GRACE Christian School

801 Buck Jones Road

Raleigh, NC 27606

77 Reviews

School District
Grade

K-12
Type

private

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Reviews

Submitted by parent on November 02, 2024

This school embodies their name. They seek the best for students in all aspects and offer a loving and nurturing environment for students to learn.
Submitted by parent on June 24, 2024

All the negative reviews I've read over many years of reviews, represent the exact experience my family had. I wouldn't send my kid here if it was free.
Submitted by other on May 26, 2024

To the person who wrote the last review from back in January... you are SPOT ON! And in case anyone is needing reference of the scripture mentioned... 2 Timothy 3:1-5- But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. 2 People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, 4 treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— 5 having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people. SO MANY BETTER OPTIONS!!! Save your money and send your kids elsewhere.
Submitted by parent on January 24, 2024

My daughter was wrongly accused of writing a threat to the school on a bathroom stall. How she got accused is disturbing because it appears the head of the school and admin saw us, a tuition assisted, single mom household with limited resources to donate to the new building fund, as the best way to fix their problem. They have no evidence only assumptions (she went to the bathroom alone). The school would not allow us to talk through it, show us evidence or reconsider expulsion until I hired a lawyer. They forced me to withdrawal her. I now have reached out to several civil rights orgs to pursue further. We are just so shocked our Christian school would stoop this low to protect big donors.
Submitted by parent on March 31, 2021

Grace Christian School has been such a blessing to our son. The academic classes are rigorous and the teachers are very willing to help each student. Christ is implemented in each class, even beginning of year emails from teachers will have their favorite Bible verse included. My son adores this school, teachers, peers, and the entire staff. I must say Grace has done an exceptional job with COVID19 protocol. We are very comfortable with the safety measures taken to ensure safe and effective in person learning. I highly recommend this school.
Submitted by other on August 21, 2020

My three years at Grace were extremely sub par. Both the education and the families are monotonous and lack diversity in thought, belief, and ideology. Grace’s teachings are outdated, prejudiced and outrageous. Kids are told hypocritical statements and untrue, biased opinions that are far from Christian in my book. The majority of the other kids were cliquey and rude to each other as well as to teachers, and the teachers said nothing about it. Favoritism was clearly present among families and admin; individuals who didn’t fit the same mindset as everyone else were outcast and made to feel inferior. I was afraid to speak my opinion at Grace for fear of judgement. The Theatre course was terrible, as was the Latin course after the teacher left. Grace did not provide me with the correct growing conditions that I needed. I didn’t feel comfortable in the environment that Grace provided for me whatsoever. You do not receive a well rounded education to help you succeed in the real world as Grace is very narrow minded and intolerant. I was very disappointed overall with Grace, as it is not what it makes itself out to be. I feel very liberated to have left Grace, but I am happy for my experience there as it taught me how to stay strong in my beliefs, even if they’re not the ‘norm’ that Grace has created. Being a student at Grace was a very negative, detrimental experience for me.
Submitted by parent on November 06, 2019

Good experience being with grace 5 years
Submitted by parent on April 02, 2019

Inferior. Don’t waste your money or time with this hypocritical school. The latest news on their recent scandal says it all.
Submitted by parent on March 15, 2019

Great place K-5, but then significantly drops off. Better options in town...
Submitted by parent on December 20, 2018

I would not recommend this school. My son was physically roughed up on the playground, and each time, no teachers addressed the situation as adults. On one occasion, my husband actually witnessed my son being shoved to the ground with force from behind and no teachers around to see it happen. Upon withdrawing our son from the school, we were told "sorry for your experience and thank you for your feedback". No one ever truly addressed the lack of supervision on the playground and my son's negative experiences out on the playground. No one followed up to have a sit down to discuss our experience, either. Upon touring the school, I was "sold" on the fact that they encourage parental involvement. That was absolutely not the case in my son's classroom. There were very limited opportunities to be an active participant in his school activities and this was a concern of a handful of moms with children in my son's class. The parents were literally uninvited to a special event and we're told no parents were allowed on one of his field trips. I have had multiple conversations with scores of moms that have told me this is not proper protocol of any school, public or private. How we were treated and how my son was treated was unfortunate. We spent so much money, drove so many hours, and put so much time in these last four months. It all felt like it was for nothing. It never truly felt like we were cared about. My son's teachers never reached out when we withdrew him under those pretenses, either. Furthermore, our son was not properly taught. In four months, he didn't know all of his colors and numbers in Spanish. He didn't know his sight words and should have been further along in reading. Within two weeks of teaching him from home, he is now caught up to be where he should be. We are so thankful we took him out when we did and would encourage anyone looking into this school to use discernment.
Submitted by student on November 16, 2017

I love this school, I have been here since Kindergarten and it has encouraged me and helped me throughout my entire school experience.
Submitted by student on October 25, 2017

This school ignores all kinds of bullying unless parents get involved. I personally have been a victim of many bullies at this school and the faculty has done nothing about it.
Submitted by parent on August 27, 2017

