Chesapeake Bay Academy

821 Baker Road

Virginia Beach, VA 23462

11 Reviews

School District
Grade

1-12
Type

private

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Reviews

Submitted by parent on October 08, 2023

Lower school was okay for my 2e son, then it all went downhill in middle. The school did not support his needs, made him feel bad about himself, and provided a mediocre education at best. I know that some families are very happy there but this school isn't living up to it's mission.
Submitted by parent on May 24, 2023

My son has attended Chesapeake Bay Academy for the past 12 years and is graduating next week. This school has changed the trajectory of his life and our family life in so many ways. His diagnoses are high-functioning autism, ADHD and anxiety. He was struggling in the public school setting with large group instruction and bullying. To see your third grader suffering with self-esteem and confidence at such a young age broke our hearts. We knew we had to find him a different learning environment. He stepped into the doors of CBA and never looked back. With the small class size, individualized instruction, supportive and caring teachers and staff, it was a perfect fit for him. It hasn't always been easy, but we worked with the school as a team in coming up with strategies and methods that worked best for him and his style of learning. Building relationships and honest communication with the educators is such an important part of the process. With the education and life skills he has learned at CBA, he spent his senior year working an internship with a local organization. Due to the successful internship, he has been asked to continue with this organization after graduation, in addition to taking college courses. We are so incredibly thankful for Chesapeake Bay Academy.
Submitted by parent on May 23, 2023

My son has been at CBA for several years now and we came from both a public and private school background where we had issues at both with bullying from students and teachers, in the gifted program but classroom and grade issues. We had him tested and he came back 2e, ADHD and high intelligence. I didn’t fully trust the program at CBA because it seemed too easy. No homework and good grades made me suspicious. But we listened to teachers and the kid that we were told wouldn’t be able to be successful in 7th grade honors math was completing Algebra and moving on to Geometry in 9th grade (he’s taking calculus next semester)! We had an issue with one English class in 8th grade that I really didn’t feel was challenging him and I think I talked to every teacher and admin I could until we worked out the issue and got him suitable coursework as well as support. That suitable coursework was the middle school director partnering with the upper school director and personally working with him for an entire semester. It was a struggle but we worked together to find the right answer and I’m so glad we did. My son is now in the 11th grade and in dual enrollment at Virginia Wesleyan (and received a 100 on his business 101 final!) and CBA. He finished his first SAT test two weeks ago and is preparing his college applications to George Mason, W&M and Virginia Tech. Without CBA none of this would’ve been possible for my son. While I think CBA is an exceptional school it does have the same working principle as every other school, you will get out of it what you put into it. Was it a perfect fairy tale and answer to everything, no, in reality nothing ever is, but we all worked together and with my son to find the best answers and solutions for him. He’s a wonderful kid that has been supported, accepted and transformed by his experience at CBA and I’m grateful that we had the opportunity.
Submitted by parent on May 07, 2023

Cons: We changed our whole lives relocating for this school so our student could have the best education to suit learning differences. Several years later we have found their mission of addressing educational differences and individualized academics is really blanket academics sometimes taught to the lowest level of student in the class. While our child is academically capable beyond what is being taught, they are not teaching to full capability. With this being the most expensive private school in the area, we thought we were putting our child in the best, capable and specialized educational hands to find that they do not experiment with how best each child learns, teach tools to overcome learning differences or implement suggestions on teaching/support stated by special ed professionals. Transition with students is very high, and often staff as well, so consider wisely before committing.Pros: We have felt like it was a safe environment for our child.
Submitted by parent on December 13, 2022

If I could give zero stars for this school I would. My son has been attending CBA for 2 school years now. He makes honor roll and is in the 3rd grade but is reading at a K-5 level. He's had neuro-pysch testing done and they have not followed any of the recommendations set forth by the doctor. They are only about the money. The are not about helping the students at all. The absolute worst decision I've ever made in my whole life. When you bring certain things, critical things, you their attention the brush it off or will try to sweep it under the rug. Run as fast as you can and as far as you can from this school. They don't know the meaning of accountability.
Submitted by parent on May 11, 2021

I would not recommend this school for twice exceptional kids. They are unfamiliar with the emotional trauma associated with being 2e and are not equipped to handle any sort of emotional need.
Submitted by parent on October 02, 2019

My son is a traumatic brain injury and attended this school for grades 7-12 . He graduated with a high school diploma (not certificate of attendance or a specialized diploma) in 2018. The dean is a great example of ADHD success and I believe part of what made the school so successful were people like him on the staff. There were staff changes yearly sometimes by surprise but overall everyone did a good job, and there were some serious challenges I'm sure. They do a great job of choosing knowledgeable understanding staff members that are innovative in their teaching methods. No matter how many staff changes we had, that was consistent. I wish I had known about this school sooner than I did, the environment for lower grades was awesome. Everything was geared towards strategies for learning differences. The lighting, the seating arrangements the play time. It breaks my heart to think about how I made my son try to fit into the public school setting with the bullying and manipulation when there was a place like this. The best part, he was able to attend, to his work and have a social life with NO MEDS. There were CHADD meetings, birthday party invites and grades that he was proud of. This school was the best decision I made for my son. There were not so great days and situations, but overall awesome.
Submitted by parent on September 13, 2017

This is my daughters second year there and she has Coke so far. She started there behind but with the small classes and individual learning plans she has taken off.
Submitted by other on April 17, 2016

The open house was great! I can't wait to see if I can enroll in this school!
Submitted by parent on October 29, 2012

Have two kid attending currently and so far I'm not impressed at all..... More to follow.
Submitted by parent on September 13, 2011

Our son attended here for over 3 years so far - 7th, 8th, 9th grade and currently in 10th grade. Excellent school. Nothing compares.