Calvary Christian Academy and Pre-School

Great place!

We were displaced by Hurricane Michael in Panama City, FL in October 2018 where my son began his wonderful preK program. However, with the hurricane destroying our home we moved to Atlanta to live with our parents during the transition period of four months before heading to Eglin Afb. Due to it being Feb 2019 I had to get my son reenrolled into a pre-school ASAP so he could be ready for kindergarten come the Fall 2019. After calling and calling with no spots avail we found Calvary. It was a pleasant experience over the phone until we went into the school for the tour. It was super clean, that was great. Up front tuition was totaling $1000 to get started (included first month, supplies, trips etc)! It is a private school per say, but was no big difference between this school vs one down the street offering VPK. There was one teacher to 18 children in the 4 yr class. I was told specifically that “it is a very rigid and structured class and they don’t have free time, no centers..it is instruction for three hours and they play outside for 20 mins after instruction.” I was taken back because these are four year olds! I was reminded the above statement several times by the front desk clerk. She was not a welcoming first impression for my boy nor I, nor the $1000 we were about to put into the school. My son kept saying he was scared to go there. I felt unsettled. He was scolded three times during the 10 min application process at the front desk. I was shocked! He was looking at the pens, the decor for Valentine’s Day and was looking over the gate and was scolded for touching them. I am NOT one for protecting my child but was taken back at the lack of warm welcome toward him/us by the front desk clerk/director! She is the front line of the school...not sure that was a good choice. Then, we were listening upon teachers that were super frustrated/almost losing control of their classrooms while we were in a back room picking through beat up uniforms to take home. One child stuck his tongue out at my son for no reason what so ever other than to be nasty. I immediately knew after these several minor but important encounters that we were def in the wrong school for us. One teacher, NO ASSISTANT! Teaching my child? No thanks! No way would I ever recommend the Calvary preK to anyone. I cannot speak to the other school for bignkids. These are children and it seemed as if they were being treated as the orphans off the movie Annie. I’ll pass.

As a child back in the 80s I was TRAUMATIZED at the hands of all but one adult staff member (Mrs. Self was my life saver in this joint-thank you Mrs. Self! You are certainly everything beautiful and nothing like the rest of those rotten demons) Mrs. York would threaten me on a daily basis, sat me in the last desk in the last row for two years straight knowing I could not see the front. She would speak to me through gritted teeth and yank my skinny arm so hard with her fat paw wrapping around it TWICE nearly! When she'd yank me up out of my desk I would lose a shoe it was that violent! She instructed the children to laugh and point as she place me in front of the class putting me on display due to my sucking my thumb. Mrs Thorn was a beast too. Never sweet! On parent conference day they would all act like they just loved me so much leaving me super confused the next day going back to that prison! I was 5 going in and 8 yrs old coming out- they received three years Worth of tuition to just mistreat me and several other kids. Shawn Dubison (sp?), Also was dealt a card similar to mine! Grown ups don't think about these kids growing up, we get to wrapped up in the moment most of the time...it's super sad really, how we treat the generation under us is so important ... For those are the ones that have the responsibility of taking care of US! I PRAY THIS PLACE HAS CHANGED FOR THE BETTER- ps: I, myself, went onto work with children and maybe all of the nasty negativity I received there helped mold me into the empathetic, loving and patient person I am today...for that i want to say THANK YOU & ---- YOU!

GREAT PLACE FOR YOUNG CHILDREN TO GROW UP AND LEARN ABOUT JESUS

I love this place because they have piano restles