this school is amazing! i have never experienced anything that made me uncomfortable! this school…read moreis the best school i have ever gone too.. except for the fact we have no economics class this year.. heh! guess i deserve this for going to the what the kids say as "mid" heh! i guess i deserve it..

I am only giving this high school based on MY personal experience…read more I came to this high school my Senior year (my parents moved cities during my last year of high school). Needless to say didn't think much of the change until the school year actually started. I didn't think much of the school but quickly realized that the office staff wasn't really nice, neither was the library staff. Hate the vice principil and main principal (always thought he was the IN thing). The class selections weren't that great (but what can I expect for a public school). But I managed to get into the classes that I wanted , so that was a good thing. The lockers were dirty and locked inside a cage next to the locker rooms, which were also dirty. Hated how the lockers were outside. The gym and the cafeteria were about the only cleanest buildings in the whole school. My AP English class had occasional ants in because there was a culinary classroom next door (which obviously didn't do a very good job of cleaning after class), My Math class had old computers which more often than not didn't work and were so outdated that we could easily find a proxy to get onto social networking sites during class (which at the time was cool). lol The campus grounds itself had occasional trash (like normal schools), running track was always clean and off limits (unless you were with a coach or teacher), and bathrooms were always locked (you were lucky if you found one unlocked. During the summer AC was awesome but during the winter it was freezing! The school itself doesn't have a swimming pool (it is located in the community center across the street from the school), the high school side had plenty of parking (but not on the 1st floor), the 1st floor was for seniors to park and the 2nd floor was for Juniors to park (which few had cars). At the end of my school year, I managed to like the school, made good friends and had my favorite teachers. NOT my favorite school. Miss my old high school and I would have much rather stayed and graduated with my class. Oh and orientation and traffic in the mornings and after school are horrible. Get there early to get on time to class and to find parking (those students who have cars), also forgot to mention, be prepared to ALWAYS wear your high school lanyard around your neck. That by far was the most annoying,

super fun school 100% recommend the people there are so sweet and the kids are always respectful…read moreand follow rules love this school and i hope to send my kids here in the future

the Principal is the worst..she breaks fire codes, and lock the bathrooms up, and doors, while…read moreteachers are still there.. and some after school teachers hire only thier family members...due to the fact that one of the family members is human resource director....check up on it !!!

everything here is great they have fun activities for the kids every good teachers lots of…read moreopportunities and instead of them jut telling you the answers they deeply explain it multiple playtime.

My daughter began going there in 5th grade. Brand new student. Moved to Pinole. The kids are…read morehorrible to her, bunch of bullies. The school does nothing. The parents of those kids can care less as well since nothing has changed. I've complained, I've talk to principal and nothing changes. Do not bring your kids here. The school is also old and dirty. My daughter deserves better and I would not recommend this school to a good kid.

After leaving my son's other middle school this was so much better. There was this cool ass mother…read morefucker named Memphis Razack and made my sons week during the sick ass Washington DC field trip. Luxury hotel and cool sights as I saw with the different photos my son sent

I volunteered at King Middle School through the Be-A-Scientist program when I was a graduate…read morestudent (Ph.D.) in geophysics (volcanoes and planetary interiors) at the University of California, Berkeley. I participated in the program during autumn semester in 2015. As part of the program I was assigned a group of four 7th grade students to bring the scientific method to life through interactive and hands-on experiment design and execution. We, Be-A-Scientist volunteers, came in on a near weekly/bi-weekly basis to make progress in each student's project. The week's session was always in the theme of one of the steps of the scientific method. This way by the end of the semester the students had designed and performed their own scientific study/experiments according to the scientific method. Each session we went over each student's project discussing it as a small group so they could get feedback from others in the group and hone their communication skills. They also wrote up what they were doing, sometimes including drawing graphs/plots, and if it was a week dedicated to the 'experiment' step in the scientific method they performed experiment trials/experiments. I enjoyed that we were able to develop an experiment for each individual student and thoroughly enjoyed the experiments my students decided upon. One tested different substances on slices of bread to see which generated the most bacteria, one wiped different surfaces with Q-tips to see which yielded the most bacteria, one tested different potting mixtures to see which was best for growing plants, and one dried different fruits to see which one evaporated the most moisture. Some of the results from these projects, such as Q-tips wiped on the wall having less bacteria than Q-tips out of the container, were down right shocking. All of the students in my group were great, expressing mush enthusiasm for the task(s) at hand and each had their own distinct inquisitive style. I have only good memories of my time volunteering with these students and at King Middle School. If you are a visitor here, like I was, there is a main office where you need to sign-in when you arrive to the school and sign-out when you leave. This way the school can keep track of who you are, why you are here, when you are here, and what classroom(s)/teacher(s)'s classes you are visiting while you are here. We were allowed to use only the faculty/staff restrooms when were volunteering.

