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.

This high school hosted the CSBC band and Colorguard semi finals yesterday. They were great hosts…read moreand very accommodating. Thank you very much! And everyone LOVES those giant chocolate chip cookies you sell! That's all I kept hearing about in the stands.

Our daughter graduated IHS in 2019. We have included her input in this review. IHS has good STEM…read morewith strong sports, extracurriculars, and counseling and exceptional arts. With so many students and about 30 students per class, a mid-range student may get lost in the crowd. They may not receive the necessary support - unless they excel, fail, or cause a disciplinary issue. As in any other school, parents should continuously advocate for their student. Destinations: The Class of 2019 had about 530 students and 366 students told IHS where they were going. 132 graduates went to IVC, 29 to other community colleges, 36 to Cal State system, 76 to UC system, 37 to private universities in CA, 3 to technical/vocational schools, 46 to out of state universities, 4 to foreign universities, and 3 to serve in the military. Most students who go to IVC then transfer into the Cal State or UC system. STEM may be a little weaker at IHS than at University HS or Northwood HS but is still good enough for a student to excel. Unfortunately, IHS taught biology one year, chemistry next year, and then physics. The biology and chemistry experiences were poor enough to put our daughter off STEM before she could even try physics! The biology notes had been photocopied for many years and were barely readable. The biology teacher at the time no longer works at IHS. To improve chemistry, give explosive demonstration(s) throughout the year and not during the final exam! Parents and students should choose a HS with an integrated-science schedule, in which a little of each science is taught each semester. Math teaching was somewhat uninspired but it's a difficult subject to make interesting and relatable to everyday needs. There were many good teachers. Mrs. Peck teaches European history to a high standard with dry humor and is a student favorite! Mrs. Harrington teaches Social Studies well. Ms. Lux teaches Ceramics well and encourages those who are less artistically inclined. Mr. Munsell is a charismatic English teacher and popular with students. Mr. Phillips teaches keyboarding and PE well. Mr. Szczudlak teaches Adult Living well; we recommend the course which teaches financial skills. Assistant Principal King is helpful. My daughter did not like the Korean teacher's teaching style. They spent many months in classes before even attempting to speak Korean. The teacher poorly balanced the needs of students who spoke Korean at home with the needs of the 20% of students who never had Korean before. Class had good Korean movies screenings and occasional tasty barbecue! It was fun to be the student assistant for the upstairs office and to support Ms. Kamai and Ms. Russell. It was very hard for parents to find out about upcoming school events such as choir performances, plays, or concerts. That was regrettable because the performing arts events were consistently great. That improved somewhat after the Principal began to send out a school newsletter. Hard to find schedule info on the website. In general, the school website is very busy and difficult to navigate. Among high schools in Irvine, only IHS uses an alternating-block schedule with 90-min periods. Every day of the week differs from week to week. For example, the schedule for Friday differs depending whether it is Week A or Week B. Students become used to it, but it is annoying for parents, more complicated than typical college or work schedules, and offers no clear advantage. The idea is to replicate college schedule and get students used to longer classes. We liked the late start on Mondays.

My daughter has been struggling her whole life in school and we finally get her into Mardan School…read moreand she's having an amazing time. She's finally getting the support she needs and the education she deserves thank you to her teachers Mr. John and Mr. Zack thank you so much erin! You are so kind and helpful. Thank you Bonnie for everything thing you do thank you so much

I can't say enough about how amazing Mardan is. This school and the staff forever changed my sons…read morelife. Prior to coming here , he hated school , had a ton of behavioral issues and was so unhappy and school was just awful for him. We have been here for 4 years now. He loves school , he's thriving and it's absolutely remarkable to see how much he's changed and grown. The staff is amazing and I'll forever be grateful to have found this school. They truly do care about our children and they go above and beyond every day to make this environment a positive one for my son. I highly recommend Mardan if you're needing an alternative to public school , especially for children with special needs.

This school hired unprofessional teachers like Ms Kuo in 4th grade who wasn't a certificated…read moreteacher and was very mean to kids. It is unacceptable that they allow their teachers to use language abuse on our kids! Principal didn't even care about the issue. Very disappointing.

