This message is for ALL prospective parents!…read more I have heard about this school from my patients who's kids attended this school when the previous administration was in charge. This is a family run business and when Jackobson's were in charge, it was much different. They used to look and pick for truly bright kids to built a strong foundation. Now their daughter, Laurie Wolke, is in charge and it is all about money and connection. Upon applying, I truly believed in all fairness that this school is all about the "whole child" as they keep claiming it to be. But with all honesty, it is ALL about "connections": who you know, how much you donated PRIOR to your admission application. Let me explain to you how the admission process works: 1. You apply and you get interviewed by the ATHLETIC coach. He was a great enthusiastic man. I never had any school to have their athletic coach to interview the prospective parents. This was surprise to me. 2. They did kid's evaluation with group of kids. I thought this is a good practice to see how kids interact with each other. But apparently, this was a fake formality too. They (the owner and the administration) had no clue who your child is and what their potential or ability is. They did NOT care how bright and social your child is. They had already decided who to accept at that point. Unlike other top private schools, they do not do separate individual evaluation of your child. During kid's evaluation day, the owner, Laurie Wolke, approached a prospective parent and hugged him. Later, I found out that some prospective family members had been donating money and backscratching them for years prior to their application process. Some families knew exactly how many applicants they had and all the specifics that were not known to honest prospective parents. Then I found out, those connected family's kids got accepted. Talk about favoritism. 3. Then you get an email that your child is on "wait pool". Letting you know that they do not offer "wait pool" to everyone. Supposedly, you should feel excited that your bright child made it to the "wait pool". 4. What motivated me to apply to this school was their ability base group since my child had been reading and writing since he was 3 years old. My impression was that the administration does not care if your child is well-rounded, reads or writes, plays multiple musical instruments or speaks multiple languages. Obviously when applying you know the tuition is over $30K. So, money was not an issue for my family. We have only one child and invest all in him. I just never wanted to believe that you need connection and donation PRIOR to admission process. I always believed that good manners, hard work and intelligence is the way to fairness in this country. But these good qualities do not apply to this corrupt school. If you search, you will find other genuine ability based schools other than this one that claims to care for the "WHOLE CHILD". Bottom line, if you really truly want to be part of Laurence family, pull some connections and contribute money way ahead of time to get in. Don't be naive and believe in fairness when you are dealing with Ms. Wolke.

Although I found this school to be academically superior than others, the administration is…read moreinferior to all. My child attended kindergarten through second grade until I decided to take her out of the program to relocate to another state. Upon our arrival back to Los Angeles, we wanted to re-enroll her. Keep in mind this was the same academic year in which all dues had been paid. Mr. Jacobsen wanted to charge me again for what had already been paid. It was a very low thing to do and enrolled at a better school.

My goodness, I'm just hearing that Mirman is losing, or perhaps letting go of, yet another amazing…read moreteacher. Dr. Wasson was my cousin's absolute favorite. For such an expensive school, it's disappointing to see so much turnover among talented educators. It makes me wonder why so many great teachers don't seem to stay long-term. At this point, it feels concerning and frustrating. Our family is honestly over it

Mirman is a great school. The locations is very nice and it's nestled in truly beautiful area of…read moreLA.

UCLA Lab School has the most beautiful campus on 6 wooded acres, it is absolutely magical. We…read moretransferred here, and my child loves each day she has at Lab School. Your children will be surrounded by exceptional teachers with advanced degrees. They utilize the latest and greatest educational methods, and researchers are on-sight. It's very exciting to learn about their hard work and results. The Principal has a PhD that is also an expert in Early Childhood education. Dr. Renata Gusmão-Garcia Williams is a brilliant, captivating leader and the kids love her. Small class sizes, access to the latest technology, walking field trips to museums on UCLA's campus, agriculture programs with a Farmer's Market really excites the kids to grow and sell items to the community. UCLA Athletes come to campus from time to time to play and mentor these lucky children. They even get a Fit Day and utilize UCLA's athletic fields! Every culture is welcomed and celebrated. There is no experience that can match this. Any child at this school has a once in a lifetime experience to be themselves, and thrive. The Board of Advisors is filled with brilliant diverse people who love and cherish the school. You can drop your child off and know they are in the best hands. This is an exceptional community of caring, wonderful Parents and Caregivers. One of the best places in the world! https://www.labschool.ucla.edu/

