I have 5 kids who have all been attending this school since the year it opened, which has given our family the unique perspective of developing relationships with 5 different teams of teachers/grade spans each school year. And our kids have now gone through every grade, K-8 at D39C. We have been very pleased with our experience at Design39. After our children previously attended a number of different elementary schools (both within Poway Unified School District and in other states), we have found that the principals & staff at this school are relatively quick to respond to parent concerns and quick to actually make real changes when they recognize a need. That hasn't always been our experience at previous schools. One of the things we like the most about this school is that the kids are allowed to make choices about the elective classes they take, even down to the youngest students. And when kids have a choice in their classes, they are often more passionate & excited about what they are learning. And this is a public school, so the kids are also learning all the standard topics, language arts, math, social studies, science, etc. and are still getting the common core curriculum like all the other schools in the district, they just get to choose electives in addition to their other classes. Our kids have been able to take such a variety of elective classes so far over the last few years, including sign language, sewing, coding, cooking, genealogy, Spanish, Russian, French, Korean, Project Lead the Way (STEM), Music Composition, Drama, Kite Design, Lead39 (school leadership), Writing Workshop, Advanced Math, Biztown, Ceramics, Ukelele, Maker39 (kids design their own products and get to sell them and learn about businesses), Oceanography, Mosaics, Food Science, Photography, Community Service, Robotics, Chess, 3D Art, Gardening, Painting, etc. My husband and I often think we would love to have gone to a school that offered so many choices, especially in the younger grades. And I don't know how they do it, but my kids usually get their 1st or 2nd choice of classes. Another thing we have been pleased with is that there is less homework at this school than others in the district. Many people have the wrong idea and think that D39C has no homework, but that isn't the case. Many students in the younger elementary grades have little homework other than reading, practicing math, and an occasional group project outside of school. And as they get older, especially in grades 6-8, the homework load & expectations for student responsibility for assignments gradually increases as they approach high school. I believe that my D39 students likely have fewer hours of homework per day than their peers at the local middle school, but they definitely have homework (and, as at any school, it depends a lot on each individual student's time management whether they may be able to get a lot of their assignments done during the school day, or if they may leave more to be completed later at home). [Although the PUSD school board has recently changed it's district homework policy -- see this article: goo.gl/QTZPZS. They now recognize the studies showing that reading for enjoyment is much more beneficial for students than excessive homework, especially in the younger grades. So hopefully more of the other schools will start to move toward this model too over time]. Another myth about D39C is that the kids never use pencil & paper and are always on their devices. Yes, each student at the school uses a device (tablet or laptop), and they do use them for creating presentations, turning in assignments online (in grades 6-8), sometimes reading books online, working on group projects. But they also use paper and other supplies in their learning -- daily journals, bring home art work that they have created or prototypes that they have designed, reading from paper books, etc. It's a mix of both. Overall we've been pleased with the school. There will always be room for improvement at a brand new school, especially one that tries to do things a little different, but they have promptly made changes as needed and we haven't run in to any major issues over the last few years. We also haven't run into any problems with any of our kids' teachers, (which is saying a lot, since our kids have been with 20 homeroom teachers and numerous other teachers for different classes, electives, PE, etc. so far since we started at the school). Surely this school has had to deal with it's share of behavior issues from students, just like at any other school, but in our family's personal experience our kids haven't had any issues with bullying or bad behavior from other students. Another positive thing about this school is that the kids generally seem to still be excited about school, even by the time they reach the end of their middle school years, instead of being burnt out. My kids look forward to going to school each day. read more

