Expensive? You betcha. What price do you put on an education for your most precious asset? I have a daughter that was literally drowning in public school, I personally would pay twice the asking tuition based on her dramatic turnaround. By the way, this is day three. The acceptance process is arduous, and there are no underachievers accepted. Finally, a true college prep in the East Bay. read more

This school had a lot of fun events. Students enjoy going to the school with lots of energy. School teaches the students well and my kids have a blast. read more

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Quarry Lane offers strong academics, and experiences vary based on teachers and workload. read more

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The school is overrated and hyped due to the fact there is no mother private high school in competition in the areas. The home room teachers are not well trained and qualified. The fees they charge is in line with private schools but their lab infrastructure, library, field trips, management are all below par and don't justify the fees. They promote kindness but the staff has zero empathy. They show no transparency in the selection process and create rules on the fly that suits them. The school safety is the poorest as they have no control over who can come in and go out. Every public school is the Bay Area has better safety as compared to QLS. I would highly discourage anyone trying to get into this school to not do it and prefer to join public schools that are far better with some extra after school your kids will do great. Mine has. I feel glad to have not wasted my money at QLS. read more

The Icarus Paradox of Quarry Lane (Wings of wax, flying to close to the sun - intoxicated with everything but self awareness) Disappointed in the trajectory of this school. Once a listener to parents and building leaders with community input - Quarry has done an excellent job of dividing parents, throwing out every effort to reinstate an independent PTA, continuing to offer even limited services (textbooks, no medical staff, no wellness/break center) and has managed to aptly isolate the teacher community where several have left abruptly. While the school hides behind the 'normal attrition' curtain, it's unable to give confidence to new parents coming in on who will be teaching their children. A private school must do a better job if it takes taxpayer money, while taxpayers get no benefit from the taxes they pay (it's private). The single most driver of reputation of any school is not just its grades, or accolades from rankings but the parent community. This is an open letter to Dr Arac to stop medieval management technique and open up a dialogue with the parents. At best the school will improve. At worst, you will have a dozen ideas to consider to improve the school. The brick walls, poor to threatening communication by his staff, the decisive ignorance of what's going on with use of substances, etc all points towards - what once was. Conquest without contributions, Quarry staff, is not a recipe for success for your students, their parents who are your customers. Two ears for each one of us. Use them to listen to and engage your customer. read more

I love this school it is very cool and beautiful and the teachers are all very nice and cool me personally this is very nice fire school

had very bad experience at this school. I wouldn't recommend this school to anyone. I concur with previous review "This is private school but they don't have any professionalism" read more

This school are very disappointed for our family after two years, we withdrew our kids. The administration was very bad, don't trust their advertising. They took A level students from Public School and offered scholarships to them. Then these few kids got nice offer from great colleges, which increasing QL's scores. These A Level students already very excellent, it not because they studied at QL. Another, school is not safe, lost things, bully are always happen. The administration are totally doesn't care about kids. the math was very bad, never teach, never correct homework, just give the homework. My kids lost money, apple earphones, couldn't find it, her three uniform jacket lost at school and no one returned and never found it. These things never happened at other private school before. Another things many parents complained about school allow outside food trucks to sell the food, drink during lunch time, kids always asked their parents for cash to buy expensive, but unhealthy, low quality food. I heard some kids got stomach after eat it. Quarry lane 's club just wasted time, lots of good teachers was left. Math class provided only two or three time per week, which are very bad for private school. So don't waste your money here, you still need more enrichment class or tutor outside schools. QL school quality are unacceptable as private school. read more

My child has been doing Spanish A and the teacher is online and has been for 3 weeks

We had two kids in Quarry Lane - in elementary and high school respectively. The school has been going down in quality - and the current year has been the low point. Overcrowding - to the point where the classes have begin to look like public school size, high attrition of teachers, poor infrastructure (a tile from the roof fell next to one my children). It has personally made me sad to see the decline of this school - but the administration does not seem to care. read more

My son goes to 3rd grade. Worst school. The very bad decision we made was to move to QLS. The teachers don't care and have no creative skills. The Homework does not improve kids and has no attention to kids. The English are below standard. I would not pay 3000$ for this school. Please don't send your kids here. Under no circumstances i will enroll my son here again. We felt public schools are far more academic than here. My son learned more about Writing and Reading last year in public school. Teachers are not interested in reinforcing the material to a kid when they fall behind the class. There is tons of homework and tests which don't improve the critical thinking of a kid. read more

Under no circumstances would I enroll my child there ever again. I can say that they have been experts at making me feel like trash. Not sure what their deal is but I'm astounded they still have people applying. They act untouchable and do not compete with the market. A $3000 non refundable fee is expected should you wish to enroll. That's more than 1000% higher than other similar private education schools. It is absurd. This school was the worst decision my partner and I have made. I am glad to be gone. read more

