Tallahassee Classical School

4141 Artemis Way

School District

Leon
Grade

K-10
Teacher/Student Ratio

1:12
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 February 24, 2025

The only pros to this school is the uniforms with the private school “feeling”. They have a new principal every year.. this should have been a red Flag! They have a couple good teachers that are also fair, but it out weighs the horrible staff! They don’t hold up to IEPs and send kids home instead of working out the problems. It’s also sad when a child knows they are looked down on by a staff member. It’s also sad when outside help comes in and can tell a child is being targeted by the staff. They will also not have time for meetings or the staff so don’t even bother trying to get answers or extra help a child needs. I’m shocked this school is still open.
Submitted by teacher on July 07, 2024

Tallahassee Classical School is a great school. The classical curriculum with the focus on scholar virtue makes a wonderful, traditional learning environment for the scholars. We work every day to know the truth, do the good, and love the beautiful!
Submitted by parent on July 01, 2024

My children have gone to TCS for the past 3 years and while it has had it's challenges, my kids have learned more than they would at a traditional public school. My second grader is reading fluently, spelling phenomenally and writing in cursive. She also knows all of her multiplication facts. My kindergartener is reading above grade level and is excelling with their tough math curriculum. My kids are also learning about history and science as it is woven through the story of the world. Overall, their education has been amazing!
Submitted by parent on June 29, 2024

My children enjoy going to this school. They provide education in an environment that allows students to think critically. I am happy that my children are not sitting in front of a screen most of the day.
Submitted by parent on June 27, 2024

We are very lucky to have this school as an option in Tallahassee. Our child is very happy at TCS. The teachers all know her name and we know that the environment at TCS is safe. The school is tuition-free, but honestly, we would pay if we had to. A+++. Ps: The public school we are zoned for has constant fist fights, and public schools here are more concerned with how the kids want to identify themselves, than with teaching actual education and values. Public schools only virtue-signal while teaching kids to hate each other, while TCS teaches actual virtues and respect for one-another.
Submitted by parent on June 24, 2024

I love TCS! No school is perfect. The leadership is changing for the better and I see the school thriving! My kids are actually challenged academically!! All scholars are required to learn the preamble of the United States Constitution. My son comes home and tells me all kinds of things he learns. In public school he had no feedback from his day at school. J.Michael Conley did not challenge him enough. I can't say anything bad about this school. I believe a lot of parents are petty about gossip and listening to the false rumors
Submitted by teacher on May 08, 2024

As a teacher of many years, this school has so many dedicated and loving teachers. They work very hard on curriculum and give engaging lessons. Yes we need more parental support. Yes there are improvements to be made, but as a whole these teachers are committed to providing a great education.
Submitted by parent on March 01, 2024

This is the worst school ever. If you have a child that has ADHD and needs and IEP the staff members are rude and disrespectful to parents and children my son took his basket ball to school yes he was bouncing it in the hallway and yes take it from him 100% on that but when my husband picked up my son they gave my son a flat ball that they said they only let the air out but after my husband got the ball in the car there was a hole in it where it looked like scissors had been stab into and all I got from the principal was to send it back and they would replace it with one of the school’s basket ball not a care of who did it or why DO NOT SEND YOUR CHILDREN HERE WORST MISTAKE I MADE
Submitted by parent on January 13, 2024

We have been in a number of schools and this was by FAR the most disorganized school I've seen. We NEVER got our child's grades for an entire semester even after multiple requests to the school. The teacher/ admin turnover is high. I cannot really say anything positive about this place other than the music teachers are good. But that is not a reason to choose a school. Until they get a real administration that will actually do the very basics like send home TEST SCORES and GRADES so parents know how their child is progressing, and until they start communicating, I cannot recommend this school to anyone.
Submitted by parent on October 19, 2023

Amazing little school trying to do great things, tuition free school, but has uniform requirement but that is not a bad thing, young energetic teaching staff. Student enjoys his classes, and teaching staff.
Submitted by parent on October 12, 2023

This is my 4th grader’s second year at TCS and I love what they are trying to do. There has been some leadership turnover and questionable board member actions in the past, but it is apparent that the new leadership is trying to do better. The teachers we have interacted with care about the kids and are trying to make a difference in our kid’s education. The biggest reason we are at TCS is their commitment to traditional education and involving parents in decision making. Our previous experiences at both private and public schools in Tallahassee resulted in them removing our parental choice. TCS may not be perfect, but I at least I have a voice and they have my kid’s best interests at heart.
Submitted by parent on August 27, 2023

Do Not believe these doctored reviews about how great this school is. I waited almost a year to write this review to be more fair bc I was not happy upon our departure (understatement of the year). We enrolled our kiddo here after almost 3 years of virtual & although my kid was just happy to be with other children & had a great teacher (unlike many others in the same school), our experiences almost had me reenrolling to virtual school within a month of being there! I wish I could get more detailed however, long story short, we left the school after a few months, alongside several other families, INCLUDING the family that originally referred us to TCS! My kids’ teachers’ hands were tied in so many things she couldn’t do half the things she felt would aid them. If your kid has an IEP or special needs of any kind, just forget it. I saw & experienced the lack in that department with several other parents. The turn over rate for admin was atrocious! It caused repeated issues with communication. Although we registered & had everything months before school started, my kid wasn’t even in the system properly which meant they knew nothing about the IEP or needs of my child. Testing environments & accommodations were not up to par & affected my gifted kids testing scores. The very first day of school there were inappropriate emails being sent out & security issues which caused my anxiety to skyrocket! From the very first time I expressed my concerns I was met with these smug and condescending comments, looks etc during meetings and denied a meeting with the behavioral intervention person on campus. Let’s not forget the unwanted soliciting in the car pickup line! Everything is about the money! I could go on and on but the bottom line is that overall it’s a big fat thumbs down. My kid is in a new school and is thriving. Test scores from the second half of the school year now have my kiddo on the accelerated track & as I originally thought the things happening at this school were not the norm. I reported their activities to the board & kept it pushing. My vigilance & a great teacher kept my kid from slipping through the cracks. All kids won’t get that teacher & not all parents have the availability to be so involved. Trust is absolutely necessary wherever you send your children & this school violated that on one too many occasions. Unfortunately, there are not a lot of schools that are up to par that aren’t lottery so this school is necessary. Do better TCS
Submitted by parent on July 23, 2023