I am a student at D39 and my experience was less than bad. I started here in kinder and I am currently in 7th grade at D39 but am moving to OVMS because of how bad this place is. Admin does pretty much nothing and NEVER helps anyone unless you have strong ties to the school. There was a kid who's mom opened the school and he gets treated FAR better than any other kids. But that's not the main part of why it's 1 star. Teachers. The teachers are HORRIBLE except for a few. Kindergarten and 1st grade teachers are obviously nice and awesome but 2-5 grade teachers a a nightmare, me and a few other kids got locked in a room for the day for "bad behaviour" which I admit is true but what the DIDNT have to do was pick certain kids out of the whole 4-5 grade span and bring them up in front of the WHOLE GRADE SPAN and tell everybody that we were causing problems and that we were going to be punished. Once the teachers locked us in the room we had no access to water or bathrooms and there was a kid with diabetes who was not allowed to have his MONITOR IN THE ROOM BECAUSE IT WAS CONNECTED TO A PHONE. The worst experience was that I was bullied not by students but by a teacher. My 7th grade homeroom teacher discussed personal info having to do with my IEP in front of the whole class and another kid who had one was also bullied by the same teacher. Other teachers in the 7th grade span were awesome which is why I'm giving 1 star. I would give zero if it was not for them also the RSP and Case manager Devin Corea was beyond awesome and the only part of D39 I will miss. I am doing a middle year transfer to OVMS because of this and the other kid that was bullied has already done a mid year transfer a couple weeks ago to MVMS. Not using my real name as I do not want admin emailing but since this is so specific they will probably know who it is. So many teachers and admin here have entitlement issues and it's so sad to see this beautiful school go to waste by a bunch of self centred and bratty teachers and admin. Please do not send your kid here if they have a IEP and if they don't still be carful this place is NOT what it looks like. read more

I am currently working through my 4th year at this school, and graduating this year. As an 8th grader, I can safely say that I have seen it all at this school. I came to Design39Campus in 5th grade, from Willow Grove elementary. I was originally very excited, as I did not enjoy the previous school I had been to and wanted to try something new. At first, it seemed all that. The school was visibly gorgeous and had a very high-tech design that was appealing to the students. However, when I moved up into the middle school a year later, I began to notice some things that made me feel unsure. In the midst of 6th grade, I had begun to mature mentally. It was then that I started noticing that our school might not be the haven I imagined. I started noticing children being made fun of and being gossiped about, including myself. I found myself in a toxic relationship with a group of girls who made my life a living hell, and who said some unforgivable things about me. In 7th grade, I began noticing other problems. One more specific problem was the academics. The methods used for teaching students were proposed to be "new" and "innovative", yet we found ourselves using painfully traditional methods for learning. It didn't help that on top of this, we were dealing with a shaming P.E. teacher who clearly had no idea what she was doing. I will not call out the teacher by name, as they have since left the school, but I will say that they said some very hurtful things to the students, pertaining to body weight and overall intelligence. One thing that I think parents should notice before enrolling their students is a lack of free speech. Our school is meant to be the future, it's meant to be a new and non-traditional experience. However, there was one particular event that seemed to change this view a lot. Following the tragic shooting in Parkland, Florida, the March For Our Lives movement was spreading around America. I, like many other kids, wanted to march outside and protest during school hours in honor of the lives lost. However, when I brought this up to the teacher, they told me that we were not allowed to march. When I asked why, they said that it was because they didn't want to upset the parents who told their students nothing about the shooting. I don't know if many others feel this way, but I find it ridiculous that the school feels the need to comply with the orders of parents who are closing their children off from the world. After my mother sent a complaining email, they told me that I could march if I wanted to. However, as soon as I stepped outside, not even 5 seconds later, I was pulled back inside and given a tardy. I found this outrageous, but I had to bite my tongue out of respect. The adults in this school have no idea about the mind of a child, as they believe that if a child is being bullied, that they will tell someone. In reality, most kids hold these feelings inside of them. However, the school does not want to look that deep, so they don't do anything about it. Granted, they provide school counselours, but for the most part, they are half-assed therapists. I would reccommend taking second thoughts on sending your child here, take it from a student. read more

