I am nanny to two children that attend this school and I can honestly say I really like this place!…read more It is nestled at the base of a dead-end street residential street next to a great sports park & playground. The demographic is made up of predominantly white, upper middle class children from the surrounding suburbs and the parents seem to really take pride in getting involved in the classroom and extra-curricular events. The Principal is incredibly energetic and seems to know every kid by name which makes them all feel so important and actually makes them WANT to go to school! Although its not the biggest school, there are acres of fields for the children to play on and plenty of playground equipment. My 10yo loves that there is an actual working football league organized by the principal where the different grades play against each other each day - something i'd never heard of in other schools and in my own education! That's how much the principal cares. They have "spirit days" seemingly every other Friday where they have a DJ at lunch and wear their school pride out loud and proud. Its so cute to see the kids excited about school and I know its credit to the caring teachers and principal! This school was different than our previous elementary in Lake Forest because they focused more on in-classroom learning instead of physical homework sent home. Both kids still have spelling homework/tests every week, the usual math homework and 20 minutes of reading but not nearly the volume that we've had at other schools. However, they are still excelling and I credit this to the teachers and the classwork that is required of them to build understanding - which I think is a definite plus! The teachers & staff care and are very good at what they do! My only gripe is the way the pick-up/drop-off situation works. The school is at the base of a dead end street and so cars that come in have to loop around and tend to pack up 100s of yards. If you intend to walk your child to class, you must parallel park along the residential street because the parking lot of the school is only open to staff. There is a grassy area that the kids gather on to be picked up so I definitely find it more timely to park and walk over to the lawn and pick them up but I could see how this would be annoying for someone with young children already in the car. In that case, most would rather wait through the line. I would try to get there at around 2:30PM if you plan on waiting through the long line of cars to pick up your kids at the grassy area without getting out of your car. Its a little hard to explain - I'll try to add photos for better illustration. All in all, a great school! I just wish it wasn't so crazy to pick up or drop off your kids!

I saw the most amazing thing this morning as I dropped off my niece at this school for the first…read moretime. 6 children, along with an aid flocked to meet my niece at our arrival with smiles, hand holding and hugs. I've never seen such an all inclusive school. I attended Christian Schools growing up and couldn't believe the love that these kids showed. Come to find out the greeting to my niece was not a special occasion this was an every day event. The kids chose to come every day and show love. This school has it figured out from the top to the bottom and could only pray and wish this was every school system!

So the word on the street is that Irvine schools are the best. Then my friend, you have not been to…read morethis school! Clean, up to date, well organized and professionally run. Mr. Morrow, the Vice Principal is always available and is beyond active in the school. He is a constant and reassuring presence on the playground in the morning, which is a definite comfort in this day and age. Mrs. Harp, a second grade teacher will take your breath away in how she teaches. It's obvious that there is a strong passion for teaching in her, and it shows daily. The curriculum is first rate, Apple computers in all the classrooms, well maintained property, highly motivated and dedicated staff. What more can one ask for in a school?

It's a great school (minus the drop off and pick up fiasco!)…read moreRules are put out about proper drop off and pick up yet parents break the rules, cut in the line, block crosswalks and stop in the middle and not pull all the way forward as instructed. People on parking lot duty never enforce the rules..... super frustrating! The Principal and teachers are great and they also have a wonderful PTA! If you can ignore the rude parents at drop off and pick up, you will survive

La Madera is a nice small elementary school with not a lot of bells and whistles but it does the…read morejob. Each classroom has a door leading to the outside and a door leading to the grand interior hall that connects everything together. The campus is quite small but has recently built a MPR in the farthest corner of the lunch area and there is a substantial grassy area for the children to play on. The parking lot and surrounding streets can be a little hectic in the morning drop off window and from 2:30 on because La Madera lies across the street from El Toro High School. The parking lot is one way so that helps a lot with the flow of traffic but there will always be those that cannot conduct themselves in such a setting. ;] All in all, its a nice little school and your kids will be safe.

Went for my cousin brother's graduation today. It was a nice event. My cousin had a great time. We…read moreall are so proud of him. He always talk about a lot of great thing this school offers.

Some of their teachers clearly didn't get a background check before being hired. This school has…read moregreat and horrible teachers

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.

Teachers are wonderful! They really care about their students. Front office staff are knowledgeable…read moreand helpful! They go above and beyond

This review is strictly on Dr. T., music teacher at Glen Yermo Elementary. I am a huge supporter of…read moreart and music in schools, but I am extremely disappointed with this music teacher, hence the one star awarded (because yelp makes me pick at least one star). My daughter is in the music program (violin) and today they had a recital. I was so excited to see her perform, and so did many parents that attended. I could not believe how rude Dr. T. was towards the kids in the middle of the performance. If I have a smile on my face and decide to mutter insulting words...my smile does not make it okay to be rude and mean to others. This is the case with this teacher. The kids were not perfect (who is) and at times they were not in unison. Dr. T. stopped the kids every time, kept telling them that they are supposed to make him look good and muttered rude comments in a sarcastic tone. To the point that when they played the last song, he cut them off and did not allow them to finish (by the way...the kids only practiced that specific song twice -.-). We, parents, didn't even get a chance to applaud our kids for their efforts. He just ended it abruptly and started sending the kids back to class. I was so mad that I knew I could not share this at that moment...but I will be posting about this on facebook and tagging the school. Hopefully someone with authority at the school will make sure that this teacher gets counseled on how to properly support up and coming potential musicians instead of discouraging them and belittling middle school students.

