Review #1024 2026-094…read more Opened in 02/1957, Madrona Middle School is 1 of 8 middle schools serving students in grades 6 - 8 in Torrance Unified School District with Dr. Sue Key, Principal, at helm since 02/2024. Per U.S. News & World Report, the 26:1 student-teacher ratio is on the higher side, & the reading level is stronger than the math. GreatSchools.org shows a 20% Algebra 1 participation rate with a strong 95% pass rate. Under Dr. Key's helm, Madrona Middle School earned South Bay's BEST Public Middle School in 2026, following recognitions for FAVORITE school in 2025 & BEST in 2024. After participating on behalf of his elementary school's math & academic pentathlon teams (placed 2nd on both) this year, my 10 YO 4th grader wanted to map out his future academic career & research his options, even though Madrona MS is the natural progression from Hickory ES. His interests are vast: Academic Pentathlon, CJSF (CA Junior Scholarship Federation), Coding/Robotics, eSports, GATE, Math Club/Math Field Day, MathCounts, Science Olympiad, Spelling Bee, etc. I scheduled a 30-min. tour in 05/2026, & it was led by Dr. Key; the short tour ended up being almost 90-mins. It was a detailed & informative tour of an impressive campus with plenty to offer for academically strong students (refer to posted photos of School Brochure & Class Selection Reference Sheet)! I particularly love that their classrooms post a door sign of the teachers' contact, sponsor, & education info (e.g. Mrs. Heather Hallsted teaches Science 8 & Science Olympiad, sponsors Madrona Family Night, & earned a B.S. Biochemistry & M.A. Curriculum & Instruction from UCLA, CSU Bakersfield, CSUDH; Mrs. Nancy Ton teaches Science 7, PLTW Design & Modeling/Computer Science App Inventors/Automation & Robotics, sponsors esports & earned a B.S. Liberal Science & M.S. Science from CSULB & CSUDH). What's great for working parents is that students can be dropped off as early as 8:15 AM & go to study hall before the 1st bell. Subsequent to the tour & info received, I learned the following week that Hickory Elementary School will be offering an accelerated math summer program to prep interested & qualified students for the Accelerated Math 6 in fall. My son took the accelerated math this summer, & qualified for Accelerated Math 6 in 5th Grade. It's been a month, & he's maintaining a 4 (out of 4) on the math quick checks. M's plan is to follow his elementary school's progression to Madrona Middle School since they hit most of his interests on the checklist. Last school year (2025 - 2026), MMS placed in all 3 grades at Math Field Day: 6th - 2nd Place, 7th - 3rd Place, 8th - 2nd Place. M plans to tryout for Math Field Day again this school year & is strategically recruiting his team for a 3-peat win for 5th Grade, & hopes to bring the same team to Madrona Middle School for continued success.

5 STAR this school is great it has a lot of activity's and its a great learning potential!read more

The principal at this school does not care about the children's safety. There was a drive-by…read moreshooting across the street at 8am and nobody was notified of the school lockdown. I would not recommend this school to anyone who cares about the well being of their children. I would recommend Park Western.

Such a great little school…read more All three of my girls went and graduated from there and now, my oldest grand daughter goes. Next year, my second oldest will be attending and in just a few more years, my two youngest grandbabies will be attending! Heck, the wifey even worked as an aide way, waaaaaay back in the day! Great teachers, great staff and great facilities. Only problem, (and it really has nothing to do with the school), is the traffic in general, but more specifically, during school hours. Some people don't know how to slow down, watch where they are going or even relinquish the right of way to pedestrians. Always tryin' to beat a damn street signal... There are little ones out there people!!! Slow your dumbasses down and watch out for kids / parents!

Review #995 2026-065…read more Let me preface that this review is for an event that was held at/hosted by South High School. Opened (3rd) in 1957, South High School is 1 of 4 high schools serving students in grades 9 - 12 in Torrance Unified School District; according to their website, they're the #1 ranked high school in TUSD. The school also rents its space to Asahi Gakuen, a weekend non-profit Japanese language school. Did you know "American Beauty" was filmed at South High School during 1998 - 1999 winter break? For 2025 - 2026, the school is helmed by Principal Jim Evans & supported by Assistant Principal Dr. Tera Black. The 2026 TUSD "Academic Pentathlon" was held at South High School, hosting since post pandemic. It's an annual academic competition for 4th - 5th grade students that tests their knowledge on multiple (5) subjects: math, science, social science, art, literature. Winners receive medals & trophies for their school. Unlike Math Field Day, there's no county (LACOE) competition since it's primarily for middle school students. My son competed for 1 of 4 spots representing Hickory Elementary's 4th Grade Team. The hour-long competition consisted of 2 teams of 4 (comprised of 2 4th grade & 5th grade students) for their school to answer 50 questions; it was announced at the end that there were 49 questions due to an error. There was a short break at the midpoint of the competition, & another at the end while the scores are tabulated. The school's score is the calculated mean of their 2 teams. Unlike Math Field Day, there's no "trail mix" snacks offered during breaks so we gave M a quickie snack at home before the competition, & added a granola bar in case he needed a little lift. The auditorium wasn't as packed with competitors... I think maybe 1/2 of TUSD's elementary schools participated? Though it was standing room only with all the parents & families out to support their children. 2026 Academic Pentathlon Winners 1st: Victor ES (40.5 points) 2nd: Hickory ES (38 points; so proud of my l'il guy & his teammates!) 3rd: Towers ES (35 points) No back-to-back wins for Hickory ES (placed 1st in 2025)... M plans to come back next year to help regain the honors before he graduates. =D Congrats to all the lifelong learners... great job!!

