My husband and I are both educators and have worked in public education in secondary schools for the past 15 years. We were lucky that for the first 3 years of our daughters life, we could rely on grandparents for complete childcare. When going to work, our minds were at ease knowing she had excellent care and attention at home. The downside was that at 3 years old, our daughter had not had much opportunity to socialize with other children or stay with an adult other than her grandparents or parents. We were of course, concerned that the transition to child care or school might be disastrous. I cannot be more satisfied with our decision to enroll our daughter at the Challenger School, Shawnee campus. We began with the summer school option, enrolling her in a half day program, 5 days a week when she was 3 years and a few months old. This was the perfect transition for a child who had no experience staying with other adults outside of family. Her cognitive, social, and emotional progress was visible immediately. That Fall, we enrolled her in a full day program in the 3 year old class. A year later, and we are still so happy with our experience. Our daughter will be enrolled in the 4 year old program for the 17-18 school year. While the curriculum and academic expectations are indeed rigorous, the staff is so incredibly loving, caring, and nurturing. The instruction is given in a way that engages the students through music and art. The children genuinely have fun while they learn and appreciate the structure and routine. We are always impressed with the work our daughter brings home. She is only 4 and can print her name, blend letters to phonetically read and write 3-4 letter words, add and subtract numbers, and so much more. Her experience is not unique as most if not all the students in her class can do the same. On top of this, every staff member from the administration, security guards, secretarial staff and teachers are excellent. I feel as though I am leaving my child with family. This is an incredibly important feature to me as I need to feel as though I am leaving my daughter in loving and capable hands when I drop her off to go to work. We have bonded with a number of parents from her class and get together for the kids birthday parties and other social events. I cannot imagine a better place for our child. I am happy to answer any further questions about our experience if you are interested in enrolling your son or daughter. Also, the school offers a tuition incentive of 15% off through a referral program. Please contact me if you are interested in this opportunity. read more

So like it was good my child is very smart compared to other students but I like think there's too much of a jump between first grade and second grade like wdym at third grade all the sudden everything changes like my child's teach Ms. Holland got mad at my child and yelled at her for not knowing the difference between legal and just like wth?! However I do like Mrs Bamber, she's very supportive bc she helped my child get better grades. Although fifth grade is the hardest grade because of the biggest jump in curriculum. The turnover among teachers and headmasters are high at this campus. Don't know if it's the same for other campuses. It's upsetting when you're getting new teachers who aren't experienced in teaching. Honestly Challenger also preps you to be concerned when transferring schools because Shawnee is so small it will be easy to get lost in other campuses and like I hate this school. But they give you gold for completing PreK to eighth grade so I like that read more

Challenger provides a strong academic foundation, but the educational approach can feel overly rigid and robotic. There is a heavy emphasis on maintaining the school's prescribed pace and method, with limited room for creativity, individuality, or different ways of learning. The school provides very little built in academic support. When a student needs additional explanation, reinforcement, or a different teaching approach, parents are largely expected to recognize the need and arrange support themselves. Considering the significant tuition families pay and the amount of time children spend at school, there should be more meaningful guidance, individualized instruction, and teacher led support. Bullying and inappropriate student behavior are also not addressed as consistently or effectively as they should be. Based on our experience, teachers and administrators appear reluctant to have necessary conversations with the parents of children whose behavior is affecting others. This allows problems to continue instead of being addressed directly and constructively. The extended care program is particularly disappointing. It feels more like basic supervision than a meaningful extension of the school day. Staff are frequently on their phones, and little to no academic guidance or homework support is offered. Given the additional cost, families should be able to expect greater engagement and value from the program. Academic rigor is important, but a strong school should also provide support, protect students, communicate honestly with families, encourage creativity, and respond when concerns arise. Families now have other academically strong options that take a more balanced, whole child approach. Challenger would benefit from pairing its high expectations with more responsive teaching, accountable supervision, and genuine care for each student's overall experience. Preschool and KG was great. 1-3 grade not so great. read more

thanks As a retired elementary school teacher (25 + years,) I am thorough in my evaluation of schools my grandkids attend. Challenge is definitely NOT one I would recommend! The teachers (mostly young women with minimal experience in a classroom) are closely controlled by the administration (which has little to no classroom experience.) Creativity is discouraged, since it's expression would cut into the school's "cookie cutter" approach to education. Another note to consider: Challenger is a "(or profit" school; although I notice it is now using the word "Foundation" in its title. Consider the multiple options of schools in this valley before making a choice; there are many in our valley! read more