Quarry Lane has been a wonderful place for my child. From the infant program, to the summer program at the preschool, and now Kindergarten, they have exceeded expectations. For some reason, they have a reputation for being overly academic, however we have not found that to be the case. In addition to Kinder and 1st grade standards, my daughter is learning Mandarin, Spanish and both the fun and technical aspects of Music. PE and play time are also emphasized as very important. My child is being challenged, has fun, and appreciates the structure and guidance. Her teacher is enthusiastic, patient and excellent. I also appreciate the sense of community and all the extras from the teachers and staff (concerts, assemblies, community volunteerism, etc.). read more

I have no idea what my review disappeared but my kid had a HORRIBLE experience at this school and went from being confident, energetic and fun to fearful, stressed and depressed. It took a couple of years to recover from the horrid experience at this school, mostly brought on by teachers and staff ironically. I had other moms and even a teacher come up to me to tell me how mean a teacher was being to my kid. Going right up to the child's face and yelling and then leaving the child in the hall. I heard another parent complain of the same teacher bullying her child (different gender) the prior year. Even when she transferred the child out, said teacher would stare her poor daughter down in the hall. This teacher would literally yell at parents who were immigrants in the most disrespectful insulting way. But she had some sort of tenure and the administration didn't help. Another teacher would tell the students they suck and sometimes have her boyfriend substitute for days on end. On a few occasions they'd just sit there and no one would show up to teach the class. It's the weirdest environment. Children of CEOs will get away with ANYTHING while the others get scapegoated. The headmaster, who is not an educator by any means (that picture on their website that his mommy must be so proud of is of him receiving a degree in a discipline that has nothing to do with education), doesn't seem to care about nurturing an academic community and student body. He seems to care about business and winning. The truly competent teachers -- there are a few stellar ones that often inevitably leave -- can't stand him. Students have heard their most respected teachers just mutter and shake their heads in disgust at his methods. If it weren't for the extreme stress my kid was already under when we decided not to go back, we would have absolutely filed a lawsuit, gone to the press, the whole nine yards. But our child was too fragile at the time. The fact that they took money while allowing children to suffer just because their parents aren't important is so unbelievably wrong. If I ever hear that a parent is finally willing to flag what happens in that place, now that our child is proud and strong, we won't hesitate to stand by any family willing to make right everything so wrong with this place. read more

Our son completed one high-school Math advancement course here this July. It was a well organized course. The instructor was helpful and provided quality instruction. Entire process from admission to final transcript was smooth and timely. Thank you Quarry lane !! read more

My kid went to summer class for high school subject. Teachers are very highly qualified (Ph.D.) but they didn't teach anything. Instead of explaining subject, they just started Khan Academy videos. Class used to be from 12 to 5 but most of the time class ended at around 3:30 to 4 pm. Staff is very unorganized. Many times we didn't receive any notification emails. Instead of checking emails, they kept us blaming us about junk mail folders. This is private school but they don't have any professionalism. read more

Quarry Lane has indeed gone downhill. The teachers are leaving in droves. The school plays favoritism now more than ever before. They treat the children like they have no mind of Their Own. They don't notify the parents of things that are going on in the school. I wouldn't recommend this school to anyone now. read more

We had one week of summer program with this school - only wish I never registered my kid! It was a nightmare that could haunt my kid and me forever. If there is a negative rating, this is the only school I have ever seen that deserves it. Don't get me wrong - with my oldest child having graduated from a prestigious college, I understand no school/teacher is perfect. But I'll give this school the lowest rating ever possible. Here is why: 1) I rate Academics the lowest because students were simply asked to copy notes and quizzes were used to push for memorizing; 2) I rate Teachers the lowest because in a 4-hour speech & debate lesson, 10+ students were only asked to watch Ted Talk and YouTube videos, the class was dismissed more than half an hour earlier; the low teacher-student ratio does not help with anything. 3) I rate Clubs & Activities the lowest because all activities summer students had for breaks was a foosball table and that's how my student was injured; 4) I rate School Culture the lowest because disciplines were biased and abused to expel students. 5) I rate Resources the lowest because summer Biology had much fewer lab hours than the same course in community colleges. 6) I rate Parent Involvement the lowest because this school would kick out students to deprive tuition without ANY discussion with parents. Think your child never has trouble at school before? - well, I thought so too. 7) I rate Safety the lowest because the school administrators do not respond to parents' questions of why and how my child was injured - after 2 months of the incident; 8) I rate Administration the lowest because they were unprofessional, rude, arrogant, and compromised student identities in email communications. 9) I rate Facilities the lowest because the drop off zone is cramped and steep with sharp curves... Need more? I wish what happened to me would never happen to you cause the experience might negate your child's value system... read more

