This post is long over due. My daughter attended in 2023. Till this day passing bonita rd. She states how bad that school was. Everytime I picked her up she was isolated or crying. Whenever I asked what was wrong or what had happened they would brush it off and no one knew anything. I moved her to another preschool and she started thriving socializing and not being anxious for school. My daughter is kind and to see this school take away her smile was unacceptable. Needless to say we only lasted a few months. Please work on your communication skills instead of being dismissive to concerned parents. read more

It is a gift to have found a group of trusted educators who have contributed so much to my boys' growth and development for the past 3 years. BLA challenged them with a well rounded preschool curriculum in English and Spanish! The teachers and staff were friendly, welcoming, and trustworthy. I would recommend this school to any parent who is looking to give their child a meaningful school experience. read more

EXCELLENT school. Teachers are passionate and care about the kids and what they teach. Very complete program. Worth every dollar.

Like many of the other parents that posted comments, I am also the parent of a child who initially had a difficult time at Bonita Learning Academy. Unlike some of the other reviews, by the end of his second year my son was excelling both academically and behaviorally . I found the teachers and staff to be supportive, yet they have high expectations for ALL children. I will admit it is not easy when your child is not behaving at school, however the staff and teachers were very open to working with my son and still gave him love and encouragement everyday! He just finished his last day of preschool and he is sad to leave this amazing school behind! read more

Upon enrollment of my autistic three-year-old, I completed all documents specifying that she had autism. For the first couple of weeks, a teacher would stop me after school to express her frustrations regarding my daughter's behavior. I made it clear in emails and verbal communication that my child was attending ABA, speech, and occupational therapy. The evaluation for services took place at the school. I received a call from Mrs. Silvia stating they had no idea that my child had autism. My child was released from the school with the non custodial parent, and they did not call me until after the fact. Knowing the history of domestic violence/ a restraining order and their own experiences with the noncustodial parent, they did not care to call me in the morning when a family member dropped my daughter off. Instead, I received a notification from the pro care app alerting me that someone had just dropped off my child. Teachers are mandated court reporters and did not file a report with CPS. read more

I don't even know where to begin except that when we had our initial interview for our eldest, we were told that everyone always asks for BLA to become an elementary school. Now that my 2 kids have been students there I could not agree more! Both of my children are very different and their needs were met both socially as well as academically at BLA. They were challenged, they learned, they had fun, and more importantly it is more than a community. BLA is a family. With Ms. Ana as the matriarch, the BLA family has direction and is always staying student centered. Both of our kids loved being there, their classmates, and their teachers most of all. BLA teachers hold students to a high standard, but they help students reach their potential every step of the way. Another wonderful aspect about BLA is the diversity in student population, culturally responsive practices, and the diversity in the curriculum. My daughters learned about different cultures and traditions thanks to BLA. When my first left BLA to start K in the public school system, I felt very confident that she would easily transition and she did. BLA prepared her beyond anything we could have ever hoped for or expected. Now that my second is leaving BLA, I have no doubt that she will also find the success that her sibling found in the public school system. BLA's bilingual program is a God sent. Both of my children graduated from the school with confidence in their language skills. I look forward to enrolling them into the after school language program once they offer it again. We are sad that this chapter of our kids' life has come to an end, but are ever so thankful for everything that BLA provided our daughters with. Thank you Ms. Ana and the rest of the BLA staff for jump starting our daughters' educational journey. I will always 100% recommend this place to everyone. read more

My friend recommended BLA because two of her kids attended and she gave the school rave reviews. I was hesitant because my kiddo had been home through much of Covid lockdown and she was very nervous about being around any strangers. Right upfront the teachers had indicated that Covid had seriously impacted the incoming toddler class and that they were going to focus on their social and emotional well-being. It was such a relief. My daughter thrived in their program. After a few months she was happily dancing at class presentations. She attended two years and loved going to school. The school was small and so sweet to my kiddo. She just started kindergarten at a public school and she's already doing so much of what the kinder teachers expect for the end of kinder. The school is academic but well-balanced with crafts, yoga, mindfulness, dance. My kid doesn't speak much Spanish with mommy so I was shocked when she impressed my Spanish-speaking aunt who was visiting from Mexico. The teachers and the administrators were great at communicating and taking caring of my daughter. Obviously, we had a great experience and I highly recommend the school! read more

