Live Oak Charter School Reviews - by Parents

Another Waldorf charter in California doing a terrible job.
So why, exactly, do we need more of these schools?

http://www.greatschools.org/school/parentReviews.page?id=12092&state=CA#from..He\
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Posted January 19, 2011
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This school has no real educational structure. If you want your child to have a
good education in math, english, science, etc. this is not the school for you.
If you want your child to learn about knitting, painting, and gardening and not
much else, then this school is just fine. Having a kid go from LOC to any
public/private high school is truly a stressful experience for the kid because
they have not properly learned the basic concepts of math, writing, etc.

Posted December 19, 2010
My kids learn many skills of very dubious value and little of factual value.
Yes, they can finger knit and sing, but the math and reading skills are simply
unacceptable. Live Oak is basically a public school for the sons and daughters
of flower children that have escaped the minority dense schools of Novato and
San Rafael and Santa Rosa. No business execs, community leaders, or knowledge
workers send their kids here. If you care about your kids future, consider
another institution. If you lead a hand to mouth existence, this school will
propagate that attitude for your children. As I wrote this, my son from live oak
came over to tell me that the bullying at the school was out of control and the
staff does not handle it well. I have heard that numerous times. —Submitted by a
parent

Posted July 15, 2010
Areas that need work: - communication with parents at all levels - bullying -
increased supervision in larger classes —Submitted by a parent

Posted May 13, 2010
My son went to LOC for about 4yrs and it was really good, had a bad deal with
bullying, but that was resolved, but come 3rd grade all got lost, the director,
Will Stapp couldn't manage anything and still can't. They say they are a waldorf
school, but sometimes I feel like the parents have more control then the
teachers. They are losing what little programs they have, really sad. The
leadership is awful, teaches are pretty good, but they need to deal with issues
they have just swept under the floor before it is to late.

Posted June 29, 2009
We had a beyond excellent teacher, then got a awful teacher, programs keep
getting cut, they don't support LD kids,over dependent on parent involvement,
great families! Live oak could be great If they'd get qualified leadership&
stopped being a small dysfunctional family. It's sad school admin can't follow
thru for parents, could be magnificant school if they had a qualified admin team
& better communication between staff & families. Young school, that needs
professional direction, if ur willing to risk ur kids academics the gamble could
pay off wonderfully or you may flounder in the holes as they erratically try to
handle their short comings
—Submitted by a parent

Posted December 4, 2008
There are some nice people at Live Oak like anywhere else. There are also some
good teachers. However.... They flatter themselves that their education is
different and diverse, but it is not true at all. Live Oak's motto should be
'Education Without Effort.' If you want your child to get a decent education in
math and science and be able to write a coherent essay paper then Live Oak is
not for you. If you want your child to learn knitting and calligraphy or if you
want your child to go on lots of expensive field trips (at the expense of proper
learning) then Live Oak may be right for you. It all starts at the top. The
director is, to be quite frank, incompetent. Sad to say, he is not respected by
the vast majority of parents and older children. (I'm only allowed 150 words so
must end here.)
—Submitted by a parent

It's obvious that EVERY Waldorf school reviewed suffers from the same problems -
and those generally relate to a lack of accountability. Accountability is not
something Waldorf people are accustomed to. The charter system is attempting to
hold Waldorf charters accountable. HUGE problems seem to be focused on the
administrators and their unwillingness to deal with parents concerned about this
education. Hopefully, others will help in gathering data to demonstrate how, as
a group, Waldorf charters aren't serving the community.


PK
ENOUGH ALREADY!!!
http://petekaraiskos.blogspot.com/