I just went on a school tour today! It's a great campus that consists of 3 schools. Our tour was…read moreled by an 8th and 7th grader who were both enthusiastic about their school. If you want to get a feel for a school, pay attention to the students. In each class, the students were participating and clearly excited to be there. In reading some of the negative comments below, I have to say that I got a very different impression. Maybe changes have been made since but considering what I witnessed today...Portola is excellent‼ Go check it out for yourself.

If you're looking for a wholesome display of youth basketball, keep walking. This girls basketball…read moreteam has reinvented the sport--not with skill, but with loopholes, theatrics, and a complete disregard for sportsmanship. Apparently, winning your region to qualify for playoffs doesn't matter and substitutions are for amateurs. They were they only team with just 6 players. Player #3 never left the court. I'm not sure if the coach forgot the rest of the roster existed, or if #3 is secretly welded to the hardwood. Either way, it was less "team sport" and more "one‑man show." Forget fair play--this squad has turned "gaming the system" into an Olympic event. Watching them was like seeing someone brag about winning Monopoly after stealing from the bank. Truly the highlight of the evening - parents of players who won in spite of them, bragging while the game was still going on. Let's keep it classy rather than try to live vicariously through your children. Nothing screams "athletic excellence" like crushing the spirits of kids half your size by bending every rule in sight. Inspirational, if your role model is a cartoon villain. If you want to see basketball played with integrity, look elsewhere. If you want to witness a cautionary tale about how not to raise athletes, this is your show. Bring popcorn--it's a comedy disguised as a game.

I go to this school and it is quite amazing actually. All the teachers are nice but sometimes…read moreunfair. The counsellor is fair when I get mocked and credits to Mrs. Hall for always supporting me.

This school has been very disappointing. My brother has clearly needed additional help in school…read morebecause he has a difficult time concentrating. The school counselor (Ms. Donna Lee) never reached out to us about our concerns and what methods we could take to help him. I then reach out to the principal who refers me to the special education counselor (Ms. Berman) who promised to set up a SSPT plan for him and also meet with him once a week. Never happened... very disappointing

After two years at another local charter school, transferring to CHIME has been life-changing for…read moreour family. The difference has been night and day. From the very first week, our child felt welcomed. He quickly made a wonderful group of friends and now genuinely loves going to school every day. At the previous school, he dreaded. The culture at CHIME is kind, inclusive, and supportive, and it shows in how the students treat one another. Academically, we couldn't be happier. Our son transferred below grade level in reading and has since reached grade level thanks to the incredible support from his teachers and the Reading Lab program, which provides free small-group instruction before school. Programs like Reading Lab and Math Lab demonstrate that CHIME is committed to helping every child succeed. As parents of a child with an IEP, we've been especially impressed by the school's special education team. Every IEP meeting has been collaborative, thoughtful, and solution-focused. We feel like true partners with the teachers and staff, and our son has benefited tremendously from their support. One thing that has consistently stood out is the level of support in the classroom. There are multiple adults working with students, creating an environment where children receive the attention they need. The administration is approachable, transparent, and genuinely cares about both students and families. Communication is clear, and we've always felt heard when we've had questions or concerns. We also appreciate the many practical details that make life easier for working families. The pickup process is exceptionally well organized with flexible options, affordable extended pickup and aftercare, and a breakfast/lunch program with menus families can review in advance. These thoughtful systems reduce stress for parents. Beyond academics, there are wonderful opportunities including music, art, robotics, game design, and other enrichment programs that help students discover new interests. We applied to CHIME multiple years before finally getting in, and it has absolutely lived up to our hopes. Looking back, we didn't realize how much better a school experience could be until we came here. We feel incredibly fortunate to be part of this community and would recommend CHIME without hesitation.

This school sucked the teachers would harass you about small things and they diddint actually teach…read moreus anything and based everything around takeing care of the sped kids and made everything about them

It's been 8 years since my daughter went to Wilbur, but I still wanted to say how great of a public…read moreschool this was. With so much parent involvement the school felt more like a private school than a public school. Classrooms were not dilapidated as you sometimes see in public classrooms. The teachers did not have to want for anything as parents helped continually with the purchase of classroom supplies, books, gave contributions and classroom help. An annual fundraiser was always successful and brought in a lot of money for classes and projects in the campus. They also had an after school program that kept the kids engaged with homework help and crafts, etc. for those working parents. Of course there were some questionable teachers, but we found that the teachers were generally happy with working at the school and thus the students were happy and excelled. Not sure if they still do a lottery or a "wait in line overnight" to get your name on the list if you aren't zoned for the school, but that's what we did. All in all Wilbur was really a sweet school and we were glad to have gotten in at the suggestion of our Pediatrician. I'm surprised that there are only a few reviews here.

