We have been a part of the Pasadena Christian Community (both in the Preschool and the Main School)…read morefor over 5 years, and we have absolutely loved our time here. Every teacher and staff member we have interacted with has been professional, kind, knowledgable in their field, and focused on loving our children well by pointing them to Christ. At every step, PCS showcases the importance of Christian education with their attention to details--to the beautiful campus and the inclusion of parents in the learning process--which shows that they practice what they preach. Our entire family is known and supported by the school community, and that has been an immense blessing.

As a mom of a junior high boy, I'm so impressed with the focus of the sports department and coaches…read moreof the athletic teams at Pasadena Christian School. Winning is not the primary focus, but learning skills, developing a love for the sport, and learning about teamwork are the mainstays of the program. The coaches care deeply about the students and never sacrifice social emotional support for the "win." Building kind, confident and disciplined athletes is clearly the goal as well as the primary foundation of developing Christ-like character. Well done, PCS!

Both of my children have attended Clairbourn School for over 6 years, and they have thoroughly…read moreenjoyed their time there. I am immensely grateful that they have developed leadership skills and become proficient public speakers during their time at the school. The supportive and kind staff have played a crucial role in nurturing their confidence. Additionally, Clairbourn offers ample opportunities for students to explore various interests, making it an ideal choice for parents seeking a well-rounded education for their children.

We were very fortunate to have our daughter join Clairbourn's Junior Pre-K Class led by Mrs Rankin…read moreand her TA, Ms Macchi. My daughter was attending a Montessori school prior to our looking into Clairbourn, and I felt that she needed more opportunities to perk her growing curiosity in life. Clairbourn School definitely has an abundant resources and opportunities to provide! What really made me so happy about switching over to Clairbourn was their strong emphasis on teaching and instilling kindness and respect for one another. Clairbourn also really felt like a family, a very caring and welcoming community. Every event they put on is so carefully thought out. Their back-to-school STEM event was amazing, the Grandparents/Parents Appreciation Days were so special, their Entrepreneur/Family BBQ was so much fun and their Christmas Show production was so well put-together. Unfortunately COVID hit us all by surprise in March 2020. I applaud how quickly Mrs Rankin learned and adapted to providing a virtual learning setting for the remainder of the school year. She personally dropped off weekly activity kits for my daughter and surprised us with a photo book at the end of the year with snapshots of our daughter's remote learning journey. We were looking forward to joining Ms Rubio's Pre-K class this past year, but due to LA County's Safer at Home mandate, their preschool was not able to open for in-person learning for Fall 2020. In the meantime, their head of school, Dr Patzlaff, and their lower school director, Mrs Paciorek, were very attentive and provided guidance on age appropriate activities our kids could engage in and continue in their development. They've been very communicative throughout this past year and very flexible and understanding of each family's situation. Your child will be loved at Clairbourn School--200%! You will have no doubts.

We still look back at our time at SMCNS as some of the best time spent on our children's…read moreupbringing. My now high school aged child thrived while at SMCNS and still recalls fun memories of his time there. He was accepted to every private school we applied to in the Pasadena-area, including some of the most prestigious ones, with no extra tutoring or educational supplementation. We moved away when my younger child was in attendance and finding a similar preschool in our new area was impossible. My son was much more prepared for Kindergarten than my daughter who attended a less developmentally focused preschool.

