I'm still here with my younger children and honestly the school has lost its magic. It was a domino effect starting with the influx of more private school families moving over to Richland with their entitled behavior, then Covid, then a few families with insanely litigious approach to dealing with the staff not meeting their demands. The principal and coordinator both quit because the families became just too much to deal with. We lost a lot of truly wonderful teachers. Now we have a principal who is rude and oblivious and always defensive. She's all talk and no action and has no energy whatsoever. Our former principal, who granted had some shortcomings as well, was such a positive presence on campus. He engaged with families and students in an upbeat and excited manner every day. I wasn't his biggest fan, but the environment that he fostered was really special. We felt like we had a voice. Like he cared what the parents thought. This new principal acts like we as parents are always in the way or annoying her or doing something wrong. She doesn't remember anyone who isn't constantly kissing her behind. I've had many face to face conversations with her and she still never knows who I am or who my children are. We used to be welcome on campus, it was such a warm and loving environment. Now you have to jump through a thousand hoops to get approved to volunteer and for some reason only the select few parents get approved. read more

We moved to Westdale (Mar Vista) a little over five years ago and I have to say that it has been amazing to witness the evolution of Richland Avenue over those years. Committed parents, energetic teachers and staff and a dedicated Principal have turned Richland into a hidden gem of a neighborhood school. With about 300 students, Richland provides a comfortable, family-like environment with all of the academic support and encouragement of an Advanced Learning School. We have a learning garden on campus, after school French classes and Arts, Music and Sciences programs. My daughter is in the TK/K class, which she loves. I have to say that as a parent, I don't take for granted the fact that she adores her teachers and says "Bonjour" every time she sees Principal Granade (who knows every students' name). She feels comfortable asking questions, interacting with everyone at our school and is 100% encouraged to be herself. All that and her teachers have above and beyond supported her love of math and science. Just in case it's helpful as a frame of reference, my daughter's first, school experiences were spent at a reputable, private preschool and my entire K-12th grade experience was spent at two, small private schools. Richland is my first public school experience and I truly believe that my daughter is being nurtured, encouraged and challenged academically just as I was growing up. read more

No longer a neighborhood school. Terrible communication on the transition leaving many students and parents scrambling to figure out alternatives and options. read more

My daughter just started at Richland and it's been great. The teachers and other staff are caring, Mr. G the Principal is passionate, responsive to concerns, and generally great. And the French Immersion program is awesome! I'm very happy to have brought my family to Richland! read more

My son is about to complete his 1st grade year at Richland in the French Immersion program. I have been so happy with this school. It is extremely inclusive and parents are encouraged to be as involved as they want/can be. I have chaperoned a field trip, helped out at the book fair and simply assisted in the classroom. The booster club is well organized and active creating wonderful events for the children to participate in as well as raising funds for the school. The French Immersion program is stellar. Luca spends half his day learning exclusively in French and the other half in English. Both teachers are organized with really interesting projects for the kids to learn, ie Luca came home in surgeon's scrubs, why? He was stitching together compound words! Highly recommend! read more

Our family loves Richland! The principal, Mr. G., is dedicated to every student and to the faculty, is present at meetings and events, and the kids love him. He even gave us the school tour himself when we came to check the school out! I love that Richland is a small school with a community feeling. My daughter is thriving in her studies and feels safe in her classroom. She has a whole class of friends and really looks forward to school every day. There is also a free after school STAR program that all of the kids LOVE! Our district school was capped so we came to Richland and I couldn't be happier that things worked out like they did. I hear that the school has changed a lot in the last few years so be cautious of old reviews and check the school out for yourself. Kids and parents love the Richland Avenue community. Go Tigers! read more

