The school should be a model for all other schools…read more We just moved here after having a pretty tragic experience at our elementary school in Vegas. My son has vision challenges, and they adamantly refused to do anything, beyond pressure me to medicate him so he would "focus more." Great solution for blindness. ‍ After nearly 2 years of begging for help and watching my son fall further behind, his father and I decided to move to an area that's known for better schools. We would have been grateful for any school that would help even a little bit. But instead, imagine our surprise when we land at Carrillo Elementary, where they have done more for our son in the first week, than the previous school did in two years. The communication is absolutely outstanding. The teachers and staff catch the slightest details and take action to remedy issues. For example, my son started breaking up crayons at his desk. Which principle noticed and made a note to get a fidget sensory tool for him. Since he's very active, she also suggested an exercise band for his seat. What a difference from anything we have remotely experienced. The school honestly makes me so happy, I can tear up just thinking about it. Just knowing how eager they are to help, and how much they care about each and every student, it's a beautiful thing we will never take for granted.

I love this school and my kids love it too. They have great teachers and lots of fun events and…read moreactivities throughout the year like the Father-Daughter dance and various field-trips. We have major problems with the parking, or lack thereof. And expanding the school to fit more students (and thus less parking) doesn't make a whole lot of sense. But these are educators after all, so they must know something we parents don't.

My daughter is in her second year at Native School and we cannot say enough good things about it!…read moreUnfortunately there has been some bad publicity because a former employee (trying to steal students away to a competing school she was opening) fed parents misinformation that scared them, including launching a really personal attack against the amazing director, Shannon, who is an incredibly transparent and thoughtful preschool director. She hosts regular meetings for parents to talk to her and will also always be happy to hop on a meeting any afternoon to discuss any questions and concerns. The program itself stood out to me immediately for being a really good supportive model for development. The students are not playing "Lord of the Flies" out in the woods, they are guided and supported by amazing teachers who spend their afternoons writing documentation of the learning in their classrooms and designing emergent curriculum. We could not be happier with the school we chose and our daughter loves school passionately. We have even decided to keep her in Native School another year instead of moving to the free public TK because of how much we love the program and the teachers.

***Warning to parents*** My experience with the teachers…read morewas generally good but you could tell there was a disconnect between them and upper management due to the high turnover rate and disruption in teacher continuity. The frequent and disruptive staff changes significantly effected my 4 year old son who was upset to see teachers come and go. At the end of our semester for 2024-2025 it became worse and substitutes/new faces were very common. We were told by some teachers that quit that safety regs/guidelines were not being followed(especially on rainy/stormy days). All that being said, we decided to pull our child out from the Fall 2025 semester. We had already paid for it but we figured we would be returned our reservation money due to the circumstances. Management refused our first attempt to reimburse us even after my child's spot was filled(Bad business etiquette). So here we are with our reviews and our next steps will be small claims. In the contract it states that they will maintain a consistent and properly staffed program...That was not our experience.

Well organized school that is currently rated in the top two elementary schools in Carlsbad using…read moreeducational scores on the great schools site. I love that the school culture encourages friendship, collaboration, good citizenship via "The Dolphin Way". It's a set of values that is based on Franklin Covey's Seven Habits of Highly Effective People that is adapted for kids. The current challenges at the school are that it has outgrown it's original buildings and facilities so the plans to completely rebuild the school are set to begin in the spring of 2017. It will make for a temporary hassle, but much like the rebuild of San Marcos High School, it will be a major improvement. I love the teachers, administrative staff-- everyone is very professional, caring and friendly. A great environment all around for learning at all levels.

Posting the pictures that I did not upload to my previous review. For some reason the app does not…read moreallow me to edit the first review.

Weird vibe from teachers, principal, and office workers at this school. Seems like everyone is…read moremiserable on a daily basis. Always begging for donations, and never enough for them.

Great school with great teachers. A the ladies at the main office are very nice. My boy and his…read morecousins have been here since first grade and they all love the school! Recommended

Sanderling is a wonderful option in north county for a screen free approach to education. This…read moreschool has provided an anchor for our family and a community that provides a huge sense of support. Highly recommend!!

Sanderling is the perfect school for our son, and we feel lucky that there is a Waldorf school in…read moreour area. There are a lot of opinions about Waldorf education out there, but at the end of the day if you want to foster a creative and confident "whole person" child in a tech free environment...Sanderling is the place for you.

Both of my kids were bullied at this school and the school didn't give a crap. Pulled them and they…read moreare both thriving at their new school.

Terrible school! Went here as a kid and got bullied every day, I would tell the teachers but none…read moreof them would believe me! I would get in trouble and sent to the principals office for being too excited in class. I would go to home sad every day. Since I was 7 or 8 I didn't tell my parents, then they finally found out about how bad this school is and took me straight out. Overall this school is just a piece of crap, full of a bunch of lazy, mean, biased teachers and students. Take your kid to Mission Estancia, or Park Dale Lane. I wish I could give this place 0 stars! Oh and the LCH staff reading this, I dare you to take this review down, if you do then that exactly proves my point, you get me in trouble for the telling the truth.