My two daughters went to Bonita Learning Academy and had the best experience a child could ever ask for! An educator myself, when I first started researching and touring preschools, I knew BLA was special and unique. My ten-year-old continues to express how much she loved her preschool and teachers. She remembers specific activities, events, and built friendships she continues to see today. As a parent, I appreciated the consistency, clear communication, high academic expectations and structure. I loved all the classroom activities that revolved around my daughters' learning and interests while fostering creativity, imagination, and exploration. After the pandemic, I was ready to enroll my second child at BLA. I knew she needed to interact with other kids her age and I wanted to give her many opportunities to love learning. BLA gave her that and MORE! My favorite part of their curriculum (besides being a bilingual school) is their enrichment classes. They have yoga, art, music, and a mindfulnesses program. As a working parent, I also appreciated the extended day option. They prepared my daughters for elementary school both academically and socially. My heart will forever be at BLA! read more

This review is long overdue. Both my kids attended BLA and have thrived in their dual immersion school because of it! Not only does the staff provide a high standard of academics, but they also focus on their social emotional wellness and offer plenty of enrichment classes. We are so grateful to the amazing, caring staff. Other parents often ask how my non-native Spanish speaking children are doing in their Spanish classes, and my response is always, "Great, because they learned their foundational skills at BLA." They were able to follow routines and procedures easily because they were already accustomed to having a structured schedule at Bonita Learning Academy. I highly recommend it and with they offered classes up to middle school! read more

I cannot recommend this school enough. Not only is it highly academic, but it also focuses on the social and emotional well being of each child. I sent all four of my children here over a span of 8 years. It was a wonderful experience and more importantly an excellent start to my children's school years. My husband and I strongly feel BLA laid a great foundation for their education during those formative years. read more

Since my first child was in utero I desired for him to go to this incredible school. Years ago (the first year BLA opened) I was in the after school Spanish Program at BLA with the director, Ms. Ana, as one of my instructors. It was truly a wonderful experience. I scored higher on the Spanish SAT than the English even with Spanish being my second language. This is currently our third year at BLA. I now have three boys, two of which attend BLA, one in kindergarten and another in pre-k 4's. My four year old will also be attending kindergarten there next year . I plan on sending my third little one as well once he turns three. Both of my boys absolutely love the teachers and staff at their school. My kindergartener is now reading and writing at a second grade level in both English and Spanish!! I am just amazed!! The teachers consider every child. They solidify their strengths as well as recognize their weaknesses and encourage them to do their best. My boys also love the enrichment activities. They look forward to music and movement and yoga. My oldest was just telling me that he couldn't wait for "Mommy and Me Yoga," (a special activity that the staff arrange for the mother's and students celebrating Mother's Day). The school is emaculate. The vision that the director Ms. Ana as well as the incredible staff has made possible for the children of our future is simply outstanding. I could go on and on. If only they could expand to 1st grade all the way up to high school! We never want to leave! read more

I can't stress enough how AMAZING BLA is. I've had 1 child attend and now have another currently attending. The faculty have and continue to take great care of my children and have become like family which is very hard to find. They're always there to support not only the children, but parents as well through the program. The Spanish and English program is an absolute PLUS. For those who feel maybe your child wouldn't succeed in a program like this, think again!!! These kiddos are sponges. Get ready to hear cute Spanish songs and about how great their days were :) My oldest whom now is in elementary entered a dual immersion program and is very much ahead because of BLA superb academic program. This school helps gear your children for success and this reason I continue and will soon send yet another child. Thank you BLA for ALL you do. Mrs Melissa, Mrs.Sylvia, Mrs.Kuki, & Miss.Ana to name a few!!!! read more

