This has been, by far, the worst school experience my child has ever had. The administration…read moreconsistently fails to protect students who are being bullied and shows a troubling lack of understanding around mental health. Instead of addressing the behavior of documented bullies, the administration routinely shifts blame onto parents and punishes the victims. The principal, Mr. Tropp, demonstrates no accountability and has been openly condescending when legitimate concerns are raised. After assuring me he would conduct a full investigation into my son's bullying situation, he claimed to have reached a "conclusion" within hours. Our meeting began at 3:00 p.m. -- yet by 10:00 a.m. the next morning, he announced the investigation was complete. Considering school ends at 4:00 p.m. and doesn't reopen until 8:00 a.m., it's clear no thorough investigation took place. My son was repeatedly bullied, and only when he finally defended himself did the school take action against him, not the aggressor. The district seems more interested in protecting staff than protecting students. Parents deserve a school where safety, accountability, and genuine mental-health awareness are priorities. Unfortunately, this school has demonstrated the exact opposite.

Came to support a special needs client of mine during senior graduation, just to find his name…read morewasn't included in the graduation program, even though he walked. How distasteful!!

This is the best school in the Spring Valley area. Next year it is going to be an Early College…read morehigh school and the whole student body will be able to enroll in college classes if they want. The teachers here are student centered and are always available to help students. One unique aspect of MM is the hub, which provides support to all students.

I went to the school and it's outstanding, great, athletic department, and support from all…read moreteachers and coaches. I would definitely send my kids to the school . It also led me to a very lucrative career as a safety, professional .

Holy crap DD, was that an autobiography or a review? Going from a private catholic school to a…read morepublic school is always a challenge. You can whine about it on yelp over a decade later or be an adult and learn from it. I went in the mid-80's, and it was fine.

Though reviews for SVMS on "rate your educational institution"-type websites are, at best, tepid, I…read moremust admit I don't know how the school is faring now, because I am a former student and it's been a long time since the last bell rang for me. My parents made the mistake of believing all the hype about Spring Valley Middle School, which, during the mid-to-late nineties, had a reputation as an exemplar of administration, curriculum, and instruction. And, considering what the rest of Spring Valley had to offer in terms of public schools, I can see why SVMS had such buzz surrounding it. Sure, there were good teachers and good administrators here. Unfortunately, as caring as some--some--of the staff may have been, they were no match for the community riff raff the school served. What I learned from my time at Spring Valley Middle is that no amount of education or empathy can keep up with an army of no-good child-gangsters who have nothing but contempt for education and perceived weakness (or human frailty, or just humanity, if you prefer) in their peers. One must acknowledge, however, that Spring Valley, save for a couple of isolated pockets of lower-middle class comfort and a swath of affluence on Mt. Helix, is a rough, tough town. Granted, it's no Euclid, but as far as East County goes, it's a blemish of a community which has been declining since the installation of cheap housing (and LOTS of it), the entirety of which now amounts to little more than a vast, glorified Hooverville. Perhaps it isn't the fault of SVMS (established in the late 1950s, arguably before "urban poverty" took root in the area) that it happens to be situated very near the heart of this squalor, and consequently has to deal with all the children who are forced to attend school there simply because of proximity, but one would think that the barbaric behavior that takes place on its campus could have been reigned in somewhat--at least during the years of my attendance. The result of what I believe to be a lack of vigilance on the part of the administration was that SVMS was more like a prison yard than a school, where, accordingly, factions and gang-like groups quite often distinguished themselves along racial lines. The bullying was intense, and when you weren't getting pushed around because of the color of your skin or because your physical appearance didn't meet the expectations of your peers, you were ostracized and snickered at by those in the tragically hip cliques, many of whose members came from the better-off corners of Spring Valley. Of course, no one bothered them. Having transferred from the Catholic school across the street and being somewhat overweight, I was a stranger in a strange land on my first day at Spring Valley Middle, and, of course, an easy target for the scum with whom I would shortly become acquainted. Suffice it to say that this was not an easy transition for me. Every day I was dodging this group or that, or this bully or that, and very seldom getting away. This continued for the duration of my attendance here. I became paranoid and depressed. I believe that my experience at SVMS, which felt like three years of hell, was nothing less than traumatic. I don't normally indulge in the histrionics we tend to associate with self-reflexive psychobabble, but I do believe that my stay there scarred me, as I know it scarred many others, because I wasn't alone. Perhaps one of the greatest sins of the faculty, aside from the obvious looking-the-other-way which all too many school figures are guilty of, is the implementation of the "Zero Tolerance" policy, which was something of a fad in the educational system at the time. This policy stipulated that absolutely no student violence would be allowed, and that every act of student violence would be severely punished--no matter what role the student played in the violence. This meant that if a kid walked up to you at lunch, socked you in the jaw, and you hit him back, you were both getting suspended for a week, or worse, regardless of who did what. As I was a good kid scared to death of getting in trouble, I took this policy to heart. Unfortunately, it was (at least partly) for this reason that I suffered abuse at the hands of fellow students for so long. I was afraid to strike back. There were a few times that I did retaliate and punch an agressor out of anger, and while such actions seemed to mitigate some of my problems, I was suspended after each incident. But that was a long time ago. If you're debating sending your child to SVMS, maybe you can hope that because times have changed, the school has changed also, and maybe for the better. But the socioeconomic conditions of the surrounding area it serves have not, and in some ways have grown worse. This may offend some people as insensitive, but having to endure life in this sort of environment tends to throw such sociological, liberal sensibilities out the window. Anyway, good luck with your decision!

