Research Arlington Country Day School private Schools in Jacksonville, Florida

“After going to ACDS for about 3 years, it's apparent that it needs help. The class sizes are small, and the teachers are great, but the administration is sub par. No cafeteria, no lockers, old and out-of-date textbooks and there aren't any bathrooms, just a dirty old toilet. A very small library without a librarian, and no extra curricular activities beyond sports add to the list of problems. The few computers that ACDS has, are about 15 years old. Parents would love to get involved, but there is no PTA organization. The gymnasium is a rundown barn, and other than a softball field, is the only 'home court/field' for any of the sports teams. There is no home field for the baseball or football teams. Finally, there isn't any honor classes as of the 2008-09 school year and no classes other than the basics.”

“ACD campus has improved there is more work to be done , they need to work on getting a cafeteria.other than that the teachers are great i had no problem getting in touch with them if i had a question or problem.I like the small class size, like with all schools there need to be more parent involement to make it a better school”

“I do not consider this school a scholastic school. The building is dirty, the bathrooms are too small and dirty. The grounds are not kept up. I ask to see the textbooks and the one I saw had out of date information. It had no computers, no art, no music, no cafeteria, and no library. The only extra curriculum was the sports team.”

“this is a very bad school, bad judgement call on my part, they dont really have a curriculum. The teachers do the best that they can, but without a solid foundation, one can only do so much. they made a mistake when they let go of the new administrative group at the beginning of the year.”

“This school is terrible. Think God my child is done with school because this school has gone WAY down hill. Beware!”

“The school has improved since the new owners took over last summer. They are making the effort to bring the school back to the high standard that it was known for, before the Litchwards took over. Weekly communication from the headmaster via email, more teacher involvement, improvement in the buildings and cirriculum are just some of the changes. However, it is a small school, and would not be able to support a 'larger quantity of courses' at this time. They are focused on quality education, not quantity. I would continue to send my child here.”

“This school needs alot of work physically, administratively and educationally. Other than the fact the school was kept afloat by a new owner, the new school administration is subpar, way under expectations. The teachers are a good group, however the school does not offer anything beyond required courses and has an atheletic program which caters to the JV and SR classes. No P.E., No cafeteria. This school could be great if its courses were of a larger quantity. The building itself is a distraction. The are far better private schools in the area. We will not be sending our child to this school next year. Bad choice on our part.”

“The classes are not to small and not to big so the student get the better education and also help if needed be in there studies”

“This school isn't what I expected it to be. I've been there for three years and it is just disgusting. I can already tell that I've not learned anything.”

“The school campus is not up to par with any other high school in the area.The hallways are outdoor and are extremely dirty and the campus is run down with no maintenance done at all. The school itself is barely holding on. I only attend this school because of the athletics.”

“The school has great, high quality teachers rarely met at other schools. They care about their students, curriculum & students' achievements. My child attended this school for 10 years and currently attends top magnet school where is very successful. Although in higher grade now - some subjects (science/literature/english) are just a review of the material already learned at ACDS.”

“ACD has always stood for success in their students. ACD today backs that up with the principal they have hired, Mr. Della Crosse who welcomes the students each day as they drive up to the school. He listens to students and parents and has made very constructive changes that will guarantee success for my three children. I watched our school fall apart and I am thankful that I waited to be around to watch it rise. Mr. Horne has shown his love a pride by cleaning up the school physical and internally. Today we stand as a new family ready whatever the future may hold. Coach SIms has stood behind the school from day one and has rallied the parents and students to keep our heads up and put our trust in our new leaders, Mr. Horne and Mr. Della Crosse. ELizabeth Harris mother of Herb, Hillary and Holly Harris”

“Both my children attend ACD - last year was very difficult with the head administrator really not caring about the school. BUT, this year is going to be fabulous. There is a lot of work to do on the outside, but the teachers are great. This will be our seventh year at the school and I believe my children will go to and excel in college. The teachers care tremendously and keep in close contact with the parents that want to be involved. There are some parents and students that are not involved with the school and I'll bet they are the negative comments posted. Looking forward to a wonderful year.”

“With money hungry owners the school has NOTHING to offer the kids. Get new and caring owners and maybe in time the school will offer the students something more than football, basketball, broken out dated computers and out of date books. The have no science or technology programs. The poor elementary kids have absolutely nothing to play with, The owner doesn't care.”