This school is excellent Filled with passionate families,…read moreexceptional teaching staff, dedicated and thoughtful administration, and its own library, STEM rooms and various arts and music programs. In addition to having a dual language (English and Spanish) option, it is a research institution that tests the cutting edge of education methods while primarily implementing inquiry based learning. It also has an excellent student to teacher ratio, social emotional tools and resolution methods, AND it's is diverse in so many amazing ways from the student body to the cultural lessons shared throughout the year. If that wasn't enough, they are committed to sustainability; with the most amazing campus (with an actual creek and redwood forest!) as the official setting and backdrop to learning, everything about the school screams excellence. If you win a spot from the lottery admission, you'll be so grateful you applied

Best private school in the valley. Teacher are on hand and parents are encouraged to be involved…read more Amazing experience

I'm glad our child has graduated this year. Change in some teachers and principal Matt coming on…read moreboard in 2025, and implementing changes that parents and kids are not comfortable with...I felt like we started at one school and finished at completely different one, and the sad part was that many students were not looking forward to go to school... And a spike at tuition, without any heads up to the parents felt wrong. In a good sense I would NOT recommend TCS , even if the school would lower the cost of tuition... very sad

Our 3 year old daughter has loved her time at this school…read more Westside Waldorf has been an amazing experience for our family. The school's approach to learning through creativity and exploration is so refreshing. Our child looks forward to each day, and we've seen such positive changes in their confidence and social skills.

My son is finishing his first year in the nursery, and after considering many options and touring…read more13 excellent programs, I could not be happier about choosing Westside Waldorf for him. Beautiful Early Education Team! Beautiful Campus! We receive the most consistently sweet morning greeting by Diego or Yonni at the gates, (key pieces of the security team) and a warm farewell each day from them as well. Following that, a peaceful journey begins at the nursery. In the mornings, parents gather with the children to ease them into their day away from home. I often miss this 15 minutes of community fellowship, but I love the days that I do make it. My son sees everyone at campus and just goes right into playing. He is a very social, confident and friendly personality. I love the calm, peaceful energy that he is met with by his INCREDIBLE teacher, Archer. His teacher was also a Waldorf student and has dealt with every challenge faced from parents and students with grace and with intelligent responsiveness. He has been consistent in his temperament while meeting the varied demands of each child with flexibility. The daily snacks are apparently delicious according to my 3 year old's accounting. He wants me to make oatmeal and rice and beans the way they make it at school. He has also been known to request several servings of vegetable soup at snacktime! The thoughtfulness of the program and the creative arts is reflected in the best gifts that the children make for us parents for several occasions Not to mention the sweet festivals that feel like utopian moments carved out in time With my son at Westside Waldorf, I enjoy a peace of mind that is invaluable. I know that he is safe and happy, nurtured and building upon his natural gifts while maintaining his confidence and joyous nature. I am so happy that this is a place of peace where my son can thrive and his teacher and the team around him can focus on that work without the residue of drama and trauma that create hostile environments in so much of the world. This place is not ofcourse for everyone. Children must be mostly potty trained when they start at 2.5 years old. Parents must have a commitment to a sense of peace and calm, value a natural rhythm and nature and be commited to allowing this pedagogy to thrive by letting it flow rather than inserting some of our more mainstream worldly ways and ideas.

Two of my kids are graduating from Lashon, having spent their whole academic life there since…read morekindergarten. I can confidently say the school has greatly contributed to their academic and personal growth. The office staff has been consistently professional, patient, and supportive, always addressing our needs. The teachers are dedicated, providing individualized attention and encouraging both academic success and personal development. The administration has made the environment feel almost like a private school. Now it's time for two of my kids to transfer to high school. Thank you, Lashon Academy, for preparing them for their next journey in life!

