Our son was attending a large public high school when the COVID-19 pandemic started. This highly…read morerated public high school quickly transitioned to an online learning environment, but only provided one synchronous lecture per week for each class. As our son, and many of his classmates, fell further and further behind in their online classes, we repeatedly reached out to the school administration, including the principal, as did the parents of our son's school friends. However, the school's administration was uniformly unresponsive to our concerns. So, we decided to take our son out of the public school system, and place him in a private school. Our son transferred to Pacific Academy during his junior year of high school. I really can't say enough good things about our experience at Pacific Academy over the past almost two years. Everyone from the principal to the teachers and administrative staff have all been amazing. They are all very passionate about their mission to educate their students, as well as to help their students grow and develop into well-rounded young men and women. The small class sizes allow for a very personalized approach to teaching, and both the teachers and the principal are very interactive and collaborative with parents. The quality of teaching in all of our son's classes has been exceptional, and all of his teachers have welcomed engagement with us. (Unlike at the public high school our son previously attended.) I would especially like to recognize the principal at Pacific Academy, Keith Corpus, and the Director of Student Affairs, Jasmine Hsu. Their dedication, compassion, and empathy towards their students, and their families, has been extraordinary. They have both also been tremendously supportive as students, parents, and teachers have all worked together to manage the enormous (and ever-changing) impact of the pandemic. Honestly, we have come to view Mr. Corpus and Ms. Hsu as if they were part of our family, and we are so grateful to them for their dedication and commitment to their students, including our son. My only regret is that we did not transfer our son to Pacific Academy sooner. We love this school, and its faculty and staff, and we are so grateful that our son has been able to attend Pacific Academy!

This school hired unprofessional teachers like Ms Kuo in 4th grade who wasn't a certificated…read moreteacher and was very mean to kids. It is unacceptable that they allow their teachers to use language abuse on our kids! Principal didn't even care about the issue. Very disappointing.

My daughter has been struggling her whole life in school and we finally get her into Mardan School…read moreand she's having an amazing time. She's finally getting the support she needs and the education she deserves thank you to her teachers Mr. John and Mr. Zack thank you so much erin! You are so kind and helpful. Thank you Bonnie for everything thing you do thank you so much

I can't say enough about how amazing Mardan is. This school and the staff forever changed my sons…read morelife. Prior to coming here , he hated school , had a ton of behavioral issues and was so unhappy and school was just awful for him. We have been here for 4 years now. He loves school , he's thriving and it's absolutely remarkable to see how much he's changed and grown. The staff is amazing and I'll forever be grateful to have found this school. They truly do care about our children and they go above and beyond every day to make this environment a positive one for my son. I highly recommend Mardan if you're needing an alternative to public school , especially for children with special needs.

I am currently a freshmen at Crean and everything is amazing. Most high schools contain bad kids…read moreand some bad teachers but at Crean every teacher actually cares for you and wants you to succeed. And for the kids everyone is friendly and welcoming. And the schools education is top notch.

this school terrorizes to the neighboring communities that live adjacent to them. the school…read moredoesn't provide enough parking for their own students, so they park on the streets of neighboring communities - the students litter, drive too fast, park illegally in front of fire hydrants, and park in areas designated for residents only. the parents use our community as a drop-off zone and cause unsafe traffic conditions as a result. there is a group of boys who peel out in their cars and drive about 50mph in a residential street. multiple attempts to reach administration regarding this issue are ignored. it is clear that they do not follow the mission and values plastered all over their website.

Terrible school. My last review was removed however it does not violate any yelp policies because…read morethis review is not critiquing COVID-19 policies. I am critiquing the way that this school handled this particular issue regarding my daughter. Rather than informing parents that masking would temporarily return, they instead tied an adult sized mask to my 2 year olds face that was so large, that it went from her eyes to her neck. The school claims they notified parents however many other parents at the time with me were confused and wondering as to why they were also not informed. Had I been informed I would have gladly put a child mask on my toddler. I had no issue with the mask but wanted to at least get eye to eye with her so I could assure her everything was going to be okay because she was born in 2020 and was terrified of masks literally her entire life and needed to comfort her and reassure her. They instead tied the adult mask to her face and carried her away. I immediately removed her from the school because of how this was handled. Again, to the yelp moderators that are going to flag this again, I am NOT against the masks! The principal rudely told me, I'm sorry we don't agree with your masking philosophy. I'm not against the masks! I'm against the way that you handled this incident with a 2 year old! I proceeded to leave a bad review to which I was called multiple times by their staff asking to remove it. I will not. Yelp, this review violates no policies. Never again New Horizons.

