Mt. Diablo elementary & high schools range from great to terrible. Middle schools, Sequoia is the only good one.
Sequoia gets students from the elementary school next door and from Monte Gardens. So the girl kept the friends she made at Monte Gardens, and made new friends.
Academics is not as high as Monte Gardens. The girl was struggling with math. Now she's nearly at grade level, and her vocabulary and ability to communicate verbally has increased, thanks to her time at Sequoia.
Teachers include those who want the students to learn a lot and are effective, to those who are holding down a long-time job, to those who, let's just say they have this '60s mindset of wanting to change the world. Administration invites parents to be involved; a group of us met with the principal once a month, and these were valuable times.
A full range of programs were available: scholastic, music, languages, theater arts.
I wrote "were available" on purpose. Things changed a lot when the girl was halfway through, and not for the better. Remember 2020, when the govt goons shut down society, using an easily-treated bug as an excuse? Schools were hit harder than most. And while private schools worked to get back to normal, Mt. Diablo school kids were not in a classroom for13 full months. And when they could go back, it was for only 4 hours/week, they were required to wear oxygen blockers, and they were ordered to stay away from their classmates. No wonder depression is so high among kids in this area. The girl did learn things, but the normal well-rounded school experience teaches life lessons that staring at a computer screen cannot teach. From all I can see, the school district's social experiments will continue for years and years, and I expect more shutdowns. Sequoia's strengths were shut down for 1-1/2 years, and I don't see them coming back any time soon.
One result is that the girl will be going to a different high school. I'm writing this during our move to a different state. California in general, and specifically the Bay Area, has become an unacceptable place to raise kids. It's not that I don't recommend Sequoia; I can't recommend *any* schools in the Land of Fruits and Nuts. If it wasn't for the collapse of the school system, Sequoia would be a good school, as long as you're involved in your kid's education. Not anymore. read more