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.

We've had such a positive experience with Living Wisdom School. From the beginning, our family was…read morewelcomed with warmth and genuine care, and our son transitioned from public school far more smoothly than we could have hoped. He quickly felt included, made friends easily and has truly enjoyed going to school each day. What stands out most is the balance between strong academics and personal growth. The students are not only challenged academically, but also given practical tools to build confidence, emotional awareness, responsibility, focus, and resilience that they can carry with them throughout life. The teachers and staff are thoughtful, engaged, and clearly care deeply about each child as an individual. We've also been impressed by the sense of community throughout the school. It feels supportive, intentional, and uplifting for both students and parents. We're very grateful to have found a school environment that nurtures individuality, creativity, well-being and a genuine love of learning alongside academics.

The schools focus on holistic education shaped our sons personality in ways that we were really…read moresurprised and happy. The curriculum, method of teaching and even small things like starting the day with a meditation calms the kids to drive more focus. The annual play is a great exercise in getting kids to be more independent and work together as a team on something that is larger than themselves. Would highly recommend!

Truthfully this is by far the best community for your children, nieces, nephews and grandchildren…read more I speak from experience, my daughters attended SJC and currently my grandchild is attending. The education, community and lifelong friendships are why I love this school so much.

Absolutely love the TK/K class. The class size is small due to the Cupertino population aging with…read moreno new inflow of young parents. In addition to that, a big chunk of teachers and students left after some conflict with the former principal. The school is now rebuilding with the new principal, Dr. Palladino, who is awesome with kids. The TK class I've experienced so far is fantastic. The curriculum is well structured and my child is engaged all day, thanks to the small class size. They even split the already tiny class to fit each child's needs. I've noticed that a few kids are doing additions and some kids are taking it a bit slower and focusing on writing numbers and counting. I've toured almost every school within a 15 minute drive and SJC had the most productive and structured daily schedule for TKs. I felt like most of the schools have too much free playtime and nap time and some have half-day classmates, meaning all the learning ends by noon. At SJC, the teachers are doing something with the kids all day, whereas many schools have several hours of mere childcare. I love that the day includes number senses, math, English and language arts every day. They also learn Spanish (the teacher is amazing btw), P.E., art, music, science once a week. The teacher follows a well-known curriculum from start to finish, rather than piecing in materials from here and there. Another point I love about this school is that the older kids are nicer in small communities. The big kids play with my child and take care of her at extended care and everyone gives my child a hug when I pick her up. I highly recommend SJC. I've seen some people discouraged to join due to the small class size but I'm seeing positive effects on my child. The kids all play well together and they don't divid into groups. The eight graders look like they are basically a family. I suggest that you at least try it out in TK and see how it is. If you decide to move, most schools expand their class size in K, so it won't be that hard to get in.

I know this school is built for people with learning disabilities and ASD, but I feel like the…read morestudents here don't reach their full potential. This is not necessarily the faculty's fault, but I think the curriculum here is way too slow and dumbed down for students. My daughter struggled in this school because it was too slow for her, and she was way ahead of her classmates despite having ASD. The accommodations were great, but I believe the school didn't provide my daughter education she actually learned. She would come home and talk about how much she played on an iPad or a device, which is just unacceptable. Why are kids playing video games in class? This is school, they need to be learning different subjects. My kid talked about how their classmates were playing mobile games on their iPads that they brought to school. I think this school can be better if they focused more on pushing kids beyond what is expected, because if we keep holding our children's hands throughout life because they have autism, it invalidates that people with ASD are actually extremely capable of succeeding. I pulled my daughter out of this school, and I believe it was the best decision. She is now an undergraduate and researcher at the University of California, and I notice that no one from Hope Technology school attends the University of California, nor do any of the staff members graduate from there.

Out son had a wonderful experience at HTS that helped prepare him for public high school…read more Incredibly dedicated staff.

A preparatory where they care about the students, the support they receive is incredible. I am very…read morehappy that my son attends this good place that also prepares them very well before going to university or colleges.

Amazing school. One of its kinds in the nation. No where in the county can you find a school that…read moresponsors first gen kids all through four years, provides boarding, provides FREE meals for everyone including teachers, provides a ton of extra curricular and community service opportunities, provides free tutoring, provides a specific college prep curriculum with professional college counselors AND on top of all this provides support not just while you're IN COLLEGE but also AFTER college as well (to help you find a job). I mean ya truly unbelievable. It is a challenging school so you will only succeed if you have a growth mindset and are ready to work hard!