My son has been attending Design39 since the day it opened and is now in the 6th grade, which is middle school... he will have two more years there and then go into high school. My son attended both of the other local elementary schools, Monterey and Stone Ranch... both of those schools failed my son. From K to 1st at Monterey, I knew my son was struggling and asked to have him tested and was denied and met with rude teachers and admin. We were really disappointed and moved him to Stone Ranch. I started his 2nd grade off with requests for testing and it wasn't until a great teacher from Oak Valley coached me on the "verbiage" I needed to use in my letter did I get him tested and found out that he is dyslexic. They started an IEP program and due to issues with the woman who ran the program taking a temporary leave, he did not start getting the support he needed until March of that school year. The following year at Stone Ranch was horrible... he was pulled out constantly and fell behind in subjects and did not make solid friendships. When Design39 opened the following year, I jumped at the chance to get him in. Since going to Design, he has flourished. Everything is done on the computer and his tech skills are advanced, so he was way ahead of the curve in areas he would normally struggle and was provided a natural and fluid way to get the additional instruction he needed. Instead of being pulled out, there was a "co-learning" environment where two teachers pulled the walls back and kids that needed special services just moved around for the specific subjects and he was never pulled out or missed any special time with friends or missing other subjects. The other huge difference... the teachers all cared! They were involved and committed. At Stone Ranch, I had one woman trying to shoulder the program and it was clear she was over her head... at Design39, I have a team of teachers and support staff that are committed to having my son set and meet his own goals. He is actively involved in closing the gap on where he fell behind in the other two schools and is now on track to be at grade level by the end of this year. He even scored advanced in science, which he loves and would not have been possible at the other two schools. The school is beyond amazing... kids are learning on computers and do not take home books or wasteful paper. Everything is done digitally and the goal is to have the kids get it all done at school and not be saddled with hours of homework each night. That is a problem for some parents who want to see their kids study at home, and who are computer illiterate and can't go online to check their child's work. Finally, the way they structure the year is amazing... the kids get to choose electives that run for five to six weeks at a time and they get to learn amazing things from 3D printing, Ceramics, music, photography and so much more! This is a very unique school and while they had a few bumps in getting things worked out when they first opened, it is now runs very smoothly and is a safe place for kids to learn and flourish. I can't say enough good things about the school and staff. I've read some other posts about their kids being bullied and that can happen anywhere your goes to school. All I can say is that after two horrible experiences at the other local schools, my son is finally at a school that gets and supports him and we are truly grateful. read more

We have been at Design39 since the first year (2014-2015) when my daughter was in TK and have seen all the changes that come with opening a brand new school with a concept to learning that is WAY overdue. What I love about this school is that the focus is kids becoming life long learners and loving the process of discovery. There are actively involved faculty and educators who value the skills that will be needed in life to succeed and live a fulfilled life. These soft skills are apparent in the kids' exhibitions and processes they use to really immerse themselves in the information. The project based integrated learning approach has given my daughter collaboration skills, public speaking sills and problem solving skills even from the very young grades. She is now a third grader and is thriving at school and loves school and I couldn't ask for anything more! I am so thrilled to be a part of the future of education at Design39. read more

Awesome school, great teachers, student lead learning, good homework policy appropriate to grade level. Kids love to experience different elective classes for the Deep Dives, Explorations and Minds in Motion, i love that they rotate and get to interact with different teachers and students among their grade span. read more

New buildings! Nice facility! but Very clear symbol of management failure. The goals are very respected and great but execution is not successful. Former principal lost the control over managing the school. Big confusion! New principal is confused too and all he is doing is marketing and showing off. Hiring the teachers with zero (0) experience as LED teachers. We gave them 2 years to make up and boost up but do not see even sign of improvement. My son got involved in many project with min. supervision and did not add any value to my sons capability. Teachers were spending 40% of class time for marketing and creating videos and power points to show off instead of working with kids No wonder my son loves the school because they were giving kids 3-4 hours of free times! Do not recommend to send your kids to this school and do not get tricked by the facility and their lip services. read more

