Think twice about sending your children to this school. Weigh your options…read more Rude staff and administration is even worse. Lack of empathy. When my son was seriously injured on campus (during a prior school year) there was no show of concern for his well-being. His recovery was months long and the principal did not reach out nor return my calls. When I went in the office to speak with her, I was told she was unavailable and in a meeting. Sadly, her office door was wide open and she was sitting in there alone not looking occupied whatsoever. There is heavy emphasis placed on the magnet program but unfortunately, not all students are given the same opportunities or attention. Our family learned that over the years. My three children attended this school. My daughter's 4th grade teacher lacked emotional intelligence as did the school psychologist. The teacher made me wait in the hall 20 minutes for our scheduled teacher/parent conference. She took a personal call during our session which cut into my time. She seemed to be screaming on the phone in a foreign language so I don't know what was being said but the tone was very uncomfortable/inappropriate. She was late and ended early not allowing me my allotted time. She did make time to accuse me of not having my kid study enough. The psychologist insulted me and suggested my child was below grade level because I worked until 7:00 pm and served dinner too late. She proceeded to ask me personal questions about my job and my educational background. It felt like an interrogation. My son's 5th grade teacher mocked my son for clearing his throat too often. She was a bully and kids fed off this behavior. There is no accountability from their end and no supportive services were offered to help enrich my children's education. Any deficiencies were blamed on me, the parent. Anti-bullying rules are not enforced. Major concern.

My two girls had Miss Wong in 3rd Grade. My youngest had Miss Miller in 6th grade. Miss Miller and…read moreMiss Wong are the best! They made a positive difference in my kids' life. They treat kids fairly and nicely. They handle different kinds of students accordingly depending on a situation. They teach really good and make sure kids will learn. I want to thank them both, especially Miss Miller who helped my youngest gained self confidence and believe in herself. She is the coolest and funniest teacher. My family loves Miss Wong and Miss Miller!

My son went to school at MWE, and he had a great positive experience. Not sure about all the lower…read moreratings, but I found the teachers to be awesome, and the atmosphere pleasant. In fact, I believe the school is in fact one of the draws of living in the area if you have elementary aged children. All in all, I am happy my son went to MWE, and he loved his experience there with his teachers and friends he met there. We never had any big issues there while we were there.

My son has been at MWE since TK. He's had some amazing teachers and some just average teachers. But…read moreoverall I can honestly say that this is a truly exceptional school. The parents are involved and they truly care - they volunteer at events, donate to the annual fundraiser (which pays for all the extras at this school that help make it so wonderful). There is a genuine sense of community here that goes a long way, and the kids can feel it too. Academically I'd say it's average, not too much homework but not soft on academics by any means. Most learning is done in classroom with light homework (mostly reviewing the days lesson) in upper grades. We've never had a bullying problem or anything that some other reviews mention. I've never doubted my son's safety at this school. He's made many wonderful friends here. We're sad to be moving on to middle school next year. We will miss you MWE!! Go Wolves!

My daughter had started here about 1 month before pandemic closures. Although we all had a…read moredifficult time getting situated with online learning, the staff was so amazing and helpful were excited to see how this new year will turn out! My little 2nd grader will now be a 4th grader! Thank you Rockdale for always being helpful and showing love to the students. Go Rockets!!

This school just became a Magnet school last month. The community is very supportive and the kids…read moreare so well behaved when I come to read stories on Fridays.

Parents, if you care about your child's academic performance, this is not the school. In 2022 -…read more2023 school year, over 60% didn't meet the English proficiency. For Math, it's nearly 80%. For the district, the average for both English and Math is ~60%. This is not acceptable. How can a school like this continue to operate? To make matters worse, the principal won't release your child to attend another school in the district such as Delevan Drive, Eagle Rock, Mt Washington Elementary, etc. But there is an option for you, you can try to get into a charter school or if you have the resources, put them in a private school to avoid the nonsense. For more information, here's the link to the LAUSD site: https://explore.lausd.org/school/1717801/Toland-Way-Elementary

I wish I can give this school no star at all…read more... The teachers can barely speak english...everytime you ask them something they always say they don't know anything. My kid used to cry everyday begging me not to leave her there. She would come home and tell me stories of how the teachers would mistreat her. She only lasted 2 weeks there and I pulled her out. I should have listened to my instinct when I first came by to get an application.... worst school in the district to have your kid in....

I have two kids at this school - one in STEM and another in Dual Language. Here are some things I…read morelove and some other observations: Love: 1) there is a very large active parent/family community at this school that cares deeply about our kids. Though ideas about implementation can differ, the sheer number of committed and involved grownups is wonderful. 2) there are some teachers here who love the students as they would love their own family, and it shows. 3) the whole community comes together a few times a year for performances, brainstorming sessions, supporting teachers, fundraisers, parents' night out, etc. 4) though there are strong differences of opinion on how things "should" be run, everyone does their utmost to ensure kids are well-resourced. 5) the greening project, though it looks different than the original plan, has created a more comfortable atmosphere for the kids 6) teachers assign projects to kids that really develop their whole person 7) the PTA works for the benefit ALL kids at the school and doesn't feel snobby to me at all (I grew up thinking PTA would be complain-y adults feeling holier-than-thou, but that's not the sense I get at all). They put on a TON of events for the school and really make it happen (career day, friendship dances, harvest festival, dine outs, guardian's night out, performance support, so many more things) 8) the special ed program has a teacher whose creative mind and heart are unparalleled (Ms Aquino) 9) Ms Pedroza (UTK/TK) is just THE BEST 10) Ms Kim (5th grade STEM) is WONDERFUL with the kids - helps them feel respected, seen, heard, competent, and provides huge opportunities for enrichment 11) Ms Olga (community rep) does a heck of a lot getting communications out, organizing, presenting, and making events happen 12) Ms Carmen and Ms Karla (front office) are wonderful humans AND keep the school running in huge ways 13) the school puts a LOT of effort into getting the arts and music available to kids. Grants for ukuleles, music teachers, art clubs, etc. are worked for and obtained regularly. I could go on and on. Any school you go to will have benefits and detractors, but these are some of the strengths I've witnessed personally. LAUSD Admin are working closely with the school right now (June 2026) to establish strong leadership by appointing a new principal, so the school is being followed closely for support.

We feel SO lucky to have Buchanan St. Elementary in our backyard. Our son is thriving in the Dual…read moreLanguage program and the staff, teachers, and community are second to none. Go Bobcats!

My son is in the ETK / PCC class and we love it. His teachers Miss Ward-Loveland and Ms. Allison…read moreare amazing. PCC stands for preschool collaborative classroom. This means they have kids with special needs and kids without special needs in the same classroom. They have a special education teacher (Ms Loveland) and a general education teacher as well as a TA for each category. It's a very supportive environment, and we found it a much better fit than a couple private preschools we tried.

I am very happy with this schools academics my three kids currently go to Garvanza Elementary and…read morethe teachers are enthusiastic about teaching and are involved with their learning , and I always feel involved with the academics they always make sure that parents are involved with anything that occurs at the school and offer activities and workshops for parents

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.