As a former student from many years ago, I can say that this school was a good one, with caring…read moreteachers. However, I wish there had been more emphasis on helping special education students. It would have been beneficial to have greater empathy and understanding regarding the struggles that individuals with special needs face. Let's fight for systemic justice in educational systems!

I love this Elementary school! I went here for a time as a child and have nothing but fond memories…read moreof it...wonderful teachers, fun lesson plans, great extracurricular activities...I hear it's kept up the high quality :) And, it has kept up the same appearance too (which is a huge bonus in my book!) Love.

As a parent, I have seen concerning things said about Los Altos High School. I have heard concerns…read moreof inappropriate relationships in school. Racism seems like a big problem and there is not much action on the staff's part to resolve the problems this kind of inequality creates. I had to pull my child out of this school, she was having a very hard time socializing with the kids and getting along with teachers. Do better Los Altos.

Daughter is now a Junior. Principal Wynne Satterwhite is…read moreoutstanding - I seldom meet such a hard worker. I know she works long hours and have amazing memory for many of her students!! Her counselors, teachers (e.g. Messner, Arias, Russo,Blach,Wei,Cathy) badminton coaches all deserve medals of honor!! Daughter started 2017. She liked all the teachers. Great facilities. All teachers I met seem dedicated and nice. I like their "Challenge Day" where kids are taught to be nice to fellow classmates. I'm glad I volunteered for the 3 days they brought pioneers/captains of different industries to educate kids about their professions and how they succeed in life and how to avoid bullying by appreciating fellow students, some of whom are hurting inside. I learned a lot from these lectures.

I graduated from Pinewood in '09 and am so grateful my parents spent the money to send me here…read more College was an academic breeze compared to my experience here. Most people are familiar with liberal arts universities. Think of Pinewood as a liberal arts prep school. First of all, you will absolutely learn to write here. Writing classes (separate from literature) are required every year, and you master everything from rhetoric to creative writing. Other classes will require you to write a lot; the best class on campus (a History class, of all things), had us writing 3-4 essays a week. Is this the busy work that the poor reviewers are referencing? I certainly hope not, because each essay was graded with focus and it taught me a TON. Yes, it's a lot of work, but you learn how to think critically and crank out solid material in a short amount of time. Those are life skills you don't learn without repetition. The humanities are also given a great deal of focus, and you study the histories of art, music, and theater. You also pick one of these disciplines to pursue during high school. The arts department is exceptional for how small the school is (50 per grade). The academics are very rigorous. I came from a public school, where I was 3rd in my class, but at Pinewood I was probably in the bottom 40% of my class. If I could have chosen my upbringing, I would have started attending Pinewood from Kindergarten, because I felt very behind on everything from math to grammar to foreign language. Everybody who grew up going to the lower campuses were at the pointy end of the stick. Like all small prep schools, there can be some politics among the faculty, and if you get on the wrong teacher's bad side it will stay with you past that year, but overall it's a fantastic atmosphere with solid teachers. Yes, some of them don't spend every free moment pondering how to influence their students for good, but there are many teachers for whom that does seem to be the case. They are devoted and academically nurturing. And EVERYBODY IS SO NICE. It's borderline weird. Although having so few students means a not many options for friends, everybody will be beyond polite to you and you will never eat lunch alone. Oh yeah, and I still go watch the Girls' Basketball team dominate.

Pinewood provides an outstanding education. Their writing program is the best. The teachers are…read moregreat. Students are lucky to be accepted to this fine education establishment.

This school is a gem of a "dog park"! It has such a huge field, and the nice part is that it's…read morecompletely fenced. Even though it's fenced, it's so big that it might be hard to chase down your dog if they like to run far, far away. The field is pretty clean for the most part, but because it's so big and there's a lot going on, people may not see their dog doing their business and not pick it up. It's also not meant to be a dog park, so bring your own poop bags! I usually go a couple times a week after work around 5, and it's always poppin'. I've been once during the weekend so far, on a Saturday around 2PM, and it was pretty busy too! My dog is literally the happiest boi when he's here, prancing around sniffing away, chasing other dogs, and playing fetch with random people he's never met.

The principal lacks empathy. She only care about the Title 1 funding, and cares little about…read moreimproving the school. Always blame due to the diversity that's why low scoring.

