Valrico Lake Advantage Academy - Riverview, Florida

Marc P.

2 boys have been going here since kindergarten. One will be a 3rd grader and the other a 2nd. A third boy will be there in another year. We can't say enough good about this school. Being new parents to elementary students there was a learning curve, toss in car lines and it can be rough at first. Be patient, ask questions and check the many social media groups available. So far we have not met a teacher that we have not liked. My kids love going to school which is a testament to how well this school operates.

Thanks to all the educators that have had to deal with politics, masks, pandemics, constant policy changes, more politics, scared parents, lawsuits and the kids that are normally challenging. We are so very grateful that you do what you do, we stand with you!

isabella V.

i used to be a student here, and honestly i despise this school and their staff. i felt completely useless and miserable here, and felt like i was constantly alone. the teachers never faced the reality in front of them and if they saw a child being mistreated, they did nothing. most were extremely rude and the students did nothing to deserve it. the service was god awful, the administration was very poor, and the school lunch was absolutely disgusting. my friend had gotten spoiled milk once for pete’s sake! i strongly do not recommend this school.

Eunice P.

The school is built on a very small lot resulting in parking issues and long wait lines which overflow to neighboring lots. It's a mess and a huge time waster! Like in many charter schools there is high teacher turnover and the faculty is unprofessional (to say the least). Initially, I was impressed with their high test scores but after my son spent one year attending the school (enrolled in the Cambridge program) it was evident that the quality of education is subpar. Additionally, the uniform company they use is unorganized and archaic. This is not a bad school, it's just not worth the hassle in my opinion.

Liss H.

I am disappointed at this school. I expect they to be more kind with little kids -
Kindergartners. My daughter was so exited for her 1st day, but everything went wrong- she went hunger for the whole 1st day, the second day she was crying at picking up time. It was a bad experience for us, teacher didn’t seem to be caring about little kids. The dean of the students was helpful but could not do much about the teacher situation. Maybe not a good school for little ones.
Also the drop -off and pick up- is a disaster, the line usually takes at least 30-40 min. They don’t allow walk-in students , what about if someone does not have a car ( their answer was : they have to pay Uber ) ! What if a parent prefer to park and walk-in the child - they wont allow it ( never knew the reason ).
The first students that have to be at school are the youngest ones . So they have to be there before 7:30 otherwise they are consider late and won’t be able to have breakfast. So the more little ones had to wake up the earliest, at least 5 am , because with that terrible , long line you have to do, you have to at school at 6:30 for your kid to be in the school by at least 7:15 due to the line.
Hope they make some improvements to be a better charter school 🙁

Heather E. ?.

So far I give the school 2 stars. The education is like anywhere else. The car lines to pick up and drop off your student takes up 3-4 hours of my day each day. It would be 4 hours if I didn't park near a local business and walk my student to school in the morning... which is advised against. Its not as parent friendly as I would like. Having lunch with your child is only asked to be only on special occasions yet they want you to volunteer 10 hours a year to help out the school 🤔
I like to be involved in my child's school and regularly have lunch with them so I wish I would've known this before attending here. Busses and bus routes would greatly help with the backed up traffic & school lunches could be a lot healthier in my opinion. We're early on in the year and I'll review again in several months to update 😊

📣 Update: We’re on year 3 and my daughter is doing well. The carline issue have MUCH improved this 2021-2022 school year. My child loves her teachers and is happy to be back in school with her friends. I think the school has done a good job navigating the challenges that Covid brought.
I think there is room for improved communication of events and sports that are offered. But definitely an improvement overall. The test scores are higher than the schools around.

Revédor B.

This is my children first year and the car line to pick up/drop off is horrible. If you work across town and have to be there by 8 am be prepared to be late every day. The car line is a complete disaster. No walk up kids or pick up walk ups but if it’s a Rainey day you can walk up what type of mess is this So far I haven’t had any bad experience with the teachers so far but I will update once we get pass the first 9 weeks.

Steven K.

Principal is a take charge leader.
Front office are sensational.
Teacher turnover rate is extremely high
Curriculum is a joke, pathetic and our children will be removed this year. Great diverse setting drop off & pickup is an engineering nightmare but the staff has made it as efficient as possible. If you choose a subdivision bubblewrap simple lifestyle then this is your school. If you want your children to become top percenters in life look elsewhere. Education & critical thinking are everything in life

JC M.

Great school with a few irks. It's super engaging and challenging and they employ lots of creative ways to get the students to love learning. I've gotten to know many of the class parents each year and so there's a great sense of community. After three yeears and four teachers, I have absolutely adored almost every one of them and I have a gifted IEP/ADHD 504 child. Their accommodations are not as personalized as I hear in other schools, but given the level of attention given to every child, it hasn't been a major issue for me.

I wish, however, they would loosen up on some items. One challenge with it being a charter school is that each of the hundreds of students are driven in individually and the school is very subject to local traffic which gets worse daily with local development. For example, if it's one minute late and there's 40 students lined up at the door, I wish they'd just let them in and not waste another 10 to 15 minutes of education time just to mark each and every one of them late.