Wonderful, caring and thoughtful teachers in the Primary room. My kid looks forward to class!read more

Our experience at Renaissance Arts has been really good. This school is different, and personally,…read moreI am thankful. My son told me, "There are no bullies at Ren Arts". I can see why. The staff is strict and they somehow manage to do what our previous school was not able to do - keep the kids feeling safe. When my kids started, I sat in on many of the classes to help one of my kids adjust. Almost every day for a year I went to the first 2 classes. In a large 8am singing class meant (I imagine) to gather the kids together and provide structure while stragglers arrived, I watched the teacher nip every potential behavior problem in the bud with, "I hear someone talking. If someone is talking while X is asking a question, then we can't hear X's important question". Or, "If you aren't participating then we are missing your voice. We need your voice". Everything here is based on the idea of an ensemble. And the importance of the individual within the ensemble is stressed. The ensemble performances that they do twice a year are truly amazing. Imagine being thrown in with different groups of students in your school twice a year to perform. Part of the reason there is no bullying is that you bond with your fellow cast members. There are some overarching mission statements that you see over and over again that are unique and heartwarming. For example, although there are no tests, they have a lot of essays to write where the kids have the opportunity to express themselves. They are told that there is not right or wrong answer and they just want to hear their ideas. They are often asked to reflect on themes and the teachers don't feel like they have "the answer", but rather are excited to hear what the kids come up with. It feels like college level teaching. To me, this is exciting stuff! I sat in on a second grade humanities class and felt like I was in college: a group of 8 kids plus a teacher sat around the table and discussed King Lear. The kids had so much to say about the age-appropriate rendition of what they were reading. The school also has a social justice bent and the themes of their shows often reflects current events. One of the high school students told me that they read the constitution every year in high school and every time she finds something new. So yes, there is much here that is going to look different from your typical school. It functions differently and so the form will be inherently different. I feel that as long as the child is happy, that is the best gauge of the fit of the school. And my kids are happy here.

The SFCA team is the best in the biz! I've been using Sharp Focus for the past three years for all…read moremy videography, editing, infrastructure, and educational needs. They are truly a one-stop-shop for all things video. In the rare instances they don't know the answer to something they hunt down the answer for you. It is especially refreshing in the creative world to be given 5 star service and have your goals put ahead of all else. I've never walked away from working with SFCA being anything less than 100% satisfied.

I'm amazed that Scott and Dave has been able to cover so much ground for those in the creative…read moremedia and entertainment career path. These guys single handedly inspire me to get better and better in the every challenging and changing entertainment field. Go just take a tour of this place and be amazed at all the work Scott and Dave have put into it. It's really remarkable and cool that you can come to a school that offers so much under one roof without all the pressure and BS most of these huge film schools put on you. Not only that, but for a fraction of the cost, I've not seen any other school that offers this in the LA area. A lot of them have folded and Sharp Focus has been around weathering the storm and providing hands-on practice for students in a small boutique environment at practically cost. You'd be a fool in the industry to not at least stop here and admire all the options and flexibility Scott and Dave provide to students. Seriously compare what you get here versus other schools and a great channel to network for jobs in many different fields. It's a small ask to say no to student loan debt... There are really some good people in the entertainment field not out to screw you - this place is a diamond in the rough.

Katie B., who I have always been a huge fan of, has had some events in this area and I wish I could…read morehave been to more. The area is new to me and I very much enjoyed some of the shops.I am a guy who at one time only had experience eating in South Central Los Angeles, East Los Angeles, Long Beach and the Hub Cities. I do love these cities and I am happy to experience new unfamiliar places like Atwater Village and Silver Lake. Molly was there to kindly greet everyone, guide the children to complete task and behave, teach craft and chat with the adults. I enjoyed being in her class and I enjoyed seeing my little nephew complete his project. You can tell Molly has experience and education working with young children. On the walls we saw paintings and various drawings made by children. We did an Autumn seasonal craft project with paper, wooden wreaths, glue and various other decorative items. They have no-meter warning on Sunday, all other days there is a 2 hour maximum at a meter which can be paid by quarters or credit card, I do not think they accept EBT. Plenty of parking that day and other parking available if you are willing to walk. There is a garden area out back with rocks and a bench and the sun and air flowing in. I enjoyed the experience very much so as did many of the people I met there. I think the price range is fairly reasonable for the uptown people of this affluent area though maybe not for this downtown kind of guy. I do plan to come back in this area and I would highly recommend this place to any Hipster parents who want to keep children entertained for a while and want to help develop their children's vital skills.