The worst school in the United States is Challenger School. 1. It's the only school that forbids students from taking home textbooks, and most of the teachers' children have access to textbooks so they get better grades. 2.They are based on the premise that they make better disciplined students. 3. This school just demotivates kids and looks for higher grade kids and boosts them, not recognizing all kids are unique. 4. The teachers don't try to encourage kids; they make their own factory-made students and they always call parents to complain about even minor things. 5. Rico, the principal at Shawnee, is just a businessman who has no ethical values. read more

I enrolled my child in this school expecting positive learning experience and perhaps to improve academics and public speaking skills but unfortunately my child's encounter with the teachers was highly disheartening. One major concern was the apparent lack of qualifications and preparation demonstrated by the teachers especially on the subjects like speech, history, math, computer and critical thinking. It became evident through the teachers merely relying on notes and answer guides to teach and grade students and also their knowledge of the subject matter fell short of the expectations one would have for an educator. Adding on, I also received numerous feedback from parents and students themselves that teachers can be consistently biased in their interactions with students. Mrs Rangaswamy, computer teacher demonstrated favoritism that not only compromised the learning environment but also created an atmosphere where certain students felt marginalized. Similarly staff's kids also get treated better than of others. My child felt threatened and not given attention when needed especially in the computer class. This particular computer teacher also lacks ethics and manners when it comes to dealing with students with respect and dignity. She lives in her own world hallucinating stories and often embarrassing her students. Folks let's remember this is a private institution and it's not cheap for parents to have their kids learn here. The annoying part is when the teachers would give the parents a call when there is a drop in grade expecting the parents to work on the child to improve their grades. By all due respect we will certainly help but what are the teachers doing? Aren't they suppose to get involved as well? All that they care is merely grades and nothing ELSE! Overall my child's experience with the teachers has unfortunately been disappointing, and I hope that steps will be taken to address these concerns for the benefit of future students. The institution should hire only state credentialed ones and the one who go through psychological evaluation!! I am definitely not seeing my child attending this school anymore. Good luck folks on deciding your child's school. read more

Many twelve year olds speak of the poor treatment they were subjected to by their peers in middle school, but I have the privilege of recalling verbal abuse from my previous teachers as well. While the academic rigor of this location may seem appealing, I genuinely warn whoever wants to send their child here. I transferred out halfway through the year after pleading with my parents to let me go to public school, and I look back on this school with sadness, knowing that many children probably silently experienced the same. read more

My kid is attending the preschool program. I've seen so many positive changes in my kid. We have been very happy with our teachers. Most importantly, my kid loves going to school! It would have been better if the school can communicate with the parents electronically. read more

I am posting this review based on my personal experience on how effective this school has been for my child. Curriculum is fine but that is not the only criteria which will benefit the student. Let me explain why. If you are someone new looking to enroll your child from say 2nd 3rd or 4th grade, don't do it! They are for sure going to treat that child as if he or she is inferior to other students who's already there from preschool or kindergarten. To begin with, the teachers are claimed to be qualified with MASTERS degree and above but they certainly are not CREDENTIALED under state board of California which means they do not go for any training other than being briefed by their management on how to handle things. Some of the teachers at this campus do not possess a good understanding on subjects like history and science and they grade the test paper simply based on their answer guide.Their teacher often based the lecture solely on their notes which i guess anyone could do it. I am not saying all the teachers are incompetent but i'm sure they are not sound in all the subjects being taught. Adding on, the management often shuffle teachers from one grade to another due to the high turnover rate. Furthermore this school does not have a dedicated science lab. For subjects like literature, no matter how well your child has answered their test, the teacher would give them a mediocre score for some reason and i'm seeing this after 1 year of observing their pattern. Other child (mostly their favorites) would score more even when their response only meets minimum criteria for scoring. (confirmed this from my child through their best work board) . Next, the teachers do not CHECK the homework and your child may come home with an incorrect work. The amount of homework is fine even though it is considered a little too much for an elementary grade but the problem is, they have tests every week which i think it's a little unreasonable. Student council board is another joke here. The rule to stay as a class rep is not to get a grade below 75 or 80 in any subjects, so the teacher would always make them stay within or well above the range. you rarely have an opportunity to stay in touch directly with your child's teacher. It is always through the management. I mean, what in the world are they afraid of? The most interesting part of their test system is, it is basically a repeated test questions from the point of Challenger inception. So, let's say if the student has an older sibling here, the younger one will somehow know what's coming ahead for the test. I am sure this is how not Barbara Baker, the founder would have envisioned how the school should be running. Unfortunately, today, that is the case. read more

