual fad of critical theory.
Submitted by parent on November 04, 2021

We really wanted to like this school. There are a few charter schools in Lake Norman area, and we entered all the lotteries hoping to get in one, and we got in CSD. But the school didn’t work for our kids. Our kids are above average in academics, and this school is for below average, average, and kids with disabilities. K7 administration is horrible, and very anti-gifted. This year luckily our kids got in another charter in our area (we had been applying every year). There is world of difference between their current school and CSD. They are finally in a school which meets their needs. If you have a kids above average in academics - stay away from this school.
Submitted by parent on September 01, 2021

This school has really gone downhill. They are more concerned with appearing 'woke' than with actual learning. There is a huge push for CRT from teaching and admin.
Submitted by other on July 20, 2021

I am one of the students who began CSD at a young age right out of preschool, and was one of the first graduating classes. I saw the school go from its infancy to the full operation that is has today. I fully agree that CSD is catered to inclusion of the social 'misfits' and those who struggle with academia, but did find myself pleasantly surprised when I began the AP curriculum. This is where this school really shines with pushing its more 'gifted' students, and the common core classes just fail to do so in an attempt to 'leave no child behind.' This is a lovely philosophy, but does tend to lead to children (especially High School students) not being challenged if they are more academically gifted and they do not seek out the AP placement.I found CSD did NOT prepare me for things such as taxes, credit, or business ownership (although, unfortunately, this is a rare find in schools and my case of opening a full scale successful business operation in my early adult life is a special scenario) but DID prepare me for college in a way where I got into college curriculum and was pleasantly surprised to know the workload of the Advanced Placement classes at CSD was similar of that of the higher caliber college that I attended. If you're a parent that believes their child will not seek out the tools necessary to be mentally challenged, or are expecting their child to be offered high level curricula without pushing for it themselves then this is not the school for you. If your child wants to actively seek out opportunities in this school such as the many college level classes offered, experiences working side by side with professionals in their field of interest, or participate in the vast focus in the arts that this school has (if that peaks their interest) then they will be pleasantly surprised to find themselves challenged.This school creates amazing test takers if the tools given are used, college preparation if your child is the type to seek it out, opportunities to explore different professions (mostly those that college would be required in, there's little mention of anything but college in this school as an option to success), or qualifies for special needs in their learning type then they will strive. I full accredit this school for my professional success, but only because I sought out the tools provided just behind the 'everyone is included and no one is left behind' ideals.
Submitted by other on November 29, 2020

Great school if your child is simple minded or has special needs. If the student speaks out against any of the political views taught in this school they will be reprimanded. If your child loves sports and is very interested in them, do not go here. I left this school with poor knowledge on writing essays which made my first semester in college just focusing on being able to correctly write one. Don't get me wrong here some of the teachers here are absolutely wonderful and really have a gift for teaching, but when I'm in an English class (specifically English 2) it would be great to learn about how to write essays and improve my writing and reading instead of being taught civil/human rights for the whole year. I felt like I had 2 US History classes. I would also like to point out that the school is a death trap for students if god forbid there was someone in the building with a gun. Almost every single class room has a glass wall for everyone to see into the room. You would think to counter this mindless decision for glass walls in todays world they would have some sort of security to help prevent that, but the admins would rather have little to no security so the school doesn't feel like a "prison" to the students. If you want your child to be successful in life then don't go here. If you want your child to have everything given to them and to have no idea what to expect in college or let alone in the real world then this is the perfect place for them.
Submitted by parent on July 29, 2019

Absolutely love it. Stellar administration all around. Wonderful teachers producing highly engaged children. 2 full time teachers per class all the way through. We could not be more pleased in our 3 years here.
Submitted by parent on November 09, 2018

This is a great school for average or below average kids. If your child is above average or gifted, look elsewhere. Despite several attempts our daughter’s needs are not met in this school!
Submitted by other on March 02, 2017

Wow! Out of over 3000 applications we got a spot! The golden ticket! We have been very pleased with this charter school! We left and came to this school from another Charter school that was a horrible experience. My kids are happy and thriving at CSD!
Submitted by parent on May 28, 2015

There are no words to express how special this school really is. We have been a part of this school for many years and my kids have thrived in every way. The teachers are exceptionally bright and genuinely care about every student they interact with. The administrators are also genuinely caring individuals, who have a smile on their face each and every day. Everyone at the school is enthusiastic and loves their job (it shows.) Thank you CSD for being a school like no other.
Submitted by parent on February 14, 2015

No school is perfect but this one may as close as it gets. The school has an incredible ability to meet students at their individual academic levels. The school consistently scores higher than county and state averages on standardized testing. High school AP classes are quite rigorous. At the same time, there is strong support for students to learn and experience more than just academics. Students who need extra help academically or in other ways are supported not just by the faculty, but by an entire school community built around understanding the value of every individual's potential, not just to the individual but to the entire community. I wish every child could have this kind of education.