I attended Pinewood a couple years ago. I am now at an elite university on the East Coast…read more I think that Pinewood is excellent because the teachers are able to provide you with one-on-one attention. Very good for college recs obviously. Public school ones might be very general... Anyways, teachers will help you during lunch and even after school, when they are not being paid. I think it's cool how they have math help hours after school with Mr. Green (if he even works there). My favorite math teacher was Ms. Walters (Genius lady :) ) Overall, the homework is not that excessive, and, more often than not, if we are ahead of the material, we can use the time to work on assignments for a portion of the class. The English department is good, however, I would appreciate it if they would have been stricter on us. Honestly, the longest paper I ever wrote was a 10 page paper for AP US Gov, and we allocated class time to write it. In English the longest paper was about 5 pages. I wish that the length and standards for papers would increase as one takes more advanced courses. The English department prepares you well for writing 25 minute essays for AP exams, but does not prepare you for 10-20 page papers you have to write as a college freshman at top colleges (Ivy leagues, top LAC, or top UC's). Please add a writing intensive course for seniors that IS NOT GRADED, that way students can learn to write college level papers without feeling so much pressure. Just make it a graduation requirement. The Spanish language department seemed to be more demanding than the French language department. I think because Ms. Schmidt was very very strict. I think she retired now. However, Mr. Tezlaff and Madame Daniel were/are very approachable and would always practice French with you whenever you need. They want you to succeed on the National French Contest and do well on AP French! Merci beaucoup mes professeurs. If your child does have a learning disability, the school will accommodate with longer test times, separate exam rooms, and sometimes extra hours of help with a teacher, so long as you can provide a paper verifying the disability. Also, of course disability is confidential information and students are not let known of classmates' disability. It is very common for children at PW to suffer from social anxiety, test anxiety, and depression though. Extracurriculars such as sports were really fun and the coaches (thanks Craig and Jackee) are really passionate! My main complaint is that the school lacks racial diversity. Of course this is because those who can afford the school are primarily White and Asian (South Asian as well as East Asian). When there were black and brown students (some of whom are on academic/athletic scholarship) many would feel ostracized and out of place and often leave after freshman year. Please provide counseling services/ extra funding for students of color. I specifically remember always having to pay tons of money for new uniforms (they would change each season) and new equipment. I would have appreciated it if there was fund that could help scholarship students with sports/extracurricular fees.

I went to Pinewood during the 80's, from kindergarten through sixth grade. I am still good friends…read morewith several people from my class, none of who stayed at Pinewood through high school. I say this because we feel like the best education we got, and the hardest we ever worked in K-12, was during our Pinewood years. What stands out to me is the fact that Pinewood did a wonderful job of enabling us to develop academically as well as artistically. They found a balance between the phonics-based Carden method, daily reading groups, math, science, and social studies classes, and the singing, drama, P.E., and art classes. Whenever I see Beatrix Potter books I flash back to 1st grade, and what would I do without my vast collection of oil paintings and clay sculptures of horses made during seven years of art, or my memories of being in "You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown" and "The Velveteen Rabbit" on the Pinewood stage. Pinewood was also strict in the sense that we feared the "demerit" and worse, "getting ten" which meant you had earned ten demerits that week and would have to see the principal. I think from that we learned responsibility and how to respect others, from our peers to our teachers. From following others in my class through Facebook updates and periodic announcements in the Los Altos Town Crier, I know many of us have gone on to become doctors, lawyers, entrepreneurs, and earn PhDs in subjects like bioengineering, computer science (or English- me- maybe that's liability to the Pinewood reputation, hah). However, most of us also came from the kind of high achieving, upper middle class, occasionally dysfunctional families that make those kind of achievements seem average, and admittedly, I was a little bit of a snob coming out of Pinewood, thinking only bad students would "have" to go to a UC instead of an Ivy. In those ways, Pinewood isolated us from the realities that not every kid could have their own pony or live in their own estate, and that could certainly be held against the school, our parents, and us. Knowing what the tuition is now, I don't know how people can afford to send one, let alone multiple, kid(s) there, and I wonder if the class-based elitism is still pervasive. Weighing those two sides of the coin- the fantastic academic and artistic education against the narrow exposure to others from any other socio-economic or religious backgrounds (most of the kids in my class were from the dominant Pinewood Mormon families)- a Pinewood education might not be the right choice for everyone. However, I am still grateful for the academic foundation I received there, and the real world came anyway, after I left Pinewood.

The state of the running track at this establishment is subpar. It is worn down to the asphalt…read moreunderneath in many places. I hope it gets redone soon.

This is a very nice school with a big campus. Teachers and students are both helpful here. This is…read morea high school but it looks more like a college.