The worst school ever. My daughter went to preschool for a year here and she went from a chirpy talkative character to a closed introvert within a year. Its been 2.5 years since we left but still she says those teachers were the worst ever and she hasnt come out of the trauma yet ! read more

We used to send our child for the Pre-K and K program at Challenger-Shawnee. The teachers were loving and caring, especially Ms.Sushma.We were worried about how our child was doing in the Pre-K class, but Ms. Sushma made us comfortable by giving us detailed reports on our child. Thanks to Ms.Sushma our child had a great experience at Challenger. read more

My daughter loved her time here when she was in the preschool program. Miss Sushma is a very sweet teacher and cares about all her students. My daughter loves her a lot and always hugs her before she leaves school. Since the shutdown from COVID last year, we have stayed at home for a longtime. We have been missing her a lot especially my daughter. We are back to the preK program in Aug. Hopefully we will see her again on campus. read more

We have been with Challenger preschool for 2 years. Shawnee Campus is not big but nice, classroom is neat and clean. The staffs are caring. Teachers are nice. My kid feels good and happy when back from school. I do want to appreciate Ms Sushma, My kid favorite teacher, she is super great and super caring for each kid! read more

Education here is delivered by rote instead of understanding the principles. We have to supplement the private school challenger with private tutoring since Challenger teaching is not enough. The curriculum is good only because they compress 9 year education into 6 years(more on this later), but in terms of teaching concepts well, i see a lot of scope for improvement. The principal said they repeat the english in middle school, because there is only so much that can be taught. So what it means is that they compress the education that needs to be given in say 9 years from kindergarten through 8th grades into 6 years from kindergarten through 5th grade. Is that all a private education is for? You are only compressing the education, without spending enough time on social skills development or sports or other skills. For having to pay $1300 a month, the teachers don't check homework or classwork. Kids come home with incorrect work and understanding and it is the responsibility of the students (and the parents through extra coaching) to fix the mistakes themselves. Biggest problem - School does not communicate with parents! If you ever have a question for the teacher, you have to call the school and wait for the teacher to call back. You are caught in an endless phone tag as the teachers can call you back only during certain times within school hours, and you have to be available to pick that call up. There is no way to directly contact the teachers. In other words, no modern technology like emailing the teachers allowed. As a parent, I don't ever know what the homework is on any given day. I have to go to the auditorium to find the homework or test, and that too I will find the homework posted only if i am lucky! Sorry, I don't find Challenger to be my money's worth! read more

I wanted to update as we also were at this Challenger for the 4 year old preschool program. I still rank the 3 year old's program a 5 star. However, when I asked the school administrators what Challenger offers for students with different learning needs I was met with blank stares and a response that boiled down to that's something the parents dealt with. This does not promote diversity or assist parents who want to stay with this private school. We are in an exceptionally diverse community that has one of the best services for children with different learning needs. This school is not foraging a path that is inclusive to its community. read more

Challenger school is the best investment for my children. The school program is excellent and staffs are very knowledgeable and friendly. I am extremely satisfied with the quality of the teaching faculty and their service. Thank you. read more

This is a special shout out for Ms. Laxmi and Ms. Tara who are teachers for my 4 year old in Pre-K. They both are amazing in all ways, very caring, super diligent, works with the student as well as the parents to ensure everyone is on the same page to for the continuous progress of the child. We are really blessed to have teachers like these for our son. If you are looking for the best school environment where your little one can thrive, Challenger School @ Shawnee is Highly recommended! read more

I was sold on this school, but truth is it's not for every child. I decided to send my son there and after a few months I was completely discouraged from wanting to drop him off everyday. I believe if your child is not of Indian or Asian decent they will not get the attention they need. My son was the minority of his class and was not treated fairly by the teachers or the children. The teachers and facility do not encourage the children to be friends and they completely suppress an imaginative child's imagination and focus strictly on academics. They kept stressing in concern that my son was not reading yet and made me feel like he was learning at a slow pace...btw he just turned 4!!!! Are you kidding me? They tried to push challenger products on me so he could be at their level. I thought that's why I paid all that money for him to go to school. Very disappointing read more