“I graduated from ACDS in 2007. The campus was always very dirty. The bathrooms in the classrooms were very filthy and about the size of a closet. The school website says that there are three computer labs. This is not true. There is one computer lab in the library. Two of the classrooms have several computers in them, but were not used. The library did not have a librarian and was extremely unorganized. Some of the teachers are very good at their job. Students in honor courses usually had homework and learned a lot. But in many of the classrooms, nothing happened. In one of my English classes we spent around 80 percent of the time watching movies, or just sitting there. I did not learn at all in that class, I had similar scenarios in other classes. In other classes I learned a lot. I would not recommend ACDS.”

“I was a student at ACD. (I went from 2006-2008.) There are very few teachers who will do their job with no problem but some other teachers do not do anything. Sometimes I feel like if I had never had the good teachers that I have had, I would not be prepared for my future. A lot of my friends left because of graduation feeling unprepared. It is pretty sad because a lot of the teachers do their best without thank yous. There are hopefully going to be new owners in the future but until then, I will not go.”

“My son entered this school in the middle of first grade. He has been attending for 2 1/2 years. H ewill not be going back next year. While I believe the teachers are very good and try their best with the rescources they have, they don't have enough to be succesfull. All of the available funds are put into the sports program and little to no funds are given to elementary. the communication with administration is absolutely horrible. I once made 7 calls in 2 days to Mrs. Lichtward without a call back. In the end I never did receive a call back. There is no PE for elementary (they had PE 6 times the entire year), no playground, no cafeteria, no computer class etc. I was so frusstrated once I figured out that I was paying to give my child a second rate education.”

“I have been going to ACDS for Two years(2006-2007:2007-2008) For 6th and 7th grade. It is the best school for a middle-high schooler to attend. They provide a great outdoor inviorment for the children and have great teachers. Although the school has no indoor hallways, it is a great school all together.”

“filthy!! Elementary has caring teachers who do their best with no resources. Textbooks not ordered, no library, music, drama, art, computers are broken, no internet, no cafeteria, no playground. Children dig in dirt for fun. No formal PE classes. Just a teacher to watch the students play in the gym. Cancelled most of the time. Don't waste you money on this dump. It will probably lose its accreditation after this year. Noone seems to be in charge. Middle and HS students receive nothing but A's and B's for doing no work. Most can't go anywhere else. School has enrolled students who have been kicked out of other schools. Makes lots of promises, then does nothing. A crime it can call itself a school.”

“My son attends kindergarten and we will not be coming back for 1st. I've never been so disappointed. There have been incidents where my son has been hurt or in a situation no kindergartener should ever be put through with no reprimand to the other students. I am constantly replacing clothes because their play yard is dirt and a basketball goal and the kids just get to dig and roam around. My son literally comes home with dirt in his eyes, ears, and nose. There is a library...but no librarian. P.E. consists of the kids running around in a gym and falling off of bleachers. This school lacks structure and is money hungry. I believe that the teachers are good qualified people but the higher administration needs to take a long hard look at the reputation the school has given itself.”

“I believe there are some very good teachers at ACDS but they are continually undersupported by the Administration. Calls are not returned to parents and problem children are not dealt with. My child will not return next year.”

“My son has attended this school for 2 years now and everything that he learned in Kindergarten was stuff that he had already learned in PK-4 so it was a waste of money. But i decied to keep him there against my better judgement and his 1st grade teacher has turned out to be a very good teacher and i'm thankful for that because she cares about the students in her class and also communicates very well with us on his progress. I do however think that i'm going to have to have him tutored because he will be going into 2nd grade not knowing how to read. The grounds and classrooms need some work and the Elementary kids need a playground He will not be attending the school for 2nd grade i'm going to put him in public where i feel he has a better chance at learning.”

“The facalty does not communicate with the parents. I also am very disappointed with the sports program for the middle school kids, they do not get the attention that the high school sports programs get. Overall I am very disappointed with the scool.”

“Arlington Country Day School does not do a good job preparing students for life after school,whether it be going to college or joining the work force.The curriculum and discipline at the school is very lax.”

“This is my son's first year attending ACDS and so far his grades have exceeded and remained as an A and B student. I wish the school could show some kind of appreciation to the students as other schools do. The school grounds and classrooms could use some work. I do like that the classrooms are not over crowded which gives the students for one on one with their teachers.”