TCS has been a breath of fresh air for our family. We are loving the classical curriculum that are kids are learning and the focus on moral character and civic virtue. The school musical last year was amazing! Security is also a top priority for the board which we appreciate. It’s a young school so processes continue to develop, but things are running smoothly. We love our school!
Submitted by parent on December 13, 2022

The curriculum is FANTASTIC, but there is definitely room for improvement in all other areas. This is our child's first school experience, having been homeschooled. Before enrolling at TCS, I spoke to quite a few families of different backgrounds who shared their experiences outside of the wonderful curriculum. Unfortunately, some of those experiences have been true for our family too. There have been a few incidents between our son and teachers that have yet to be discussed with us. If matters that involve disciplining a child were to be communicated to the family, it would not only encourage parental support at home but also increase the trust in TCS's care and safety of all children. Furthermore, there should be many opportunities to express any concern anonymously, as retaliation against the child and lack of faith in necessary changes is a concern. We would love for this to be our son's educational home for as long as we reside in Tallahassee, however, I would hate for another family to share some of the same experiences as we have. Beware of the environment with some treatment being much like an alternative school. Not a loving and caring environment for all. Don't trust them to act in my child's best interest. The classical way is more important than an individual child's well-being and needs. Wishing your family the best should you decide to try them out!!!
Submitted by parent on August 16, 2022

The school needs to have a board,teachers. And administrators that reflects the school. It is very difficult to talk or have administrators to listen when there are voices that should be heard.
Submitted by parent on August 05, 2022

As parents, we were excited about this school when it was first announced in 2019. The opening was delayed, and the school opened in Fall 2020. The curriculum, in theory, should be outstanding and taught with an interdisciplinary approach. However, when the founder and principal became ill and no longer able to lead a month after the school opened, the issues began almost immediately. It has been a truly rudderless ship for two years with an incompetent board of directors that chooses to belittle parents and not address some serious issues at the school related to mental health concerns, high teacher turnover (one of my children's teachers quit after a week), unqualified teachers, and disruptive students who were not properly addressed. The standards for teaching at TCS are virtually non-existent; my youngest child's teacher had no background in teaching methods or assessment and was a cashier at a fast food restaurant five days prior to her hiring. My other child's math teacher was the school's janitor during the first year the school was open, and I am in no way disparaging the hard work of any janitorial staff. I am merely pointing out that there is a distinct pattern of unqualified persons being hired to teach our children. If anything, the school is proud of this fact and thinks of itself as rebellious or bucking the status quo. It is quite baffling. There have been more than a dozen other issues in between the school's opening and now, including rampant bullying by students toward other students, bullying by members on the board of directors who have a 'leave if you don't like it' approach, countless unreturned phone calls/emails to the principal and deans, and the school's refusal to release public health information related to Covid. However, the last straw for us was a board meeting several months ago wherein a board member who is extremely vocal, aggressive, and rude told a group of female parents who had expressed serious, legitimate concerns about the school likely losing its charter and the lack of curricular standards to take some Xanax, paint your nails, and go home where you belong. Please, please be wary of this school as it is not what it holds itself out to be. I regret ever enrolling my children at TCS and hope it is shut down when it officially loses its charter.
Submitted by parent on May 18, 2022

One of the worst experiences I have ever had! I 100% regret taking my children from Leon County Schools. This school fooled me and had me very excited for my children to attend there. Several families are pulling their children out like crazy, the principal resigned, teachers keep quitting and they just lost their college affiliation because the school can not keep up with their agreement.
Submitted by parent on March 03, 2022

We ended up switching schools. The board and administration are not interested in hearing, let alone acting on, parents concerns. The school’s fb page is, at times, a dumpster fire as they let rude board members insult parents publicly. During the delta surge they refused to release numbers of covid cases in the school to parents, because “the board said so”. Teachers are underpaid yet they pay travel for their principal to fly back and forth from Texas. Extremely high teacher turnover.
Submitted by parent on February 02, 2022

This school's curriculum is AMAZING. I love the intentional effort to call them "scholars" rather than "kids" or even "students." They are there to learn, and learning is a serious business. I was so impressed to hear what my 5th grader was studying in History class! ...and the books they were reading in Literature! Seriously impressive. What a fantastic offering in the Leon County public school system.
Submitted by parent on January 26, 2022

Our family came to this school believing in their mission. Wow! We were completely wrong. This school is an absolute disaster. The administration is awful. I understand that this school just opened a year and a half ago but there is no excuse. When they brought in the current principal, everything went down hill. There is so much turnover because they do not know how to appreciate the staff and faculty. They make every seem that it's perfect but the truth is it is a mess. I hope that the next person who takes over leadership will be a true leader. Someone who acknowledges staff, teachers, scholars, and parents. The one that is there now will just look at you and keep walking. He needs to go ASAP!!!!!! Once he is gone the school will actually start to grow.