We LOVE Ms. Molly! My daughter goes to her after school and she loves it! She has learned to hand…read moresew @ age 6, which is cool. Her drawing and coloring continues to improve with the encouragement that she receives from Ms.Molly and her helpers. We have gone to parties there as well and they are so much fun for all the children.

This school has been amazing for my kids. We stumbled upon it post pandemic, my son starting TK…read morehardly able to hold a pencil, and I was so blown away by how much he learned in such a short amount of time. The arts programs instantly brought out his passion for all things drawing. Most importantly, he has always been happy there. Five years later and neither of my kids have ever said "I don't want to go to school today". Besides the arts programs, which include music, dance and physical arts, they also have a garden program ran by California Climate action fellows. The social emotional education has been invaluable to both of my children as well. Absolutely love the diversity the school offers and the strong parent community. Volunteers are welcomed and encouraged and I always feel at home there. While we absolutely love it here, individual experiences will always vary, even in the absolute best schools. The school as a whole has wonderful teachers and a great philosophy. It works so well for so many kids, especially if you're invested in your kids education and supporting them from home. Definitely worth a tour if you're just starting off with schooling or in search of a new fit for your kid!

Our family has been part of this school since 2020. Over the years, we watched many families leave…read moreand often thought, "It's not that bad." For our children, it wasn't--until this year. The school year began in complete disarray, with inadequate supervision, students without assigned teachers or classrooms, and widespread confusion. Unfortunately, conditions only deteriorated from there. Throughout the year, students experienced repeated injuries, classroom evacuations, student elopements, frequent fire alarm disruptions, and recurring lice outbreaks that were not consistently communicated to families. One particularly troubling incident involved a substitute teacher who told a student with autism that autism "isn't real" and threatened to "call the cops" on a group of elementary students. Despite repeated efforts to raise concerns with school leadership, the board, and LAUSD, there was no accountability or communication with the affected families. LAUSD has already voted to close the middle school, and the elementary school's renewal will be reviewed during the 2026-2027 school year. I regret not taking other parents' concerns more seriously. We have decided to enroll our three children elsewhere next year. Our focus now is helping them recover academically and emotionally from a school environment where chaos often felt normalized and leadership seemed unresponsive. Parents should understand that this independent charter school operates under highly centralized leadership, with limited transparency or accountability. Many families, including ours, ultimately leave only after feeling they have exhausted every other option. I am genuinely glad for families whose children had positive experiences. However, those experiences do not erase the injuries, trauma, learning loss, and challenges many other students faced. Please consider a school with proven curriculum, healthy leadership and above all - safety.

Every year I park along the street in front of this school and always wondered what type of school…read morethis is. I finally saw the name of the school and find it is part of the L.A. Unified School District. What a wonderful school to amidst all the filming of movies, commercials and theater arts in Los Angeles. Their audititorum off of Grand Avenue is beautifully maintained, and has theater events, according to their billboard. By the way, there are a few two hour free parking spots along the side street off Sunset, thus the reason I park there to walk to the Tax Collector...

The campus is clean and seems secure. I cannot speak for the quality of education since we did not…read moreend up at this school, this review is mainly for the treatment received on our visit. Ms. Sonia Thong (PSA Counselor) was very professional and caring. She was very helpful and followed up promptly to make sure the enrollment process went as smoothly as possible. Although we ended up at a different school this was probably the second best choice compared to other schools in the area.

Great early education for children! Staff is very nice/knowledgeable and it is an impeccably clean…read moreenvironment. There are many different types of classes and extracurricular programs offered here, based on your child's needs.

I recently searched for a new preschool for my nephew since the old preschool was just costly and…read morefar. I came here and met the principle Mrs.Han who was starting up a preschool center in the area. The curriculum here is almost similar to other pre-k schools but for the fraction of what my brother was paying for. The center has a hospitable environment for a child to be themselves and staff looks very friendly. The center specializes in art since the principle is the Art teacher and provides most of the amenities for the classes offered. For a place that just opened in the area I find it reasonably priced and closer, I would definitely look into this place.