I just transferred my son from a highly rated, 2-year- wait list school in the area. He was…read moremiserable there for some unknown reason, which I still can't pinpoint exactly what went wrong. The teachers, director, and I tried everything we could think of, and my son continued to hate going to school everyday. He threw massive tantrums and pushed boundaries with his teachers, he eventually did the same at home with me and my husband. I was unaware how stressed he was for 2 months until the week my son joined SMCNS. Last couple of months, he started struggling at bedtime and sleeping 1-2 hours less at night. I thought he was going through sleep regressions or that he just didn't need as much sleep as he's getting older. Turns out he's been stressed. Since the first day at SMCNS, he calmly settles down to sleep at night and sleeps for 11+ hours through the night, uninterrupted. He is not cranky after school and does not fight over little things with us anymore. He's back to being his old happy self again. I shed happy tears seeing the immediate changes in my son, and wish I had switched schools earlier. I've been a teacher for 15 years with a child development background, and have 5 education certificates. Children need meaningful and purposeful play-based learning and develop social emotional skills to build the foundation they need to succeed in the future. I'm so glad to be part of the SMCNS community and know that my son is in good hands.

Great school This is our first year here and my kids are…read moreloving it Everyone is so nice Also they really care about education and try their best to make sure everything is done to help the student

If you're considering sending your child here, I highly recommend considering other options,…read moreespecially if your child is an easy target for bullying. This school has a very high tolerance for bullying and won't take action. We came here for a month and after witnessing it myself and hearing about it day after day, I couldn't, in good confidence send my child here any longer. The teacher we had for 4th grade was awful as well. It was an unfortunate experience for us, and I don't wish our teacher, or the bullying upon anyone else. Academically, They use Eureka math, which I like. Spelling is not part of their curriculum if that matters to you. They don't tell you that when you tour. That wasn't an issue for us, but I imagine it could be a concern for others. Celebrations: This school acknowledges NO holidays. No Halloween, no Valentine's, they won't even acknowledge your child's birthday. Not this this is of much importance, but it is something I wish I would've known. The garden is awesome, so are the chickens. I loved that about the school, but it definitely wasn't enough to keep us enrolled there.

My son joined the 1st grade class at LILA Pasadena, after we moved from New Jersey. The entire…read morecommunity (teachers, administrators, families) was incredibly welcoming and helped our family get through a big move. The community of families is the best part of LILA - especially the Pasadena campus which is truly an intimate, connected group. As a non-French speaking family, we have always felt included, and our son's development in both French and English has been a joy to watch, but the biggest joy has been seeing him grow as a person, a person being molded by the entire community around him.

My daughter is in the Pre K/PreSchool combo class and loves the school. The teachers, kids and…read moreparents are very nice. It's a very small campus with mostly French speaking parents who work in various industries. It has a very friendly and laid back feel to it. My daughter had a birthday where I brought cupcakes for the whole school and some of the "big kids" in the 3rd to 5th grade classes came by to wish her a happy birthday. She felt very special with the big kids coming over to the smaller kids area just to say happy birthday to her. It's a great bilingual education. My daughter is 4 and understands what's being said to her in French thanks hr being at LILA now for 2 years.

An amazing school filled with the best teachers around. The school does have a new name Mary W…read moreJackson STEAM multilingual elementary school. The playground is gorgeous.

My daughter just started Kindergarten here. She's speaking Spanish! Her teacher rocks! She has pull…read moreout science lab on Wednesdays! Computer lab on Wednesdays! Gardening class! New elaborate play equipment is getting put in from a grant they just got! Exciting stuff going on over there, thrilled to be a part of it. I'm a teacher myself, have been teaching for 8 years around Pasadena, in public and private schools, and Jackson is a GREAT contender. Parents in Pasadena should invest in our public schools. They only get stronger when strong parents and students join the community and commit to making it a great place by investing their time, opinions, money and resources. The private schools around Pasadena make a strong economic line in our city that can often breed inequalities. Ponder it. Jackson is great.

