Research West Oak Lane Charter School charter Schools in Trenton, New Jersey

“Hello- I am a parent of a student attending WOLCS. I am quite dissatisfied with the quality of education received here. There is a great deal of teacher turn over. The administration needs to do more to keep teachers from year to year. Many parents seem to be very unhappy with administration.”

“I am extremely disappointed in what this School has become. The lack of experienced teachers has a powerful impact on the students since teaching styles have not been established. Over all, I am dissatisfied with the education my daughter is receiving there and I am exploring other options academically.”

“i do not totally agree with a lot of what was previously posted about this school. yes it has had a tremendous amount of teacher turn over but what a lot of people don't know is the teacher turnover is a result of the no school left behind act. which clearly states the school must have certified teachers. a lot of young teachers are not able to pass the certification test. which is why the opt to engage employment at the charter schools. i do not neccessarily agree with the new administration being better than the previous. what is differeent, is that the new admisitrative team has much more support than the past. all things were not broken with the past administrative team. in fact in my opinon academically the school had a much better climate with the past adminisitrators. there was much more accountablilty before.”

“This school offers a safe and disciplined learning environment. There have been many changes in administration but there is improvement. Lacks extracurricular activities”

“I agree 100% the school is 200% better. It even looks nicer. The office staff is much more organized and they seen to care about their job. Thank god for the new principal.”

“Well, I have to give West Oak Lane there props they have stepped up their game this year. I love the new administration and the new principal. Last year, my child was in 7th grade and almost everyday she would come and complain to me about this school. Now this year its is her last year and she is graduating. Now I want her last year a year to remember. But so far she says she likes it and that she loves her teachers so I think this school is alot better now that Ms.Parker is gone.”

“I taught at West Oak Lane Charter School during the 2004-2005 school year. I found the administrative organization to be extremely weak, despite the fact that there were three administrators, only one of them was dependable. Nepotism was a strong characteristic displayed throughout the front office and favoritism was practiced regularly. Teachers felt unappreciated, undermined, disrespected, and disliked at various times during the school year. Your child will not last long in an environment where rules are not upheld the same for all students and where teachers feel unappreciated. Teachers regularly leave the school in search of better opportunities, better pay, and better administrative treatment, therefore there is not a lot of consistency as students move from grade to grade. It seems to be a school where making money has become the primary goal over student achievement. They are under new administration for 2006-07, maybe things will be better.”

“I took my daught out of the school in the 7th grade; however my stepson still attends WOLCS and if it wasn't for him only having one more year I would have taken him out as well. Teachers come and go every year. Their test scores are embarassing and it seems that they are just pushing my son along. Their administrative team is unprofessional. Hopefully with the new admininstration coming aboard it will get better but for now, not a very good school at all.”

“I dont like the way West Oak Lane Charter School is being ran. West Oak Lane Charter School is not a good school. The only reason my child is still in that school is because she has only one more year to go. I dont like the teachers. Them uniforms are ridiculous. 75 dollars for some blazer. They had demerits for the 7th and 8th graders. My child hasnt gone on a trip this year. I dont want my child cramped up in some school all day everyday.”

“I found the school to be visually pleasing, but the orgnanization of the administrative team was seemingly lacking. I noticed that many teachers felt unappreciated and that many of the students were labeled as 'bad' and there seemed to be little effort (at least during the 2004-05 school year) to improve the amount of after school programs.”

“West Oaklane charter start as a wonderful way for minority child to get a better education but has turn into a school after profit. Teacher turnover is a concern. My child started there in (k) and now in sisth grade and there maybe a 10 percent retention. New teacher come to get experience and leave for better paying and resources”

“My son who is in 3rd grade started this year 2004. I was very impress with the schools environment, the strict enforcement of uniform policies. WOLCs homework policy is very impressive. I am so happy for my son be in this school. WOLCs is a good school.”

“I took my children out of elwood school. I thought they would receive a firt class education here. There seems to be no organizational skills among the staff. Voice mails of administrators are always full. Adminsitrators can never be found. Communication is horrible. Education is OK. However how can you educate in so much diorganization and caos? The education could be phenominal with better organization. If you are not having good comminication with the parents it leaves a bridge open for disention. Back to school night, is filled with so much negativity. In order to have positive results you should have positive things to say or say nothing. After 15 minutes of 'you should not' being said, I left the meeting as it was non productive. My children will be going to private school 2004 2005 or Deseged to an organized school.”

“Very good school!! I also like that the boys and girls have separate play areas.My children are learning so much more now that they attend WOLC.”