There will always be nay sayers when it comes to private school! I have to agree is not for every kid and/or parents as its really expensive and its academic focus. You will need to enroll your kids in sports, art and music as that's not their top priority. Challenger do offer enrichment programs like music, art, soccer, chess, bilingual after school programs. Bottom line, the best investment you can give your kid(s) is an awesome education! FWIW, I do wish they offer assistance for low income parents who can't afford to send there kids to Challenger. P.S. Do want to give a call out to Mr Boudin for addressing the drop off and pickup issue! read more

Daughter is going here for pre-school. Nice campus with some great teachers. We have been very happy with our teacher and the play area is very nice. I do have some minor complaints though. 1) Campus diversity is very poor. Indians seem to dominate this campus for some reason 2) The campus administrator is a total disaster. She is very poorly organized, doesn't provide enough advanced notice for special events and just isn't in tune with keeping parents up to date. 3) the structure is a bit intense for younger kids. I would like to see more play time and less stress on the kids. read more

I am so glad that we enrolled our daughter to Challenger, she's able to read within 3-4 months, she's currently in Pre-K. I am extremely satisfied with the results and will definitely keep her there. read more

The best decision we took for our daughter was Challenger...Our daughter loves everything about the school and enjoys going to school..Thanks to MsPooja and Ms Varsha for making it a happy and comfortable place for her..Love you both!! read more

Parents have to understand that challenging is the theme of this school throughout all its campuses. It can get very depressing for both the child and the parents if this is not the right school for your child. I have to say that Challenger School is not for everyone, especially if your child can not focus at young ages. My son started at 4.5 years old and now is in 1st grade. The school provided him a friendly environment with enough competition (Spelling Bee, Young Author, Scholarship, etc) for which he enjoys a lot. The academic program is well situated for children to reach their potentials. His reading and math are much advanced. At the end of Grade 1, he knows a lot of the math concepts for a typical 3rd, 4th grader in CA. The early reading has helped him to explore and learn a lot of things by reading books on his own. I am very satisfied with all his four teachers so far. They always have time for me when I want to meet with them or talk with them. I spent a lot of lunch break time in the 4-year old classroom and loved it. Both directors and headmaster have high enthusiasm about the school and their students. Certainly there is a few areas need improvements: 1. Provide regular Spanish Classes for California Campuses. 2. Have a safety program in place and follow the proper incident reporting system. Do not hide the incidents. 3. Change school uniform to more comfortable clothes. Mon-Wed uniform is not safe for younger children when they run. 4. Provide more teaching resources such as music, art, sports, etc. Overall, the school has helped my son built the fundamental learning skills for which he can use throughout his life. It meets my expectation about elementary school education. I like it. read more

A little on the expensive side, but the school and curriculum even for little ones is great, I felt they taught my 4-year old responsibilities and he is much more reasonable for his age. There is ample play time and study time, so it the kids still have fun while learning responsibilities. Our older child went to Bright Horizons when he was 4 which which was roughly the same cost. Horizon school was pretty much just a daycare service which was not what we were looking for, it also went downhill through the years and I felt he did not learn much from that school, as staff left and they seemed to not have enough funds to hire the best teachers or keep the regular teachers. The difference in maturity from the two kids at their respective ages is a complete difference as the formative years set them up for the future as they grow older. read more

Run away from this school, as far as possible, as quickly as possible. Teachers sucks big time. They are not qualified. They discourage kids becoming friends. Absolutely no parent involvement. They have only grinding classes. Put your kid in this school only if you want your kid to develop slave mentality. This school deserves negative rating, unfortunately it is not an option in this review page. read more

