We love our school. My daughter started back here in 4th grad after we attended a private school…read morefor a few years. I am blown away by the attention my child gets and how much the teachers really care for her. We are so happy to be back at Portola and their teachers, Principal and staff are amazing!!!!

The school has been privy to poor leadership and some negligent teachers and the kids are suffering…read moredue to this. Irvine school district has one of the highest paid staffs and our children deserve better than this.  When talking to the principal she simply made a statement that "she must protect her teachers first." As a parent I no longer want to feel helpless please help by filing an official complaint with iusd.org, calling the director Stan Machesky, Executive Director, Elementary Education, (949) 936-5055, stanmachesky@iusd.org, attending the board meeting at 5050 Barrancs pkwy on Sept 11 at 6:30pm

Beacon Park school is a wonderful place. Nestled into the neighborhood over by the Great Park in…read moreIrvine. This summer the school is participating in the IPSF which is extra curricular activities and classes for the kids!! If you are from the Irvine area or from surrounding cities like, Costa Mesa, Newport Beach, Tustin, Lake Forest, or Mission Viejo your kids are just as welcome to enjoy summer activities too!! So long as they are within the proper age group for the class. A friend of mine runs the Movies By Kids courses and this summer 2024 session will be teaching stop motion animation with LEGOS!! As well as a course in Zombie movie special effects!! For more info and registration you can go to IPSF.net/summer

From the owner: Irvine Unified School District- Kindergarten- 8th graderead more

According to a two-month investigation conducted by government authorities CDSS, this daycare has…read morebeen officially cited 4 citation on the state's licensed daycare monitoring website. I strongly recommend checking the government website for details before enrolling your child. My child attended this daycare for only six days, during which we experienced extremely distressing treatment. The teacher showed a complete lack of patience and empathy toward new children still adjusting to the environment. When my child cried for several hours due to separation anxiety, instead of offering comfort, the teacher coldly said, "Why are you the only one crying when everyone else isn't?" Most shockingly, while my child was crying so hard, the teacher took out a large camera and took multiple close-up photos of my child's face. After taking the pictures, the teacher simply walked away without offering any comfort or care. (This behavior is documented in a video that the teacher herself sent to me as part of the daily updates.) The daycare also gave my child expired milk that had been opened for more than three hours, and they still made my child drink it. Additionally, children were placed on old, peeling sofas, which were unsanitary and unsafe. As a result of this experience, my child suffered severe emotional distress, throat inflammation from excessive crying, inability to eat solid food, and frequent night terrors. Financially, before enrollment I paid a $700 deposit and $1,600 tuition for four weeks. Since my child only attended six days, the contract clearly allows for a partial refund of unused tuition. However, the daycare refused to refund anything and even demanded an additional $400 "termination fee" for leaving before one year. Despite the serious emotional and physical impact on my child, they withheld all payments, including the deposit. I'm sharing my personal experience to warn other parents to carefully review the daycare's background and official government records before making a decision.

this is thw worst school i ever been to. the teachers are very mean and alot of homework and plus…read morethey send you to the office for talking for 1 second

I think Woodbury elementary school is the best place because they have yummyfood! they are so…read morehelpful! Woodbury, I think you are the best school to go to

Our kids attended Woodbury from 2016-2022. Both of them started in K through 4th and 6th grade…read morerespectively. During our years here we were told stories from other parents about unethical practices by the principal Alan Battenfield, everything from him being racist, sexist and abusing his powers. I was not quick to judge since I had no personal interactions with him. I would also say that 9/10 students have an unfavorable opinion of him, but hey these are children. However at the start of the 2022 school year I would come to have my first interaction with the principal and school office assistant Veronica Escalante. Both of which would show their true colors and prove the level of corruption at the school as reported by other parents to be true. To learn more about my family's personal story in how unethical school administrators are at Woodbury as well as the school districts findings investigating my claim against the principal and office assistant, please see my petition on change.org https://www.change.org/WoodburyIrvine Bringing awareness to the systemic level of corruption in school leadership at Woodbury Elementary School in the irvine unified school district. If something like this could happen to us, it can happen to anyone, for any reason, just to perpetuate their narrative.