Part 2 of previous review. During an IEP meeting, Irene…read morewhite being there the main person in the special Ed department from the district my sons kindergarten teacher Lorraine Winakur, Grace the school psychologist and a couple others, they even made a statement after I had been sent to see the other school (which was far in mission Viejo almost lake forest area) that it was more Orange County and they all started laughing (when they were referring to having other races attend) I have never felt so dehumanized I'm my life, one thing is when people do something to you, but when they do it to your innocent child it is truly excruciating, they screw you over with a smile, they are a bunch of hypocrites that had all over the school that they were anti bullying, when they bullied my family out, I reached out to her boss I believe he was a president or vp at the district and his Assistant with my complaints and even emailed them proof, but I was completely dismissed and got no call or response (till this day) For these BIGOTS certain minorities are allowed there but only to be employed at certain jobs and only provide them services they're (the racists) are comfortable with, but never as an equal parent with actual legitimate concerns. His teacher Lorraine Winokur who was a special Ed teacher and had 5-6 kids in her class, couldn't even give me an answer when I asked her if my son had someone who assisted him full time or part time or only at recess. I was always just dismissed bullied and made to feel completely dehumanized, they would schedule the IEP's just about every month to bully us out, I would leave those meetings completely heartbroken, belittled and with actual physical pain in my stomach. It's sickening that some people want to fill their mouths saying they help those with special needs, but it's only the ones that are white even ones that belong to aliso viejo school district not Laguna, but us who lived in South Laguna and paid Laguna beach prices (were bullied out) ,this was completely racially motivated as at first it was presented to me as an option to send him to the other school, then the moment they found out we spoke Spanish at home, which for some reason that became a 5 minute conversation and after that it was no longer an OPTION but it was made to be our only choice. Now I see that they want to claim that they anti racist. Which feels like the BIGGEST slap in the face. I really hope that this stops as NO human race deserves to be made felt this way.

This excellent school does a great job providing a quality education in a spectacular setting…read more Easily the prettiest elementary school in South County, the playgrounds provide ample room to burn off energy with views of Aliso, Laguna Niguel and beyond. This school limits class sizes and teaches to State core standards. Thanks to the generous support of the community, School Power and the PTA, TOW has wonderful programs that go beyond that found in typical schools. Clean, safe and secure, this school truly is at the top.

I've only had my kids attend this and one other school in los angeles, so I can't say I'm an expert…read moreof elementary schools. What I can say is that this one seems to be pretty good. I feel that my children are safe and the quality of education is at least adequate if not pretty darn good. I've seen both happy and sad parents at this school and a lot of it depends on how their children have fared and been treated. I've seen people who love the school and those that left the school to pursue opportunities that were more to their liking. This school is in a super nice community and offers a lot for those who have the skills to take advantage of it. If there is extra help needed, I'm not sure if this school can provide it adequately. There are usually at least 30 kids per class and that makes it hard to give individual attention. I personally am happy at the school. The children are well behaved because that is the culture of the school. They are well versed in academics and the school has a solid technological focus. There is a good amount of computer time. They emphasize the use of computers and the importance of reading. Parents donate a lot of money to help the kids mitigate the large class sizes by funding engineering/lego building classes on a part time basis. This helps reduce class size by catering to only half the class in chunks, while the other half can focus on the regular learning. There is a good curriculum at the school and children get a well rounded education. It is a traditional school, not a charter school.

Just another money grabbing racket, borderline devoid of any ethical thought process, that values…read moretheir own bottom line over that of regular families. Unfortunately, this seems to be the norm in 2023. I will never give this school a single dollar of my money, or support it in any single way as a result. They get taxes to fund them, but over zealous planners just see opportunity to get their hands on hard cash and are too greedy to consider the needs and effects this has on families. Attended the "Boo Blast" and the most shocking thing about this is that fact that it's $10 per activity, at least for the better ones, so that's $20 if you have 2 kids, or $30 if you have 3. And what might you get for these VERY overinflated prizes you might wonder? 3-4 mins on a climbing wall. Or 3 mins walking school rooms set up like a ghost house. What makes it completely obnoxious is the fact that young children often want their parents to walk through with them, and that ladies and gentlemen, costs another $20 on top. Forget protesting this, they genuinely couldn't care less. Within 1 hour at this awful event wrapped up in fake smiles, but with green dollar signs in their eyes, a family of 4 might have to spend $200 just to do a couple of activities that all last approximately 3 minutes. That's after you have lined up for 30 minutes to wait for the activity in the first place. They even have the audacity to ask parents to volunteer their free time to support this so that they can maximize profits. The real kick in the teeth is that when raising this to a member of staff, who turned out to be the treasurer, she then asked "Are you one of the low income families here at the school?", which I'm not. And even if I was, it's not the point. The point is that their pricing is totally unreasonable, and unjustified. To not realize that is to be totally devoid of reality altogether. However I can get involved in making changes to this, I will. Yes some parents can afford to waste the same amount of money as it costs to go to Disneyland on some fair games, but again, that's not the norm for everyone. I just had to leave my kids with my ex wife, on my weekend with the kids, as I could not stand to be around this endless money pit. Totally disgusted. I raised this with Mr Pedraza, the School Principle, that was stood marshaling traffic on the front gate. I might as well have been speaking to a block of concrete, as all I got was a blank stare and some vague repeating of some of the words I had just said. He honestly couldn't have cared less, or made it more obvious that he didn't care and just wanted me to slide away so he could watch the money rolling in. He already got his fill, he got slime tipped over him on the Thursday prior. Not for any particular reason, but because he wanted to. That's where the tax money goes huh?