Arendell Parrott Academy

Posted: July 22, 2026

Our family's experience at APA was deeply disappointing. When we raised concerns with the Headmaster, we were told, "Maybe this isn't the school for you." Other families later shared they had received the same response. Rather than resolving concerns, we felt families who spoke up were pushed away. Several families told us they felt they had no choice but to leave, and they said no one from APA reached out after they did. From our perspective, we have seen no meaningful effort to understand why long-time APA families are leaving or to address the concerns being raised.

We experienced inconsistent treatment and perceived favoritism that did not reflect the school's stated values of character, integrity, and fairness.

The greatest disappointment was the impact on our child. After attending private school for many years, our child asked to leave APA for public school. Since transferring, our child has been much happier and feels treated more fairly. We also watched high school enrollment decline, and several friends told us they left for similar reasons. Ultimately, APA was no longer the right fit for our family

Posted: July 22, 2026

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Posted: April 28, 2015

We have been at Parrott since my daughter started Kindergarten in 2008. I am extremely shocked by the one and two star reviews of the school. We have experienced an extremely friendly environment from students, teachers and faculty. The curriculum is very challenging, but every effort has been made to cheerfully and patiently help students that need assistance, no matter if it is a little or a lot. The school makes sure the students are exposed to plenty of fun activities also. Yes there are a ton of rich families at Parrott, but you will also find lots of middle class families like ours as well. We have never been treated like we were any less important than the rich families. As a matter of fact most people don't know that Parrott offers a tuition assistance program, which we were offered a few years ago when our family was hitting rough times financially. The school faculty told us as long as we wanted to stay there, they wanted to do everything they could to keep us there. 15% of students are on tuition assistance. I seriously can't say enough good things about Parrott. We live in Greenville and as long as I can manage a way to send my kids to Parrott, I will.

Posted: March 8, 2014

My children have been at Parrott for 7 years and they could not be happier!!! The teachers are great and are willing to work with the children and parents. It is nice to know there is an open door policy and I have never felt unwelcomed. I have always been very involved at Parrott and they welcome volunteers. Parrott is like a family atmosphere and everyone is very friendly. They have a great cafeteria which my son loves!!! How many places have homemade biscuits for break and the best hand breaded fried chicken!!! The parents are encouraged to eat with their children also. Mostly when they are in the lower school!! I feel like my children are receiving a great education and will be well prepared for any college they choose. The other day I was working on something for school with my children and I asked them "If you could say one word about Parrott Academy, what would it be?" They said "awesome!!!" I think that says it all.

Posted: May 18, 2013

I have mixed feelings about this school. The academic are great compared to the other schools in the area. All the teachers are wonderful, especially in elementary and middle school. Personally, the biggest problem with the school is the students. I agree with the review bellow; most of the students are rude, close-minded, intellectually apathetic, and cliquy. Sure, there were a few really nice kids in middle school that made the school worthwhile, but once high-school hit, most of the nice and smart kids with any sense left in them got as far away from APA as possible. APA suffers from an serious lack of diversity. Many of the kids here were materialistic, rich, and spoiled. It was very difficult for any of the newcomers to fit in while still maintaining any resemblance of their former selves. Because the class size was so small, if you did not fit in right away, it was almost impossible to make new friends and you had to run the risk of getting picked on for the rest of your time here. Honestly, APA still beats out the other public schools in Kinston, but if possible, you should definitely still consider other public schools in larger cities like Greenville.

Posted: September 15, 2012

This is my first year here and so far it is the 4th week of school and I want to leave. I read all those reviews and thought hey, this school is the best school ever. Well, I was wrong! No one here is friendly, even though they call each other friendly. The students here dont know how to deal with diversity, so if there is anyone from a different culture they just simply ignore them. This next sentence makes me mad. This season, I play a sport, where people talk to me(plus my age mates), BUT when I am at school, they imply ignore me. WHAT IS THAT? These peopleare fake and have no manners. I am sorry for my parents because they wasted 9,000 dollars and more on this school plus the 45 minute bus drive. It isn't just the people, it is the teaching. I am used to challenging work, so I use my brain a lot but since I have been here, thinking too much is a disadvantage. That means that the work is not challenging. Just please, I beg of you, DO NOT COME HERE. I really dont want you to waste your money on your child. Don't listen to everyone that says they love this school because they will go behind your back and gossip about you, the students and the parents. Thank you for reading.

Posted: April 4, 2012

My children have went to Parrott for five years now, and we love it. The academics are first rate, and it is a very nurturing environment. We live one town away from Kinston so we were apprehensive about the distance to school, but it has really been a non issue.