I'm not 100% sure if this business is still running or not. I don't believe it is because I saw…read moretheir signs taken down that was displayed outside whenever I visit LA and their website is not in use. But if this company is still running their business, it's definitely a place you do not want to step in. I wish I could give this place 0 stars. The management of this business seriously deserves 0 stars instead of 1 star because they are clearly completely money hungry, despicable, unprofessional, and completely dishonest. I also have to agree with all the negative reviews written about them too. One time as we walked in back in the late spring of 2009, we were told that there was supposed to be an appointment but we explained that we were visiting from out of town and so the owner and president, Angie Kim, came out and we talked with her with another guy. I looked into their school to see if they offer guidance and classes to make a portfolio for graduate schools since their ads mentioned about graduate art school acceptances. It turned out that everything was false. They didn't specialize in graduate school admissions, only undergraduate admissions. Angie and another guy who was VP at the time informed me and my mother that we would need to pay a certain $300.00 or $500.00 fee (I can't exactly remember) for them to find an instructor that specializes in graphic design. Also, they informed us that we would need to schedule a meeting with them to discuss how much these specific private sessions would be for me to make a portfolio for graduate art schools. Does that make any sense? Pay a certain fee to find a teacher and a fee for the private sessions to make a portfolio? We thought it was absolutely inane of them to charge for something like that and then something else. I later learned the guy who was VP is actually Angie's son, Daniel Cho. Even though Daniel doesn't work for Vision 21 Art & Design anymore as of now, he was very unprofessional, condescending, and a real arrogant know-it-all. He even compared me next to his sister of how she did a undergrad thesis and I didn't do one during undergrad. How is that very relevant? I wish I had told him that just because she did a thesis and I didn't do one during undergrad doesn't mean that she is god's gift to the planet and far more superior than me and anyone else. There was no doubt that this was his way of trying to discourage me to go to graduate schools. Guess what? Daniel didn't even go to any art schools and he didn't even major in art and design. So how would Daniel know everything about art and design? I got the impression from them that they saw me as someone who is not grad school material, but they want the money from me to be in their program. Does that make any sense? Was it worth to join their program? Definitely not! It just shows that they are way more interested in getting money. After we left, we thought about it and decided it wasn't worth it. So, we decided to call them and cancel the meeting that was scheduled for the next day and not go forward with them. There was no doubt in our minds that the fee for the private sessions would be extremely expensive. We're guessing it would be at least over $10,000.00 because other previous reviews report that the classes are over $18,000.00- 20,000.00 and that classes were often cancelled and had no make ups for it. I suspect that a private session for me could happen like that too. About a few weeks later after we cancelled the meeting in 2009, Angie called twice to ask if I was interested in doing the private program with them and my mother said no. I actually ended up getting into graduate school without the help of Vision 21 Art & Design since I made my portfolio all on my own and getting some guidance with my former professors. Also, I discovered later and recently online that there have been all sorts of lawsuits filed against Vision 21 Art & Design for breach of contracts, wrongful terminations, fraud, etc. What does that tell you about Vision 21 Art & Design? It just shows that it's a company with a bad reputation. Regardless of whether that business is still running or not, bad karma has to come, especially to Angie and Daniel. Why? Both of them deserve bad karma because of their manipulation, unprofessionalism, arrogance, and the atrocious ways they handle business in a very selfish and dishonest way.

As a professional photographer and art enthusiast, I was looking for a great place in Los Angeles…read moreto help put my design portfolio together. Vision 21 Art Studio is great! The instructors are really friendly, polite and professional. I love the ambiance and really admire the passionate staff here.

What a beautiful space!…read more There's an artist studio in the front for this super humble artist named Amos (with great cartoon-like pieces), a little store in front, lots of art on the walls from local visual artists, a screen-printing room, a performance stage in back (weekly open mics on Wednesdays at 8pm) and walls in the back for youth to bomb (read: "itchy" graff fingers). They're open to youth during the day and it's a center for kids from all over to come by afterschool. The directors are doing some really great work there with lots of programming including freestyle Fridays and screenprinting workshops. Support much-needed community-based centers like this! They're having a hard time securing the site so please donate!!!

Leadership workshops, artist support, musician support, tied into four local high schools in the…read moreneighborhood. Occasionally concert fundraisers ($10 entrance). Art for sale. Support your youth!