As a former student from many years ago, I can say that this school was a good one, with caring…read moreteachers. However, I wish there had been more emphasis on helping special education students. It would have been beneficial to have greater empathy and understanding regarding the struggles that individuals with special needs face. Let's fight for systemic justice in educational systems!

I love this Elementary school! I went here for a time as a child and have nothing but fond memories…read moreof it...wonderful teachers, fun lesson plans, great extracurricular activities...I hear it's kept up the high quality :) And, it has kept up the same appearance too (which is a huge bonus in my book!) Love.

We have a first grader at Tessie and we started this past year. My daughter has been thriving at…read moreTessie and loves going to school each day to experience a unique education model where the emphasis is on learning through hands on projects and well laid out journeys that are integrated into the curriculum. Due to the low student teacher ratio, my child's teacher has been able to tease out my child's strengths and areas for improvement and challenge / support her accordingly. The school is definitely not a 'one size fits all' model, thereby making it interesting for students each day. We moved from an academic group of private schools where monotony had set in and my child did not have an opportunity to look past academics and perceive the broader context of topics. This past year, she has learnt so much across various topic areas and seems to have developed a more holistic personality. The school has also supported with SEL topics and strategies to work on accepting failures, addressing perfectionism and other such challenging areas for gifted kids. The specials like theatre, music, innovation and nature are not just blocks in the schedule but times of the day when my child is able to have new experiences and learn from them and build her skills in those areas. With the new leadership and management change, revision of schedule and curriculum, I am confident the school is heading in the right direction on its mission to offer differentiated learning for gifted students. I strongly recommend this school to other interested parents!

First, there were 75 reactions to my original post plus I received many messages from families who…read morefelt mistreated. I just want to express my deep sorrow for every family who has been mislead and mistreated by this school. It has been devastating to get a glimpse of the dark reality. Final update: this school is even worse and more corrupt than before, in my carefully considered and humble opinion. We had a deeply concerning and disturbing set of interactions with the new director, Luthern. I remain proud of the way that we handled our interactions, and very bothered by the way he treated us. Furthermore, we undetstand that they are removing and/or drastically reducing the nature campus component of their program which was a huge part of the draw in the first place. We are thrilled that this chapter is permanently closed for us. We finally found the most outstanding school for our children, and we will never look back. Good riddance to a poorly run institution with what we believe is an unethical and corrupt administration. And by the way, the "Gifted Qualitative Assessment" is manipulable. It's largely based on parent surveys, and which parent searching for a school for gifted children won't see their kids as gifted? We all do. Your best bet if you're not a founding family is to make sure you have a ton of money and that you are willing to part with in their capital campaign, and always tread cautiously when it comes to expressing yourself authentically.

Villa Montessori is a very special school and I am so glad we found it. The school is run by…read moreteachers who have a lot of experience working together to create this flexible, challenging, and joyful Montessori community. The teachers and director truly love children and they show that every time they great them each morning and how they meet kids where they are. They scaffold support for each child and tie in their interests. Our son spent his Kindergarten year here and we have seen him grow so much as the year progressed. The special events, the involvement of the parent community, and the dedication of the teachers are exceptional. We give this school our highest recommendation!

Villa Montessori has been an incredible experience for our kid. The teachers have been patient and…read morethoughtful in helping him build structure and routine, and we've watched him grow so much since starting here. The classrooms are always clean and well-organized, and the parent volunteer program is something we especially appreciate, it gives us a real window into the classroom and keeps us closely connected with the teachers. A special shout-out to Mrs. Lin, who is truly exceptional at what she does. She's warm and kind with the children while also being firm in the best way, gently guiding them through the Montessori approach. You can tell she genuinely loves the kids and the work. If you have a 2-5 year old, this is such an enriching environment. We feel lucky to have found Villa Montessori and would recommend it to any parent looking for a nurturing, thoughtful preschool. Five stars!

