Very concerning experience attempting to tour Challenger School in Sandy for preschool. We arrived on time for our scheduled tour and were handed a values-based questionnaire that no one had previously explained was mandatory. 10+ min later, the director informed us we couldn't even tour unless it was completed first. When I calmly asked whether we could simply tour before filling out a philosophical questionnaire for a school we knew very little about, I was met with repeated pushback from both the director & headmaster and repeatedly told it was "school policy," despite my inability to locate such a policy online. The director later stated she only had 15-20 minutes before the next tour while simultaneously expecting us to complete the unexpected questionnaire after the school itself had already run late. Neither my spouse nor I, both doctors, have encountered anything remotely similar in educational or professional settings. The interaction ultimately ended with the headmaster abruptly stating, "This is not going to be a good fit," and walked off. Overall, the interaction felt rude, dismissive, and heavily compliance-focused for what should have been a simple preschool tour inquiry. read more

Challenger has probably been one of the worst schools I've ever gone to. Not only are the teachers trained poorly, but the blatant favoritism. Firstly, many of the teachers are unqualified for their position. For instance, one of the extended teachers will purposely select students to move seats for no given reason. When someone asks why the student is getting moved, the teacher will just laugh and then tell them to move. She's also highly impatient and has been arrested, which, in my opinion, seems like a valid reason to not hire someone. Next, Mrs, Gourgeon is very fake to parents and puts on a facade to everyone. When someone gets sent to the office, she doesn't let the person explain their side of the story and will get mad at people if they don't answer exactly what she asked. A few teachers very noticeably favor some students over others, asking some students questions more questions than others or only listening to students they like. Overall, Challenger has a lot of discrimination towards to different students - whether it's between actual teaching or after school, there's a lot of prejudice. read more

We have both our girls attending one of the Challenger schools. Great teachers. Academics, study habits, confidence builders in speech and memorization. Parents need to take an active role with their child till 4th grade -- helping to instill habits and then your kiddos is off and achieving. If as a parent, you aren't able to do so, it may be more Challenging if your child isn't a 'self starter' out of the gate :) read more

Preface: I waited several months before posting this to make sure my feelings remained the same and I wasn't just lashing out from the family stress we were going through at the time. That is not the case and the original review is as follows: Military families (or any family going through any type of personal challenges) beware! Maybe Challenger doesn't meet the textbook definition of discrimination but they're not far off. My son has attended Challenger preschool since the beginning of 2020. Obviously the first semester was cut short because of COVID-19 but he started back up in August. I made the decision to withdraw him from the school in November because of their utter lack of compassion or interest in their students' lives. I won't go into details, but our family has had multiple stressful and perhaps traumatic events in the past few months; including my husband's military deployment. There was some miscommunication regarding billing in September; they did not want to hear about any of this. I absolutely don't have a problem paying for tuition, but at that price point, I expect a little decency when communicating about the bills. Their response to questions regarding procedures with billing was puzzling. I can't be the first person to be confused by the process. When I asked for clarification and more communication, I did not get that. In fact, I was treated coldly by staff; it started to make me wonder how they were treating my son. The straw that broke the camel's back happened when my child had a "potty" accident. Because of the traumatic events I referenced earlier, my son is having difficulty adjusting and in the last week has had a couple "accidents" (this was a very sudden change in behavior - 1 week). As a precaution, I've been putting him in pull ups; I've also been talking to his pediatrician and reaching out to a therapist. When I picked him up from school, I was berated for allowing my child to attend the school when he wasn't potty trained and that pull-ups are not allowed. I tried to explain the situation and that he has been potty trained for well over a year; I wasn't allowed to finish (she literally put her hand up to my face to stop me). If they treat me with such disdain, how are they treating my innocent child? I found their "strict" rule regarding pull ups confusing as well. My son was scheduled to begin at Challenger in August of 2019 but he wasn't 100% on potty training yet and I said as much to their staff. To that, I was told, "accidents happen" and "it's okay if he's not completely potty trained yet, he can wear a pull up until you're comfortable." I didn't think the billing miscommunication was that big of a deal but apparently they're willing to rewrite rules and procedures as they see fit and maybe they were trying to push us out. I also find it interesting that they have such a high teacher turnover rate. My son has attended about 4.5 months total and has had at least 6 different teachers. If the teachers aren't happy, they can't be effective. On that note, I can't say anything negative about the teachers; they always seemed warm and welcoming to my son. The complete lack of empathy for their students' lives is shocking and very sad. Challenger makes it clear they are a business where profits are more important than their students/children. Save your money and go elsewhere. I have to say, since changing schools, my son has developed so much! I can't help but think Challenger's toxic environment may have contributed to his lack of progression. read more

Both children have been here 3 years since we moved from Seattle. They love their school and we have been very impressed with the teaching staff over the years. read more