Attended Wilbur from 1963 to 1969 with amazing memories. Adam West used to put on his Batman…read morecostume and attend every Halloween Carnival. My earliest memory is from 1st grade, Mrs Gillean's class. She announced we should all go out to the flagpole as our Moms were picking us up. "The President had just passed away." That was all we were told. Anyway, hope the food has gotten better--including the fish sticks served every Friday!

Thanks for Sarin Melikyan She's very helpful!!!!read more

My son graduated this summer. Overall, it's a nice school. I just wish the majority of his years…read morethere hadn't fallen under Cheryl Gray-Sortino's principalship. I'm glad the rest of the kids in subsequent years won't have to deal with such an inadequate person.

My husband, Charles, and I have been happily married for 24 years. My 2 sons attended school here…read morefor 2 years. The teachers harassed my sons by playing the cool kid rap music and my kids came home and using curse words such as, "poop", "butt" and "stupid". (My kids are in 5th grade they shouldn't be using this kind of language.) Not only that the female children that do go to this school have frequently asked for playdates with my eldest son, Trevor. I don't know what kind of radical, leftist ideals this school is promoting, but they sure aren't encouraging our children to act in an appropriate manner. My youngest son, Hunter, recently came home crying as his teacher, Mrs. Arisen, had asked for a hug after yelling at him for not completing his civil war reenactment script. Another terrible atrocity that occurred on school grounds left my son, Trevor, traumatized. He unfortunately has a peanut allergy, do he must sit at the peanut allegory table, alone. One day he told me that one kid had aggressively thrown a bag of peanut m&m's directly at him and yelled "BOMB!". And the staff did nothing to help. This is a terrible school and I would never send my worst enemy to this school.

My daughter attended Serrania for K-5. For all grades except 4th grade we had a great experience!…read more However, her experience with her fourth grade teacher, Ms. Tenzer, was beyond unacceptable and our multiple requests for meetings and inquiries into issues my daughter was having with her went unresolved. After much consideration we decided to pull her out of LAUSD for Middle School and High School.

Thank you Woodland Hills Academy's staff for your dedicated work with our children at these…read morecritical times and at this critical age experience. Your work and guidance are much appreciated. Shoshana Ben-Horin

They don't take bullying serious at all I reported a incident to the principal he didn't take it…read moreserious he sits in his office drinking coffee like a goofball looking for a new school for my child

This has been a great school for the last 20 years! I went to this school from 1991 to 1995…read more Having emigrated only 3 weeks before school started, I did not speak or understand much English at all, and I was placed in ESL classes. Thanks to great teachers and a caring and encouraging counselor (Mrs. McDonald), I was able to learn English fast, and transfer to the honors program starting 11th grade. I ended up taking AP English and Honors English 11 simultaneously in the 12th grade! I graduated taking all my A through G UC required classes, and got accepted into several UCs and Cal States. And once at UC San Diego, I was able to keep up and even graduate with honors with a major and two minors. And why did UCs want me, despite my low SAT verbal score? It was thanks to the abundance of clubs and activities that I was involved with at Reseda High. There were so many clubs at this school, you had your pick of several for each day of the week. And teachers encouraged students to join things, like a very active student cabinet, journalism, a second newsletter put out by ESL students for ESL students, a great drama program, cheer, flag, all sorts of sports teams, choir, band, 18 different clubs, volunteering opportunities such as planting trees on earth day, and more. My ESL teacher (Mrs. Worman) encouraged me and my best friend to run for office and join Student Cabinet, and I am so grateful that we did. We ended up becoming very involved with a whole lot of things, not knowing that colleges would like that, but because teacher after teacher made it feel good to be involved. And now, long after high school I have remained involved wherever I go, because I learned the value of being involved. This school was full of very caring teachers and office staff, who went out of their way to engage and teach students. The only staff members I did not like were one Spanish teacher who could not control her class (Mrs. Swanson?) and the college counselor (Mrs. Stanzberry). She stuck out, because she was not friendly and was intimidating. The rest of the teachers I had were fantastic, especially the ones in the social science department (especially Mr. Kaz and Dr. Shaffer) and the ESL department. Now, years later, I have tracked some of these teachers down via facebook and we have become facebook friends. I was shocked that they even remembered me 18 years later. They tell me that they remember most of their students. And they do! They remember distinct things about personalities of my classmates and cousins who went to the same school. (Meanwhile, for the few months that I attended Taft High school, 2 teachers didn't even take the time to properly learn my name then, and I couldn't tell you any of their names either cause they did not connect with me in any way.) The campus was beautiful, complete with its own little forest at one end, and clean. The kids were nice, and inclusive. My lunch group looked like a mini united nations, complete with two white guys and a white girl who hung out with us Persians, Rumanians, Armenian, El Salvadorians, Mexicans, and Russian! And others came and went, hanging out with different groups on different days as they pleased. Because of this, I got plenty of opportunity to practice my conversational English, and people marveled at how well I spoke English for the amount of time I had been in the US. This could be because in some schools the culture is such that different races self-segregate and recent immigrants end up together with others who are not fluent in English and fluent in a different language so they speak to each other in that language. Me? I don't speak Rumanian or Armenian or Russian or Spanish. The only way to communicate for my lunch group was English. And now the there is a magnet program on campus too, and I hear that it is wonderful. My cousins went through the magnet program and loved it. Interestingly, most of their teachers were the same as I had. And for the relatively low socioeconomic neighborhood full of recent immigrants, Reseda high and its magnet have unusually high test scores, college admissions, and scholarship recipients. I attribute it to the school culture and the attentive teachers and staff who go above and beyond to pull kids up and encourage them to explore different avenues and apply for all sorts of different opportunities.