Now, let me tell you that my kids do not go to this school, but if I lived in the area they would…read more We were there to go to their wonderful and new theater to see a play for Special Needs kids, of which my grandson is one. The people working there were so nice and patient with all 4 showings. It was put on by Anchorless Productions and the Friendship foundation. First, parking is so easy right in front to the theater. The theater itself is beautiful and spotless. It is comfortable and seating is easy. They are great with disabled people and are just super nice. They have it all, from the cool curtain to a super sound system. We were so lucky to be able to use this venue for the play. Before the play we walked around just a little bit, a lot of it was locked as it was a weekend, but the football field is so pretty and there is a tennis area. I think this school does a lot of performing arts. I wish all schools looked like this.

I was part of the cross country team and unfortunately saw firsthand how strong favoritism…read moreinfluenced team decisions and recognition. Many athletes worked hard but were overlooked unless they were one of the coach's clear favorites. Even basic encouragement, like a simple "good job" was not given to everyone. Instead, praise was reserved for a select few, leaving others feeling unvalued despite their efforts. When I respectfully addressed this even as an alum, I was met with a hostile response and completely shut out. I had hoped for reflection and respect, but instead received defensiveness and dismissal. This is not the example of leadership or character that a youth program should be built upon. A coach who discourages hard-working athletes, fails to recognize everyone equally, and responds to concerns with hostility should not be in a position of guiding young people. Leadership should inspire, not divide. At one meet, after a mile time trial where I struggled badly and was visibly upset, I heard him say, "I am so proud of you guys." I asked, "Are you sure about that?" because it felt insincere given the lack of encouragement many of us experienced. In a race in Hawaii, while I was in tears and trying to reach my parents, I was told, "I don't care, cheer on your teammates please." That moment made it clear how little empathy and support was being offered to athletes who were not among his favorites. Please see attached for records

The gym doesn't have A/C. Large fans places on the gym floor but if you're a spectator be ready for…read morea sauna session! Parking wasn't so bad since it was after school hours.

Resource? opportunities? nonexistent. "Tutor service" aka den is just kids who want put that they…read moretutor on resume. Athletics basically non exist. Lunch? option cut short because lack students. Mental Health? all focus on robotics the only time the wellness center open is during lunch. Academic, Classes? your best bet is to send your child to another school the options here are just too limited and they only care about students on whole, not individually. If you really look for "rigor" take classes at another school because anything we can do other school has that and more. And if you do come or send your children's here, add dual enrollment classes those will be your best friend, has way more variety. teachers are overkill.

Love the school! If your focus is strictly just academics and a little bit on the extracurricular…read morethis is the school. Kids love the school and their program, parents expect more even though kids are on full load. Ask the kids about their school experience, not the parents!

This school has its good sides and bad sides. On one hand, the teachers are super experienced and…read moreall are super smart. Many of them try their best to help each and every student. The administration is where I think many people dislike. The TOSA loves to accuse people and approaches people in a very disturbing manner. She assumes that the students have done something wrong. When she is dealing with an incident, she changes the story and manipulates students minds to get the to "fake confess". She pits students against each other with fake accounts and stories.

Not the best staff and one staff member is very aggressive and not just me who thinks that other…read morestudents did too. I was once grabbed and pulled by him for helping my friend. A lot of improvement could be done. Great teaches i have had on the other hand

Love the school and staff! The bummer part is the lazy parents suck for double parking making it…read moretough for us to leave sometimes.

My little cousin went this school but it wasn't really a great experience. He's was often picked on…read moreand discriminated against because of his skin, and height. The principal's Mrs. Wells and Ms. Aguirre did their best to diffuse a lot of the situations, and work with my cousin, but between the some of the students, the lady Ms. Reb that worked the front office , the yard guards ( Ms Schm. and Ms De La C) and his first grade teacher Ms. M, he had a hard time adjusting. His second grade (H) and third grade teacher (Mr. C) were so much better, but he still had problems and then pandemic happened. Once the pandemic was declared to be over, my aunt tried to enroll him, but the lady at the office informed her it would be hard to enroll on campus because of the problems he had with the students. They penalized him even though he was being bullied by the first grade teacher and the students. So my aunt kept him in homeschool outside of LAUSD, and he's been thriving ever since.

The kids in general are fairly well-behaved. However, there are still lots of children who have…read morezero respect for adults or other students; they do whatever they like and there are no consequences.

I came to this school 30 years ago as a kid and I am so proud that both my son's had the chance to…read morecome here too. When my son started Kindergarten he was the only kid in his class that could read and write and it was all because of this preschool. The teacher's are great and it's just an amazing little school. The only down side is that your kid must be potty trained in order to go there. Other than that I highly recommend this preschool.