“overall Arlington country day school is not that bad.”

“My experience has not been a good one. My calls were continually ignored, and when I did get on campus I was shocked at the condition of the grounds. A teacher was showing us around, and he was almost gossiping about the situation at the school. It makes me wonder how this school got accredited.”

“We have had a very good experience with this school. The teachers are dedicated and connected with my daughter. The grounds could use some attention, but the classrooms were cheerful and the environment was as promised.”

“I am a patron of this school for over 15 years and so far, have had a good experience with this school. One of my children who attended this school had no problem in getting into a college where he is very successful. My other child who attends the school is also doing very well academically. I never had a problem reaching anybody at the school. I could always reach headmaster, office or any teacher on a short or even no notice. Teachers give even their cell phone numbers for keeping in touch with parents. However, I am disappointed with parents as many of them don't want to get involved with school and many of them don't even attend parent-teacher conferences. Extracurricular activities could also be improved.”

“This school overpromises when you are interviewing them, the underdelivers once they have your money. It is located in a bad section of town and the facilities are sub par. Teachers are over extended and underpaid so there is no real motivation to accel in their careers.”

“My child attended for Kindergarten, and is now so far behind other schools (public and private) if I do not have him tutored for reading over the summer he will have to repeat Kindergarten. There was a 1 to 9 ratio most of the year, 1/2 of which were not old enough to enter most schools and should have been placed in a preschool as they turned 5 late in the school year. Check ratios if you are looking at this school as enrollment is down so much they combined 2nd and 3rd grades this year. I will say that my child is at or above grade level for math. It is the end of the year and they are only sounding out 3 letter short vowel words. Endings, long vowels etc were not covered. I was shown work from last year while touring, never introduced to students this year.”

“This wonderful school gave my son not only an excellent education, but an opportunity to make valuable friendships in a safe and nurturing environment. He attended the school for 8 years and is now successful in college. While the buildings may not be modern, the heart and soul of a school are what matters most.”

“I have been very disappointed with this school. I felt this might be a better alternative than Sandalwood . .it was has been worse and a complete waste of time. My son and his friends talked about how they would spend their time in class on cell phones and doing little to no work . . still he brought home A's and B's even after having no homework assigned to him. I could never reach the headmaster and on the one occasion I did he did not want to hear anything I had to say. The report cards and progress reports are hand written. The final straw was when a substitute teacher called my son a moron and an idiot. I paid for the full year in advance and should be refunded @ $3,500. We ll see how that works out. WASTE OF TIME AND MONEY!”

“High School lacks discipline and leadership.”

“I don't feel my child is learning as much as I would like her to.”

“Good school, the teachers are good and care about the job they are doing. Class sizes are small. An old fashioned school, not much glitz but your child will get more out of their education than in the public schools. Less distractions from learning.”

“I am a teacher at Arlington Country Day School. The parents want results that their student can't achieve, becasue the principal tells the parents the school can do it. On paper the students achieve. There is no activities other than sports. I would not enroll my child in this school.”

“My son attends this school and has since middle school due to the very poor quality of public schools in Arlington. The small classes and caring teachers have helped him excel. He is able to advance to a higher grade levels in subjects he is best at. I pay for this school, although I can't really afford private school. I feel it has been a godsend, I wish I had sent my older son there instead of sticking it out at Terry Parker. The school is not impressive to look at but the teachers there care and do a great job.”

“I could not afford Espicopal or Bolles School, so I looked into Arlington Country Day. This school's only apparent reason to exsit is to play sports. There is no education going on in the classrooms. In reality my student learned nothing. On a whole, my child lost an entire year and a half in Arlington Country Day School”

“I was very dissapointed with this school. My children attended under the McKay Scholarship, and I presumed that a school accepting this scholarship would be prepared to help ESE students. But it was not and I feel like I have wasted 2 years. It seems like the main focus of this school is athletics. I guess if you are not a special needs student & you like sports, this may be a good school for you. Also, to my dismay, I could never reach the headmaster or book keeper by phone (or get a callback) after repeated attempts. In addition, the dress code was not enforced for the older students, and many times I saw students wearing outfits that were more suited for a nightclub than for school. That doesn't really set a good example for younger students.”