Union Park Charter Academy

"I would not recommend this school to anyone. The most concerning issue is that my daughter's kindergarten class was told they were not allowed to go to the bathroom after the middle part of the day. She would cry on the way home due to needing to go to the bathroom. Her teacher was not the same as the one from a previous review, but apparently this is a common problem at the school. We thought my child had developed an infection from holding her pee, and after an emergent pediatric visit we discovered that the teachers were yelling at students in her kindergarten class if they had accidents. Amongst other issues, these were the most important for why we would never attend or recommend. Also, my kindergartner was spending hours per day on electronics and watching movies daily in classes. The school has little to no communication with parents. Emails to teachers often went unanswered. Teachers did not have a relationship with their students, and they did not sit down and have small group or individualized learning time. Her teacher would yell at the class repeatedly throughout the day. She would have them put their heads down, and one time had them "lay on the floor and take a nap or be quiet" for a while. During these times she would leave the room, and my daughter said these moments happened when she was really mad. In the lunchroom they were also yelled at to be quiet and were not allowed to make noise or speak at times. Finally, this school is a FOR PROFIT school. I didn't even know there were public schools that could be for-profit. That means they get tax money from the county per student, and also "fundraise" and keep the profits instead of bettering the school or using the money on students and supplies. The idea of a for-profit public school is too odd to me. The school is lacking basic school facilities and resources, such as: media center with library, school counselors, registered school nurse, and others. In our opinion, it just wasn't a good school."

"Our son loves UPCA. Since day one, he’s always had a great experience. The teachers communicate with you to help resolve any issues that may arise. They also send weekly e-mails with what the students will be focusing on that week. We look forward to next year!"

"Though I do not have children and therefore cannot speak to the curriculum and day-to-day student interaction, I have had the pleasure of working with Jazzy in Admissions/Community Outreach over the last few months. She is such a wonderful soul and I know she is involved with the kids as well as local businesses. One of her many goals is to make sure that local businesses know about the community so that we can support the school and the kids there with their activities, programs, etc and she has made a great impression on me and several other business owners I know. While I don't usually suggest one school over another to my clients, it is wonderful to be able to tell potential home buyers that Jazzy is personally available to discuss their needs and offer details about the school. I imagine that kind of personalized touch extends to the entire student body as well. Just from what I know from her, Union Park Charter Elementary sounds like a wonderful place for children to learn and grow, and I am excited to see how the community develops around the school (and vice versa) over the next few years."

"Great school. It had some issues mainly with organization and communication at the beginning just like any new school. Academically is great. My 3 kids love it. Very nice and loving environment. It has an individualized education for gifted kid as well as for kids that may have some difficulties. The staff is willing to listen feedback and communicate with parents. Much better than some larger public schools where teachers do not have control of the kids especially in middle school, where the bathrooms are not cleaned, toilets stain with poop. kids bring alcohol in their thermos, do drugs in the bathrooms and the bulling does not stop. This was at our previous school."