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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Would love to hear more about what people like about apple tree. I was also concerned that it sounded too academic focused from a rep i spoke with, a lot of focus on reading.[/quote]

Funny, that is what I found attractive about it!  That is one of the advantages of having lots of schools.  It, in principle, gives one choices to fit what works for your child and your family.

I too am very interested to hear how people have liked Appletree.  We are considering the Columbia Height location as a choice for PS3.  Any sense of which types of kids have thrived versus which have not?[/quote]

We attended Appletree at Columbia Heights, and it's funny, your question gets to the heart of the thing that impressed me most about Appletree: the wide range of kids who seemed to thrive there.

I'm the parent of the child who'd already done PS3 a year earlier (Dec bday and more flexible pre-school around ages).  So we were really really trying to get her into a PK4 program even though she'd still be 3 by 9/30.  Wasn't happening.  And I know everyone believes their child is a brilliant superstar (as each parent should believe!) but we'd gotten plenty of external feedback about her vocabulary, plus she went to an awesome daycare (in our previous city) where they started Spanish and French at 2 yrs old and she already knew the days of the week, most of her alphabet sounds, etc.  So we REALLY wanted a place that would meet her where she was and keep her moving, and we were really worried.

At the same time, in her class, there were kids who not only was it clear this was this  their first time in an organized classroom setting, but they clearly didn't have many boundaries set for them at home.  We also saw some concerning behaviour by a couple of parents/grandparents early on at drop off and were worried what their kids would be like in the classroom.

Honestly, and I am super critical most of the time, I was absolutely impressed and thrilled with how the 2 lead teachers and 3rd assistant teacher handled the classroom.  I saw EACH of the kids who were both superstars, and the kids I had personal worries about, change over the course of the year.  Also, there was a LOT of turnover unfortunately, so that by mid year it seemed like 1/3 of hte class was all different kids, but the teachers rolled with that as well.  There was a kid in the class who was, well, everyone joked that he might as well teach the class himself, he was so smart and already doing PK4 level work at a year-end level.  But they met him where he was, and he kept advancing (or so said his parents).  There was one kid, sweet boy but SO hard to manage his behavior... he eventually settled in so well to the routine.  I believe he really benefitted tremendously as well, although I didn't get to know his grandma as well to be able to talk to her.  But we did at one point report something serious abotu her (and her behavior to the child) to the teachers, they talked to the principal, the principal and teachers met with the grandma, and whatever happened, we saw changes (positive changes) in her behavior almost immediately.  I'm guessing it was a difficult but positive meeting.  I was very very impressed.

We also loved the high level of developmental/academic feedback we got.  My MIL is an elementary school principal in NYC, and when I sent her our child's first report from Appletree, she was all kinds of impressed with how it was organized, how detailed, and how much both qualitative and quantiftaive (where appropriate) feedback we were getting.

The only downside of CH, honestly, was the fact that the classrooms are in the basement, with no windows.  That bummed me out a lot at first, but then I was surprised and amazed at how at drop off every day... the classroom was so alive and engaged, we didn't really notice.  And our child loved it from day 1.

We got into our 1st choice charter for PK4, and while we didn't hesitate for a second to accept the spot, my DH and I had a lot to say to each other about how much we were going to miss Appletree and how we wished whe could keep her there 1 more year while holding the spot at the other school (which obviously we knew was impossible, but that's how much we wished she could have that 2nd year).

So that's it, that's what we liked.  And Ms. Tanya the Assistant Principal (I think that's her title - she's definitel running the school though) has a big scary bark sometimes, but she is warm and wonderful and every thing she promised us the school delivered on.  Really love the model of Appletree and our experience was so good.[/quote]

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