"I'm a bad kid and I don't know how to be better." -My 3 year old son when he was at BLA This review is years in the making, but since they solicit positive Yelp review (and shockingly only have 10) I think it's appropriate they get a well-deserved negative review. When I started a family, I bought a home in Bonita and on the recommendation of a neighbor checked out BLA when my son was preschool age. Really impressed during the visits - shocked at how well behaved these tiny children were. So my wife and I sweated out the approval process and our 3-year old was accepted. Great news? Read on... 1) My son was "different". Of course we didn't know this when he was 2. My son did a lot of developmental things really early (think: walking, talking, etc.). But I could also tell as he got a little older he had social problems like what I thought may be anxiety. We'd go to Padres games and he would hide because of the crowds, was far less social around people than other kids his age, etc. This translated to his relationships at the school which meant... 2) He didn't fit the typical kid at BLA and that was a problem (read other reviews on this bit). We got calls about my son quite often. Lots of parent meetings to talk about my son's problems (I can't express enough how emotional and inconvenient this is). He cried a lot. Spent a bunch of time in Ana's office. Didn't participate enough. He was a pain. But.. 3) Those meetings often turned into action plans. I insisted on that. We were a team (I thought). They would give me intel on his day. I'd act accordingly based on the info. I read child psychology books and my wife and I STUDIED how to become better, more effective parents. We had specific strategies we agreed with the teachers they could implement during his days there to get him in line with lots of leeway. Of course... 4) It was hard for the teachers. Over time I realized my son stopped progressing at the same pace. For a kid that did everything early (and at an age when kids should be learning at an increasing rate), this was weird. What I found out during a teacher conference is that the teachers didn't follow through on their commitments - in fact, they did the opposite. Instead of instilling the necessary and agreed upon discipline, they started putting him in a corner to avoid dealing with him (for hours). Of course he wan't progressing enough. My son was high maintenance and needed more attention than other kids - I get that. But I was still paying good money to have him looked after, learn, grow, etc. and I feel like the school let me down - I didn't get my moneys worth nor what they committed to doing. As hard as it was on the teachers... 5) This experience was harder on my son and his self esteem. He went into some really dark times where he communicated and believed he was a "bad kid." That pissed me off. But not as much as... 6) At the time we didn't know where the problems were. We still hoped to keep him at BLA because we saw these other well-behaved and talented kids growing. Who wouldn't want that for their kids? We knew he was on the edge of being "invited back" from our overly stressful and frequent teacher conferences. On their advice, we sent my son to a child psychologist they recommended who who could only tell me he was too young to assess. I then found out from the teacher that Ana had already decided to kick him out before telling us to go to the psychologist. WTF?! Net result.. 7) My son exited his BLA experience with what I think was the worst self esteem of his life. My wife hit a low point as a parent believing she was a failure. Please understand... 8) My family isn't losers they thought they were. The psychologist told us my son could be autistic or immature or gifted, or he could be a combination of things. He was simply too young to assess. Now that he's older, my son appears to be very gifted (according to his current school). My wife is a confident and great mommy. We were validated when... 9). The following year my son had to go to another school down the street. I'll probably write about them later. Instant turnaround - he was high-performing, happy, teachers loved and praised him, he was growing again! Validating points #2: 10) The best part of BLA is the other parents we met. Our son actually made quite a few friends (he was popular with kids). We hosted regular parties and invited the other families of his classmates over. We heard about the other parents experiences and realized the stress BLA created wasn't unique. In fact quite a few other parents had to pull their kids out because they didn't fit the exact mold. Interesting. Overall - this was the most stressful experience my wife and I ever had in our role as parents. I look back years later and really blame BLA for it. If you have an average kid, maybe this is the right place. read more

My son just finished his second year at BLA and we are so happy with the magical introduction to school life he received here. BLA is the perfect combination of academic rigor and nurturing love for young children. Our five year old left BLA reading in English and a little in Spanish (we are not Spanish speakers). We chose BLA because our son will be doing Chula Vista public schools' dual immersion program and we thought this would be a good foundation for him. We had no idea how amazing and comprehensive the program actually is. Everything they do is deliberate and thoughtful -- from yoga, to zumba, to art, the kids are taught to value themselves and their community. The program director, Ms. Ana, is a force of nature who provides the positive spirit to the school. This year our son had Ms. Melissa and Ms. Susanna as teachers both of whom are the IDEAL teachers for 4-5 year olds. They have high expectations for our children, huge smiles to encourage them, and a thoughtful, thorough pedagogical approach. Parenting is hard work. BLA makes choosing a preschool easy. Do it, you won't regret it! read more