A very promising middle school located in the middle of "nowehere" in Sunnyvale, CA…read more Actually, it isn't anywhere in the middle of nowhere as this school's location has been pretty much reputed as not really the safest place for a school to be. In about the three years that I have been sending a "trophy" here, there had been about 2 - 3 lock downs and those aren't funny. Columbia Middle School has pretty awesome staff and very cool teachers too, according to the 2 kids I am now sending here. Not to forget their pretty dedicated band director and music instructor, Charles Ancheta. I have personally met him and his passion for his job makes the Symphonic Band members inspired and in tune to their instruments. I have attended about 90% of their concerts in the last 2.5 years and these students audibly improve a lot each time. Student population ranges from 6th graders to 8th, with a majority of Asian-Americans and Hispanic Americans. Their teachers are of different ages too, but I have not heard anything but praises for these teachers. I definitely havea very high regard for primary and secondary teachers as these educators mold these kids and are basically the instruments for practically shaping up these kids for the future. Oh well, bullies are present from there to here....I mean, is there ever a school without these dingbats? Columbia Middle School seems to be pretty strict about bullies (they better be!), I have had about 2 occasions where one of the kids got bullied and I got a few follow-up calls from the vice principal as to how the case was being handled. I have absolutely zero tolerance to bullies and zero tolerance to parents who refuse to straighten these kids up. As with keeping their kids healthy, CMS is also pretty strict about food brought from home. No candy bars, no chips, no sodas. Food is affordable from $1.75 breakfast and $3 for lunch. Kids don't complain! Physical Education is also pretty proactive. These kids have running and swimming seasons. Their swimming pool is big enough and is also kept clean. I used to swim a few laps in their pool everyday in the summer before I moved in to my place now. Deepest is 10 feet, I believe....so diving may not be a good idea. What about parking and traffic? During peak hours (8am and 3 pm), there're the usual traffic volunteers that defintely help a lot in easing traffic flow. There is a parking lot to the right side of the main gate where parents would normally wait for their kids. Right now, however, that space is being limited as half of it is being used for makeshift office for the Columbia Neighborhood Association as the main building is getting renovated. Street parking is allowed but NOT on the side of the school. Morse Avenue is located between Ahwanee and Maude avenues. It's a little bit in the middle of the outskirt, if I may say, and so this had earned a little rep of being a little unsafe. Therefore, several cops would patrol the vicinity at certain times of the day. Soooooo, beware of parking violation and Mr. Officer on his bikey. I have hight hopes, for you CMS. Keep up the spirit and continue providing good education to our aspiring teenagers!

Overall, cms is a pretty good school. It provides good teaching, a fun environment, and good food…read more It's fun and hasextra ways to help students that need it. Although its a good school, as a student, some teachers are kind if mean, strict, and overall bad teachers. Some teachers are bad at explaining things, or just walk away. But actually, cms is a great school.

I didn't realize there were so few recent reviews on Yelp. Time to add a good one…read more We've been here at SMS now for 3 years and were so pleasantly surprised at the great experience our child has had. The administration the last few years has put real effort into making the school a great place that's welcoming to everyone. Kids of all need levels are thought constantly. I appreciate the Principal and the VPs and the dedicated staff. The electives are all pretty incredible including music, art, drama, cooking, and a variety of other options. The math pathway is well thought out, and they are continuously trying to improve the experience so kids don't have to sacrifice electives or stress themselves out. The new buildings are lovely and well laid out and the campus renewal is continuing. TLDR is that SMS is a great place and only getting better.

Yesterday, I went to an orientation in Sunnyvale Middle School and I had a lot of fun looking…read morearound the campus. I don't know why people are complaining that the toilets smell bad because it all seems okay.

excited for my daughter to attend this school, my teachers are great and we have a great principal.read more

I was a student at this school but when I attended years ago it was called Ray Lyman Wilbur Jr…read more High School. It is now call JLS (Jane Lathrop Stanford Middle School) and has been name JLS for quite some time now. JLS is one of three excellent middle schools in the Palo Alto Unified School District. Top notch teaching Superb teachers Student support services Excellent technology program Wonderful music program Modernized/upgraded school facilities Library Computer lab Gymnasium Swimming pool Tennis courts Open playing fields (great place to walk a big dog on the weekend on leash) Snack bar Cafeteria Home of the "Panthers'

I recently moved into the area and I would like to say that the front office staff at Almond school…read morewas a great help in getting me organized for my children to be enrolled. The school has wonderful teachers that spent time in getting my children situated into their classrooms. The parents were very welcoming from the parent groups and I feel that we are set up for success .

This is our second time around. Currently teachers are awesome ( Mrs Odell, ms graves..)…read more They had a horrible 2 nd grade teacher (NANCY LUI) who thankfully retired. Unless you were her pet, She would humilate children ( calling them fat, lazy, liars, cheats, throwing papers in their face, ignoring them, denying children bathroom breaks only to urinate in their seats...). She would scar the soles of poor, innocent children behind closed doors. My middle school child is still sick of the thought of her. Thank goodness, she is gone!!