So many bullies here this one kid in my class started getting yelled at for no reason by other stupid kids and then the teacher came in and did nothing. The coach called all us fat and that we need to try harder. Kinda school is this?? y'all need to fix this bc it's actually getting really annoying and also there is trash everywhere on the ground an gum all over the seats . Feel bad for the custodian the kids need to clean they're own crap up. Tbh i hate going to school now. Plz do something about this school. read more

My kid was bullied for having a iPhone 6 regular and not a iPhone 6plus. The teacher was laughing admin ignored the emails. I hope this year is better. Kids need to stop staring at the phones and iPads and interact. I hope things change. Not sure why a lot of teachers left I assume poor management and guidance. I hope for the best. God bless and amen. read more

This school is way off the mark on educating our kids. My child received a seat through the lottery process and I am now regretting having moved my child from their previous elementary school. The administration is detached and unavailable, the learning environment is less than nurturing as many basic fundamentals are not reinforced, parental support is viewed as meddling and bullying is rampant. The positive note is the campus is beautiful and definitely has a "wow" factor. Look beyond the glitz and glam and you will see that Design 39 will leave it's student less than ill-prepared for Middle and High School. read more

Run away from this school. They don't follow any rules in the name of innovative school. There is no structure in this school. Your kids are guinea pigs of their experiments.Every year they have a new sets of apps which your kids use as part of experiments. Kids who are at this school lack basic writing skills. Their is no ownership in teachers or school part if kid is lacking in any learning . They just skim through the topics. It's a lot of talk but do nothing kind of school in teacher part. Teachers are focused so much on extra projects that they skim through basic material. If your kid know material already great else kid is doomed. The collobrative of this school is amazing . Parents give a lot of donation and work after school for many clubs to supplement their kids learning. After school there are many clubs provided by school . But as a school their is nothing that school do to make clubs better. It's all parents run and managed effort. All neighboring school have MAPS testing on regular basis but at this school they chose if they want to take a test or not. Kids create their own progress report and teacher just ask kids to fill grids. Of course a kid is going to write all good for himself. Their is no way to really access your kids. In the name of partering kids learning they assume kid will learn everything at home and just come to school to explore. Parents who want good for their kid have to run a parallel home school or supplement their elsewhere. The one star given in this review is for after school clubs . For this school itself, I would give a negative rating if I can. I have wasted 3 years of my kids . I have seen many parents running away. People come to this school not knowing anything . One or two years are spent to spent to understand what is going on . And by third or fourth year they start looking else where. One more type of kid may flourish here , who have stay at home parent as they can sit in school all day as volunteer. Language , Writing and Comprehension of this school is poor and average kid can't produce a good peice of writing for his /her grade level. read more

I am an experienced parent. My oldest just graduated from Cal Berkeley in June, so I successfully navigated a child's education from start to finish. Design39 is Pretty to look at but provides a horrible education, and has inept administration. Aside from use of a laptop in class, which most students already know how to do this, this school is structured just like any other public school. We elected to transfer out of this school because it simply was not preparing our child for high school and beyond. He entered the school testing far above grade level, and left the school after 16 months below standard, after he consistently did all work required and received good grades in his classes. The teachers there do not get along (lots of conflict where every teacher thinks they are a superstar.) Many teachers have left by their own accord. I don't blame them. The administration is just terrible (By the end of our experience I had ZERO confidence in administration.) They think they are so special because there is a "waiting list" to get into D39..because it is new and pretty, and all of the teachers children attend there (even though they are NOT the ones paying the high Mello-Roos taxes that pay for that school.) The younger grades may be okay but stay away during Jr. High. Thankfully we transferred out, hired a personal tutor (because he was so far behind in classes thanks to D39 lousy educators) and now my son is back to excellence at Oak Valley Middle School up the road (which BTW has a level 10 rating.) WARNING! Please don't be fooled by the pretty stained glass...your child will NOT be prepared to transition to HS and beyond. They should have named it "Design to Fail" read more