Hello! As a kid who attended this school for 5 years and is…read morenow entering 7th grade in a different city, I can reassure you that I am well educated most students reviewing schools only tell you the cons of it, which isn't helpful. So, I am bound to give you a completely honest review. Since most 5 star reviews are from 50 year old dads who have never experienced what the school is like once you're actually a student and that it's all sunshine and rainbows everyday. To begin with, the school is pretty awesome. Art vista, science, and the library are like no other. Even though I love my new school district, nothing will ever beat the library they have at Hacienda. The field is HUGE and great for younger children to play in. Although I'd never choose to have hot lunch, I've always gotten breakfast. The food is amazing. Especially the mini pancakes. MOST teachers and staff and especially my counselor were super helpful throughout the years, and I would recommend this school to those around me. But of course--like any school, there is a downside to it. Now obviously, I'm not going to start rambling about how "annoying" teachers are, or how much work they give us, or the dress code, but this is rather a warning for those like me with learning differences. I have really bad anxiety, and a learning disability, so most days at school were rough for me. Of course, I had good days, but staff need to care less about scheduling assemblies ABOUT kindness and shift their attention to actually helping the kids who are being bullied and left unnoticed--because just acting like everything is fine and not doing anything at all only causes more problems. And who wants their kid to be in a school that feels like walking on eggshells every day? Nobody. At all. Most kids in my grade today most likely loved this school. And no, I am not saying that their opinion is wrong, but if you are looking for a school with a FRIENDLY community--that is something that is something that the school does not have. So please, think twice before trying to get your kids in this school. You may be saying "but it isn't the schools fault that the kids are mean!" Well, fun fact, if the teachers get irritated, they can also be the same. And no, I'm not talking about getting your phone taken away because for some stupid reason you thought that breaking school rules would be quote on quote "funny."(you know who you are.) Speaking from personal experience, some teachers cannot care less about learning differences, or your children's mental health--but rather care more about the money they're receiving after each day. Of course, not every teacher is mean, but it would be much more helpful for some teachers to care a little more about their students. In conclusion, summing up everything I have said in this review, I can assure you that this school is in a safe environment, and is most likely one of the best schools you'll get in this neighborhood. But, please pay attention to your children as they grow older at Hacienda. You never know what is happening behind closed doors.

I wish Yelp had a 6 star rating that you could give to one thing. This would be mine…read more The only non 5 star reviews are from somebody who TOURED the school and an anonymous coward. That pretty much tells you all you need to know. This is the best school I have ever heard of, let alone seen. My eldest goes here, and her sister starts Kinder soon. When you pick the kids up they want to go play on the playground with friends. They are crestfallen if you pick them up more than 5 minutes before closing at the YMCA. This is a special community and it is infectious. If you don't win the lottery don't despair. Both my kids were waitlisted to start and got in by Sep so it does happen. As for the big class sizes, it's more friends for your child.

I have been involved with this school for about nine years and I have to say it has been a…read moreblessing! It really is a hidden gem. The principle Mrs. Stein is kind and caring, she always listens to everything you say! She works on solutions, not problems and is very pro active! And any well ran school has a team of above average humans that work hard on understanding all the different children's needs. Lori at the front office gives love and support not only to the staff, volunteers, but all the children that need the extra smile and support during the day! They support well rounded children with lots of fun activities throughout the year besides just academics! Although they are great at the academic side as well. My son was behind on his reading skills but by the time he went to middle school he was reading at grade level! I had been to so many schools and doctors! And the teachers are the best! I can not say enough about what a great school this truly is! I read some of the other reviews and I'm sad they have not received the same experience! And as far as some of the same kids in the same class year after year makes sense because they put the children that work well independently in the combo classes and the other children are usually in the single grade class. Hope this helps.

Horrible principal that has no regard for students with disabilities. The principal Deborah Stein…read moreis condescending, rude, and lacks tact. Overall a horrible principal/ person. I wish they would remove her and hire a different principal that has compassion and actually cares about ALL students. Glad my child is no longer enrolled in this school.

