Christian Education Leadership Academy Inc

CELA is 100% NOT accredited! They are committing fraud and are intentionally deceiving parents and families. I would highly suggest you contact WRISA directly and go to their website. When Mr. Porter wrote his review on google, I contacted the school prior to enrolling my child to inquire about it; not only did they divulge personal and sensitive information about his family (as they do with many families), they claimed they would be accredited in less than 2 years, and by this summer. However, when I contacted WRISA on April 3, 2017, they had not even begun the accreditation process! They also lied to me about their turnover rate, later claiming half the faculty and families left because "they" misunderstood the religion curriculum. They misunderstood? Yet, they will charge you $8,000 a year in tuition for a school that is NOT accredited, and has not had their educational program validated. Buyer beware- you have absolutely no recourse... They will make you pay with a check, so you cannot dispute the charges through your bank.

As soon as my child began, I was told that a girl received a note in her locker telling her that she should go and kill herself. School administration barely investigated the matter, and instead, tried to set up the "good" students to get the "bad" students to confess. When school administration failed to find the author of the note, they told students to start telling other students that she probably did it herself for attention. The poor girl left due to massive bullying.

Unfortunately, this is where it does not end... My child was tripped backwards and punched in the head several times by a student two years older and a foot taller. No one from the school asked where my child was hit, and no one ever performed any assessments. My child suffered headaches for over a week. When I brought this up to the "Head of School", I was retaliated against and was not given the ability to discuss my concerns with the School Board, which is their policy. I was told that when my child was tripped backwards (unprovoked by the way), my child did not need an assessment because "it's turf". It just goes to show you how ignorant the administration is. Google search the "Head of School's" name, and you'll see a long list of issues with other school districts. This was a last resort pick when the school lost their Headmaster last year, and massive amounts of families and teachers left the school.

This is in fact, how the entire school operates. Nothing is ever the fault of the administration, and they have a handbook that they DO NOT follow. The owner is completely arrogant, and he absolutely does not care about the students- he cares more about ripping families off. A man that apparently makes tens of millions of dollars per year, refuses to refund my tuition that I worked extremely hard to pay for. This must be how he gained his wealth- through fraud and stealing from others. My child stopped attending the school, and they continue to hold my tuition payment hostage, only offering to refund a small portion if I signed a note indicating that I would only say positive things about the school. They also threatened me, and told me that they would interfere with my child's records if I did not sign the note. The owner also asked me where I worked, as if he had the ability to impact my career.

Does this sound like a Christian environment to you?

I can't imagine keeping my story private, while CELA continues to rob the community. I would encourage anyone that has been a victim of fraud by CELA to contact the Federal Trade Commission and the Office of Non-Public Education and file a complaint. CELA truly thinks that since it's a private school, they have no rules to abide by. It's time to hold them accountable. CELA has a terrible reputation in the community for good reason.