UPDATE 2009 My daughter has been going here for 2 years now and I have seen a change in the offering. The children are no longer required to take Advanced Reading tests every week, the Science and Computer programs lack focus and there is little in the way of organized physical education for kids in lower grades (only 2 PE classes a week). At the end of school year last summer there was some sort of breakdown with the staff and the managment resulting in about half the teachers leaving. It was horribly disconcerting for the parents and the kids - especially since the stable environment was something I originally raved about. Next year? Well -- we are still up in the air because of the mess in the public schools, but would I recommend QLS? Uh - we are shopping for other schools right now. If you are going to spend this kind of money on education, you should rave about it, right? ______ ______ ______ ______ ______ I love this program; my daughter is doing really well now... and this school is accredited up the wazoo. We were in private school before that was very big on personal growth and communication - which is great until kindergarten. After kindergarten everything counts, and public schools are too iffy. Quarry Lane has computers, language, art and stable, well paid teachers. My daughter is far ahead of the curve and reading at a second to third grade level in first grade! Way to achieve! read more

Quarry Lane admission process was very smooth. My daughter (rising 8th grader) decided to move from her local public school because they could not challenge her and the school itself was not infrastructure ready with labs, arts, advanced math or gym. We visited Quarry lane, my daughter spent half a day there attending classes (shadow visit). This convinced her to join Quarry Lane. The admission process was exceptional - Campus tour for parents, parent interview (more like discussion), student interview (she did not even feel it was an interview), teacher recommendations, ISEE exam, and math placement test. She did not have to prepare anything. The admission's office definitely looked for well-rounded applications, not just academics. Communication and follow up from Quarry lane has been excellent so far. My daughter is happy with her math placement, she feels she has been recognized for her talents. Yes, it's expensive, but in our case, the local public school - Cottonwood Creek School in Dublin was just not the right place for her. read more

My Child has attended Quarry Lane since Kindergarten. Now in 4th grade she is self confident, eager to learn, enjoys all aspects of school and is doing well socially. I believe her success in school is a direct reflection on the environment in which she is learning everyday. The staff at Quarry Lane are dedicated, organized and are always willing to go the extra mile. This year my daughter can attend an after school homework club, directed by the 4th grade teachers-Free of charge! Where else are teachers so invested in the success of their students that they are willing to give up hours after school to help them achieve? The teachers expect good behavior, dedicated students and informed parents, in turn the parents expect and receive constant communication about their students progress. The specials-spanish, computers, art and music are taught by creative and imaginative teachers who enjoy sharing their passion with students. My child is happy everyday to tell me about her positive experiences in school. She is expected to perform well in an environment filled with structure and positive feedback. The course work is excellerated, and projects are expected, but students always understand the expectations well in advance. Teachers make sure children are learning and are able to apply concepts before moving on to new work. Each year I am thankful that we made the commitment to provide this opportunity for our child. I know she is engaged and challenged in a way that will instill in her a passion for learning and a lifelong commitment to being her best. I am thankful for each teacher who has taught her on this journey. I suggest parents who are thinking of exploring this school, take the time to visit it and see the program in action. Talk with students and teachers and you will understand that Quarry Lane offers a first class education. read more

This review pertains to high school only- from what I gather, the lower school experience is excellent at Quarry Lane. Most of the teachers at QLS are great, but teacher turnover is terrible (read: very few teachers last more than 2-3 years), and most of the excellent and beloved faculty have been pushed out by the Headmaster. The HM is the school's own worst enemy and has created major headaches for the other teachers as well as the students and parents through his poor executive decisions. There is no PTA, which is unfortunate. IMO, not worth the huge price tag. If they are able to resolve the headmaster issue, I have complete confidence that the school would be 100x better. That aside, the teachers are mostly excellent and the students themselves are top-notch. read more

My son is taking Chemistry through the summer program. His teacher is James Houston. He is a great teacher and is fair. My son likes him a lot. Quarry Lane is fortunate to have him. I am very proud of Mr. Houston. There are 6-8 girls who are very disruptive to the class as they are like parrots talking every day. Mr. Houston warned them several times, and they still continued to be arrogant. He did address the situation with them in front of the class. Now, the girls are complaining why their labs' grade was affected. He said they missed some steps as they were chatting and not paying attention to the instructions/material. Of course, the parrots don't learn from this situation and continue to chat. I hope the parents of these girls read this review. They should be embarrassed of the way they raised them. There are 19 students. I paid almost $1,600 for a six week class, including the book. These girls are wasting time from a great teacher, from kids who want to learn and from parents who don't have money to waste but value education. When you come to this country, value the great opportunities as my husband and I did. Do not bring our system down. read more

