Camelot Academy

809 West Proctor Street

Durham, NC 27707

20 Reviews

School District
Grade

K-12
Type

private

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Reviews

Submitted by parent on January 25, 2025

This school has been such a gift for our family. We have very different learners and were hoping to find a school who could meet all of our kids where they were at. They have truly been able to individualize education for our children, allowing them to work at their own pace (whether ahead or needing a bit more time). Especially in the younger grades we have been super impressed with how seamlessly we have seen accommodations happen where kids are just accepting those different than them and it is so wholesome. There is more outside time, more allowing kids to be kids, while learning rigorously but without pressure or anxiety and also still maintaining structure.
Submitted by parent on December 11, 2024

14+ years in public school, 3 kids across 4 different schools. Decided to try a small school for ADHD 6th grader (AIG & 504). Experience @ Camelot: Child bullied by a group of kids starting the 1st week & continued throughout the year. We asked for help/shared concerns w/ teachers/director & were not given feedback/actionable response for 7+ weeks when they shared that they felt it was because our child was "standing out”. Information was only shared with us if we initiated & even then important information was often withheld. The lack of skilled classroom management impacted the learning environment & poorly defined boundaries along with substantial amounts of unstructured time (in & out of class) were challenging. Written instructions for assignments were rare (even if requested) & deadlines for classwork/homework were often not posted. We never saw a graded math test, notes/comments for written assignments, science projects, or homework/classwork. We don’t know how mastery was measured or what standard was used. There were no academic classes on Wednesdays - an unstructured day off in the middle of every week interrupted/stopped momentum & was frustrating. The description of math on the website is not what we experienced. Math was not taught by a teacher at Camelot. During math, kids read the math textbook & worked problems in each chapter on their own. If they had a specific question, they put their name on a board & waited 15+ minutes for help. Kids checked their own problems with the answer key in the text. No one checked to see if their work was correct or complete & it was never collected or reviewed. We had to giggle when we got a scathing take down of our visually/spatially challenged kid from the art teacher for semester 2 grades - a full month after school was out - after never hearing from her the entire year. Camelot wants to do a lot, but feels short staffed and the lack of communication about weekly/daily activities as well as projects/assignments gives the impression of making it up as they go. Their educational philosophy is unclear, but whatever they're doing is inconsistent. I wish we had researched the credentials of the director and teachers prior to attending - it would have explained the DIY and for profit nature of the school. Ultimately, we were unable to get past poor communication, lack of structure & consistency, average academics, and mishandling of bullying that we encountered at Camelot.
Submitted by parent on April 24, 2024

Camelot Academy has been a godsend for my child the past 4 years. She came from another small private school and was not struggling academically, but also not working to her potential. The teachers here have given her the confidence to work well beyond what she every imagined she could. The teachers truly care about their students and want them to succeed. Many have stayed with the school for decades and it is so clear why. It is not your typical school where the kids are just told what to do and have to obey. The director and teachers work with students to see what works best for them. If you walked into a classroom, this may look strange, but it's because every student is being given the opportunity to work to their own potential. If you are on the fence, go visit and allow your child to shadow for a day. You will be pleasantly impressed!
Submitted by parent on February 17, 2023

Our daughter has been at the school for several years and is thriving. The teachers create a healthy environment and know how to reach and engage each student.
Submitted by parent on January 04, 2023

There is definitely bullying and partying at this school (as with any school). Kids come home upset about bullying. Administration is very aware of the issue, I have been to the office many times to speak with them. One of my children had a great experience and has made great friends; she is a teacher's favorite. My other two struggle in their classes. One is left out and in turn bullied during class. It's such a small school, there is no way that administration doesn't see it. As far as the education, as long as your child can keep up, the education is great. Do not send an average learner to this school. This year I have started to notice my oldest kids have more stress and anxiety than ever. I'm not sure if it's the rigor or their age.
Submitted by parent on May 25, 2022

This school is run like a business, not a place of education. There is rampant favoritism and bullying, which my child had to deal with. If bullying or harassment occurs, unless the child is a "favorite", the teachers would rather protect their career than the child. It's an unprofessional cut-off house that "teaches" children to stay in their place and take what is given to them than learn and be treated equally.
Submitted by parent on November 22, 2021

Unfortunately this school doesn’t live up to it’s potential. When my child attended they were bullied and sexually assaulted on campus by another student and the school refused to ensure their safety. Additionally they school threatened to hold back several students in order to continue to receive tuition from the families. Students of color were treated poorly as were trans students. If you are considering this school I wouldn’t .
Submitted by parent on April 11, 2019

