Research David Ellis Academy charter Schools in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

“I graduated from David Ellis Academy and now attend Renaissance High School. I must say that the curriculum at David Ellis Academy did an exceptional good in preparing me for the rigorous college- prep work at Renaissance. I am a senior and have been on the Honor Roll for all four years and have already started getting accepted to universities, all thanks to DEA!”

“I have had mixed feelings about DEA but not at first. My first impression was wonderful; I was excited about the discipline and the idea that they seemed to raise the bar for the kids. Then, I began to see that my oldest child was falling through the cracks. He has some special needs and I talked with teachers and administrators almost the entire year about getting him an AEP started. It was not until the next school year that it seems anyone really took me seriously. Now, while they seemed to have provided extra help for him that he needs they have not really given me an idea of what kids of things his AEP consists of and not included me in the process. I am going to give them one more chance then I may pull both of my children.”

“I my self thought this school was a school with no organization. I can count on my hands the times my third grade daughter had homework for the whole year . There is no challenging work being done , depite the Detroit Public schools being overcrowed my children learned a lot fom certified teachers within DPS . However, seeing that the education is poor in DEA and the poor envormoent with DPS which deteriates the learning from students I decided to send my kids to GESU. In addition my child that was in the kindergarten , he learnred more in preschool in DPS in one semester, then in DEA within a year,, that is sad. they was not allowed to bring bookbags home daily thus craming all the homework on the weekend instead of siting with your child daily to go over and enhance things they did that day”

“DEA Detroit campus is awful. I have never seen so much disorganization and an administration that knows nothing about running a school. The building is falling apart and there was only one teacher there worth her weight in gold and now my kids love science because of her. I am not surprised that she left.”

“We had one bad experience after another at this school. My child got A's but the work mostly consisted of dittos and nothing challenging. I wasn't surprised to see the low test scores.”

“My daughter just finished her kindergarten year at David Ellis Academy. I am very pleased with the rate as to which she has been learning. I sat in on class more than once and found her teacher, Ms. Bonnie, to be exceptional. I love her. She responds to emails, phone calls and takes an honest and sincere interst in you child. I know this is just the beginning and I am hoping to find a 1st grade teacher of similar qualities. As for the Latch Key program, it is horrible. For parents, like myself, who are in a bind and need latchkey, its not a good situation. The kids run around like they are crazy and one of the latchkey teachers, doesn't make it any better by yelling at them more than, I'm sure, some of the parents do. Latchkey needs some type of structure and discipline, just like the classroom.”

“We sent our child there is year hoping that they lived up to the hype that said in their brochure. Boy, was it a culture shock and not in a good way. The school is very unorginized. They are still doing construction, so it gives that appreance of being run down. There is no gym class, so the kids have no physical activity. Overall the academics are O.K. but the latchkey program is terrible. They do not have any orginazation what so ever. My child's old school had 2 ladies running it and were on top of everything. Davis Ellis has multiple and are complety oblivious to anything that goes on. Yes they do have after school field trips but the day to day has caused feeling of dread at the idea of him being there. He will not be returning in the fall.”

“I am a student and i have been going to DEA for 4 years now. The structure is great. The staff is awesome. The teach the kids well.”

“It's cool but too strict at times. Ms. Watson is the best teacher in DEA West.”

“My son has just started going to DEA, and if I am jumping the gun well than we will see at the end of the year. I Totally love this school so far. I am very impressed with the uniforms the kids look very professional. I hope to God this school is extended up to the 12th grade. Everywhere u go people will say bad and good things, however it is all about what u think. Don't base your decision on what others will say. Check it out for yourself. So far the staff is wonderful keep up the good work DEA.”

“I love this school!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

“i am a student who has been going there for a while and David Ellis Academy West is a great school”

“I have 3 children their and have been there from the beginning. My oldest is going to the 8th struggled some this year would have like to have heard from the teachers better(using power school). This is a program where you can check on your childrens work and teachers didn't respond well but I still love DEA. I still recommend it. My 3rd and 2nd grader has done well both have won spelling bee's and both are still excited about school.MEAP scores slipped but I will have them attend the 5 week MEAP summer program. My Blessing are with the school and the staff at DEA.”

