The most amazing staff and best education available with a solid Christian world view. Love this…read moreplace.

I can't believe the rating for this school is this low. I am not an easy person to please…read moresometimes, and wouldn't write a fluff review if it wasn't earned. Our son went to LCS from kinder to 6th, and got an EXCELLENT education. Not just that, but a Christ centered education, focused on family and caring for others. The administrative staff in the elementary school was some of the best management I have ever seen. Any issues were addressed quickly, professionally, and always with a smile and understanding these are young kids (and perhaps new parents.) There was some turn over with teachers that retired or moved, and I felt blessed to have had Kevin experience them before they did so. The new teachers are hand picked and committed. We don't have an opinion on the middle school, but the elementary side was everything you could want and hope for. If you are debating where to spend your hard earned money, and are worried about getting the education you expect, trust Mrs Barton and these teachers to shepherd your kid to a relationship with God, and quality education. P.S. The first year of covid was rough on everyone, but by week 2 things were up and running smoothly. Incredible. The second year of covid, it was like any day of class in elementary school. (They did all this over Zoom) I don't know how they pulled it off so well. But they did

My daughter is in 7th grade and very happy here. I have been so impressed with IVA since my…read moredaughter started last year. The communication from the school and the inclusiveness has made it a great experience for us. Students are respected, their voices are heard and they are made to feel like their opinions matter. The virtues are there to make them feel empowered as students. The weekly advisory meeting they have once a week for all students is great because it helps them understand and know the virtues and how to apply them to their work. Sixth grade is a learning curve and IVA gets that. One thing to know about the school is that since kids are coming from all different schools and school settings it's easier to make friends. There are no clicks in place. This year they also made it phone free. No phones at school. However, they can use them after school. I have read past reviews that said the school is not diverse and not for people of color. This from our experience is not true at all. Maybe in past years this was the case but it is no longer this way. IVA is very racially and socioeconomically diverse. It is a true representation of Long Beach in that regard. If you are a parent who wants to volunteer and see what is going on at the school there are plenty of opportunities, field trip opportunities, dances every year, a chili cook off, and family breakfast/lunches hosted by the school. There is a weekly newsletter, outlining all events coming up. How you can get involved, sports info, field trips etc... They make it very difficult for you to miss something. My daughter loved the dances last year. They are more like a fun party. There is no pressure to have a date or anything like that. They make them very low pressure like come in your PJ's etc... It's just an opportunity to hang out with friends outside of school. The staff and teachers will all know your child's name. I think this matters to my daughter. We live in Belmont Heights and had an opportunity to send her to Rogers as well. It's not quite our home school but it is a lot closer to us than IVA and I wanted her to go there. She would have had friends closer and I wanted that for her. However, after my daughter toured IVA in 5th grade, she made her mind up that she wanted to experience the smaller school and smaller class setting. She loved seeing students laughing in class with the teachers and sitting at little tables. The teachers were young and they didn't look miserable. The principal, Mrs. Bryant who led our tour was very dynamic and genuine. My daughter noticed these things and pushed for us to let her try IVA out. Her experience so far has not disappointed her. She has liked or loved almost all of her teachers. This is so important and this is coming from a student who struggles in school. She has an IEP for a reading disability. School is not easy for her. This is another reason I was hesitant on IVA. I wanted to her to have more options concerning her IEP and a bigger school can provide this. So far, her accommodations at IVA are working for her. She has also made friends with a great group of girls who are from all over Long Beach. In truth this is something I was also dreading but it's ok! She is happy! The parents of her friends are the type of parents who want the best for their kids. They will drive. This is how most of the parents are at this school as well. When volunteer sign ups come out for some event, the list gets filled up fast! Most of the parents at the school care. So far my daughter has joined Track and Cross Country. She also wants to play soccer this year. They do have team sports at IVA but it is on a smaller scale than a larger school. It's great for kids that want to try sports but might be intimidated at a bigger school with a lot of talented athletes. Not to say that there aren't some talented athletes here but it's not the focus of the school. If you're wondering about academics. I have heard wonderful things from parents who have had older siblings that graduated from IVA. One parent in particular shared with me that when her son started at his private High School (Bosco) after IVA, he was placed in honors classes which surprised her because her son was a B/C student at IVA. She felt the education he received at IVA was top notch, taught him how to be a student and actually engage in what he learned. Lastly, I just want to give a shout out to Mrs. Gordon, the dean of students and Mrs. Bryant the principal. These women care about your student. The love and dedication they put into their job is truly impressive.