I sent the following email to Michelle Sweet six days ago but have not received a response. Disappointing that she did not feel it necessary to respond. As a retired elementary teacher, I believe that communication is crucial between school staff and families. Being ignored would never have happened at the school where I worked. Apparently my son and daughter-in-law were charged late fees for two days when I picked up Teddy which Annie recently paid. Here's our current situation:   -Teddy's dad, my son, is currently deployed to Afghanistan defending our country. -Teddy's mom recently had foot surgery on her right foot and is unable to drive until her doctor agrees for her doing so.  Also, she was unaware of the parent portal so communication broke down somewhere along the way. -My husband, Teddy's grandpa, has Alzheimer's and has been living at home with all of us until recently moving to memory care this week. -We have four grandchildren, two older children who also attended Challenger's preschool in Sandy and a younger one who could potentially attend your preschool.  I am a retired first grade teacher for 38 years; at times parents had difficulty picking their child up on time and they were never charged a late fee.  I'm currently responsible for driving all four grandchildren to school, daycare, softball, football, etc., along with spending time with my husband daily.  It's a lot for one grandma but I am willing to do whatever I can for this family while my son is deployed.  Unfortunately, I was under the impression that I was supposed to pick him up at exactly 5:00 pm and didn't know that the last hour was daycare.  I will also say that I've gotten a busy signal at times and called several times some days until I got through to the secretary.  Having said that, it was my responsibility to pick up Teddy.  I totally own that and it will not happen again.  Annie and I are hanging on by our fingernails.  Thank goodness for kind neighbors, workmen we've needed for situations at home, even random strangers who have shown compassion as we navigate this difficult time.  This is this first time that we have encountered people who are not lenient and understanding of our situation.  It is not a good look for Challenger and it will reflect badly on your reputation as we share this unfortunate experience with others.  I also am formulating a review of how Challenger chose to charge a deployed soldier's family late fees while we are trying to find our way during an incredibly challenging time in our lives. In my opinion, those late fees should be refunded. read more

So my son has speech delay and during the school year was going to school with the normal district ti try and catch up before kindergarten. In no way was he ready. He tested with this school and they said he's too behind for kindergarten with them but they took her for kinder prep summer school and just a week and a half he has had so much progress as well as done more work and brought it home to show me daily which never happened with the district. He also is very happy to go here, every morning he tells me what he's most excited for at school. Once he can come here full time we will be for sure. The place is very structured with pick up and drop offs as well as just so formal and structured like a school should be! read more

I was very surprised to see a negative review about the Sandy challenger campus. My daughter is now in her 3rd school year there and we've had nothing but a positive experience. Miss Diane has always been very helpful and available when I've needed her many times. When I enrolled my daughter, she had just turned 3. Within one month she was writing her name and reciting the pledge of allegiance. Only good things to say coming from us. read more

Unlike most schools this challenger has teachers that are easy to talk to and they become more then just you're teachers they become your friends. As for the students around here it is the same. There are hardly any bullies and the students are okay to make fun of themselves. The curriculum here is easy to learn because of the teachers that work here. The teachers actually care about their jobs here and are not just in it for the money. Now this school is a little out of date. They don't allow any electronics not even an Apple Watch. And they have never been a problem in the past. That don't even allow old school readers but I think the safe environment makes up for that. read more

Challenger School - Sandy - This is the entrance to the middle school building - Elementary Schools Near Me - Sandy, Utah

A great school with a great emphasis on Independence and academic excellence.

Awful experience. If you want your kids to hate learning and hate school, then this is the place for them. I have heard teachers talk down and yell at kids in both preschool and upper classrooms. Most of the teachers don't have teaching degrees, and you can tell because they don't know how actually to talk to kids. The leadership is awful (especially Mrs. Black), and I have heard teachers complain about how they hate working there. My kids did okay academically but were miserable. They are thriving at their new school and have said that Challenger tries to make you memorize things which is easy but they don't make you think about problems and ways to solve them. Don't waste your time and money. read more