Took a tour of this school for the preschool program for my son. i was so surprised to see how chaotic the school was. the office was filled with parents, students and others and seemed so overwhelming. the preschool principal who did the tour seemed like she was in such a hurry. she seemed rehreased in what she had to say and nothing beyond that. there was no personal touch or personal interest whatsoever. also, from little what i saw there is hardly any diversity in the student population. all i saw were asian indian kids, and not that there is anything wrong with that but just an observation. the philsophy of the school is pretty much drilling. there was nothing in the curriculum that promotes critical skills or creativity. Kids were all drawing the same thing the teacher was step by step- and they called this art. yikes!! the school is a business that has its niche targeted population wanting only academic success. if you are looking for a wholesome program for your child to grow academically, socially, emotionally, and physically then look else where. there was nothing that is child developmentally appropriate happening during my small visit. the same week i visited the almaden campus. even though the philosophy is the same there but the campus seemed more pleasant and organized and the principal seemed like a genuine person. read more

though i have to admit that the school highly stresses academics, but i think that there is NO diversity. the population is 90% indians and the remaining is asian. the headmaster is a pain. she does not like to listen nor does she give you a chance to complain. she loves to speak over you. the office staff is rude though they try to be nice at first glance but the minute you ask them for something you see their true nature lashing out. I thought that since the school put high emphasis on academic, i was driving 25 miles everyday to send my kids here, but now matter how academically successful they are at drilling repitition into your child, the staff is unbearable. read more

Very impressive! My son started attending the pre-school starting Jan'14. I am overwhelmed with the energy the teachers put in facilitating sessions. Miss Lourenda makes the classes fun and interactive. I have less detailed feedback because my son is comparatively new there, however I have nothing to complain. Loving it! :) read more

I've seen numerous positive changes during the two years that my daughter has been attending the Shawnee campus. Even though everybody knows they are a grade higher than the public school, the kids never feel pushed into it as they seem to imbibe education and fundamentals in a fun way, day in and out. My kid is enrolled in pre-K and kudos to the teachers who don't hesitate to spend extra time if they think kids need additional attention. Overall, it has been a pleasant surprise seeing our kid grow up the Challenger way! read more

My daughter started preschool in this campus since aug 2015 and i must say that she and I both are loving it. I must say my daughter is fortunate to get teachers like Ms Lourenda and Ms Fery. They take extra care to see that my child is comfortable and loves their time at school. There was a time when my daughter hates to go to school/day care but now she loves to go to school. My daughter gets sick very often and when she gets back to school she is welcomed with soo much love and affection. Ms Lourenda even calls her along with rest of the students in the class to wish her get well soon. Physical and mental health of a child is very important to both Ms Lourenda and Ms Fery. I am a very picky person but I must say that with Ms Lourenda and Ms Fery my daughter is in safe hands. My daughter knows all her alphabets, phonics sounds, numbers 1-100. She even is able to write alphabets and numbers by her self. She loves her songs and dance they teach at school and i get lessons from her after she gets home :) Even the staff at the front desk Ms Susan and Ms Samantha are very kind, helpful and friendly. All in all i am happy i made the decision to have my daughter in this school and campus read more

My son started going to Challenger Harwood initially but after an incident there we transferred him to the Shawnee location and we couldn't be happier! He started going to the preschool Tues/Thurs full day program and his teachers were Ms Alina and Ms Lourenda. Both of them were so nurturing and made my son feel comfortable especially given that the focus at Challenger is mostly on academics. Once we saw him flourishing, we transitioned him to the all day M-F program. Having amazing teachers such as Ms Alina and Ms Lourenda especially when your little one starts a program that can be challenging (no pun intended!) is so important. I felt they went above and beyond my expectations and I am so grateful for their support. Now my son is attending the pre-K program and he is doing extremely well. Thank you Ms Lourenda and Ms Alina for all your hardwork!!!!!!!!!! read more

Where to begin? I had a preschool tour not too long ago. The preschool director who looked as if she just came back from a San Francisco parade met me in the front office and gave me some information about their programs. She didn't look like she was happy to show me around the campus. She made it look like it was too much to ask to see one of their classrooms. As we were walking towards the classroom, I heard a teacher yelling through the closed door. As soon as the director and I walked in, an older Indian lady looked like she had just stopped yelling and the children looked very scared. The classroom felt as if I was witnessing North Korea punishing their citizens. I felt very bad because these kids were only 3 years old. When we left, the director seemed to ignore the fact something was not right in that classroom. As I was leaving the campus, the same group was lining up outside and the same woman was talking very loudly in an unfriendly tone to the children. The sad part is that it seemed ok for the kids to be spoken to unpolitely. My child will not be attending this school. read more