My wife and I began our search for a quality dual language pre-school for our son about a year ago. BLA's thorough application/screening process has shown us just how committed they are to not only the educational aspect but also the safety of all students attending. Having interviewed numerous pre-schools throughout San Diego county, I feel very confident in stating that BLA is the premiere dual language school. They cover more subjects than I expected and even go further by offering Zumba, yoga and other forms of exercise for their students. They also teach the children to be environmentally conscious. They are a certified green school. Really there is too much to mention in a review and before you ask, no I do not work here. I'm just a parent committed to his child's educational future. BLA is exactly what we want for our son. Fingers crossed he is accepted. read more

Great school! Both of my kids have attended this school and they have learned both languages proficiently. My boy has one more year to go and we will be very sad to leave this school and it's wonderful teachers. The best thing is that even if you graduate you can always come back for the after school Spanish program until they are 15. Thanks! BLA. You plant a very big seed in their educational lives. read more

I now feel I can give a fair and honest opinion about BLA. My son attended BLA August 2013 through Feb. 2014. Being in academia; I naturally wanted my son to attend a school that showed a strong commitment to academics. My 2 stars are for several reasons: this school has a a high turn over of teachers, they expected my 3 year old to go to the bathroom by himself and they did not appear to have sufficient training in actually working with a diverse group of students. When I say diverse, I mean (personality wise and learning preference among the students). In my opinion, if your child is quiet, more on the introverted side and tends to do exactly what you want them to do, then BLA is perfect. The teachers did not appear to have the skills to work with children in different positive reinforcement manners. The only thing they really knew how to do is to put a child on time out. One of BLA's former teachers stated "if your child does not fit the box that Miss Ana wants (robot like) then BLA is not a good option". The teachers appeared on edge at times and I imagine it had to do with their leader. They are NAEYCE accredited which follows very specific guidelines in developing and following a plan to assist a child to flourish. I am surprised that BLA still holds this accreditation as they do not follow their guidelines. At the end of the day; you have to listen to your gut, do your research and have your child attend a school that is a better fit for them. Now that my son is finishing kindergarten at another school with before and after care; I can see a huge difference. He is so happy to go to school and has flourished emotionally and academically. read more

I want to preface this review by saying I am a huge fan of BLA; I love the program, the attention to detail, and I especially admire its director, Miss Ana. She is the real deal when it comes to education and also about being a good human being. But my 3 stars/update has mainly to do with my second child's experience at BLA, and how it did not mirror my first child's. I feel it's only fair to those who turn to these reviews to be fully informed, so I'm going to include additional info based on the additional experiences we had there, and only in regard to my second child's time. Academically, there was teacher turnover and my second had to deal with the learning curves of two new teachers and that took its toll. It was a bit of a disappointment compared to the seasoned teachers my first had had. I also think the child's gender and/or personality-behavior plays a big role in what that child's ultimate experience there will be like. My second was more willful than my first, not nearly as much of a people-pleaser. Nonetheless, I feel a school, regardless of the child's personality, needs to be consistent in how it treats the child. My second child was not nearly as empowered as my older one was at BLA, yet has as many positive attributes, they're just different ones. She was dealt with sometimes punitively for being willful, which I don't think given her disposition, was entirely constructive in trouble-shooting the issues at hand. We were referred by BLA to a child psychologist and lost no time to seeing him. Based on this professional's recommendations, we ordered a book called "1, 2, 3 Magic" which we started to implement right away; it talks about positive reinforcement and how to discipline the child without lecturing them, or guilting them. (They're simply too young at age 3 and 4 to hear too much yackety-yack, so you count down warnings and then that's it--at 3, without much explanation, they get a time-out.) BLA, however, when it comes to discipline, does not follow this same practice even though there's a "1, 2, 3 Magic for Teachers" version, and my child would be given loftier explanations (along with her class) and she just felt overall bad about herself. Additionally, the school had taken on a practice of giving awards to children who had earned them. I had no issue with my second child never earning an award in the 1.5 years she was there; I did take issue by the end of that time, however, to her feeling less-than for sitting in on these awards ceremonies, having to participate with dance and song, yet never feeling like she would ever achieve an award. In her mind, she "needed to speak more Spanish" but it wasn't that--she needed to be more malleable, like the good girls. We ultimately left BLA because the commute and lack of before-care and a later after-care was too straining on our family, but I see that my little one is much happier at the school she is at right now, and it gives me food for thought. I would most definitely recommend this school, but if for whatever reason it's not a match, I also wouldn't keep my child any longer than is necessary. Even the most wonderful things aren't always a fit. read more

