We love the school and the staff! It's has been a positive experience for my son from the day he…read morestarted Pre-K. The teachers and staff have always been helpful. Mrs Duralde and Mr. Self are extraordinary teachers that go above and beyond to make sure their students succeed. Mrs Krohn has always answered any questions or concerns we have had without any delay. Ms. B always brings the energy at the front and welcomes every parent and student walks by. The staff and teachers all build and have great connections with all the students.

This review is for the Handy Elementary School location as an Election Day polling place, not for…read morethe quality or skill of the school as part of the OUSD-Orange Unified School District. I have no really in depth familiarity with that. I'm a registered voter in Orange and receive the vote by mail ballot. As that, we mailing voters have the option to drop off the official ballot at a polling site. I'd driven by the Handy School already that election day and knew it was an official polling site for Orange. Why? Because was clearly and well-marked from the street a place to VOTE that day! Now, you have to know I am temporarily disabled and get highly fatigued if not exhausted from even small errands or tasks. So, by the end of the day, I was kvetching about going out to cast my vote. Then my own values about greatly valuing our right and ability to vote kicked in around 7, and I filled my ballot out and signed, hauled my tired bod into my car, drove over and into the parking lot. Well, thank God/dess for all the helpful little lovingly handwritten signs pointing to and guiding me to the voting room! I'm emphasizing those lil signs so much because while which room was clear from the parking lot. But seeing this is an elementary school, there were chain link fences and locked doors for all those school kids and staff's safety. How on earth was I to get IN to cast (drop off) my vote? And it was now about 15 minutes before the polls closed. I didn't want to get stuck circling those chain links and miss out on voting! Then I noticed it! One more little, and I do mean truly small, handwritten "Vote" sign, this one with a hand drawn arrow guiding me to the hard to see break in the chain link fence which led to the entrance to the polling place room. I walked in with my envelope. The poll workers were all so cheerful, friendly, and helpful. They pointed me to The Box. Popped my ballot in. And then I could wear my "I voted" sticker with veracity!

When it was time to start considering where we wanted our son to go school, we weren't sure where…read moreto begin. We weren't excited about public school, a lot of private schools seemed out of reach financially, and straight home school 5 days a week felt a little overwhelming. Then we heard of Spirit Christian Academy. It is a home school / private school hybrid. The option of having your student attend 2 or 3 days in class per week. With this being our 2nd year in, I am so glad we chose to send our son here. The teachers have been great, other parents are invested in their kids, and learning about Jesus is at the center. I strongly recommend looking into sending your student to this school.

Perfect hybrid of homeschool and traditional. Small classroom coupled with veteran instructors…read moremakes it an ideal learning environment. I highly recommend this school.

I'm happy my parents switched me over to McPherson for 3rd - 8th grade. As a shy little girl, the…read moresmaller environment was good for me, especially in middle school. I had a good experience with almost all of my teachers (though I had a couple distinguishably quirky ones). I feel that the technology and science aspects were very helpful (I don't know anyone else who used Blackboard before college!). I had a great experience going through the drama program 6th - 8th grade. I loved going to Catalina, Astro Camp, SeaWorld, and going on snowboard trips. The campus is beautiful now. You should've seen it when the school opened back up :) Overall, I appreciate the time and effort of the staff from 1997-2003. Thanks!

HATE IT the front desk was so rude to me and my kids they did not tell me where the bus route was…read moreand she screamed at me and my kids and the teachers are so rude to be real I still don't know why people put their kids in this school

We couldn't avast for a better experience. The teachers are so caring and well educated. They make…read moreclass fun and exciting. Our Son and daughter's first teacher was a PhD, for kindergarten! Dr. Hernandez played the piano and was just amazing. The foundation raise enough money to hire 11 extra staff, making this a hybrid school - public and private.

