From day 1 to several years later, Helios has been a wonderful & warm community for the whole…read morefamily. A place where our kids are loved and encouraged to grow. Not once did our kids want to skip school, and this is from someone who used to dread Mondays. We have easily toured 50+ elementary and middle schools up and down the Bay Area over the years...public, private, charter, prestigious, tech-forward, venture-backed, STEM-focused, etc. We felt the most at home at Helios. On my first visit to Helios I was blown away at how naturally close the kids were and told myself I want my kids to be part of that, because I was a bit of outcast growing up. For me the #1 thing about a school is whether the kids are loved. It's not just about the programs, reputation, resources, and growth - although Helios does very well in all these areas now and keeps getting better. Placement of students into a high school that is right for them is particularly impressive. So many memorable teachers at Helios have blessed our kids and encouraged their natural interests in animals, spelling, flag football, rock climbing, etc. Our somewhat shy but gifted kids really have blossomed, and for that we are tremendously thankful to the entire Helios community of teachers, staff, leadership, and parent volunteers.

DS has been at Helios since K, and he's now in G2. He's a silly, curious 8yo who can be shy and…read moresensitive at times. He loves science, crafting, and reading - especially nonfiction books. Even though he's well ahead of grade level academically, he still learns something new every day and truly enjoys the experience. He has a solid circle of friends who share his interests (the pi song has been a recent favorite!). He's genuinely excited to go to school every morning, which really says a lot. We really appreciate how the school has nurtured both his love of learning and his growth as a person, and we're grateful for the support we've received from the entire school community.

As a former student, this school has been a good place for me, and the teachers were quite nice…read more They really helped me as a former student to get my life on a better path. However, in some situations, I wish the dean's office had been more supportive instead of gaslighting students who were facing vulnerable circumstances. Additionally, I observed that the school seemed to be more favorable toward Caucasian students compared to students of color, particularly in academic settings. For example, Caucasian students often received A+ grades, while students of color frequently ended up with B+ or lower, which I find highly unfair. All students of color deserve the same opportunity for excellent grades and education as their Caucasian peers. I hope that systemic injustices in our education system can be addressed.

The food is diabolically trash and must be improved. I'm not expecting 5 star food but like they…read morecould do better than undercooked bread and potatoes with dry chicken. On top of that most of the food is cold. Luckily there is a bunch of food spots around the area. But hey at least it's free for now.

I have been going to The King's Academy as a student since the Sixth Grade. I am now a senior…read moremeaning I've had a whopping six years of experience at this institution. Even more so, two of my older sisters have graduated from TKA brining my experience with the school up to eight or more years. The most popular and incredible aspect of The King's Academy is, without a single doubt, the teachers. Being a college-preparatory academy, TKA desires extreme academic excellence. This could result in a strict relationship with staff but nothing could be further from the truth. I have developed long-lasting and deep relationships with my instructors, bringing forth enriching, life-changing conversations and friendships. To anyone who not only wants a great education but a caring, mentoring, loving environment with educators, I would not hesitate to recommend TKA to the highest of my ability. As a long-time student I couldn't be happier with my education and the relationships I've developed with my teachers here at The King's Academy. Don't think twice about taking the time to visit an open house! -Michael

We attendee a parent student event. My brother in law was encountered by one of the school staff…read moreand was verbally threatened that he would be tackled by one of them if he did not verbally identify themself. Where is the cordial and respect we hold to a high standard for educators? Apparently none. I had to calm the staff member down and redirected the situation.

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'm so glad I completed all 3 years in Cupertino Middle School this school has so much memories the…read moreprincipal was nice I loved my teachers so much especially in 7th and 8th grade I loved 8th grade the most compared to 7th and 6th. Goodbye CMS I'm now gonna be a student at Cupertino High School. I miss this school so much the people were nice and I made lots of friends there.

Was a former student here, which no I will not reveal my actual identity and name I used at this…read moreschool. However I can not stress enough how awful this school was from my experience. Sure there are nice teachers and sure I adore the counselors with all my heart however, the consequences given here are ridiculous. There's barely any consequences for students who constantly start trouble, they will only be given a suspension and nothing more- keep in mind we are talking about troublemakers who will bully your children. They talk about "wanting to keep this a safe place for your children" or "for you" yet the consequences given here are terrible. Not only does this go for students but the teachers get away with terrible things as well. One of the math teachers gave my friend a lower score for no reason when my friend was actually right, now this might sound like some mistake however truly it isn't, my other friends have talked about her and how this sounds like something she would do, meaning she does this to other students as well. What's worse? One of the PE teachers from when I was there did awful actions, such as touching my friend inappropriately and getting away with it. Yes, my friend did speak out about this to the office, what did they do? Nothing, he still kept his job and that's extremely alarming. This isn't a one time thing, other students have talked about his strange behavior towards the students as well. Not only that but the cafeteria food wasn't all that great... however that's merely an opinion and not a fact so that's the least of my concerns, everything else is more severe. There are students constantly fighting in this school or calling each other names or even slurs, I had to deal with a whole lot of racism when I was here. So please, as a former student, take my advice and turn away. There are a whole lot of choices that are better than this school, save your child and enroll them in another school. With all love, Cross.