This school bring's the kid's to 7 sea's park. Teacher's are clueless and very rude. They have…read morekid's using profanity and allow bad behavior. I've dealt with another teacher same situation. my concern is that they bring the kid's off campus and let them run free and knock over kid's at park. I admit I have a conversation with the teacher today, and it wanst nice , but she need's to get a clue. This school is a joke , don't send your kid's to this school. I believe it's the middle school's kids that are brought daily .

After 4 years attending Summit Denali High School, my daughter will graduate tomorrow before…read moreheading off to a great UC. We took the decision to move her after a disheartening experience at a traditional middle school, and we've never regretted the change. The way the kids learn at their own pace really suited our daughter. It meant she was able to test and pass content she knew without having to sit through classes or complete endless worksheets. It also frees up more time to spend on content that she found more difficult and the teachers have more time to spend giving more dedicated time where it is needed. The mentor system has worked brilliantly, we were lucky enough to get the wonderful Miss Smith, who has become a great advisor, confidant and friend to all her mentees. The group formed a strong bond, and having one-on-one meetings every week means she really knows every kid in her group. This has been invaluable to my daughter, her mentor has helped keep her on track, have someone on her side to talk to, helped with college applications and decisions, and provided lots of fun and laughs along the way. It's a great system. Lastly, as with all organizations the direction comes from the leader, and the head, Mr Bock, sets a great example. He knows all the kids, he always looks genuinely happy to be there, he's always available - even being outside at drop off and pick up to greet kids/parents. It's clear that he very much cares about the schools, faculty and students, and the kids find him very approachable, responsive, and have a lot of respect for him. Summit is not a school for everyone, if you want the traditional high school experience of football games and cheer squads it's probably not the right choice. If you want a great education with teachers and a head who actually care, this is a great place.

We have been a KLS family since 2016. I have 2 boys, both who started in Kindergarten. We have…read moreseen much change throughout the years but I am truly feeling the strongest I have ever about KLS this year. I truly believe we finally have the right team in place to lead us into the next phase. The team genuinely cares about the kids and what is best for them. Especially in light of the current crisis, we have seen the team unified, communicate often + clearly, ready/able to execute a move to distance learning that executed pretty flawlessly (considering everything), adapting to feedback from students/families, transparency in communication and most important leadership during difficult times. Thank you KLS! What a journey it has been. We are grateful for all that you do.

My daughter has attended KLS for a year and a half. The school's approach to learning fits very…read morewell with our philosophy of bringing up children. Grouping students of mixed ages into independence levels is something that I wish more schools adopted. Focus on mastery is another thing I like. We also liked the extensive use of placement tests to figure out the right level of classes for students. Small class sizes made it easier to learn new concepts in an effective way. If your child needs to learn at a different pace (faster or slower) than the regular progression of grades would allow in a school with big classrooms, you will love how the curriculum is tailored to each student. My favorite class was the studio which combined interdisciplinary knowledge into a a sequence of projects under a single theme in a school year. One things that some families may have a hard time adjusting to is the pace of changes. This is a "lab" school which means that new ideas are introduced to improve how the school works and if the ideas don't work well, they are replaced with new ideas. This also causes a higher then ideal turnover in staff but I think that this may be a good price to pay for access to innovative teaching.

This school has been awesome. There is so much support from the school staff. The school has…read morealways responded appropriately when I asked a question or needed something clarified. This school really focuses on preparing students for college. The offer two-week periods where the student can focus solely on their career/educational interests. The staff really focus on the needs of the students and it really shows. Nothing negative to say at all.... I normally don't rate something right away, and I waited until the end of the fourth year to rate this school. Very positive experience for my child!

If you are lucky enough to live in the Sequoia High School District and are looking for a private…read morehigh school school education (minus the country club facilities) with a faculty devoted to getting your child into a four-year college, you need to consider this school. It is the second in the Summit Charter Schools, and now 5 years old. My son has been there for just one year, but we could not be more satisfied. The quality of the teachers is outstanding, class sizes are small, the care and dedication of the faculty matches and even exceeds what I have found at the private schools our children attended in the area, for both elementary and middle school and even for high school. There are downsides. There is no football field, there is no performing arts center. There is no Olympic sized swimming pool. Instead there are state-of-the-art facilities for classes, and a network of community facilities where students can access the extracurricular activities and elective subjects that are available. This school is not for everyone. If your student is not college-bound and you as parents are not supportive of him or her being college bound, this is not the school for you. The curriculum is rigorous, and expectations are set high. And they directly address the need not just to get into a college but to succeed there and graduate. First step, go to the open house. Check their website for the dates. Everestepo.org is their parent organization website. Or you can go to everestphs.org. It's a lottery. But you can't win if you don't play.