My daughter is wrapping up the third grade at ACDS. Our family has been with the school since her…read morefirst grade year. It's interesting to note how I just mentioned "our family" in reference to ACDS, because it's true - from the start it never felt like it was just my daughter being welcomed into a classroom. My husband and I were also ushered into a community of parents, children, teachers, administrators, and staff that truly are a community. This sense of familiarity and care, right from the start, was welcome. We looked at ACDS for my daughter after having been with a couple of other schools in the region that seemed to emphasize academics above all else. Academics are of course important, but I also wanted my daughter to have the chance to play and explore other possible interests. ACDS has a full complement of enrichment and extracurricular activities. Science, art, drama, music, you name it. There's a choir and a band. And every year every grade puts on a theater production, which I'm hoping next year can be done in the brand new Event Center. When school closed for COVID in March of last year, ACDS was ready for it. They moved their entire educational program online within a matter of 3 days, and it has been going strong ever since. When the school reopened for in-person learning in the fall, they continued the remote learning option alongside it. My daughter is presently the only child left online in her class, though she will be returning to school next week. Her teacher has been in close touch with me to make sure that she feels included and supported. The real gift is that my daughter has felt she is an active and important part of the community no matter where she physically is in relation to the school. And speaking of the teachers, wow! Dedicated and enthusiastic sound cliche but I assure they are not. The thought and energy they put into their lessons, especially even across two learning platforms, is phenomenal. If they had a high school, I would be planning to send my daughter. But for now I will just enjoy the stellar preparation she is getting for whatever step she chooses next.

We had a very disappointing experience with the middle school program. In my experience, the…read moreenvironment was particularly difficult for families seeking a supportive and inclusive approach, for example for students with learning and attentional differences. If your child is energetic, social, and learns best through encouragement, engagement, and positive reinforcement, I would encourage you to ask detailed questions of administrators and parents about the middle school's approach to these students before enrolling. I was particularly concerned by what I experienced as an excessively punitive and anxiety-producing approach to discipline and academic expectations. At times, the way students were treated appeared to undermine their confidence and enthusiasm for learning rather than support their development.I was also disappointed by the gap between the school's stated mission and what our family experienced in practice. There appeared to be limited attention to students' social-emotional needs, and I found the administration insufficiently receptive to families seeking additional support or collaboration with outside resources.Overall, the middle school experience had a lasting negative effect on my child's confidence and relationship with learning. Families considering the school may want to ask specifically about learning support, counseling and social-emotional resources, disciplinary practices, and how the administration works with families whose children learn differently.

My kids are much older and yes I have adjusted. I am more than grateful for the school that my boys…read moreare attending. They have a new Principal and both my boys are equally impressed with her format as they loved the old principal as well. They do seem to mention that they see her more around campus...So thats a plus in my books!

Excellent school, great library and teachers, only complaint is that the garden is just dead…read moreplants, and smells like weed, but otherwise it's a great school.

We are so happy to have spent our pre K ， K and first-grade in this campus. It has been years full…read moreof love, fun, and exciting activities. We will cherish all the wonderful memories and keep all the good memories. As we move on to second grade, we will carry these happy experiences with us. We like this campus and are grateful for such a wonderful year.

We are very happy with our experience at Stratford! Our son has been attending Stratford at the…read moreAlmaden campus since kindergarten. All his teachers, Ms Sangeetha & Ms Allie (K), Ms Shilpa (1st grade), have been excellent at encouraging our son to do well and have also provided critical feedback when needed. Our son adores his teachers and has made friends that hopefully stay for lifelong. We also like the balance Stratford offers in terms of academics and extra-curriculars. One minor feedback for the school would be to improve the summer program as our experience has been alright thus far. More creative program options would be nice. Overall, very happy with Stratford Almaden.

John Muir did not fit well with my child. We were there for two years and had issues with a couple…read moreof teachers that the administration did nothing to help resolve. In fact, we were constantly ignored my the administration and we are not complainers. In two years, we contacted the administration four times and were ignored three of those times. The overall feeling is that they just want kids to get by. I have been told by countless parents that you just need to survive John Muir in order to get to Pioneer High School. We couldn't take it anymore and pulled our son for his 8th grade year. He is now at an academically challenging school and thriving. Don't get me wrong, I do know families that have had decent experiences with John Muir. You can get a good education there, but it is the exception, not the rule. Mediocrity was the norm.

I worked for San Jose Unified School District for 3 years, at an elementary school…read more When I first started, my daughters had just begun attending kindergarten. I spoke Spanish, so I sought to work in their school, wanting to be close to them. I took the tests for employment, and began working as a paraprofessional, Spanish bilingual. I was in love with my job. Little by little, I started seeing behind the scenes: the favoritism, the politics, the corruption, how many teachers forgot the reason they were there: the children, how so many teachers, upon achieving tenure, just give up trying to inspire their students, and just sit, like a spider in a web, waiting for retirement. I was discouraged from continuing my credential because of this disillusionment. I was struggling to pay my tuition, and for what? To return to that nightmare?