Please DON'T enroll your child at the Sandy campus! My daughter attended the Holladay Challenger campus for a year, including the summer term. At the Sandy campus I couldn't stand having her there for longer than 3 months. I'm an easy going person, so for me to get to the point to come to the internet to write a bad review about something, it's because I don't want others to make the same mistake I did. My daughter never got to know her teachers well; not even her classmates. She started telling me that she "hated" Challenger school and that she didn't want to go to school anymore (something that had never happened in the previous campus). Miss Diane (the lady at the front desk) is ALWAYS (and I mean it) on the phone talking personal matters. If you need something taken care, you have to stand in front of her for at least 5 minutes before she hangs up the phone to help you out. The girls that work in the school's drive thru could care less for your child's well being. They are so lazy to walk your child around your car if you have your child's car seat installed behind the driver's seat that all they do is squeeze your child through the back seat even if you have another child sitting in the car seat installed behind the passenger's door. Horrendous experience. I was charged another registration fee for the same school year and some other fees (?) when my daughter got transferred even though I was told verbally by Miss Diane that everything was taken care of. Up until today I have no idea what they charged me for, but since I am easy going, I paid for whatever they had asked me without questioning. My daughter was enrolled in their summer program but I decided to let go of the 2 remaining weeks before the session is over. I couldn't stand the Sandy campus anymore. Unfortunately I made the mistake of registering my child for next school's year and couldn't get my $270 back, even though $200 out of that fee is "prepaid tuition". They don't care if you're giving them a month notice or if all you're asking for is the prepaid tuition since you're not getting the services paid for. I talked to the so called Headmaster, Shawn Spainhour who could care less about my particular situation. I called the Corporate office multiple times in a week, spoke with Amy, who is unfriendly, unhelpful and even though you think you're leaving messages to the CEO of Challenger School she never passes on your messages. She won't give you the CEO's email address, phone number or even schedule an appointment with him if you ask her to. I've never met someone so useless as she is. Stay away from Challenger Sandy! read more

This School only cares about test scores, which means they don't care about each student's values and respect. Kids become so selfish. My child was disappointed in himself after attending this school, because the teachers and staff wouldn't believe and trust him. This made him lose his confidence and overall self-esteem which is ironic because this school is supposed to teach kids to be confident. If you care about your child's test score and nothing else, this is the best place for you to enroll your child in. read more

Challenger has been the best thing to happen to my daughter! She has overcome anxiety and feels so confident and is excited to go to school each day. I love their program for encouraging kids to become the best they can be and how they show respect to the children. That's a rare thing! Every teacher she's had has been exceptional. Challenger is an investment we find invaluable. The location in sandy works well for us. The receptionists are all knowledgeable and the teachers are the best. read more

Both my children attended Challenger school since kindergarten. I pulled my daughter out after 4th grade. Challenger school is focused solely on beating the national test score average. If you child falls behind it becomes the parents problem. The school offers zero assistance to help a struggling student. They would rather your child drop out rather than bring down the test scores. I felt Challenger quit on my child who was made to feel inadequate. She went from loving school to hating it and was afraid to ask questions in class as she was made to feel stupid. "You should know that" is what she was constantly told. She lost all her confidence. read more

My stepdaughter attended Challenger Sandy for six years and Traverse Mountain for two years. She did get a quality education and we are grateful. (this is her first year in public school). However, through all of the years, something that has ALWAYS been lacking was communication. Her mother was always complaining about it but we appreciated the education and wanted her to continue. Towards her last year it got really bad. As she started entering her "difficult" years, she was rebelling a little more and getting behind more. It wasn't until she was two months behind did we find out she was behind. Their theory is that students should be held responsible to know what is missing and to complete it. This is a girl who had been at Challenger since the age of 3. Even with the "Challenger way" being taught to her for that long, she did not take responsibility or accountability and tell us she was behind. Anyhow, once she was behind two months in homework, it was hard for her to keep up and the make up work was so overwhelming. We feel this could have been avoided if the school had informed us a lot earlier. It didn't/doesn't make sense. So I come to the present time, we have a son whom we wanted to enroll in Challenger Pre-k. We filled out all of the paperwork and asked Diane to get the information we needed - 3 times to be exact. (Pre payment of tuition) When finally my husband sent an email to the headmaster after the information we requested was not given to us. In the email he also explained that communication has always been issue and we are hoping it could be rectified and to please advise. Imagine our shock when we receive a rejection letter stating my husband has been unsatisfied with their services and they didn't think they could meet our expectations in the future so they do not think we will be happy there and therefore declining our application. To be honest, I'm a little relieved underneath the anger. We were going enroll our son in January 2015. When we went to have a campus tour, I was shocked when we went into the 3 year old class and saw my son's friend there and we smiled and waved at him. He was smiling and waved when the teacher snapped at him. It was really mean. And then the other kids were looking up at us and the teacher snapped at them too. I mean these kids are 3 and 4 years old. I couldn't believe it. My husband agreed he thought it was harsh but had his mind set this is where we would send our son in January. I was very upset because of what I witnessed and I convinced my husband to let our son have more time to grow up a little before I put him in that environment. And I also didn't want him to have that teacher so instead of being in the 3 year old class he could start next year in the 4 year old class. read more

I have a complete opposite opinion about the Sandy campus. My son went there for 2 years for preschool and my daughter is currently enrolled. We have had nothing but excellent things to say about the school. We love the teachers and the staff is so nice and friendly to us. My kids have learned so much and I can't say enough good things about this school. I am so glad we chose this school and will forever refer people to it. read more