As a homeschooling parent, I was hesitant to send my child to a full time program. It seemed like alot of hours away from home. The academics also seemed rigorous for the age group. Because I felt that learning Spanish so important, I took the leap. WHAT A GREAT DECISION it turned out to be. BLA is an amazing combination of dedicated, caring and nurturing teachers and well planned and thought out academics. My son had the most wonderful experience in this school. All aspects of the school are excellent: curriculum, activities, safety, enrichment. The reviews on Yelp are not exaggerating. It is a wonderful place for a child. The teachers are sweet and nurturing, but at the same time firm and learning focused. The administration is very organized and follow all the standards/rules/requirement. The families are wonderful and the kids have great friendships. I would highly recommend this school. read more

Can't say enough about this school. They are not only excellent in academics but also teach the kids good manners. My son is entering kindergarten reading at first grade level. The staff is so great with all of the kids, it made me feel very comfortable having my son with then every day. My daughter will definitely be attending when she is old enough. read more

Bonita learning academy is a bilingual school with highly qualified teachers. The school has an excellent curriculum , my son has been in the school for 2 years and I can honestly say that he has learn so much in all areas. He knows how to read and write and the academic program is excellent. I'm so grateful for all the things that this school has done for my son . He goes to school happy every day and loves the environment. All the staff is very nice ,hard working, dedicated , and loving. read more

I cannot say enough about this school!! It has an amazing bilingual curriculum and also includes an incredible enrichment program that my two kids thoroughly enjoy and never stop talking about. The staff is totally committed to providing a loving, nurturing environment that helps the students thrive both academically and personally. It obviously all starts at the top as the administrator Miss Ana, the founder and director, makes sure the school is run professionally, and more often than not feels like a big happy family for the adults as well as the kids. THAT is the experience our children should have at school and I am extremely happy my kids attended this school and that my son will have at least two more years of this amazing school and this amazing experience! Thank you BLA for all that you give to our students. read more

Our family will be completing 6 years at Bonita Learning Academy this week. Both our daughters completed the 3 year curriculum here. If you are looking for a pre school that addresses the whole child, this is the school for you. Bonita Learning Academy is a billingual school that is highly academic with enrichment classes like yoga, Zumba, music, art, dance & PE. Our daughters loved going everyday because they learned so much and had so much fun doing so! The teachers are caring affectionate and supportive to each child's needs. The school supports and encourages recycling and nutritious eating. The administration is organized and approachableI can't tell you enough how wonderful this school is! When I drop my daughters off I feel so secure knowing that they are safe and well taken care of! This school is worth every penny you will not regret enrolling your child here. It is a true investment in your child's education and first experience in a school setting. read more

My daughter has attended B.L.A. for over a year now, and she continues to amaze the whole family on how well she has learned Spanish. She has even inspired her older sister to speak and learn Spanish. Never would I have imagined my daughter entering kindergarten knowing how to read and write, and in both English and Spanish! The staff is great and loving, and are very attentive to my child's needs. Aside from this school being caring and wonderful, I am grateful that the school offers a variety of fitness activities that keep my very active daughter exercising throughout the week. She becomes more appreciative as she matures. Their curriculum truly goes far and beyond. She surprised me one day when she asked if we can reuse a jar of pickles because that would be saving the world! She makes me proud each time she remembers to recycle or ask to reuse things. These are precious moments in my life that I am very grateful for! read more