Two kids at Camelot for a few years now. This is the right school for kids that are high performing in some aspect of their learning. The teachers are very dedicated, the management is very engaged and the kids at my kids classes are very smart and do work at very high levels. Clearly, this school is not for everyone, however for the right kids Camelot is going to be a godsend.
Submitted by parent on February 09, 2019

My experience at Camelot Academy has been wonderful. I refer to it as home school environment with professional teachers. What I mean by this is.1) You can rest assure that teachers ,students and the admin staff ( including the Principal ) knows your kid. He will never be a roll number .2)Education is very individualized. It is based upon mastery of the particular subject . If he/she needs help ,he/she will have it, if he is cruising through, he/she will not be held back. Homework for this reason is not standardized but rather individualized.3)Bullying is non existent reason being that everyone knows your kid. If he/she is not acting right or is acting out everyone will know. Admin staff treats kids safety and well being as their one priority. 4)Teachers and school leadership is effective .( as I mentioned above that they will know their students and will watch over them ).This is what they do. We give our kids to them for 12 years and If you can attend their graduation ceremony, you will know how effective they were . 5) Learning differences in public school addressed through IEP. Here learning differences are handled through individualized curriculum . We all have different way of learning things. We all have learning differences. But if the curriculum is structured around student's pace than these differences are used at support systems instead of hinderances.
Submitted by parent on February 07, 2019

this school is full of bullies, and teachers that do NOTHING about them. the academics are poor and the teachers put students down a grade and then the student never learns. one day my son said he watched "parks and recreation" during school when they could actually LEARN! don't go to this school unless you like to not learn and get piled with unnecessary home work.
Submitted by parent on October 12, 2018

My child grew in ways I didn’t think were possible for his age. I 100% contribute that to his teacher. She knew exactly where he was academically and knew what kind of student he could be and pushed him to that expectation. He loves school and is sad during the summer that he can’t be at school. That’s got to say something about his experience. If my child is happy, I’m happy!
Submitted by other on October 11, 2018

The humble home-like setting of Camelot provided me a unique and excellent education in academics and life on which I draw every day. One of the greatest lessons Camelot taught me, through its example, is how much more there can be than what meets the eye. After Camelot, I attended a highly ranked university and medical school. I chose these schools based on how they would appear to others and quickly learned not to establish relationships based on appearances. Camelot and its teachers care about their students in a way that I have never experienced from any other teacher or institution in my academic career. The dedication to true learning (not just rote memorization) and the emphasis on a person’s context made Camelot an educational safe-haven where I was reliably held to a standard of excellence, but not without regard to my overall well-being. An incredible emphasis is placed on a person’s “full picture,” not just academic grades and GPA’s. I found it extremely refreshing and sadly rare to find such a humane learning environment, particularly within a school that caters to an “academically gifted” population.Camelot’s dedication to a K-12 curriculum allows perspective-taking and multi-age learning to occur in ways that are truly unique. The respect that I have for Camelot is immense. It is no exaggeration to say that it has changed my life and the lives of many others. If you are looking for a relationship with true depth that will have a lasting impact on your life, Camelot is for you.
Submitted by parent on October 03, 2018

Camelot is exactly like the building it inhabits: old, falling apart and behind the times. If you are looking for a school that is progressive, technology based and helping to create 21st century learners, then this is not the place for you. There is absolutely no technology provided at the school unless you buy your child a laptop or tablet to bring with them. You will never know your child's' grades because no grades are accessible online for parents to check. The building is falling apart and there is not enough space for effective teaching and learning. Everyone is on top of one another throughout the day. There is very little communication to parents throughout the year and when there is, it is an email with something that needs to be turned in the next day. Every year there is a required parent meeting which is the same information over and over, except this year it was a chance for the director to sing the praises of her daughter who is now working at the school. The director also recently bought a farm property that really does nothing for the majority of the school. It is a chance for her to receive free labor from students and a great tax write off. That money should have been spent on upgrading the existing building or renting a new space with larger classrooms, cleaner bathrooms and TECHNOLOGY!! Also there is a great emphasis placed on middle school behaviors, mainly for the boys. Girls are praised and the boys are chastised for not behaving better. Groups are separated for the actions of one and nothing is ever done to actually identify the problems. It's basically boys are to blame and that's that. Camelot seemed like a good idea in the beginning, but now I am having buyer's remorse. I'm afraid in a few years this school will be no more and the director will be happily retired at the farm that her former students fixed up for her.
Submitted by parent on March 29, 2018