Extremely disappointed with the school and staff. My son started TK here, he just turned 5 and has never been in a school program other than a small pre school/nursery. I even passed on my home school to put him here as I thought it would be a great school it seemed, and I regret my decision. So much went wrong, but mainly the teacher for TK, Pacheco is awful! All she does is complain how she DOESN'T have help in her classroom and clearly, She doesn't like to be a teacher, at least NOT for the TK group, and only wants to be a Kinder teacher. She always said she wished she had a teacher for the TKrs since she is TOO BUSY With her Kindergarten group. There was only 2 TK kids in her class 2!! And they both acted out because they are small and were left unsupervised because she was only busy with Kinder. My son was one, and he was secluded from her classroom and put in a table alone in a corner for the rest of the school year, because according to her, he was making noises and misbehaving. That is emotional abuse. He came home with a cut finger because he was left unsupervised with scissors when he had never used scissors in his life ever, she said he did not know ANYTHING as far as alphabet etc.... Exactly this is why TK is there for! to TEACH them, I myself had to go to TOYS r us and buy him writting books so he's "not behind" as She called it. And I have been a better teacher than she has and I have a baby at home. Also, She NEVER made sure he ate his snacks or food and he was starving every day I picked him up from school. Keep in mind my son has never ever been in a school before, she said he was supposed to go By himself and grab the tray in the cafeteria alone and grab his food.... really? He just turned 5! At this young age, they still need guidance and assistance! How should they know all of this?? Especially being new! I do not feel comfortable with her or the school any longer and will find him a real and good TK program with CARING teachers and staff and mainly a place where they treat the children with respect and love and HELP THEM start their new path in school. So sad and how disappointing this experience was smh. read more

If I could give Mr. G, teachers, staff and community 5000 stars I would. I am so grateful that we found this truly amazing gem of a school located in a lovely west LA neighborhood. We feel truly blessed to be surrounded by other smart, creative like-minded families who believe in the benefit of bilingual education. Our daughter is learning/speaking French and having a wonderful experience. Richland has a caring staff and principal who knows (almost!) everyone's name. We have a large open campus, multiple play structures, dedicated kinder yard, an incredible garden, auditorium, yoga, PE, Orchestra, Library, Open Socio-Emotional class discussions, and extraordinary art studio with caring, creative dedicated artist... I could go on and on.... We feel very fortunate to be a part of Richland! read more

Richland is a fabulous school with a passionate staff and very involved families. We are very impressed with the French Academy at the school and in less than a year our son was speaking fluent French. We feel very lucky to be at Richland! read more

We love Richland!! Feel pretty lucky as a parent to have found a school that my child loves going to every day. My 6-yr old is enrolled in Richland's French Kindergarten class. Initially, we had plans for him to attend private school, Lycee Francais, and then found out about Richland's French Immersion Program which was just approved by the L.A.U.S.D. this year. We feel fortunate to be a part of such an amazing program at the inception of it all and love the diversity at this school (which was important to us). In addition to coming home singing in French, my Kindergartener has also learned yoga & cooking and is always eager to share with us what new things he's learned. Their after school program is also great that even at the end of a long school day for him (pick up around 5:30pm for us since I work full time) he tells me he'd like to stay longer! I feel that his teachers are hands-on, committed and nurturing. In fact, I've received a few caring emails from one of his teachers, Mr. Miller, just as a check-in about my child's progress/issues and it has been super helpful to us in terms of what we could improve upon and which areas to focus on. The school principal, Mr. G, and the staff, including Ms. A, are always so pleasant & present. I think most families would agree. Also, the Booster Club is made up of dedicated parents and I feel the sense of involvement, community, enthusiasm & intimacy here at this quaint school - all around. There's always some fun monthly event/activity planned for Richland families and their children to enjoy together. I'd recommend this elementary school to any family and it has our unequivocal support. --------------------- read more

A very special neighborhood school Our son started at Richland last year in the very first French Kinder class. We weren't sure how he would do in an immersion program especially as we don't speak French, and he flourished! We immediately felt so welcome at the school and a part of the wonderful community of Richland Avenue Elementary. It feels very special to find such a fantastic neighborhood school that is providing the incredible experience of language immersion. His little brain is getting such a workout! There is so much about the school that we love... We love the small size, the principal- Mr. G knows all the kids and parents and is so open to participation and ideas - the staff, weekly yoga in French, the beautiful garden that is cared for so lovingly and open to the community, the extracurricular programs and the focus on the kids. Our son is loving first grade so far and the teachers are doing a wonderful job inspiring a love for learning. Richland feels like a school in a small town and I love that. We love it so much and feel very lucky to be there. read more