My daughter just graduated from Miramonte. Great school! Very friendly staff and caring teachers…read more Amazing principal!

This beautiful school is a gem in Silicon Valley, with its wonderful student teacher ratios and…read morededicated teachers. They have some of the most integrated learning with classroom to field trips. This school has art, music and language all as part of the classic curriculum. They are truly dedicated to outside classroom learning starting in 4th grade they even have immersive over night trips. If you want to have a wonderful education and loving environment I highly recommend this school. Also they limit some tech education so that student creativity can soar.

My older son (now in 6th grade) transferred to St Simon (from Bubb Elementary) in second grade. My…read moreyounger son started at Little Saints Preschool PreK and is now in second grade. Prior to St Simon, we were the "never-private school" people. Having 2 kids at St Simon has completely changed our minds. Not only is it academically more rigorous/challenging; the Catholic values of being neighborly, helpful, respectful, etc. are incorporated in every aspect of the curriculum and reinforced daily by staff and administrators. Social Emotional Learning is reinforced throughout the day. There are MANY opportunities for students of all ages to volunteer/contribute to the community. Yesterday, while we're on vacation, my older son (12 years old) asked if my husband and him can volunteer together again, then was excited to find out that there's an opportunity coming up in January. This is just one of many examples that SSPS is fostering an environment where the students think of others, instead of themselves. Even though many families are well-off financially, there isn't a culture of competition and/or bragging/showing-off. There's also zero-tolerance for bullying. My son was threatened by a friend (not sure if it was a joke or not, and nothing bad happened), but the administrative staff and teachers took immediate action and ensured that my son felt safe at school (my son said his friend wasn't serious). My younger son was diagnosed with ADHD and other special needs and the SSPS staff was SUPER helpful in both providing accommodations for him in the classroom, as well as coordinating with an OT to come onsite to work with him twice a month. The accommodations makes his day at school much more smooth and enjoyable, and he absolutely LOVES school. I was raised Catholic but my husband is agnostic. Neither of us have found anything to be "overly religious." The values that are taught are the ones I ascribe to: be kind, be polite, be helpful, respect your teachers/parents, love your siblings and friends. My kids don't like the Mass but they are able to appreciate the value in sitting still and having the time to reflect (or daydream). The school + parish also offers wonderful activities throughout the year! There are BBQs, sporting events, and lots of other ways to be involved in the community. I used to do yard duty once a a week and really enjoy getting to know the kids in the lower grades. Highly recommend SSPS!

In fourth grade, we transferred my daughter from another (non-religious) private school where she…read morewas unfortunately not getting what she needed academically or socially. She hated school and I honestly didn't have much faith that anything could change that. We attended a St. Simon open house and were really impressed with the teachers and staff and so decided to give the school a shot, not sure whether we should really get our hopes up. Our expectations have been so far exceeded that I can hardly even believe it. I love this school so much, and my daughter is so happy and thriving. Within weeks of starting classes here, she completely changed her outlook on school. She is excited to wake up in the morning on school days, and she's motivated to put real thought and effort into her assignments even though the work is sometimes even more than was expected at her old school. St. Simon has made learning fun and engaging for her so that it feels like a joy, not a chore. Her teachers are always available to answer her questions or mine, and with their support it didn't take long for her to close many of the glaring academic gaps I'd been so worried about. The student body here is diverse and friendly. There are kids from many different backgrounds and kids interested in all sorts of different things, from sports to art to robotics and beyond. The students are taught to truly appreciate and celebrate their differences and to understand that everyone has a unique part to play in the school community and the wider community as well. I think it's worth noting that, although it seems the majority of the families at St. Simon are catholic, my family is not catholic - however, I have always been made to feel so welcome and this has never been an issue. If my daughter has questions about the catholic faith there is always someone to answer her questions without judgment and without any pressure. This is a very welcoming place and I have attended mass at the St. Simon parish many times over the course of the school year and have always been made to feel completely welcome. I appreciate the values and morals my daughter is taught as part of a well-rounded catholic education. In summary, this place has changed my daughter's life and by extension changed my life. She loves learning again and is being well prepared for not only her academic future but for being a caring, contributing member of society. The last thing I'll say is this: at St. Simon, every child knows they matter, and every child knows they are surrounded by grown-ups who are invested in seeing them succeed. I really could not ask for more in a school environment, and I am forever grateful.

I'm so glad I completed all 3 years in Cupertino Middle School this school has so much memories the…read moreprincipal was nice I loved my teachers so much especially in 7th and 8th grade I loved 8th grade the most compared to 7th and 6th. Goodbye CMS I'm now gonna be a student at Cupertino High School. I miss this school so much the people were nice and I made lots of friends there.

