SHSU Charter School at Little Geniuses' Academy

My husband and I think SHSU Charter School is a wonderful option for our family because they are merging a private school concept and a public school concept into one.nnWhat makes them different is that SHSU Charter is a tuition free school that is NOT benchmark and STAAR driven. They are getting back to the needs of the whole child by offering smaller class sizes and a more personal environment with hands on curriculum enhanced by SHSU College of Education professors.nnThey have a year round program with intercessions following each six week grading period which is nice for families who like to travel during the off seasons. (There will actually only be 170 instructional days for students during the 2017-2018 school year which we have noticed is less than other schools in the surrounding districts.) SHSU Charter School is also offering a robotics enrichment program and will be something new and interesting for our children to experience.nnWe feel that our children will be less likely to “fall through the cracks” and will be more likely to succeed in a smaller learning environment where it will be easier to really connect with other students and staff and develop a strong feeling of belonging to something great.nnTeachers are certified with years of teaching experience and administrators are seasoned educators in both classroom and administrative settings.nnThe faculty are all very warm and welcoming. The teachers have all known or worked for the principal for years and have followed her to the new school. That makes me, as a parent, feel confident about the teachers' level of commitment and honestly, I think it speaks volumes about Mrs. O'Neal's character that her staff thinks so highly of her to want to do so.nnWe are excited about what SHSU Charter is offering and see this as an opportunity to receive the advantages of a private school without the high price tag that comes with it.

My son went here for the first half of the year and it turned out to be a bad decision all around. On paper it looked to be the perfect school. small class size, no testing, individualized attention, experienced teachers, no homework, all the same assistance as in public schools such as speech and GT services.nNOT TRUE. Except for the small class size, everything else was a lie.nAnd to top it off, everyone, including parents, were scared of the brand new teacher that had 100% control over the class. Why, because she was a bully. Rude, never looked you in the eye, ignored people, yelled at parents, made up rules on the whim, and was often found rolling her eyes and appearing to swear under her breath.nMy son was scared of her too and didn't want to enter the room by himself because she was mean. So my wife walked him in, but then the teacher yelled at her and forced her and all the other parents out. We pulled him out and homeschooled for awhile. Now he is in a new school that he loves. My wife reports never even seeing the inside of the class because our son is so proud to go in by himself. He's a whole new happier child since leaving sam Houston Charter.

If this school were any good, it would not be closing, it would be thriving. New schools expand based on word of mouth, and word on the street was this site is a mess and the k/1 teacher is not qualified for her job.nI had a lot of good things to say about SHSU back in August, but now it is March and all I can say is I'm thankful that I pulled my child out a month ago. As a teacher myself, I know the value of routine for kids and leaving a school mid-year is not advised. However, after weighing the pros and cons I realized my child would be better served sitting home watching TV than being with a teacher who so clearly hated the kids, the parents and her job.nThe amount of disrespect(usually eye rolling and rude tone) and tension was felt by all and several parents mentioned asking for a different teacher should they stay next year(the teacher in question is going to The Woodlands campus) and a friend of mine visited the campus and said she got a 'bad vibe' from the teacher-and this was before I'd even mentioned an issue!nWhile people seem happier at the other sites and I did like the PE and music teachers, I would not trust an administration that hired such a poorly trained educator to begin with. There are 100s of great charter, private and public schools all over Houston, no need to waste time with this one.