Our son was attending a large public high school when the COVID-19 pandemic started. This highly…read morerated public high school quickly transitioned to an online learning environment, but only provided one synchronous lecture per week for each class. As our son, and many of his classmates, fell further and further behind in their online classes, we repeatedly reached out to the school administration, including the principal, as did the parents of our son's school friends. However, the school's administration was uniformly unresponsive to our concerns. So, we decided to take our son out of the public school system, and place him in a private school. Our son transferred to Pacific Academy during his junior year of high school. I really can't say enough good things about our experience at Pacific Academy over the past almost two years. Everyone from the principal to the teachers and administrative staff have all been amazing. They are all very passionate about their mission to educate their students, as well as to help their students grow and develop into well-rounded young men and women. The small class sizes allow for a very personalized approach to teaching, and both the teachers and the principal are very interactive and collaborative with parents. The quality of teaching in all of our son's classes has been exceptional, and all of his teachers have welcomed engagement with us. (Unlike at the public high school our son previously attended.) I would especially like to recognize the principal at Pacific Academy, Keith Corpus, and the Director of Student Affairs, Jasmine Hsu. Their dedication, compassion, and empathy towards their students, and their families, has been extraordinary. They have both also been tremendously supportive as students, parents, and teachers have all worked together to manage the enormous (and ever-changing) impact of the pandemic. Honestly, we have come to view Mr. Corpus and Ms. Hsu as if they were part of our family, and we are so grateful to them for their dedication and commitment to their students, including our son. My only regret is that we did not transfer our son to Pacific Academy sooner. We love this school, and its faculty and staff, and we are so grateful that our son has been able to attend Pacific Academy!

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!

Most of the negative reviews reflect the chaos of school politics. It doesn't really reflect the…read moreteachers' hard work and students' lives in the past year. I don't really write Yelp reviews often, but I feel I need to share my point of view for my son's first year at this school. I don't want to see teachers' hard work and devotion to be erased by all these negative reviews. This new school does not have a lot of resources like Irvine Unified School District. The facilities at the campus are out of date and the campus is leased from IUSD. The faculty has been trying hard to maintain the school facilities, but it is very challenging. - 2 of 5 star I have been volunteering at my son's classes in the past two semesters, and both English and Mandarin teachers from the 2nd Grade are very passionate about teaching and helping our children. I have heard a similar compliment for all other teachers at different grades. The school only has one PE teacher, who is working hard and carrying a lot of responsibilities for all the kids at school- 4 of 5 star The communication channels between teachers and parents are very clear. Teachers will quickly respond and answer questions or concerns from the parents. - 5 of 5 star Before enrolling at IIA last year, my son has no knowledge about Chinese handwriting. As now, at the end of his 2nd semester, he can do both reading and writing more than 117 Chinese characters. For reference, attached are words he has learned so far. - 5 of 5 star Some parents have questions about the on-site after-school program. From my observation in the past two semesters, my son was able to complete his homework at school, attending enrichment class for music and art, and playing with his friends after school. My son always asked me to pick him up last so that he can spend more time at school. - 4 of 5 star To sum up, my wife and I feel very fortunate that our son has this opportunity to learn both English and Mandarin at the same time without sacrificing our weekend attending Chinese school. Everyday when we dropped our son to school, he always rolls his backpack with lightening speed and runs to the teacher. We can tell our son really enjoys his first year at IIA. This is a tuition free charter school, not a 5 star Private school. This school requires a lot of parents to involve and help. This is a new school starting with a bumpy start. We all hope one day the school board and parents can come to an agreement one day so the teachers/students in between will not be sacrificed.

Mastering the language is the best key to start learn a culture of country…read more We are so touched that the school and teachers have done so much to make our children happy every day.

They are awesome because of there awesome staff and teachers!!!!!!!!!! They know what they are…read moredoing and how to teach. They have the best teaching

Terrible administrative staff. More training needed for them so they know the school guidelines and…read morehandbook thoroughly. Administrative staff should be more respectful to students and parents. More inclusive in students who are of minority race at school. Main administrative staff with these issues are the principal and vice principal. Also, teachers should be more accountable for their actions and stand by what they say if questioned. Counseling staff are not very helpful, dismissive and condescending.