My son has been at the West Hills campus for over five years. LaShawn Academy has taken over their…read morecampus. I had registered him twice at the school, even came up there and spoke to someone and she assured me that he would be able to attend the school. On the first day of school I arrive because I was told he had a class, but I guess he did not have a class to attend so I spoke to multiple people and they kept sending me to other people to talk to. I finally spoke to someone and not really helpful. She just said did not see him in the system, walking away saying she was gonna get somebody else named Sarah to help me . Instead, she went to go help other parents and and I just sat there for 10 minutes until Sarah finally came up to me and asked me what's going on. I feel like they treated other parents better so now I feel a way and I'm upset. My son's first day was completely ruined . This is the day that every kid is excited for and his excitement got taken away . I feel as if I was a different race. They would've been more interactive and more helpful with me. I had to keep asking them what will be going on and still never got a settle answer

Reading these negative reviews are comical. They sound like entitled parents who believe children…read moredo not need to be disciplined when they do not follow the code of conduct expected of students. As an alum of Curtis and now a parent, I can see the incredible impact Meera has had on the Curtis community. Not only is she personally invested in the school, as a parent, but also as a head of school. She is warm and is one of the most involved heads of school I have ever seen. She makes a point to get to know every student on campus and has an open door policy for ALL families on campus. She has turned Curtis into one of the top schools that feeds into every elite LA high school. Curtis students are well rounded, well behaved, adaptable, and more than prepared for middle/ high school. I feel so fortunate to have the opportunity to send my kids to Curtis and I hope Meera continues to lead the school for many years to come. Curtis is such a special space and you are lucky if you are able to experience it firsthand!

We have been here twice, now, for a 4th grade baseball game. My son's team was visiting Curtis…read moreSchool (the home team). The kids seem well-behaved, and the parents who were also cheering their boys on were really friendly, and nice to the visiting team's parents. Parking isn't the easiest, but the guards at the gate made the best of the situation, instructing me to park up a nearby slope, near the Headmaster's house.

Our son attended EMM between the age of 3 and 5 and he had a blast, he learned more than we could…read moreexpect and made lots of friends. We are grateful to EMM for the lovely experience and the great time we and our son had there.

Firstly, let me just say it's difficult to get into a good Montessori in LA. Everything is…read moreoverbooked and that's will be the case with Exploring Minds (Sherman Oaks). It is difficult to get in, there's an application process and objectively speaking, think about this from the school's perspective - everyone wants in, so they need a criterion to decide who to bring on board; if you tried and didn't get in, it's OK...as my 5 year old says "that's life". The school itself? It's amazing. I won't say it's the single greatest school in planet LA. Neither will the school itself assert that; but there are tons of good choices for you and your family and this is one of the better ones. Let's speak about why from the perspective of outcomes: my kid learned to read, and write, learned social skills to thrive amongst peers, some Mandarin and yoga too! They follow the Montessori method, they will teach your kid to hone on their fine motor skills, tie their shoe laces, reinforce what are good and bad behaviors and all the life skills and techniques that your little one needs to navigate this crazy world. And, they have a parent teacher conference where they'll tell you exactly how your bundle of joy is doing - give and seek feedback, iterate and help your child grow. The school is a very tight knit community. If you are a parent then please expect to get involved. They also care about diversity and have several events thru the year that I won't recant here - you can look up their website and learn more. What I'll conjecture is this (perhaps I am repeating!): In life, outcomes matter. That's the ultimate barometer. Almost every kid we know of in the school graduated and mostly got into a school of their choice - this is, without hyperbole, due to Exploring Minds, it's well recognized by K-12 schools in the area and beyond. And the kids turned out well. That is a function of three things: You, your child and Exploring Minds in that order. So, if you get in, please be nice, contribute your time and joy, enjoy your time here and leave with wonderful memories, like we will be doing soon. Finally, Ms Doha is running this as a service - she could be doing a million other things with her life, but she chooses to do this, because she loves it. Ditto with the teachers - Ms Brenda, Ms Barbara and Ms Socorro (not to downplay others but there's a lot of wonderful teachers) - who helped shape the socio-emotional development of our child; they choose to do this because they love this. They inspire our child. In closing, I'll say if you are looking for schools in the area for your little wonder, apply here and I hope you get in.