This school finally opened after two years of administration issues. The school principal and staff…read morewere phenomenal! However, NONE are returning next year 2025/2026. The children did their best with what they had. No cafeteria, no proper playground for upper grades, no multipurpose room, and no space - classes were combined. I was part of the community engagement program to promote community in the school. It included a grant and the money was used for other purposes, because it was unallocated funds. The board members are thieves and liars. The principal took on two years of debt (nearly $3m) and because enrollment was low, it was not able to get the financial support from the state. Explore Prime Academy Board members will gaslight your questions and give you a "let's wait and see" response for what's coming next year. Mind you, Explore has its own board and has NOTHING to do with Orange Unified School District. As a parent, I was really hoping this would be the school my daughter would attend for the rest of her school age years. The expansion was slated for K-12. Unfortunately, the nepotism with board members/ former board members hiring friends and relatives to fulfill staff roles without any training or ever working in education, has left me in a lurch in trying to find a middle school for my daughter. I am angry and heartbroken with how her childhood education has been affected. And wish all the parents better fortune if they find another school. Most teachers are going to Magnolia Public Schools and I strongly recommend parents looking into alternatives to Explore Prime Academy. And, as if you need any more persuasion, here is an article about the new principal/ executive director of Explore Prime Academy. https://voiceofoc.org/2020/02/serrano-trust-facts-cecilia-iglesias-is-unfit-for-office/

It's a great charter school option for the community. A small school with a great heart for its…read morestudents and families.

I am now a senior, but I have been going here since my freshman year and I have loved every minute…read more :) Because of the small size of the school, you really get to know your teachers and become friends with them. I love the teachers and staff here so much! It really is like home to me. They also do a wonderful job of supervising students while school is in session. And JOIN DRAMA!! Our director Mr Koff is fabulous and teacher Amy Sydoruk, who is in charge of the class, is like a mother to all of her students. Independent study is great because it really prepares you for college. Rather than having a teacher breathing down your neck and telling you what to do and when, you are in charge of getting your work turned in on time. It teaches you the valuable lesson of time management, which is crucial for college and life in general. Do yourself a favor and choose this school. From someone who has spent almost 4 years of their life here, trust me when I say PCHS really does care. If you like teachers who care about you personally, flexible classes, and a loving, relaxed environment, than this is the place for you. It's truly amazing here and I couldn't be happier. I am proud to say I will be a graduate of PCHS. :) And don't let the small size of the campus fool you. It really is a functioning well organized high school inside that business complex. ;)

Great alternative high school education option. This is NOT a continuation school. It is a…read moreCalifornia endorse high school that utilizes online education. It is fully accredited by WASC. They have University of California (A-G) approved courses and NCAA approved courses. It is also administered by Orange County Department of Education.

We absolutely love this daycare/preschool! It's so hard to find a great environment for your…read morechildren when they are so young, but we have taken both of our little girls here once they turned 2. Our 3.5 year old loves it and our 6 year old comes here for their after school camp. Our 6 year old goes to Newport Elementary and then the after school instructors pick her up at school and walk her over for camp. It works out so well. The playground and outside space is wonderful and they have lots of great activities. All of the teachers are so sweet and they have fun events. I highly recommend it!

We've been through a lot of after school programs for many years. We found one we liked in Irvine…read morecalled After School All-Stars, which was great. We did Active Kids in Newport Beach and tried the YMCA after-school program and they were pretty terrible, so we were thrilled when we found Christ Church by the Sea. After just a week at this after-school program our son said he liked this one even better than After School All-Stars, which really surprised me. Their facilities are outstanding. They have a large playground, a lot of toys, bunny rabbits, a caring staff, and they keep the groups very small. They do homework with the child and when they do pickup they have informally asked the teacher about my child's progress, which is great. It shows how personalized the program is. They have a very structured program and it is great for my child. I was a little bit concerned at first since we aren't Methodist so let me address this here. In a nutshell, this program is for everyone and not just people who share methodist beliefs. They are warm and caring. We're Christian, and we wouldn't mind at all if they talked about God more, but they really don't push religion very much. They have two short sessions with a pastor every month which largely consists of singing faith-based songs to guitar music. I think this is probably a good thing since it won't make any of the kids feel ostracized if they aren't religious. My child asks questions about Jesus to the staff all the time--and they love it. They will answer his questions and get almost giddy when he asks questions about Jesus. So the religious aspect is there for the kids seeking it out, but I don't think anyone who doesn't share their religious beliefs feel a bit uncomfortable. Everyone we've seen--including the pastor--is female (for what its worth).

My son has been going to this school for about a year now, and the change is amazing! He love's…read moregoing to school every morning and is constantly talking about his friends, teacher's and his classroom. The summer camp is amazing and the kids have a fun filled summer! I would recommend this school to parent's that want a clean, enriched, and caring environment for their children.