My son is in Quarry Lane school becuase we didn't think that public school was doing enough to foster his interests or addressing his giftedness. We were told that QLS would do that for him. I hasn't. It has been a huge disappointment for us esp. after paying for this education, that we should be getting more of what we asked for and want in our son's education. I am especially disappointed that QLS does not teach to the gifted child's strengths. The class sizes are not so big that they should be able to manage this. Another thing about the school that annoys me is that they do not communicate well, esp. with the parents. My younger son goes to a public school and I have already recieved a large packet of info. to start the school year. Unless I do the legwork, I don't have any notification from the school as of yet for the upcoming school year. (Don't know the first day, don't know the holiday schedule, etc.) QLS does a horrible job communicating with parents, unless you owe them money. :( I know that I am not the only one that feels this way. There are a number of students from last year's class that are not returning . read more

One of the worst schools in the Bay Area. You'd think that the teachers would be well qualified for the amount of money you're paying. They have a fair share of extremely qualified people (MIT, etc), but then you have your share of teachers who don't even know what is going on. Quarry Lane expects high school students to pay for their own textbooks, yet we pay over 30k a year for tuition. There is very little emphasis on extracurriculars- they have an excellent forensics/speech and debate program but this is ONLY because of the great coach and how hard the students work. The problem here is the QLS literally does not want to fund programs like sending kids to tournaments all because of the cost. The fact that we pay so much money should mean that the teachers actually care about the students, good management and administration, and better funding for extracurriculars. read more

After experiencing three different private schools- all very different, I have to say Quarry Lane comes out on top - by a long shot. The program is well rounded-strong academics, music, art, and fun! Kids enjoy school - very important for learning who wants their child to be depressed or over-whelmed for 12 years? Also a great group of parents and fantastic teachers and director and overall sense of community. We moved away and really miss Quarry Lane. My daughter had Mrs. Hill for Kindergarden- incredible teacher who teaches ALL the kids to read at an advanced level right from the start. She is a very creative & fun teacher and manages to teach the reading code - so not only will your child read well - they will be better spellers as well. Simply amazing- we feel so fortunate to have had Mrs. Hill as a teacher. We assumed all kids learned to read the same in Kindergarden- when we moved in the 2nd grade we were shocked that half the kids were not reading as well in 2nd grade as all of the kids were at the end of the year in Mrs. Hill's Kindergarden class. If you are looking for a great K experience - put your child in Mrs. Hills class- hopefully she is still there. Also, if you are trying to make a decision between Cardin and Quarry- it really depends on what you find important. (it has been 4 years so things may have changed.) We decided to go to Cardin after Kindergarden at Quarry because we were going to have to go to the Dublin campus for 1st grade for Quarry and we lived on the South side of town. Also, many of her classmates (around 5 -6) were also going to Cardin due to the same reason. (Cardin has now moved I believe) We ended up back at Quarry Lane after my daughter was miserable at Cardin. ( And she is a very easy going, flexible kid, so we took it serious that she was so miserable.) Cardin had the academics but that was it for our experience - the other programs Art & Music were weak. Quarry Lane had higher expectations (nothing they couldn't handle) from the kids. My daughter did not enjoy school at Cardin and the teacher appeared inexperienced and frequently overwhelmed. Also, the learning was not as creative or fun for my daughter- rather dry (could have been the teacher). I don't believe the teachers were as experienced at Cardin either.. read more

I have a child in the lower school program at Quarry Lane and am so pleased with the specialized model for teaching. My daughter has an expert teacher in each subject area. This makes such a difference! The teacher has the expertise, experience and passion for his/her content area which rubs off on the students. My child loves the engineering class which she gets every day as part of her regular curriculum. She has learned so much about applying concepts in math and science to real world problems. I am so impressed with all that Quarry Lane is doing to focus on developing my child as a student and a person. read more

I am very pleased with the engineering program at the Quarry Lane School. My child is excited to participate in the curriculum set by Mr. Lucker and eager to share the projects with me. He also asks how the situations they are learning about in class unfolds in real life so he can gain perspective on how to move forward with his projects. He is learning so much more than how to solve a math equation or properly edit a paper, he is learning how to be a productive member of society and the future workforce, as well as understand how and why things happen the way they do and the effects on the community and world. I have been asked why choose QLS? The answer is easy for me because I can talk about the experience my children are having in classes like engineering, science, music and art. The programs offered and the way my children are being taught is not found in any other school. The learning goes beyond memorization and regurgitation of facts to how the students conduct themselves and communicate with their teachers and peers. There is a maturity and understanding of mutual respect that is expected from everyone that allows the students and teachers to focus on the learning and not the social issues of friends and self-consciousness. This is the Quarry Lane difference. read more