I've been putting off writing this review for a long, long time. But I am at a place in my life…read morethat I feel this information will be useful to anyone considering placing their kids in this school. The students at Portal get good grades. We learned useful information, valuable life skills, and made friends just fine. But... at what cost? At the cost of my self-esteem and mental health. This school is a house for teachers who simply do not care about treating students with any form of respect. I was told several times I would "never graduate", and that I would "never be successful" when I didn't perform well in my classes. I remember a staff member even telling me I would "work at Burger King for the rest of my life" and to "not even bother trying anymore". (these are ALL true statements said to me during my time here). As a kindergartener, I didn't know any better, and I got in trouble a lot. The punishment for kids who don't pay attention in class, apparently, is sitting them in a dark, cold, room in the office for the entirety of the day. No explanation of how I could better myself, despite my younger self not even understanding what I did wrong. Not permitted to use the restroom or go eat lunch. Just sitting there, to "think about what I did wrong", (quote courtesy of the office staff). I was once denied permission to use the bathroom- when I inquired about why, the principal told me I was "undermining her authority", a quote that I remembered for years, but didn't even understand until I was a lot older. If you want your kids to be swamped in HOURS of homework each day, this is the school for you. If you think your child deserves unusual and exaggerative punishments for simply BEING a child, this is the school for you. If you want your child to be held to the expectations of a full-grown adult, this is the school for you. If you're okay with discrimination and playing favorites, this is the school for you. However, if you value diversity, if your child is physically or mentally impaired, if you're not rich, if you even care about your child in the SLIGHTEST, this is not the school for you. I'm a full-grown adult now. I graduated. I learned my rights from my wrongs, and I discovered that this school... is very wrong. It seems anyone is hired here, regardless of how they interact with children. Being someone who regularly interacts with children, I would never, EVER, treat a child the way I was treated here. To the teachers, office staff, aids, and the rest at Murdock-Portal: SHAME ON YOU. A school is not a prison. It is not a place to use your authoritative position to worsen a child. It is a place to teach, to nurture children, to value ALL backgrounds, to accept everyone, and to prepare them for a future they can be successful in. I didn't have that. I was left to my own devices to push myself to be better and teach myself, and to find solidarity with those also ostracized by the staff here. If even one person reads this review, I just ask that you consider literally any other school. Despite the amount of "distinguished" and "honorable" awards they boast about, this school will do absolutely nothing for the development of your child. I suffered a lot at this school. Don't let your child go through what I had to.

This is a lottery school in the Cupertino area. My kids were very fortunate to get in…read more My little girl is learning a lot at this school. The principal, Connie Rowe is excellent at communicating with parents and students. Teachers are good too. The school is clean and most people there are nice. My son likes it here too. There are a few bad kids, but no school is perfect. They try to keep the bullying to a minimal, but it's hard because teachers can't be everywhere. Traffic Conditions: Some parents are really bad drivers and do unsafe things with their kids like crossing the street without looking, but that is the case with most school. The school tries to make it safe, but it's a losing battle. Staffing issues and a shrinking budget make it difficult to monitor and prevent unsafe situations. Donations: Parents are expected to donate around 600 dollars per student a year. I have two kids so, I donate the full amount each year for the past 5 years. On top of that, all parents are asked to donate money to field trips and other things during the year. They call field trips "enrichment programs" and if parents don't donate as needed, they cancel fried trips b/c the school cannot leave non-paying kids behind. You do get a tax deduction, but its not substantial. I've been donating to this school for years. The only bad thing about voluntary donations is that there is a group of parents that don't donate year after year and they get away with it. So, some of my donated money goes towards benefiting other families that don't donate. It's not a great feeling, and I probably won't donate next year. The school tries to encourage people to donate by sending reminders in emails and newsletters, but that's all they can do. End of story. Good Old Days: Five years ago, the school was great. Staffing was better than today's standards. But with a budget that keeps shrinking year after year, this school is very close to being mediocre. The principal tries to cope with it by always being positive. Resources continue to diminish all around her, but she keeps her head high. She doesn't have a vice principal and I wish they would give her one so she could focus on other things instead of spending most of her time with the usual kids that act out requiring some sort of discipline and parent involvement. She is a great principal and the school is very lucky to have her.

Truthfully this is by far the best community for your children, nieces, nephews and grandchildren…read more I speak from experience, my daughters attended SJC and currently my grandchild is attending. The education, community and lifelong friendships are why I love this school so much.

Absolutely love the TK/K class. The class size is small due to the Cupertino population aging with…read moreno new inflow of young parents. In addition to that, a big chunk of teachers and students left after some conflict with the former principal. The school is now rebuilding with the new principal, Dr. Palladino, who is awesome with kids. The TK class I've experienced so far is fantastic. The curriculum is well structured and my child is engaged all day, thanks to the small class size. They even split the already tiny class to fit each child's needs. I've noticed that a few kids are doing additions and some kids are taking it a bit slower and focusing on writing numbers and counting. I've toured almost every school within a 15 minute drive and SJC had the most productive and structured daily schedule for TKs. I felt like most of the schools have too much free playtime and nap time and some have half-day classmates, meaning all the learning ends by noon. At SJC, the teachers are doing something with the kids all day, whereas many schools have several hours of mere childcare. I love that the day includes number senses, math, English and language arts every day. They also learn Spanish (the teacher is amazing btw), P.E., art, music, science once a week. The teacher follows a well-known curriculum from start to finish, rather than piecing in materials from here and there. Another point I love about this school is that the older kids are nicer in small communities. The big kids play with my child and take care of her at extended care and everyone gives my child a hug when I pick her up. I highly recommend SJC. I've seen some people discouraged to join due to the small class size but I'm seeing positive effects on my child. The kids all play well together and they don't divid into groups. The eight graders look like they are basically a family. I suggest that you at least try it out in TK and see how it is. If you decide to move, most schools expand their class size in K, so it won't be that hard to get in.

