We were beyond disappointed with CWC West Valley. It's a desolate, depressive educational landscape…read morewith a completely absent administration. My husband used to joke and call it kid jail. Sadly, not much laughing was done in the year all three of my kids were at this charter school. After starting in August 2023, by September I was already researching new schools. If I'm being honest, I had red flags simple touring the school, but I dismissed them because the social emotional focus really resonated with us. Turns out that was all performative as well.
Classes were brimming and teachers overextended and under supported. The school takes on more IEP students than it can responsibly handle, simply to gain more state funding. It's icky. It feels irresponsible at best and exploitative at worst. So much for a school that prioritizes the social emotional.
It's interesting to me how many parents who have never experienced a wonderful school environment (we have been fortunate to have ONLY experienced wonderful school communities outside of this one year at CWC WV) make excuses for the bad behavior at CWC. I can only assume they do this because they have only really ever experienced a school as subpar as CWC.
If you're a parent at CWC with reservations, I'm here to tell you that wonderful schools do exist outside of this sad, little bubble. We are at an amazing school this year and we love it. My kids current principal is the figure head of their school, funny and outgoing, accessible to all parents at all times. The principal at CWC hid from us parents and would only come out of hiding to chastise us via email when we had complaints about the school. We were told essentially "good vibes only" in public forums (like parent WhatsApp threads, etc.) about the school and to bring any direct concerns to the administration. Which we would then do and those concerns would go unaddressed and admin was negligently unresponsive. It was a HOT MESS. The lack of transparency felt (again) icky. I can't trust any institution to care for my children that squashes dissent and eschews transparency. Which is hilarious being that their brand is "social emotional." Nahhhh. It's performative.
The school does not live up to or implement the values it espouses. A number of Kindergarteners were sent to the principal and VP last year for acting out. Which is wild to me and feels ridiculously punitive for a bunch of five/six-year-olds. It certainly does not align with the philosophy the school promoted to us. The kids were shamed for misbehavior when the teachers and kids alike are not set up for success by the administration jam packing classes. I do not blame the teachers, all three of ours really tried. I fully hold the admin responsible for the chaos at the school. As Dr. Becky would say, if kids are acting up, do you hold the jr. employees responsible or the CEOs? This lack of structure, order and real-life implementation of social emotional values rests squarely on the shoulders of the ineffective admin.
There is no nurse on staff. My six-year-old came back to me one day with blood all over the front of her shirt. She had a bloody nose at lunchtime, and the supervision is so lackluster no one was there to support her. Finally she did get to the office but not before she had bled all over herself. The office called and said she needed a change of clothes. Once I got there and she was changed, they dismissively told me to "get the blood out of her hair" before she could return to class. That's a direct quote. Bonkers. In no world is any of this ok.
The final cherry on top is they literally shame caregivers into donating and volunteering. Fun times. We were so underwhelmed by the school and yet daily they would solicit our money and time in really shame-y ways. "If we don't meet X donations threshold your kids will lose their amazing access to art/music/etc. If you don't volunteer, we won't have XYZ." The one time my husband and I volunteered for the carpool drop, my husband was yelled at by a lead volunteer. Love these good time social emotional vibes, baby!
The school is a mess. Their philosophy sounds good on paper, but their execution of those ideals leaves little to be desired. I remember complaining on a WhatsApp thread (and being silenced by admin) and a bunch of other parents privately DMing me to say they completely agreed with my concerns. We just couldn't complain in any public forums, or we would be shut down which is super shady. What do they have to hide? There was a mass exodus of families our year, and turnover of both families and teachers alike at CWC WV was very high last year.
If you're a potential parent, I would advise you to really think this school through. And if you're a parent with a kid at CWC WV, trust your gut if things feel off. Don't let the community gaslight you into believing it's a great school. It's not. Full stop. Your kids deserve better and better absolutely does exist.