its not the best school in the world but not the worst. The students are sort of rude to my child…read more If you really want your kid to go there so be it they have really good state teat results though. Try it for ur self

Is Valley a Christian school in name only?…read more If you are thinking about placing your child here, I can give you some insight. My wife and I were so green her freshman year. I could barely contain my excitement. Giving our daughter the gift of a private school education seemed out of reach, but Valley was accommodating. We made it happen, and that year was epic! My daughter played four sports and did really well in all of them. She finished with a 3.9 GPA, and we could not have been happier. Then, prior to classes starting sophomore year, at the girls' volleyball tryouts, we encountered something that we had only heard about and, transparently, did not believe existed: The Dutch Mafia! A quick history lesson: Valley was founded in 1935, and its historical ties trace back to Dutch immigrant communities in the local area (like Bellflower and Cerritos) who established it as a Reformed Christian day school. Some of the families who founded the school are still there--hence the term "Dutch Mafia." Now, back to the volleyball tryouts. There are a lot of details that could tell the story, but to keep an already long review a bit shorter, I will say this: based on how they separated the girls, we knew who was going to make which team. To say it was NOT based on ability, skill, or team needs is an understatement. I couldn't believe what was happening, but I should have known what was to come because of a foreshadowing incident during freshman season. Our starting libero was taken out in the middle of a game and had to give her jersey to the backup--not because she was playing badly or missing balls, but because the backup's mother complained to the head coach that her daughter wasn't getting playing time. That player's mother is a teacher at Valley, and our starter never went back into the game. When the team lists were emailed out, we understood what was happening. Returning players and incoming freshmen who were related to staff and coaches were placed on Varsity, even though they frankly were not that good. Girls who had been in the program since freshman year were not even given roster spots because they were seniors, and Varsity was the only option for them. I did the math after the lists came out: 44% of the available positions were given to freshman players. So, the incoming "Dutch" girls were so good that they took up almost half the roster spots across all three teams? Not likely. There was also some controversy that ended up getting the Varsity head coach, Jeff Ornee, unfairly dismissed. I found out later that the loudest voice calling for his termination was the coach who took over sophomore year. She completely destroyed the program with team selections based on clear nepotism and favoritism. She is a teacher at the school, by the way, and did such a horrible job that she quit, leading to another teacher taking over. I had high hopes, but the current coach is even worse. My daughter was placed on the frosh/soph team for her first two years and JV her junior year. She didn't make the Varsity team her senior year, and by now, you know why. By that time, she was completely burnt out on volleyball and having breakdowns, feeling like she wasn't good enough. Thankfully, she transitioned to an uncoveted sport (track & field) and no longer wanted to play volleyball for Valley or her club team. Our story is uniquely ours, but I can tell you that it is not the only one, and by far not the worst. I have firsthand knowledge of others, but those stories are not mine to tell. I would like to say that the teachers, security, and staff working behind the front desk at Valley Christian School were some of the sweetest and kindest people I've met. This review is not a reflection of them, their hard work, or their good hearts. Valley has some awesome traditions (Christmas time is epic), and if you choose to send your child here, they will receive a top-notch education and awesome Christian experiences--as long as they don't play one of the coveted sports.

The Teachers and staff are incredible. So much love and support! It's the best money we spend in…read moreour kiddos.

The after school program teacher are mean and give more attention to the girls then boy I do not…read morerecommend this school.

My son is 5 he was assigned to Ms Kissell. We were very…read moreanxious for him to start public school, unfortunately we had such a bad experience, even after reading the "good" reviews this school had. My son would come home with bruises continuously during his second week at school he would tell us that he fell in the playground and no one came to assist him. One incident he told us that when he fell a kid stepped on his forehead while he was on the ground and again no one helped him. When we would pick him up from school no one mentioned anything to us not the teacher, not the assistant nor the lady by the gate. A simple "Hey your son fell in the playground, we took him to the nurse office he is fine" Something so simple is all I needed. The first 2 days I let it slide until he kept saying that he got another ouchy from the school. After getting fed up I messaged Ms Kissell asking her if she knew about the bruises he was coming home with and she told me that she knew he had the bruises and yet she did not tell me anything. She had told me that my son is responsible to let the adults know. Keep in mind that my son is 5, the recess assistants should be outside doing their job instead of gossiping. I proceeded to post on the Facebook Downey group for advice from other parents. Right away I got someone reporting my post and the next day received a phone call from the principal asking me to take down the post and questioning me if my son is telling the truth. I will always believe my son 100% The school district sadly does not care about your children.

