Challenger School - Almaden

19950 McKean Road

San Jose, CA 95120

9 Reviews

School District
Grade

PK, K-8
Type

private

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Reviews

Submitted by other on December 29, 2023

This school is very bad. The teachers are very and uniforms suck. The bathrooms are way dirtier than public restrooms. Children pass notes and write sex novels. This school is incredibly bad. children don’t learn. The school lunches are sometimes under cooked and inedible. Children say bad words and are messy. Over all would not recommend this school. They try to milk you of all your money.
Submitted by student on August 05, 2019

I've been here all my life, so I don't have a comparison. However, I don't think I'd have a better experience elsewhere.
Submitted by parent on March 25, 2019

Great school so far and Great choice
Submitted by student on February 27, 2018

Currently as a student in Challenger School, I think its an average school. The materials you learn as a student are difficult to understand, but the teachers really help. They even take you after school to review concepts you don't know. This is great but the policies of bullying are not effective. Everyday I see students get bullied and the teachers don't have an effect of enforcing children to not bully. The teachers are nice but can yell at times when we misbehave, but this enforces our discipline. The thing I don't like is the homework and studying. This always takes up all my time and I don't get a chance to relax and your homework even pushes onto the weekend a lot. Of course, in schools there are teachers we like and don't like, but overall I think this school is okey.
Submitted by parent on February 27, 2018

I had 2 kids going to this Challenge school since preschool. Currently my son is at 6th grade and my daughter is at 2nd grade. I just want to point out Challenger is a place to learn and not a place to have fun. From preschool to 2nd grade kids can still do homework on their own with no problem. But starting from 3rd grade the kids need to study World history, math, grammer, science, literature, logic and spelling word. The student also will require to do his/her science report, book report and speech. Every grade the student move up, the material and test will also get harder. This school often change the teachers and staffs. If you talked to the school about any problems, the school always listen but no change. When your kids enter Middle school program, parents not only need to helps the kids and also deal with bad test scores. Many times school teach them too much info or the test is way too hard from the corporate. Parents need to fully understand the purpose of entry a private school.
Submitted by parent on February 08, 2017

This is one of the worst Challenger schools in the Bay area. The School head has brought the School's standards down drastically. She is dictatorial, unresponsive and arrogant and supports unacceptable bad student behavior and amateur,incompetent teachers. School population dramatically dropped last year as all the finest students left the School due to the poor standards of education.
Submitted by parent on January 23, 2014

The Alamden Mckean campus is very nice. The teachers are excellent but the supporting staff is rude. I have heard of instances where kids have been yelled at by the staff and administration does nothing. This mostly includes the staff that watches the kids at lunch and also in extended care. This staff also teases the kids. Nothing is done by administration and no monitoring of this staff at all. My child goes to this campus.
Submitted by parent on June 15, 2013

I have a middle schooler at this school and I am extremely satisfied. Small classes, very rigorous academic curriculum, Students that have good morals and standards of behavior. The teachers care, assignments are hard, but that is what you would expect from a good private school. It is out of the way, but it is one of the best middle schools in the Bay Area.
Submitted by parent on August 21, 2012

I have spent the first 2.5 years of my child's life searching for a place to put her during the day but, was not satisfied with the level of service until I came across Challenger. I waited till she was 3 and placed her in the preschool program at this location. When she turned 4, first day of school there was a complete change in the administrative staff to where I knew no one, the teacher in the classroom also changed. No forewarning, no announcement. The 'deal with it' attitude has been progressively present with the new headmaster. There is no transparency. When my daughter started Kindergarten, again there was a change in staff. so you will always be disappointed from the excitement that a teacher you know your child will love and look forward to having will not be there. Isn't that what makes the successful child, a great teacher? I have not gotten that since she was 3. Academically, you can go to any campus and they have the exact same cirriculum across the board. When there is nepotism, and unfairness it is something that parents should not tolerate. I have moved my child to Harwood campus eventually moving her out of the Challenger system all together.