Camelot is a business not a school. The director is more focus about the money.. How to get more money.. She tries to have an opinion of every students within the first days of school based on your physical appearance. There is no education at all .. Students mostly have fun, go on field trip, break for no reason at all. There is not enough time to focus on academic work.. If your kid is a senior, he/she will never be ready for colleges. Again everything over there is about money.. You are late to school(after 8:20) you have to pay, you come early (before 8:10) you have to pay, you stay a little bit late after school or there is traffic on the road and your child has not been picked up on time (before 3:30)(school is over at 3:15) you have to pay.. Children cannot stay after school to ask questions to teachers about something that they didn’t understand or to study after school they will make you pay.. If a student use the phone of the school for more than 2 minutes, Thelma will be angry because that phone call will cost her a lot of money..We pay more than 20k a year for our children and she gets mad because our children use the phone for more than 2 minutes? Even if it’s for an emergency? Just because it will costs her a lot of money? ..Sometimes Thelma organizes field trip for students to her farm and make the children work for her farm all day. Seriously? So I spent 20k for you to make my daughter work in a farm? How about academic work? And that farm is for Thelma (the director) and her family. My child forget her lunch once , the school doesn’t provide like something free that she can eat and not starve.. If your child forget his lunch , he/she has to pay $2 for a slide or pizza which already spent several days in the freezer.. I have nothing against the teachers, they just follow Thelma’s rules. They are okay but they will never oppose against the director even if they disagree with her about certain points. If you still want to send your child over there and waist your money go ahead. Life is choices.
Submitted by parent on July 18, 2016

My daughter started at Camelot in Kindergarten and is now entering the 10th grade. It has been amazing and I am extremely grateful for her having the opportunity to flourish at Camelot. I would highly recommend it. My daughter has been pushed to achieve, yet when needed, she has had the one on one time she needed to work through trouble areas. The teachers are amazing and many have been there for years. This is sooooooo important that many have seen my daughter grow for most if not all her years at the school. This has allowed the teachers to play on her strengths and encourage her in ways they have seen first hand works for her. There is a lot of attention given to the students because of the student teacher ratios and the bonds between the teacher and students and between the students themselves are fantabulous!!!!!!!
Submitted by parent on August 07, 2015

I see from previous posts that people tend to either love or hate Camelot. It's a quirky little school and may not be for everyone, but I have to say that it was an absolute godsend to our family. Yes, it's small, but if you're willing to work hard and negotiate with the director and faculty, you will never meet a nicer bunch. They take academics very seriously, but it really is a "work-hard, play-hard " philosophy at Camelot. If your child is bright and analytical and could benefit from a safe and encouraging environment where they are allowed to work on their weaknesses but charge ahead where they are strong, then this is the school for you. Our two oldest both struggled with boredom in public elementary school. One of our 3 kids was tested upon arriving at Camelot due to poor handwriting and math skills, was recommended to a wonderful educational psychologist, was classified as "gifted and learning disabled" (Who knew you could be both? Our previous public school was never actually able to make that diagnosis, despite teacher concerns, as apparently their abbreviated test "didn't go high enough".) Camelot took the Dr. recommendations to heart, gave him extra time on math tests, encouraged use of a keyboard to type class notes on, and encouraged him to keep reading the books many grade levels ahead that he craved. He graduated a proud and confident teen, loving school. Too many great experiences for all 3 to go into, here! But if you're curious about "mastery-based" learning, I strongly encourage a visit.
Submitted by parent on May 21, 2015

Camelot Academy, as many have said, is an excellent school. We have our kids there. They like it, are challenged academically, have plenty of friends, and like their teachers. What else is there to say?
Submitted by parent on September 04, 2014

Excellent school. This is an outstanding facility with a leadership and teacher team that is first class. Our two children moved here from another very good private school and our assessment would be that Camelot is a significant step up. Most importantly, the learning environment is designed for kids to succeed and enjoy the experience all at the same time.
Submitted by parent on February 28, 2014

This school made a big difference in our daughter's life. She had been underserved by our local elementary school, which after many months of testing could not seem to decide whether she was "gifted" or "learning disabled". Turns out she was extremely bored with English, science, and social studies, but also needed extra help learning her math facts. The individualized curriculum at Camelot easily allowed for both, with minimal testing and "labeling", and even gave her a merit scholarship based on her high test scores. The teachers are top notch, and we've found the director to be highly responsive to parent concerns and strict but fair and very observant in her assessments. A terrific experience.
Submitted by parent on June 12, 2012

Camelot has been amazing for our children. They have each been challenged academically and taught to both love learning and to work hard at it. We have had our kids at other private and public schools in the area, but Camelot has become the standard by which we judge everyone else.