I work for the encinitas union school district for their after school program, ASPIRE. I have to…read moresay the staff at ECC is extremely welcoming and helpful to anything we need. Also the janitor is incredibly hard working and always willing to lend a helping hand. Angie is an amazing site lead and her passion for the kids really show. Love working at this site! Happy kids, happy day!

Our son started kindergarten here this year and so far he loves it more than he even loved his…read moreMontessori Preschool. He is challenged appropriately by the daily lessons, has a great time on the playground and loves the after school program. The teachers are excellent in terms of communicating with parents and managing the children in class. There is enough structure so that everybody learns, but not so much that the children can't explore and learn independently. The parents and PTA groups are also extremely active and help keep critical programs in place through fundraisers and volunteer work. Our son is a smart kid and my wife and I did a lot of research before settling on this elementary school. So far, we feel as though we've made the right decision.

We are so very impressed with Pac Rim. We left Cardiff, a neighboring district that is just as…read morewonderful, after 15 years with our other kids and our youngest had to switch elementary schools when we bought our new house. They were welcoming right off the bat. Mr. Tubbs set up a walk through tour before we decided to buy and his first teacher made him feel so welcome with notes on his desk from every child in the class once we did. COVID hit and he had little opportunity to really connect with new friends, but Carlsbad District has maintained getting these kids safely into in-person class as quickly as possible from the beginning. Mrs. Hartman has seen him through this incredibly confusing year (from at home learning to cohort half in and half out learning to full time all kids in class learning). Kudos to a teacher who successfully navigated all the changes for her kids impeccably, softly and efficiently. He says although he misses his friends, whom are still only 10 minutes away :), he is so glad he made the move. He feels welcomed, comfortable, challenged and accomplished. Not to mention, their PTO gear is pretty awesome!

I have had 6 children attend this school and I recommend this school daily. They are by far, one of…read morethe best public schools in town. Staff is pretty amazing. They could use smaller class sizes, but so could every public school. I think they do the best they can with what they have.

I'm a grandma to three kids who've attended here. I've never seen a better school in my life!…read moreClean, nice teachers, newer modern school. They even have healthy school lunches (unlike public school). My mother was a Special Ed teacher, so I grew up hearing about education. I'm soooo impressed! And grateful my grandkids had such a great head start!

When we relocated to the area, one of our biggest concerns was finding a high-quality preschool. We…read morespent hours reading reviews, touring schools, and agonizing over the decision. Ultimately, we were referred to Carlsbad Country Day School by an acquaintance--and we are so grateful we followed that recommendation. From the moment we toured the school, we were impressed. The staff is incredibly warm and welcoming, the campus is clean and beautiful, and the overall atmosphere is calm, joyful, and thoughtfully run. The curriculum is fantastic--our kids enjoy yoga, sports, reading class, and so much more. The school also provides healthy and delicious meals daily, which has been a huge relief for us as busy parents. Even better? The kids love the food! As for their teachers--Mrs. Gina and Ms. Stephanie are absolutely wonderful. You can tell they truly care about their students and pour so much effort into making each day special. Mrs. Gina creates such a positive and engaging learning environment for our older child, and Ms. Stephanie brings so much warmth, fun, and care to our younger child's classroom. We feel so lucky they have these amazing educators in their lives. Our kids are genuinely excited to go to school each day. One of them won't even say goodbye at drop-off, and at pickup, it's like pulling teeth to get them to leave--honestly, we take that as a great sign! The outdoor space is spacious and full of activities to keep them busy and happy. The school also hosts adorable events throughout the year--like a mother/son dance, a Christmas party, and more--which really make families feel connected. They also offer professional school photos twice a year, and the sibling pictures are to die for--some of the cutest we've ever had taken. We truly feel like we won the lottery finding Carlsbad Country Day School. Our only wish is that they went through elementary school too!

5-year update: We have 3 children attending CCA, and we…read morefeel confident that this is the best place for them emotionally, academically, and spiritually. It feels like family: from drop off to extended care (which is super reliable & affordable). Teachers each have their own personalities, some are super warm, while others are stricter - but they all really try to help every kid. During our 6 years here, we have not experienced any bullying. Actually, every day kids are specifically taught to be kind and supportive to each other, and teachers and the principal get involved (very involved) with any behavior issues immediately. The bad reviews are from a few families that were likely not a good fit from the beginning, even though the school did everything to make them welcome. Over the last few years, the school has grown tremendously, and one thing we'd recommend is that they screen & educate incoming families a bit better.

This school is horrible about returning calls and getting back to parents. They have kept our…read morefamilies $500 deposit from last year for five months and not returned calls or emails requesting they return our money.