Came here for basketball tournament. Nice gym. Very clean. Only downside was that AC was not…read moreworking. It was 90 degrees Fahrenheit this weekend.

I don't exactly hate this place because, from what I remember, the teachers were alright. However,…read moreI will knock them down big time because, like with Laurelwood Elementry school, they thought I was autistic and had learning disabilities despite having high grades, and showing off my skills in arithmetic in one of their teacher-student conferences for "the mentally disabled". I'm also someone who wants friends and gets along with most people perfectly, so that fact should've disregarded these mentally challenged officials claims about me being "autistic".

The state of the running track at this establishment is subpar. It is worn down to the asphalt…read moreunderneath in many places. I hope it gets redone soon.

This is a very nice school with a big campus. Teachers and students are both helpful here. This is…read morea high school but it looks more like a college.

I've been to the school a handful of times, but I never knew there was a theater! Lol mainly for…read moresports events so everything was outdoors. Beautiful, huge campus and a lot of add-ons but this theater sadly needs to be remodeled! Perhaps because Cupertino high school along with Homestead high school's Orchestra were both in the same theater/stage there was no space! There were a number of parents Waiting in the hallways and they had to close the theater doors so everybody was gathered in the walkway towards the back of the theater. Orchestras sounded amazing, but I really think this place could be remodeled since all their sports tracks/buildings have seen to be remodeled and sadly, music, and art always get pushed to the end! The theater was nice for maybe the 60s or 70s, but Homestead definitely need a facelift!

Loved it 10/10 !!!!!!!!!! Great four years every second was amazing and I met so many great peopleread more

Our family has attended Cherry Chase for over five years now and we can't say enough great things…read moreabout the teaching staff, the administrators, and the community!

Awesome elementary school. Great teachers and Principal. Extensive parent involvement…read more Especially in these days of budget cuts, the well run Sunnyvale School District has managed to avoid layoffs. If you don't believe me, check out the test scores as well as the property values and rents for houses and (relatively few) apartments in the school district.

We have a first grader at Tessie and we started this past year. My daughter has been thriving at…read moreTessie and loves going to school each day to experience a unique education model where the emphasis is on learning through hands on projects and well laid out journeys that are integrated into the curriculum. Due to the low student teacher ratio, my child's teacher has been able to tease out my child's strengths and areas for improvement and challenge / support her accordingly. The school is definitely not a 'one size fits all' model, thereby making it interesting for students each day. We moved from an academic group of private schools where monotony had set in and my child did not have an opportunity to look past academics and perceive the broader context of topics. This past year, she has learnt so much across various topic areas and seems to have developed a more holistic personality. The school has also supported with SEL topics and strategies to work on accepting failures, addressing perfectionism and other such challenging areas for gifted kids. The specials like theatre, music, innovation and nature are not just blocks in the schedule but times of the day when my child is able to have new experiences and learn from them and build her skills in those areas. With the new leadership and management change, revision of schedule and curriculum, I am confident the school is heading in the right direction on its mission to offer differentiated learning for gifted students. I strongly recommend this school to other interested parents!

First, there were 75 reactions to my original post plus I received many messages from families who…read morefelt mistreated. I just want to express my deep sorrow for every family who has been mislead and mistreated by this school. It has been devastating to get a glimpse of the dark reality. Final update: this school is even worse and more corrupt than before, in my carefully considered and humble opinion. We had a deeply concerning and disturbing set of interactions with the new director, Luthern. I remain proud of the way that we handled our interactions, and very bothered by the way he treated us. Furthermore, we undetstand that they are removing and/or drastically reducing the nature campus component of their program which was a huge part of the draw in the first place. We are thrilled that this chapter is permanently closed for us. We finally found the most outstanding school for our children, and we will never look back. Good riddance to a poorly run institution with what we believe is an unethical and corrupt administration. And by the way, the "Gifted Qualitative Assessment" is manipulable. It's largely based on parent surveys, and which parent searching for a school for gifted children won't see their kids as gifted? We all do. Your best bet if you're not a founding family is to make sure you have a ton of money and that you are willing to part with in their capital campaign, and always tread cautiously when it comes to expressing yourself authentically.