Research Comquest Academy charter Schools in Houston, Texas

“This school is perfect for the student who has issues or little support from their parents regarding school. They specialize in credit recovery and help a student make up classes. The office staff and principal are very friendly. My only suggestion for improvement would be better communication with parents/caregivers.”

“The longer my child attends the school the more we have come to dislike it. While they do offer the core subjects the teachers simply hand out worksheets and expect the students to fill in the blanks from reading the textbooks...no lectures, no anything that encourages the students to learn. The Superintendent/principal is on a power trip and refuses to listen to any parent comments or even deal with questions parents have. Basically the communication between the schol and the parents is nonexistent. While the school has set rules/policies they seem to change depending on the circumstances - there is no consistent follow through. Unfortunately for my child returning to a public high school is not an option (health reasons) so, in all fairness, the school is providing an opportunity to graduate rather than having to complete a GED.”

“Comquest is a great school if you are desperate! One plus is that students are required to either work or volunteer at least 15 hours a week and this means they get out of classes between 12:30 and 1:30. The school charages $135 a year in fees and another $120 for graduation costs. Uniform shirts (really ugly) cost $25 for a basic cheapy Walmart polo shirt with lettering. Most of the class work is basic workbook type worksheets. The school teaches heavily to the TAKS test.”

“The school has a fee of about 180 dollars and that includes the novels for the English class - this sure beats me having to run around trying to find them. The school covers the basics and has no extra cirricular activites. Students are required to eitehr work or volunteer at least 15 hours per week. All of the homework is done at school and this means that it actually gets done and students can ask questions as needed. Much of the work is individualized and done on an independent basis (after lectures. It really is designed to meet the needs of students who do not do well in a larger setting.”

“A fairly decent school overall. ComQuest offers the basic academic programs which are needed to graduate. Many students come here so they can graduate early, and most of them accomplish that within months of transferring to ComQuest. They also come to Comquest if they have fallen behind in their previous school and want to catch up. Some of the teachers are difficult to understand but they do their best to help the sutdents. They do have some fees to cover expenses as they do not receive the same fudning that the public schools do. The uniforms are okay - there is a variety of colors so students can express tehmselves t some extent. Fo my duaghter it was better than a public high school.”

“I don't think a public school should ask for money in order to register.”

“The school offers the students alot, but they have trouble with listening to the students. My child has said that the teachers will not answer her questions just walk away and tell her she knows the answer. Most of the teachers cannot speak english that well.”

“A good school overall. Offers basic academic programs - nothing spectacular, pretty much courses needed to graduate. Students come here for one reason - to graduate early, and most of them accomplish that within months of transferring to ComQuest.”

“Comquest Academy is by far the absolute worst school my children have ever attended. They pride themselves on providing the absolute minimal, 'core' courses required by the state, and combine multiple grade-level students within a single classroom, and rely on un-certified and un-qualified employees as 'teachers', with limited and inconsistent curriculum, to concurrently 'teach' *different* subjects, to *different* grade-level students, in the same room at the same time. It doesn't work; It's clearly not in the best interest of any student or teacher, and they maintain their 'staff' and 'student population' by selecting both employees and students in desperate situations. I.e., employees that can't afford to lose their jobs and will do anything for work, and students that wouldn't be accepted at any other school. (although, they advertise the opposite). I feel it absolutely reprehensible (borderline criminal) that the TEA and state of TX allows them to remain in operation.”