Was a former student here, which no I will not reveal my actual identity and name I used at this…read moreschool. However I can not stress enough how awful this school was from my experience. Sure there are nice teachers and sure I adore the counselors with all my heart however, the consequences given here are ridiculous. There's barely any consequences for students who constantly start trouble, they will only be given a suspension and nothing more- keep in mind we are talking about troublemakers who will bully your children. They talk about "wanting to keep this a safe place for your children" or "for you" yet the consequences given here are terrible. Not only does this go for students but the teachers get away with terrible things as well. One of the math teachers gave my friend a lower score for no reason when my friend was actually right, now this might sound like some mistake however truly it isn't, my other friends have talked about her and how this sounds like something she would do, meaning she does this to other students as well. What's worse? One of the PE teachers from when I was there did awful actions, such as touching my friend inappropriately and getting away with it. Yes, my friend did speak out about this to the office, what did they do? Nothing, he still kept his job and that's extremely alarming. This isn't a one time thing, other students have talked about his strange behavior towards the students as well. Not only that but the cafeteria food wasn't all that great... however that's merely an opinion and not a fact so that's the least of my concerns, everything else is more severe. There are students constantly fighting in this school or calling each other names or even slurs, I had to deal with a whole lot of racism when I was here. So please, as a former student, take my advice and turn away. There are a whole lot of choices that are better than this school, save your child and enroll them in another school. With all love, Cross.

The staff are sadists who blame parents instead of their own grade deflation and work inflation. I…read morelearned concepts in first year of college that they taught in intro classes at this school. They brainwash kids into thinking their parents and peers are the "competition" and make racist comments against all Asians. I'm at a public T20 because I switched high schools and completely flipped my GPA. The books they made me read in 9th grade (forced to annotate every page - half page of notes) are the same as the ones we read in 12th grade at another high school and yet they pretend it's the students fault for struggling. Also parents, their "Biology" is NOT a biology class. Also Mr Gan is a pdf who won't round your grade even if you're 0.01 away and Mr Kim said I was incapable of CS and now I'm in CS in college and he never let me look back at my exams. And Ms Borelli, giving out D's before telling people your high expectations on writing isn't helping anyone and your books are adult rated don't label me homophobic because I didn't want to read X books.

This was one of the worst experiences our family has ever had with a school. I would strongly…read morediscourage parents from sending their children here. Instead of support, compassion, and encouragement, students are made to feel isolated, stressed, and emotionally overwhelmed. My child came home crying and lost confidence during the time at this school. Many teachers seemed dismissive and unwilling to help students who were struggling. There appears to be favoritism, especially within clubs and parent organizations, where opportunities seem reserved for established social circles and connected families rather than being open and welcoming to all students. A school should help children grow, feel safe, and succeed -- not feel excluded and unsupported. Parents should look very carefully before choosing this school. Given a second chance, I would never send my child to this school, nor would I advise any of my friends to send their children to it.

I went here as a 7th and 8th grader. That was before they called it middle school, and before they…read morehad 6th grade there. It was a Jr. high back then. And just 7th & 8th grade back then. I went to by 6th grader's back to school night: My kid told me that Blair and Murphy is still there. My kid really loves her history teacher, Kamp. Because she days, "he's so chill" At back to school night I was that one parent with the tattoos, and being judged by the parents (jokes on you, I'm a sales executive at a tech company). The typical school parents hasn't changed. 2 of the 6th grade parents asked the math teacher, "How they can get their kids into 8th grade math". Y'all I almost laughed out super loud. I'm sorry I'm that A-hole. I'm not sorry about it either.

This school is basically a garbage school，students are required to enter the campus 5 minutes…read moreearly, which causes long-term congestion at the campus entrance and frequent accidents.There are either no people to maintain order or their attitude is very bad. It is a very bad environment and a group of irresponsible school teachers. Do not send your children to this school.

I didn't realize there were so few recent reviews on Yelp. Time to add a good one…read more We've been here at SMS now for 3 years and were so pleasantly surprised at the great experience our child has had. The administration the last few years has put real effort into making the school a great place that's welcoming to everyone. Kids of all need levels are thought constantly. I appreciate the Principal and the VPs and the dedicated staff. The electives are all pretty incredible including music, art, drama, cooking, and a variety of other options. The math pathway is well thought out, and they are continuously trying to improve the experience so kids don't have to sacrifice electives or stress themselves out. The new buildings are lovely and well laid out and the campus renewal is continuing. TLDR is that SMS is a great place and only getting better.

Yesterday, I went to an orientation in Sunnyvale Middle School and I had a lot of fun looking…read morearound the campus. I don't know why people are complaining that the toilets smell bad because it all seems okay.