Terrible school. Charged us for entire year in advance, then refused to provide services per…read morecontract. Victimizes your children...and pretend they are Islamic but they know nothing about Islam...or for that matter humanity! Discriminatory and retaliating. The school claims they are a non profit, but they do not provide tax deduction to the donors. PER CALIFORNIA LAW THEY ARE OBLIGATED TO PROVIDE TAX DEDUCTION TO ALL PARENTS WHO PAY THEM. They are a fraud!!!

Best decision I ever made for my children. The staff, parents and children are very welcoming and…read moretreat you like family. The math program and ELA programs are excellent.

I have been part of the Saint Jeanne de Lestonnac School community since August 2005. Now, 21 years…read morelater, as we prepare to finish our journey with the Class of 2026, it's hard to put into words what this school has meant to our family. SJDL has truly been more than just a school to us; it has been home. The most beautiful part of our experience has been the journey in faith. Watching my children grow not only academically but spiritually has been such a gift. Faith isn't just taught here; it's lived every day. Over the years, we have met incredible families and built friendships that will last a lifetime. Our children have formed strong bonds with classmates, and those friendships have grown year after year. There is something very special about being part of a community where everyone genuinely cares about one another. One of the things I have always appreciated is the small class sizes, usually around 15 to 18 students. It allows teachers to truly know each child, not just their name, but their personality, strengths, and areas where they may need extra support. The staff goes above and beyond to make sure every student feels seen, supported, and safe. Knowing that safety is always a top priority gives parents incredible peace of mind. I've also seen the school grow and evolve over the years, offering opportunities in sports, theater, and other activities that allow students to explore their talents and build confidence. After 21 years, I can honestly say choosing Saint Jeanne de Lestonnac was one of the best decisions our family ever made. We are forever grateful for the love, faith, education, and community that SJDL has given us.

We are very thankful we pulled our children away from this Pseudo Jewish School, it caters to…read morenon-Jewish people who are not interested in Judaism, only focuses on admissions to hyper competitive colleges. If a TVT student gets behind, he or she loses Judaic Studies to keep up with hyper competitive children. Administrators do not take Jewish children as priority, in fact, more than half students there are not Jewish, it is a misrepresentation to call this a Jewish school, celebrating other culture's holiday months long opposed to one day, check out their auditorium wall in February and on. The over offered non-Kosher food selections. Needless to say more, beware!

The teachers are loving kind and responsible we've been here for 1 week and it was greatread more

my family and I have moved more times than I cared to admit over the last 20 years…read moreMy four children have attended variety of private and public schools Never! Have I seen more caring, more flexible and kind teachers and especially the administration that I have an OC Academy! I play tennis professionally, and they have bent over backwards to allow my children to travel with me It's truly incredible! We will finish our academic career with all four children at OC Academy with zero questions and a lot of gratitude

As a concerned parent, I feel compelled to speak up about my experience with this school. From the…read morestart, it's been disappointing. The teachers seem to be just well-educated parents, not professional educators. My child has expressed feeling unwelcome and excluded by the other students. She describes the environment as one dominated by "rich kids who are stuck up and fake." The school claims to be anti-bullying and inclusive, but my child and many other kids, especially international students, feel left out . I transferred my child here hoping for a better environment since the last school caused significant anxiety, fear, and even panic attacks. Unfortunately, it's become clear that this was not the right fit. Now, I'm considering pulling them out.

