Xavier Charter School

Our experience has been positive and we as a family have been delighted to be part of the XCS family. My children have attended the schoolsince its inception and there have been some tough times with issues beyond the classroom. Regardless of what was happening the teachers have always focused on the students and my children have succeeded.

My oldest child who attended XCS has graduated and is successfully completeing college. She has stated that compared to many of her peers coming from other schools she has felt much more prepared. My other children are doing at XCS and when they stumble the teachers go above and beyond to help them improve and succeed.

For my daughter in the older elementary grade level Xavier wasn’t a bad option. Their classical education concept worked very well with keeping her challenged. There is a very high expectation for behavior, I would even call it business-like which is understandable when you have the classical curriculum. However, when my son entered into 1st grade, it seemed the behavior expectation from K to 1st was too great, to go from hands on activities, more interaction with peers to sitting at your desk being taught (quite a bit of lectures and some group work). I had an idea this wouldn’t work for him as during the first week, I received a phone call from his teacher that he used too many paper towels in the bathroom (approx. five). I clarified that he didn’t do anything bad with them, just used too many. His teacher did seem to try some techniques to keep him focused during lectures but it came to the point I never heard any positive feedback which led me to believe he never received any in class. I’ve since pulled my son from Xavier due to his increasing negative view of school, daily stomachaches to avoid going etc. and is now much happier at our neighborhood grade school.

My other issue with Xavier is their special ed program leaves something to be desired. Last spring, I inquired about my daughter (who is non-verbal autistic, no behavior issues) attending kindergarten. The special ed director at the time seemed very positive until I mentioned my daughter was non-verbal. I was then referred to our local school district. Upon hearing a change in directors, I again inquired via email about potentially having my daughter attend Xavier. After three days, I received a four paragraph response in legal-ease informing me of what my daughter is entitled to under federal law. I then asked if it would be possible to observe their current program in action but was extremely put off when I was told IF it were possible, I would need to arrange it myself with the head of schools.
All that being said, Xavier really is a good option if your child has an auditory learning style and no mental disabilities.