A 12 year old girl died on Feb 25, 2026 because the school did not take bullying seriously. Her…read morename was Khimberly and she was trying to help her older sister because she was also being bullied. I wonder who the teachers and principal are at this school. .... as caregivers they need to do better.

Wow, I am blown away by the number of negative comments about this school. I will say, however,…read morethat I was apprehensive enrolling my second child to Hale for 7th grade because of all the craziness that went on, but honestly, that is a reflection of the parents who send their kids there, and I am a firm believer that education starts at home. There are way too many misinformed families blowing things out of proportion all on the account and hear-say of your children. How about the triplets from hell? How is that the school's fault? According to my girlfriends, administration did the best they can, yet it was a pushy mother that insisted they can do no harm. Did I mention it's a public school? Bad things will happen at any public school, and if you're a good parent, you'd teach your child to stay away from those kinds of students, and those forms of peer-pressure. Both of my children did not do STEAM or the new VAPA Academy, but they were in a few accelerated or honors classes, and they're fine. Encourage your child to be around good kids, volunteer, and show up for your kids' activities, and you'll realize that Hale really is the gem of the Valley. The teachers work hard at Hale, but they're up against really disrespectful kids who do not belong there to begin with who are most likely lottery acceptance students who take their seat at Hale for granted. Administration has their hands tied when it comes to discipline, and there's only so much they can do. Their due-process gives students several chances to get it right, but the lack of parenting only puts a magnifying glass over the bad apples. Don't even start with me and tell me that parenting is hard. YES IT'S HARD, BUT IT'S A COMMITMENT. Electives - electives is where it's at at Hale. The orchestra program under Mr. Cruz is something else. My daughter (the younger of my two children) did 3 years of orchestra with Mr. Cruz. It also did not surprise me that Mr. Cruz was awarded the 2024 Southern California Music Educator of the year. Mr. Cruz is known for being strict. He has high expectations, and his groups sound miles better than many of the LAUSD high schools and neighboring district school bands at LVUSD. I love how he says he's not about winning first place or gold, but in the end all of his band and orchestra classes win something. He focuses on teaching the kids to be a good student first, and a good musician second. My daughter's friend did choir with Mr. Cruz last year and said it was the most amazing singing experience she's ever had. They both laugh about how Mr. Cruz has no choir teaching experience, but he's a wonderful choir teacher. If you want to round off your middle school academic experience with something rigorous and artsy, your child needs to be in one of Mr. Cruz's classes. Nobody in my family is musical or artsy (we're a sports family), and I applaud Mr. Cruz for creating a musician in my family. And although my daughter is no longer pursuing music, Mr. Cruz's stories still get mentioned in the car or at the dinner table every now and then. A few more positives about Hale: TWO LUNCHES. That was a straight up game changer. My daughter felt a huge weight lifted off her shoulders when she saw how empty it is outside during lunch. Ms. Moran, the Restorative Justice teacher is GREAT! Compared to other middle schools who do not even dare give out detentions and consequences, Ms. Moran really lays it down. Advice for parents: Be a community. Fight for what is right. Educate your child about the negative influences on campus and teach them to stay away from adversaries. Be involved. If your child has a dance show, an orchestra concert, or VAPA night, go to it! If your child has a robotics competition, go to them! It's not difficult, it's your kid, support them. -SR

Asbestos in classrooms and water comes out orange from drinking fountains. I wouldn't send my child…read morehere.

Everyone at theis school is pleasant. The school is amazing!!! I like the fact that the children…read moreare allowed to take college courses.

Daniel Pearl Magnet High School is a small school with a big heart. Because it's smaller, everyone…read morereally knows each other. The staff truly care about the students and go out of their way to support them. It's a safe, welcoming environment where kids don't get lost in the shuffle like they might at a bigger campus. The students are respectful, the teachers are dedicated, and there's a real sense of community.