Renascence is an excellent school both academically and for language immersion. My son attended…read moreRenascence International from preschool to 6th grade (ages 4 through 12). Based on the quality of the instruction, my son excelled academically and is tri-literate in Chinese, Spanish, and English. My son speaks Mandarin at home with his mom and attained the global seal of literacy for Spanish. The only reason my son no longer attends Renascence is that he wanted to experience a school with a larger class size and more students. (He now goes to a school with over 100 classmates just in his grade.) Based on the instruction my son received at Renascence International, my son was one of 25 out of 500 students out of district that tested and were accepted at Oxford Academy in the 7th grade. The quality of the teachers and curriculum are excellent and without this instruction, my son would never have made it into a public school that is rated #1 in California and #19 in the United States. Currently, he is taking advanced math and is the only non-hispanic child taking advanced Spanish in his grade. Thank you Renascence International for giving my son the tools and instruction to succeed.

Renascence School International (RSI) has been an incredible place for our daughter's education and…read moregrowth. She began attending kindergarten in 2012 and graduated from high school in 2025, and we could not have chosen a better school. From the administration to every teacher, the team at RSI is outstanding -- supportive, caring, and completely dedicated to each student's success. Academically, the school is exceptional. Students consistently learn up to two grade levels ahead, and through RSI's dual-enrollment program with a local community college, our daughter earned two associate degrees, along with her IGETC certification, which fulfills general education requirements for both the UC and CSU university systems -- all at the same time she graduated from high school. RSI's language program is equally impressive. Our daughter earned perfect scores (5s) on both her AP Spanish and AP Chinese exams and received the Global Seal of Biliteracy at the Working Fluency level in both languages -- a highly prestigious distinction that reflects advanced proficiency in reading, writing, speaking, and listening. Only a small percentage of bilingual students nationwide reach this level, making it a truly exceptional achievement. Because of the strong foundation RSI provided, our daughter received multiple university acceptances with generous academic scholarships. We love this school so much that even after she graduated, our family continues to volunteer and support RSI because it truly feels like family. Renascence School International has been one of the best decisions we have ever made -- a school that challenges, inspires, and prepares students for success in a global world.

My children absolutely love it. The teachers and the principal are wonderful. The school yard is…read morenot like school and I like it very much

i like that there are nice teachers and david burke is the nicest principal because if you just…read morefollow directions the teachers will be so good to you they will be very nice to you

School has been through a lot of changes In the last two years, but I think most importantly my…read morechild is happy, the teachers are very loving, and she has good friends. Academically she's learning Chinese, and other topics she has grown a lot too (reading, math, etc...) The school is small so getting to know other students and families is fairly easy. It's a good community and we all have the kids best interest at heart! - father of first grader

Most of the negative reviews reflect the chaos of school politics. It doesn't really reflect the…read moreteachers' hard work and students' lives in the past year. I don't really write Yelp reviews often, but I feel I need to share my point of view for my son's first year at this school. I don't want to see teachers' hard work and devotion to be erased by all these negative reviews. This new school does not have a lot of resources like Irvine Unified School District. The facilities at the campus are out of date and the campus is leased from IUSD. The faculty has been trying hard to maintain the school facilities, but it is very challenging. - 2 of 5 star I have been volunteering at my son's classes in the past two semesters, and both English and Mandarin teachers from the 2nd Grade are very passionate about teaching and helping our children. I have heard a similar compliment for all other teachers at different grades. The school only has one PE teacher, who is working hard and carrying a lot of responsibilities for all the kids at school- 4 of 5 star The communication channels between teachers and parents are very clear. Teachers will quickly respond and answer questions or concerns from the parents. - 5 of 5 star Before enrolling at IIA last year, my son has no knowledge about Chinese handwriting. As now, at the end of his 2nd semester, he can do both reading and writing more than 117 Chinese characters. For reference, attached are words he has learned so far. - 5 of 5 star Some parents have questions about the on-site after-school program. From my observation in the past two semesters, my son was able to complete his homework at school, attending enrichment class for music and art, and playing with his friends after school. My son always asked me to pick him up last so that he can spend more time at school. - 4 of 5 star To sum up, my wife and I feel very fortunate that our son has this opportunity to learn both English and Mandarin at the same time without sacrificing our weekend attending Chinese school. Everyday when we dropped our son to school, he always rolls his backpack with lightening speed and runs to the teacher. We can tell our son really enjoys his first year at IIA. This is a tuition free charter school, not a 5 star Private school. This school requires a lot of parents to involve and help. This is a new school starting with a bumpy start. We all hope one day the school board and parents can come to an agreement one day so the teachers/students in between will not be sacrificed.