I absolutely love that my girls get to attend the same elementary school I went to! The campus,…read moreteachers, and administration are truly amazing, and I'm so grateful they get to experience such a wonderful school.

Don't recommend this school! The staff is so rude and all they are about if your donation.read more

We love bethany! My son started here pre-k summer camp and now hes going to be in 2nd grade…read more Bethany has become our family/community.

Leaving Bethany School was the most rewarding decision for our family. Many parents are naturally…read moredriven to private schools given the perception of superiority, impression of additional resources as compared to public schools, and the idea that teachers are better trained/educated. However, this is far from the case at Bethany School. Fortunately, we didn't waste too much time there and have successfully moved on to better opportunities for our children. Our kids are now happy, thriving and actually being challenged. As a parent, it is in your best interest to strongly consider the public schools within the Long Beach system. The LBUSD has staff with bachelor's degrees at a minimum, many with master's degrees/other secondary level education and ALL are fully credentialed (not the case at Bethany). In addition, LBUSD focuses on emotional intelligence, empathy, diversity, equity, inclusion and welcomes/accepts kids that learn differently. Bethany School admittedly prefers "obedient," cookie cutter kids due to their "limited resources and staff training." Although, these repeated statements were concerning given the high cost of tuition and continuous (often daily) pleas for donations. Bethany School prides itself on being "Future Focused," however, the curriculum, operations and staff training do not support this statement. For example, the utilization of "Clip Charts" as a daily behavioral management tool is widely known to be outdated and the theorized benefits have been refuted by studies and research (perform a simple Google search on the "Clip Chart Method" for your own assessment). Also, the end of the week "prize boxes" (and other extrinsic motivators) at Bethany are outdated and actually cause more harm than good to children. Prize boxes decrease a child's long-term ability to develop intrinsic motivation, an organic love for learning and the natural desire to be kind and compassionate. I question how Bethany labels such deeply outdated tactics as "Future Focused." In addition, there was an over-emphasis on the recitation of Bible verses and other religious content that created a gap with what the kids should be learning. In fact, many parents needed other educational content to supplement the Bethany School curriculum to ensure that their students would remain on track. Overall, we were thoroughly disappointed by the pipe dream that was sold to us via their website and during many on-campus tours, especially given the amount of tuition that we were paying. This has been an eye-opening experience about the educational system in the city of Long Beach. Private schools in LB, whether religious/Montessori/other are not superior, do not challenge kids, do not welcome kids with learning differences and have an alarming lack of emphasis on emotional intelligence (which we all know should truly be the focus of the future). Choose your children's education wisely. Don't ignore the red flags. Pass on Bethany.

I went to this school and mi got bully and it was good up until 2th grade tbh. The rest of my years…read morewere not good.

Honestly pretty chill school it just need better people and y'all NEED to add swings to the upper…read moregrade playground

I used to attend this school back in 2015 as a sixth grader. Now on my third year of college…read more Everything was shitty on the inside. There was literal graffiti on the walls when I used to attend and there still is (my little brother attends and I got to saw the bathroom on open house). The pipes also burst TWO times. There are better schools around the area tbh.

Just wanted to update on the preschool here. As classes near to an end, I would have to say there…read morehave been tons of learning experience for my child and tons of projects (you know, those ones that you end up throwing away after a week or so after it being up on the wall or fridge?) Not to worry, we take pictures of little Picasso's work. Yeah, movies does not exist in this classroom. Lots of social interaction. Parents involvement is a must. Kids will learn mannerisms. I recommend 1-2 years here. If you also have a little one and you are in the ABC school district and have a few hours to spare and mingle with other parents while your kid gets some social time, this would be a wonderful place to come.