Richland is our local school but we decided not to send our Daughter here for T-K or Kindergarten simply because the test scores in the higher grades looked horrible. We opted to send her to a private school in Santa Monica where she stayed until the end of 2nd grade. I really wish I hadn't have been so swept up with the test score number because if I had taken the time to visit the school, see the small class sizes and meet the staff, I dare say we would have sent our daughter here at the beginning and saved our selves money (which could have been going to a college fund) and we would have been part of the community earlier. Please don't judge this school (like I did) without visiting it or talking to some of the parents. The Booster club is very active and has been working really hard to raise funds for the school and the Principal is fully committed. read more

Richland Avenue E.S. is an incredible neighborhood school. I'd call it the westside's best kept secret. It has strong academics, a caring staff, and a visionary principal. The addition of the French Academy has brought new families to the school and, with them, a renewed commitment to excellence in public education. My daughter loves going to school here every day. She has many good friends and favorite teachers. The school is small and friendly. I like spending time on campus and enjoy the other parents, too. It is rare to find so much good concentrated in one place. Mr. Granade and his staff know how to make everyone feel at home. And, most importantly, how to put students first--where they belong! read more

My Grand daughter just started attending Richland ave school after Christmas. I am very happy with her progress and happiness there after transferring from a private school. Her third grade teacher is outstanding and very experience. read more

Remember the story of the Little Engine That Could? I think I can I think I can - and I can! Meaning - this school has such heart and is really turning in to something wonderful! The Principal, Mr. Granade, has an open door policy to parents, staff and students. He listens. He is leading a dedicated team of teachers and staff who really care about the education and well being of each student. Richland Avenue is small and mighty. Parent support is on the upswing making the whole package complete. --Submitted by a parent read more

My son has been at this school for 5 years an we love it! Music every week and lots of room to play on the big playground. Organic garden for picnics and school events. Halloween fair and haunted house is amazing and a great community event. Beautiful library and a week long book fair that thi kids just love. The murals throughout campus make it bright and cheerful and the computer lab is well equiped and available before school with ecucational software. The classrooms have smart baords and are wired to the internet to add to the learning enviroment. Many teachers at Richland have doctorates in education and have been teaching for many years. STAR after school program is free at Richland and this year my son is taking Chinese, woodworking and playing guitar in the rock star band. The receptionst is so trivial, makes me wonder about priorities...the teachers, facilities, art education, SRAR program and the booster club all rock!!!!! read more

First, the positives (and the reason why this gets two stars instead of one): there are lots of great and involved parents, and the grounds are lovely. In two months there, our child learned a lot of math and French. Unfortunately there isn't much else good to say about this school. We were very excited to get into the school because of the French immersion, but unfortunately it suffers from some version of all the horror stories I'd heard about LAUSD schools -- bullying that goes unaddressed, teaching that veers from incompetent to wildly unprofessional, and a "circle-the-wagons" mentality that would rather protect the institution than try to engage with parents' concerns. The administration say they want a dialogue with parents, but what they actually want are donations and volunteers -- criticism (constructive or otherwise) is not received well. Our child came from a private school, and after two months at Richland, we got into a charter. In both the private school and the charter, the child has been happy and well-behaved. At Richland, we were told that our child was a problem. We both volunteered at the school, partially because the school was understaffed, partially to see firsthand what was going on. Our child was misbehaving, but the teacher was not very effective. Bullying and fighting among the children was largely ignored, and the teacher was constantly escalating situations and engaging in power struggles. We attempted to speak with the teacher and the administration, in a polite and constructive way, taking care not to lay blame, nor to insist our child is/was an infallible angel, but to point out that the last decade or so of child development studies have shown that there are better ways to manage the behavior and socialization of small children than yelling and shaming. These methods don't require money, or genius, just a teaching philosophy. Richland has none, instead opting for a rigid curriculum and branding kids who struggle with this as "troublemakers." In addition, we were not-so-subtly threatened with retaliation for complaining, and probably would have shut up if we hadn't gotten in elsewhere. If what I describe above is a good fit for you and your child, go for it. But if you want something a bit more child-centered, or at least a school with greater accountability, look elsewhere. read more