Challenger School – Avery Ranch

I was initially a fan of this school because they have a great academic program and understand that children are capable of so much more than many adults realize. Which is why I’m giving two stars instead of one.
The staff at this school isn’t the most friendly, but after talking to them about it, they’ve made some changes or at least they began to acknowledge us when we would drop off our kids. Before, they wouldn’t say anything to us.
It appears that some of the teachers do not have a background in child development, which is very concerning. I witnessed one of the teachers getting angry with my 3yr old because he didn’t have a good nap, was a bit cranky and didn’t want to participate in the dancing portion of the class at that time. He wanted to be by himself. She was quite flustered and told me, «.and that is just not what we’re going to do here!» He apologized to her (not that it’s a big deal that he didn’t want to dance. sheesh!) but she was very snotty about it, «do you have something to say to me?» Then, when he tried to say bye to her, she barely even acknowledged him.
Another teacher grabbing paints out of his hands (tug-​of-​war with a 3yr old), as I watched through the window. He started crying. I spoke to the headmaster about it and her response was very stern and told me, «Well, he knows that his hands are supposed to be in his lap before art begins.» ooookkkaaay?! How about we use our words before snatching things from a kid. Plus he’s 3 and they put the paints right in front of the kids on the tables while they were already coloring. None of their hands were in the laps.
Then on another occasion, my husband picked him up before taking him to his class; she walked by and said to him, «what, are his legs broken?» We talked to her about how rude it was. We received an apology, but this type of behavior wasn’t out of the ordinary. A friend of ours had a similar experience when she picked up her 3yr old. The comment was, «if he can’t walk, then he can’t go here.» There were many other issues with the school, like not calling us when my son was coughing so badly that the teacher was worried, even though it’s noted in his files and I told them directly that he has asthma. Also, I had no idea that my son was having tantrums for weeks, which was completely out of his character. There was no mention of it until I told them about how the teacher was getting angry with him.
The general feeling that we get from this school is that we’re lucky to be able to have our kids there and any wrong move and you’re out. Which brings me to my final issue. We sent a letter to their corporate office with our concerns. After that, they scheduled a meeting with us to terminate our contract. It wasn’t a big deal, as we were already looking for other schools, but I find it alarming that instead of addressing the issues, that they would just cancel our contract. We received a story about how «kids are too precious» and «that we need to feel safe» when our kids are there. Which is true, but I did mention to them that I’m a bit concerned that they’re not actually addressing the issues at this particular location.
We tried out the Round Rock location first and had a great experience, so I’m disappointed that Avery Ranch didn’t have the same quality and that neither one of our kids are at this school anymore. I spoke to another parent that also went from Round Rock to Avery Ranch and she noticed the same issues.
When I went back to pick up the rest of our paperwork, the headmaster saw me and didn’t even look at me. Then she said hi to my son and not to me. She continued to talk to him as if I wasn’t there and then finally said hi to me. A bit petty I think, but oh well. I guess she didn’t like that corporate was notified of her behavior, even though they didn’t do anything about it.
When my kindergartner was there, she was so stressed that we realized that it just wasn’t worth it. She was a home and was writing and got so angry and said that her «handwriting was just ugly!» Instead of encouraging the children, they are very critical of their work.
If you’re considering Challenger school, I would suggest checking out the other locations or a different school entirely. They are not the only school with a great academic program.

My son attended preschool at Challenger School — Avery Ranch for almost two years. The experience was largely positive for him, and he thrived academically and developmentally in the Challenger curriculum.
The curriculum/​preschool program is rigorous, well-​defined, and extensive. My son did a ton of artwork, a tremendous amount of phonics reading and writing, and a good amount of natural science learning. He can read and write already, and he has not yet started kindergarten.
The program has a traditional, old-​school flair. Expectations are high for the children. I appreciate this approach.
On the negative side, Challenger does not offer extremely open parental access. Parents are not really welcomed to observe in the classroom. Communication about your child’s progress can be scant. Boilerplate progress reports came every few months, but there was rarely detail aside from «always, sometimes, with help.»
This program probably would not work as well for children that are more sensitive or have developmental/​behavior issues. Like any school, the quality of the teacher can vary greatly. We had an amazing teacher one year, and we had some challenges in the second year. My son did not mesh as well with the teacher, and we started to see some odd behavior issues in the classroom
I can’t really argue with the results. The curriculum works, and the Avery Ranch campus was well-​run and safe. The tuition seemed reasonable and in line with other preschool options. I recommend for the right type of child. Do your research and see if Challenger is a good fit.