“The quality of education at David Ellis Academy and David Ellis Academy West are exceptional. My oldest daughter who is now in high school has been able to succeed because of the things she learned, while she was at David Ellis. My youngest daughter is still there and she is doing very well and she enjoys going to school each day. The teachers there challenged the students to learn more about various topics. The math teacher at David Ellis West Mrs. Robinson incorporates different math projects in her curriculum, such as Building a Kite, Building Different Types of Home and Business Plan. These project help the students understand how math relates to their everyday life and how it is a part of everything you do. I have nothing bad to say about David Ellis Academy, just keep on teaching and preparing students for the next level of educational success.”

“The school year started out ruff the drop off and pick up situation is terrible. I don't like that the principal has changed three times this school year. I feel as though that affects the staff. I do feel my daughter is learning but the communication with the teacher isn't open door.”

“I feel this is a great school. Ms. Morris and Mr. Hurd are two great administrators and really care about the students as well as parents. Keep up the good work.”

“I have sent my girls to private schools all there life. I no longer could afford it so I was told about David Ellis in Redford. that school is the best and I tip my hat to the teachers there and David Ellis cared enough to start such a awesome school. My girls love it and there teachers are so right on point. I would recommend this school to all who wants the best for there kids and students who wants to attend college/PREP High School DEA can take you there. I never thought a Detroit School could be this well put together after all the fears I had. Keep doing what you do and after my children are gone I will continue to back you so that no child is ever left out. Thanks again DEA! You rock! They even bus the kids to school. When Detroit was on out they were in.”

“DEA is a good school. I have a 3rd & 8th grader. The director is wonderful,she cares about the quality of the school. The new school leader(k-5), I don't know him but look forward to getting to know him. Education programs are of high standard and does prepare the students for the next level. They have extra-curricular programs, and is real big on parent involvement.”

“The school has smaller class size. It is well organized and clean. Some members of the office staff are unprofessional and/or unfair which does affect the staff and children. The children are sometimes handled unfairly or uncaringly by some. However, the school has several great and caring teachers that love children.”

“David Ellis Academy is a good school. I here some parents complaining about the projects & expectations. I used to complain myself. However, I believe that the school is preparing the kids for High School & College. They encourage independence and self-direction, because the ultimate goal is to prepare them to become productive citizens. My son excells at D.E.A & has been encouraged to do more by some of his teachers. He loves Math, Science & Social Studies, etc. because his teachers continue to challenge his learning. Sometimes if most students are at a certain level, then that is the level that the teacher teaches on and they don't allow the kids that 'have it' to go any further and thats not fair, because the child becomes bored. I guess my son has been blessed to have good teachers. We're leaving the state & I hope I find a comparable school.”

“The Quality of service you receive when you first enter the school building, does determine the quality of service your child will receive from the teaching staff. Customer service wether it be to parent or student is critical in the determining factor, children are the internal customers and parents the external. If the office staff is not friendly, you can probably bet the overall school 'culture' will be the same. This means if the principal allows the support staff to be this way, possibly the teaching staff has the same culture.”

“I only have good things to say about this school. Hving a child go there since 3rd grade that recently graduated and now goes to Renaissance High. I believe this schools teachers are very professional. The school is always clean and organized. The students have small classes. That way they get individual help from the teachers.”

“I love th math department. My child has projects that I have found to be very rewarding. These projects help my daughter relate real life experiences with math concepts. It requires us as a family to work together.”

“This schools needs alot of improvment, especially in the area of teachers helping the children grow. I think they are very unprofessional and should take classes on how to talk to a student and motivate them. Verses always putting them down. And their math program needs to be re-vamped, the kids are not getting the basics skills needed for High School Math(the MEAP scores support this). - Jamie Walker-White”

“The school has room for improvement. There are some teachers there that say things to the kids that is unprofessional. Words that can be damaging to the child's self-esteem. There is a need for more extra curriculum activities. Music, art, language.”