My son was currently enrolled at Willard Elementary School. I am writing this with all the pain in…read moremy heart that my son was a victim of some type of bullying/ racism behavior from his teacher. On April 23, 2026, as I dropped off my son at school, I waited for the bell to ring and waited for the kids to walk off. I encountered a situation with Ms. Bugarin that left me SHOOK! It was about 7:45 am when my son walked in the kindergarten gate and stood in line to wait for the rest of the kids. As my son was standing in line, I was outside the gate, less than 5 feet away from my child. Two boys started bumping my son, and my son stated, "Guys, please stop pushing me." Ms.Bugarin then turns and says, "Matthias, stop bumping into your friends." The first time around, I did not say a word because I understand we are all human, and she might not have seen the entire situation. The boys kept pushing my son, and my son again said: "Guys, please stop". Ms.Bugarin then says again, "Matthias, I already told you to stop bumping. Come over here because you're not listening". *****All this is happening in front of my eyes, I am standing less than 5 feet away from my child!***** as i see this play in front of me I advocate for my son and say " matthias speak up baby. let her know it was NOT you, that the boys kept pushing YOU." Instead of the teacher addressing the situation there and then, what she did was the following: she grabbed my child from the hand and walked away, not only from the situation, but she walked away from ME, the MOTHER of MY child. I advocated for him, I spoke up for him, and she IGNORED me, BLAMED my child, and SCOLDED my child for something he did NOT do. which now has me infuriated as to, if she has the COURAGE to act the way she did with my child when I am PRESENT what happens when I am NOT present. I called the school IMMEDIATELY to hold a meeting with the principal and the teacher because there is no excuse, no reason, or motive to IGNORE the mother of the child for ANY reason. Especially if I have every right to advocate for him! The meeting was held on 4/24/26 at 8 AM at Willard Elementary School, and I was told, and I quote the teacher, "I think the problem is Matthias' behavior and that is what we need to fix." I had zero accountability from the teacher and from the principal. The principal said, "I agree to disagree. Maybe the adrenaline and how fast things happened, you saw one thing, she saw another." So, I walked away being labeled a liar? All because I advocated for my child, so are they saying this behavior is ok? Are teachers allowed to IGNORE the mother of the babies? Not only are they not satisfied with picking on my child, but now they want to pick on me? Unacceptable. I then proceeded to contact the senior director of Pasadena, and in summary, the district, the principal, and the teacher all said I am a liar. Attached are the emails and letters I received from the district. As stated in the email, it says, "I will be reaching out to you and the others involved to complete the investigation within this time frame." I never received a call, no one reached out to me to ask what happened or how it happened. I then just received a letter stating "the evidence does not support that the teacher is bullying...The evidence SUPPORTS that the teacher was putting strategies in place to support the student the student and to make sure he was not being accused of negative behaviors unfairly. " So, the district supports the teacher ignoring the mother of a child? My son was STILL accused unfairly, and the district is stating, and I quote, "... the district is not required to take corrective action." The Pasadena School District has failed my son and me.

A nice school to be a part of. Have been there for 5 years on staff. Always feels like family there.read more

My 5 yr old son started kinder 8/2018. The 1st day was a simulation. (Practice run) we parents got…read moreto stay with our child the 1st day. The lining up process & picking up process is what every school should do. I'm impressed on how the process and system that's in place. I felt very much at ease leaving my child. I have volunteered many times at Marengo elem, and I have had my kids In south Pasadena unified school district since 2010. Any parent should be so lucky to have their children going to school here. It's diverse, safe, clean, & the parent participation is outstanding. PTA

I can't speak from the experience of a student or even parent of a student, but I have picked…read moreup/dropped off children at this school many many times and worked with local Marengo kids. Of the various elementary/middle schools that I frequent in and around the LA area, this just so happens to be one of my favorites. Always a pleasant experience in South Pas ; ) Not to sound like the Stepford Wives type lol, but whenever dealing with the locals or the teachers & staff, I always seem to walk away impressed at how 'normal' everyone here seems. That could also just say something about how I feel towards the rest of LA lol, but a nice, attractive, organized, friendly, no complaints thusfar kinda school if you ask me. Grounds are well kept (as I would hope any elementary school, or any school for that matter, would be). Kids enjoy it, parents are pleased, right in the middle of a great neighborhood (off of any main streets), and everybody seems happy.