Good learning experience And my kids learn multiplication…read moreat 3 grade Gets Crome books at fifth grade

This school is on a downward trend and FAST. The admin put in place a No Homework policy that has…read morebeen an unmitigated DISASTER, but now that the teachers are used to not having to grade homework, they are in absolutely no hurry to get back to a sensible policy. The teachers (with a few notable exceptions) are not very communicative with parents and really don't seem to care about the students at all. The cost of private school in the area may be high, but if this is your only other option, it is worth it to avoid this school.

My kid goes here. I have to like this place. Her teacher seems ok. This is our assigned home…read moreschool. Will be here for the next 6 years.

Best tasting taco pockets I've ever had in my life. No joke.read more

I'm a previous Easterbrook Discovery School student. Now, I go to Prospect High School, Santa…read moreClara. I loved E.D.S. (Easterbrook Discovery School), which changed my perspective on school. When I think of school, I think about EDS and how it was such an amazing school. They have a nature path and a giant place called the Moreland Woods Moreland School District continues its legacy of outstanding musical programming and is thrilled to announce that the Easterbrook Discovery School instrumental music groups were recognized in several categories at this year's Music in the Parks Festival and Competition. The EDS band, orchestra, and jazz band all participated and each went home with a trophy. Symphonic Band placed first in the category with a rating of "excellent". Symphonic Strings was placed first in the category with a rating of "superior," which is the highest possible rating. Jazz Band placed first in their category and also received a "superior" rating. Just wanted to say: GO, HUSKIES

this school is just horrible, the teachers are horrible and the principals don't care how you truly…read morefeel. i've gotten anxiety for going here. avoid this school at all cost.

Very good school. Extremely hard working teachers. Many high quality programs.read more

I went there for fifth grade and my brother went there for all six years of elementary school…read more Sadly, I would have to say that the school overall did not provide nor foster a loving learning environment for either of us. The majority of our teachers were not supportive and were very disorganized, though this does not apply to ALL teachers, as I believe there were some who actually were very helpful and caring, allowing us to really enjoy learning new material. However, out of the seven teachers that me and my brother had, only one cared about her students and her class was the only one that we felt we actually loved learning new material in. In addition, there were many times where if there was conflict between the students, the teachers would often jump to pointing fingers and placing blame on innocent students instead of getting the story straight first, making us students feel things were unfair and affecting our social skills and love for school. The office administration staff is okay, though there were some secretaries in the front office that would often disrespect students, often talking to us with a "I'm better than you because of my title and position" voice, not having any form of self-respect and dignity to allow students to grow. Ms. Tanya Robertson especially did not have any form of communication to students, and would address us in a disdained tone, but then change her voice to a respectful one when any parents were nearby, making us students feel lowly and not allowing any of us to feel any confidence when growing up. The lunch ladies and yard duties there were also not very nice, too selfish and addressing students in a dismissive and irritated tone as well. Many times yard duties wouldn't even bother to actually keep an eye on students, just busy talking to one another and dismissing us students whenever we needed help. They would often be quick to place blame on students as well when there was conflict, placing blame on innocent students instead of getting the story straight first. The lunch quality at De Vargas is also very bad, and there were many times where the milk from the lunch line would be expired. All this created a sort of back-stabbing social environment for the students, and led to many animosity between classmates and did not provide a supportive community at De Vargas elementary at all. Thus, I sadly have to say De Vargas did not provide a loving learning environment at all, and, if possible, going to another school that would help give children a better stable foundation would be better for the students and their future. I hope that there will be changes to De Vargas to help provide a community for students and parents alike.

Nice place for kids to learn extracurricular maths. The teachers are very professional and…read moreattentive. The books have cute characters. Kids love receiving point cards after each class!

Our child is in the TK class with Teacher Esther, and we couldn't be happier. Esther is patient,…read moreencouraging, and very good at helping young kids understand math in a fun and clear way. The lessons are well-organized, interactive, and just the right level of challenge. We've noticed a big improvement in confidence and problem-solving skills, and our child looks forward to every class. Highly recommend Think Academy and Teacher Esther!