Many things could be improved. There are many good teachers but some bad, the principal is also…read morereally nice. The good ends there. First of all one of the supervisors is genuinely the worst, She has gone into the boys bathroom even though she's a girl, got mad at my friend for leaning on the Gaga ball wall, and yelled at a kid with autism. Her name genuinely scares me. There is also a bully problem with just one kid, who thankfully has gone to middle school. He has made 3 kids leave the school and made them want to hurt themselves. The boys bathroom is never clean. There are toilets that removed from the ground. The toilets are always clogged. All in all this school is okay. Try to avoid it if you can though

Foothill Ranch Elementary currently has over 1,100 students, way beyond its designed capacity of…read more650, by adding modular classrooms. Traffic is horrible during the drop-off and dismissal periods. Parents are filling parkings at the FR public library, Borrego Park, and neighborhood streets, yet it is an hour gridlock in the morning and the afternoon. Police officers have been seen on-site to keep traffic moving and give citations, and the crossing guard did her best to keep pedestrians safe. Summer 2023 FRE underwent a major renovation that lasted the entire Summer. It now has a digital marquee that shuts off at 6pm. Fall 2023 FRE got a new principal, transferred in from Serrano Intermediate School. FRE was a California Blue Ribbon school once upon a time. I hope it can achieve academic excellence again soon.

I just reported the 1 star review from Gen H.; clearly it's a salty neighbor who's upset about the…read moresounds from a preschool in a neighboring home (and to be honest, if I was a neighbor living next to any place with children at play on a regular basis that I wasn't expecting, I may be salty too, but that's irrelevant). I have one child that's has been with Fallowfield Montessori for 3+ years and has only moved schools to start kindergarten, and I have another that's been there 2+ years now, and we have loved/love our experience here. The head teacher, Qin Lao Shi, is well respected and many parents I know have followed her to Fallowfield because she's wonderful. My children have learned so much here, are confident, and social. Prior to attending Fallowfield, my first child used to attend Leport's Mandarin immersion school, and she cried daily and stood outside the classroom door not wanting to go inside for weeks, but when she started at Fallowfield, she loved it right away. We were so thankful that we found this school just by coincidentally meeting a neighbor who spoke highly of Fallowfield because her child was going to Fallowfield. I wish there were more teachers like Qin Lao Shi!

We cannot say enough good things about Fallowfield and Fallowfield Academy. My oldest started at 4…read morewith no Mandarin experience and is now 7 and can read,write and speak (we do not speak Mandarin at home). She also finished Kindergarten there and she came into 1st grade able to read and do math. My little one goes there now and loves learning from her teachers and playing with her friends. I feel at ease knowing she's well taken care of and learning so much. The teachers spend a lot of 1-1 time w each student and help cater lessons to their needs. Qin Lao Shi and all the teachers there are truly the best and is always quick to respond to any questions we may have. We feel so lucky to have found this school.

There's a lot wrong with this school. First off it started with a scandal from the top down, well…read moreok, these things happen, but it never really seemed to recover. The teachers are very green, full of hopes and dreams but egregiously lacking in skill. The administration doesn't seem to be much better, my kiddo was in a class with a pregnant teacher, mind you they had several months to get a replacement ready, however after this teacher went on maternity leave it still took them several weeks to replace her. The student body has a ton of delinquents apparently because they were kicked out of other schools and this place appears to be a miscreant catch-all. I can't tell you how many times bullying has occurred. Their after-school program is a mess, my kiddo was injured by one of their staff who got too over zealous during a game!! And after the first couple years almost the entire after school program staff had turned over. If your school district is half ways decent I suggest you keep your kiddo there. In most cases non-charter schools have been doing their thing for a long time and have already figured out the solutions to the problems that OPA has.

Our son started kindergarten this year and so far we've been very pleased with the school! He has…read morebeen making a lot of progress and I love that he has Spanish, music and steam each week. The administration and teacher seem to be very caring and also very serious/reliable. The PTA is active and the school often has events for the whole family as well as an incentive program to motivate the students. The school is very diverse with many students of different cultures, which is important to us. I was a bit hesitant seeing the reviews on Yelp and Google, but glad we made the decision to send him at OPA!