I'm glad to hear it's still getting a high rating; it opened in 1951, and I went to kindergarten…read morethere[I was born in 1950]. Then I attended what was called the Mira Vista Annex, on Barrett Avenue, across from what's now Tassajara Park. I returned to what we called "The Big Mira Vista" before going to junior high school at Adams. We had a great school, with great teachers, and a great time!

I was at Mira Vista in the late sixties. There was ONE teacher, Mrs. Younglove, who was sooooo…read morenice to me. I will always remember her!

My son attended this school for 4 years and my daughter now been there for 3 years. What a…read morewonderful community of students and families. The environment fostered at School of the Madeleine is incomparable to any school that I've ever visited before. Any kid will thrive anywhere if they are destined, but for a parent to thrive as well is a dream! There are many activities for students to make wonderful friends and build great memories. The teachers work from the heart and the principal and staff are welcoming and supportive. I highly recommend this school for families looking to give their child a well-rounded education!

We spent the better part of 2021 researching schools for our twin boys to begin Kindergarten and…read moreafter several recommendations from friends, we landed at The School of the Madeleine. Our boys are headed into 3rd grade and we could not be more grateful for the experience we've had at The Madeleine in our first three years. Beginning Kindergarten at a school where our children didn't know a single person was a bit scary for us, as parents. They were immediately comfortable and welcomed into the community by the faculty, staff, students and the families. The genuine warmth and inclusivity that was around us was so refreshing and it has only grown stronger since then. We have found the Madeleine to be an incredibly well balanced and enriching place for our children as well as us parents, too. The principles and values exhibited at the school extend well beyond the classroom. We are as happy with the culture at the school as we are with the education. Anyone who attends just one of the daily morning assemblies can feel the positive energy emanating from the administration, faculty, students and families. It's my favorite way to start my mornings . . . no joke. I cannot recommend the School of the Madeleine enough for those seeking a home for their child's K-8 education. We are deeply grateful for the wonderful experiences and relationships we've had in the relatively short time we've been here.

This review is for their online program. We were very optimistic about this program. We homeschool…read moreour 2e son to avoid inevitable teasing (our son is autistic and very earnest). We paid $1,400 for a two week trial (classes offered 4 days a week). On the second day, a classmate couldn't stop talking about how there were now "stupid people" at Big Minds. The teacher worked very hard to get this student to switch gears but he was locked into convincing the class how stupid our son is. I received an ostensively neutral email apology saying this was rare and they also explained why they never stopped the boy. They said they never publicly reprimand students for anything. While the other student continued to verbally attack my son after every comment he made, no one stopped him as is there policy. While this surely helped that student save face, my son wasn't similarly protected. They asked if we'd reconsider their school. We said no. We were interested in their school because it seemed like a safe space for 2e kids. For my son, it was not. They didn't offer to refund any of the money we paid for the trial and we didn't ask for it either. We just wanted it to be over. After all of this I was still willing to accept that sometimes these things happen: no hard feelings. We had also paid $800 (total is now $2200 for 2 weeks) for our 6 yr old daughter to trial part time. She did one day from her 2 week trial and it was obvious she was too young. Admissions kindly offered the following: "Since you have already paid for the shadow weeks, however, how about we switch over to the HSSP program and I get some 1:1 coaching lined up for her!" This was BEFORE (10/4) my son was bullied. The next day, AFTER my son was bullied, we made it clear we would not be enrolling. Three weeks have now passed, after giving them our final 'No Thank you', and we never heard from them again. The tutoring offered "since we had already paid fees" disappeared. They knew we weren't potential 30k/year tuition payers so we weren't worth the effort or resources. That's when I realized we were just potential revenue and nothing more

Having our son enroll at Big Minds 2 years ago was one of the best things that has ever happened in…read moreour family! The school's unique structure allows the students to embrace learning and unleash their creativity and growth. All of the teachers are trained in how to support and guide the students in this very caring environment. Our son looks forward to school everyday and we look forward to his continued growth and development at this positive and supportive school. It truly is impossible to say just how wonderful Big Minds is. I am forever thankful that we heard about it. Our initial tour and meeting at the school lead to successful shadow days and we knew this would be a wonderful place for our son.