My daughter has been at Challenger School Harwood for two years, and we've loved the strong…read moreacademics and the incredibly caring staff. The teachers and management are truly involved in each child's wellbeing. A special shout‑out to Mrs. Sukaina in the office team is always warm, responsive, and a delight to talk to. Highly recommend.

We are thrilled with our experience at Challenger School (Harwood Campus) this year! Our son is in…read morethe 4-year preschool program, and the growth we have seen in him is remarkable. A huge part of this success is due to his incredible teachers, Ms. Lourenda and Ms. Samita. They are a great team--warm, attentive, and dedicated to the students. You can tell they truly care about each child's individual progress. They have created such a disciplined yet joyful environment where our son feels confident and excited to learn every day. Academically, the curriculum is fantastic. Our son is currently learning vowel blending, which is a good achievement for his age! It is wonderful to watch him building such strong reading skills so early on. Thank you, Ms. Lourenda, Ms. Samita, and the entire Challenger Harwood team for giving our son such a strong foundation. We couldn't be happier with our decision to send him here!

I was scrolling through the yelp a couple of weeks ago and noticed very disturbing personal attack…read moreon a particular teacher in sjms. My child graduated from this school and I had personal interaction with Dr. Santha. From my personal experience, some of the very negative Yelp reviews don't seem to reflect the Dr. Santha I have known. She is kind, caring, and genuinely committed to doing things the right way. She can sometimes be demanding when it comes to the quality of work, accountability, and professional ethics, but I see that as a reflection of her high standards rather than a negative. I believe it's important to consider the broader picture and make your own judgment based on misunderstanding. Overall, I have found Dr. Santha to be a thoughtful, principled, and dedicated professional, and I'm grateful for my experience with her. But some parents are over involved and manipulative. Overall the campus life for my child was good.

This review is specifically about our experience with 5th grade at Stratford San Jose Middle School…read more(SJMS), which serves students from 5th through 8th grade. Unfortunately, the academic experience in Math and Science was extremely disappointing. The year got off to a difficult start when the original teacher was let go after about a month. A substitute then taught the class for another month, but the instruction was also not effective. Once a full-time teacher was in place, we still saw very little actual teaching of Math and Science concepts. As parents, we frequently had to teach these subjects at home to make up for what was not being covered adequately in the classroom. This is not what we expected from a school where we are paying for a quality education. We raised our concerns with the principal, but unfortunately, the situation did not improve in any meaningful way. We received assurances that changes were being made and that we would see improvements, but our experience did not reflect those promises. This review is only about our 5th-grade experience. Based on our experience, we were very disappointed with the quality and consistency of Math and Science instruction and would not recommend the 5th-grade program based on what we experienced.

My daughter attended from TK to 7th grade. Like other reviews, this is not an ordinary school…read more It is fundamentally not an In-N-out style magically changing your kids into whatever parents wish. Parents have to participate in all activities in order to learn skills to teach your kids and others. Definitely a good school if you care about your children's education and willing to invest your time and effort. They are not focusing on grades but on cultivating a love of learning and reading for their entire life. I know for some people this could be unacceptable. Education is not just teaching a parrot to talk. To learn how to learn: Reading, writing, logic, and math have to be consistently practiced within your family -- better not to depend solely on any school. If any school can teach your kids self-motivated learning before K-8, it's already very successful. My wife and I learned a lot every year, and those lessons are still part of our daily life. "mistake can be a beautiful oops" If you attended any public school you know how it felt when they acted like DMV. That is why we put our daughter in D2. "Prepare the child for the road, not the road for the child."

We decided to withdraw from this school shortly after Labor Day Weekend. One of the main concerns…read morearose when I was showing a family member how to pick up our kindergartener -- we discovered the school building was completely unlocked at 9 PM on a Monday night following the holiday. Not only was the main entrance open, but the atrium providing access to all the kindergarten classrooms was also unsecured. That raised significant concerns about safety and building security. Additionally, we heard from multiple returning parents that teacher quality varied significantly, and there was a noticeable trend: returning families' children all seemed to end up with the most sought-after teacher. It gave the impression that there might be favoritism or uneven distribution of classroom placements. Another concern was the dynamic between some teachers and parents. It felt as though staff were hesitant to be candid, possibly out of fear of upsetting families. We were told things that didn't line up with our own observations about our child -- mostly overly positive feedback that seemed designed to reassure rather than inform. The environment gave off a sense that the school was trying hard to maintain enrollment numbers, possibly at the expense of honest communication. While we know no school is perfect, these issues were serious enough for us to feel that it wasn't the right fit for our family.