We cannot say enough wonderful things about Guidepost Montessori in Foothill Ranch. This has been…read moresuch a special place for our family and a huge part of our son's early growth and development. We started our son here when he was just 6 months old, and as a first time mom who is naturally very anxious, I was incredibly nervous about leaving him. I worried about everything. From day one, the guides took the time to get to know not just our son, but us as parents too. As time went on and as I built relationships with the team, my confidence grew because of the care, communication, and trust they created. Ms. Abi and her team have been absolutely incredible. Ms. Abi has been amazing at helping guide us through our son's milestones and development, always offering reassurance, insight, and support. Every single guide we have interacted with has shown genuine love and care for our son. Ms. Abi, Ms. Michelle, Ms. Marianna, Ms. Dora and so many others always took the time to give thoughtful updates about our son's day, which meant the world to us. Our son truly loves it here. He lights up every time we pull up to the building and is excited to see everyone inside. Knowing how happy and comfortable he was made all the difference for us. We are heartbroken to be leaving, only because we are moving out of state. This community has meant so much to our family, and we will always be grateful for the role they played in our son's early life. Thank you to everyone at Guidepost Foothill Ranch for creating such a warm, nurturing, and supportive environment. We will miss you all so much.

My daughter has been going to Guidepost since she was 6 months old. Guidepost is an exceptional…read moredaycare that provides a nurturing and stimulating environment for young children. The staff are warm and caring. Ms. Laura and Ms. Dora are our favorite educators and caregivers. MS. Laura is dedicated to ensuring my daughter's well-being and I truly appreciate maintaining constant communication through daily reports. My child learned so much from the well structured curriculum that combines play-based learning with essential educational activities. They incorporate outdoor activities and the arts daily, which helps promote my child's motor, physical, and social skills. Highly recommend Guidepost the combination of great curriculum and reliable teachers makes it a great place for early childhood education.

My daughter graduated from this school in 2015. I later found out that most of her teachers (not…read moreall) were just awful to her and her classmates/friends. Up to this day she and her friends would talk about how awful some of these teachers treated them. The teachers absolutely showed favoritism to students whose parents practically did their job by volunteering everyday and will not let any parents do so. My son was attending at this school but their Special Education is less than satisfactory because they had nothing to offer him. I ended up transferring him to Foothill Ranch Elementary and it was best thing that ever happened to him. When my son strarted attending Foothill Ranch Elementary, they sent me a letter saying that they were opening up a class accommodating my son's needs and that Portola Hills is his home school. I told them that he will never return to this school. I saw my son get bullied by these kids in front of my eyes by purposely not including him to their reading groups during Dr. Seuss birthday celebration in their classroom because he read slow. He read slow because he's autistic. My daughter is forever scarred by this school but fortunately, she overcame it with my constant re-assurance because this school destroyed her confidence. By the way, Cookie the office woman was just awful to my son. She would get upset if he comes in to the office to ask for help. If you are a brown nosing parent you will thrive in this school but if you are working mom who cannot always be there. I wish you the best but keep an eye on your children or you can transfer them to Foothill Ranch Elementary. For what it's worth, Mrs. Shanton, Mrs Morrow, Mrs Lindenhoffen (my daughter's teachers) are wonderful teachers. Mrs Lau and Mrs Franco are wonderful as well, they were my son's teachers. The rest, well...Good-luck along with the principal Mr. Ledaux (if he's still there)

This is a great school with caring teachers. My son has been here only a few months but acclimated…read morewell. The afterschool program is great and the supervisor is amazing as well (I know this should be a separate review but it is on campus). I would love it if they allowed kids to play on the playground before school like the schools in Irvine but that is my only complaint.

I really wish reaching out to the district was worth it but sadly it isn't. They have zero interest…read morein what goes in their schools. The way some teachers treat students is alarming but since they aren't there to witness it there's nothing they will do. As a whole the leadership and district at these "prestigious" Irvine schools is very disappointing. You're lucky if you get a call back from someone here.

Just look at the reviews for this office. Dose not answer phones. When you you do get to talk to…read morethe receptionist they are unhelpful. Doesn't have any idea of what or where or who. Not friendly at all, hurry to get you of the phone "I don't know, I don't have any information". Then why have a contact or phone number at all if they just tell you to find email by yourself. Horrible horrible. The schools can be good if you keep up with the program. Anything you have questions about is most likely going to be through email but never responsive. Please DO BETTER!