Basing this review on our LAST year at Grace. The first 3 (K-2) were great. However, we were victims of the 3rd grade weeding out year. We found out Grace teaches 2 grade levels above regardless of ability, and focuses solely on competing internationally. After exhausting all efforts dealing with the teacher & meeting with the principal, we thought the headmaster would keep us at Grace, but the first thing out of his mouth when we met was "well, Grace isn't for everyone..." and "I guess you won't be returning the 2nd half of the year..." He was convinced from the start that we didn't belong at Grace. The only time he hesitated was when he saw my son's outstanding test scores. We battled it out the rest of the school year and never returned! It was pure hell for the entire year--3 hours of homework every night for a year straight. The stress that school put us through resulted in extreme health problems for me. They certainly had the attitude, "don't let the door hit you from behind." Although my son had great teachers K-2 who really seemed to love him, it was like the secular world entered the picture in the 3rd grade. He has ADHD, and his teacher had no tolerance. We were told the LEAP program was not suitable for him. So he no longer belonged there. Maybe if we had been more involved in the school, their various fundraising, bought into the idea of buying dozens of teacher gifts each year, or had been prominent figures in the school's eyes, things might have been different. But we were just struggling to pay the increasing tuition payments and take care of our disabled son. It seems ironic naming a school "Grace" --that sees its students as test scores rather than individual children of God whose unique talents need to be discovered and fostered. Instead, they are punished for not conforming to the "Grace" mold. And any school that touts their students' test scores but weeds the undesirables out until only the "cream of the crop" remains, is being deceptive! It has been 2 years since we left, but it has done immense damage to my son. It was such a blow to his self esteem, and he has had trouble making good friends since. Now that there is a new headmaster, maybe things are changing, but according to the latest reviews, that doesn't seem to be the case. We had briefly considered sending our younger son for his first couple years, hoping to have the same experience as our older son in the lower grades. But now the tuition is astronomical—thousands more than any of the other Christian schools in the area. Regardless of this and incessant pressure to fundraise/give above tuition, former teachers reviewed that their pay/benefits were lacking. Where are those tuition $$ going?
Submitted by parent on March 31, 2017

Pressure cooker for grades kids are stressed
Submitted by other on March 17, 2017

If refunds were available for tuition money we would be lining up. This school has been a disappointment and has many issues. The biggest complaint we have is unqualified teachers. There are many first year teachers who have no clue how to teach. The Bible instruction has been particularly poor- shocking given this is a Christian School. Also, it appears that most families and teachers only stay apx. three years. Many have left in the middle of the school year. Ask the administration about the turnover rate and teacher qualifications. I agree that the homeroom moms runs the school
Submitted by other on March 09, 2017

These reviews are bogus. If you read the 3 star and below ones you may get an honest opinion of this school. 27 five star reviews posted on 10/22/2013. 16 positive reviews in the following 6 days so 43 of the rave reviews were posted in 7 days. The good is that they do have a Christian focus however... I agree with the what appear to be the only honest posts, the 1-3 star ones. GRACE is overshadowed by an administration that plays favorites with students. If a parent is a coach, works at the school, or is a part of the clicky homeroom moms then their children are heavily favored. Pictures in media, leniency for misbehavior (even aggressive bullying), and given extra attention by the teachers. Even the little ones notice this in elementary school. This does not improve on the upper campus.As far as the Macs, tuition increased but education did not. The kids still have to haul 15 pounds of books around with them and the Macs are a big distraction in and outside of classroom.I agree with the other parents posting real reviews. GRACE relies heavily on homework to do the teaching. If your child needs any additional classroom support, the administration is not supportive. The LEAP program is reserved for the coach/faculty kids and the homeroom mom click. Facilities limit the program...no athletic fields, library facilities, adequate theater space, etc. Most staff are kind and willing to help- too bad they often lack expertise. Not a place for kids with learning differencesI wanted to post an honest review but it seems like someone will just cover it up like they did the others (the positive review streaks all happened after someone posted something that was 1-3 stars). Very dishonest for a supposedly Christian person or persons to do.
Submitted by parent on November 18, 2014

Outstanding academics and teachers! Highly recommend this school for anyone looking at a Christian private school setting!
Submitted by parent on November 04, 2014

GRACE exemplifies what a loving community is all about! The school not only provides a wonderful education, but it goes a step further in developing and molding the heart condition of every child by emphasizing, on a daily basis, that Christ teaches us how to love others.
Submitted by teacher on November 04, 2014

I have taught at GRACE for 16 years, and I love it. Faculty and staff are all supportive of each other and of students while maintaining a high academic standard. We strive to prepare them, not only for college, but for living out their faith in a challenging world. I wouldn't want to work anywhere else.
Submitted by parent on November 01, 2013

Since your students are going to be spending a great portion of their day with adults, it is these adults (the teachers at GRACE) that you would want influencing their lives. As GRACE grows and adds resources year by year, the teachers are still their greatest assets.