My son has been attending Trinity Christian School since kindergarten, and it truly feels like…read morehome! The teachers are amazing; caring, dedicated, and committed to nurturing not only academic growth but also faith and character. He has grown so much spiritually, socially, and academically, and it's clear that every child is valued and encouraged to walk in God's purpose. The sense of community at Trinity is incredible. Parents, students, and staff work together to create a supportive, Christ-centered environment where children feel safe, loved, and inspired to thrive. Trinity Christian School is more than a school; it's a place where faith and learning come together, and where families truly feel welcomed. I wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone seeking a school that nurtures the whole child in God's love.

TCS is truly a blessing to our family! The staff is like family and treat my daughters with so much…read morelove and dedication. They teach character development and truly model Christian values throughout their curriculum.

I've been at this school since kindergarten and I'm in 6th grade, my final year here. This school…read moreis amazing, all the teachers try their best and have taught very interesting subjects in very fun ways. They also know how to deal with trouble makers and other rude people. But you will mostly meet nice students and nice teachers. The staff work really hard on making this school enjoyable and have succeeded. The recess areas are also really nice and fun to play on. So I rate this school an easy 5. -Korbin Bergman

The school dynamic is amazing. Mrs. James is an amazing principal, the staff there are all so…read morefriendly and care so deeply for all the children. This is a very tight knit school. The parents are very involved when it comes to after school events. Overall this school is very underrated. My daughter has been here since TK(this is her 6th year at the school), each year has gotten better and better.

horrible school they don't keep an eye out for bullies both my kids was bullied and they do not do…read moreshit even my son was kicked in the stomach he was so scared the bullies would hit it or hurt him so he took a knife to school to protect him self he not very verbal and has a hard time finding his word and they just expelled him with out hearing what actually happened on his side and the bully still go to school there

I guess there is mixed feelings about this school from speaking with other parents. My personal…read moreopinion is that it's a great school for my daughter being in Kindergarten. The teacher she has is named Ms. Cooper who is youthful and very intelligent, she always seems to be educating the children with many activities that involves team work as well as independent learning. My daughter has never had anything bad to say about her teacher or faculty being rude or disrespectful. Although, this school has a reputation of bullying ; I can assure the staff are on it. My daughter did experience a boy throwing dirt on her head the first months of School and did obtain Lice from other students that brought the outbreak to class. I will not let that effect the good job this school is doing to providing the tools our kids need for success. I remember when i was in elementary i attended a school that was known for being one of the best Elementary Schools for academics and our school had bullying like any other school has today. The Lice outbreak will unfortunately happen to all schools eventually, so i will not deem this School from a 5 star review.

School : The school itself is nice today, but it was a lot more older when I went there a few years…read moreago. Recess area is huge, multiple basketball courts, a large field for soccer, and they have a painting of a Map of the US. Tables where you have lunch are outdated and need to be replaced. Classrooms : Large, can only fit up to 40 students max plus the teacher. Large white boards in each room except for 1st grade which has a blackboard. 2nd grade has a fragment smell of cinnamon that can be annoying when working in there. Teachers : Mrs. Amigable (a-mi-ga-bi-lay) and Coach Brad are the coolest out of all of them. Some are annoying which are Mrs. Genna and Mrs. Zuniga. Substitutes : They have this one sub that always comes in named Mrs. Laybourne and she's annoying and no one likes her except for the kids that like to snitch on other kids. Mrs. Croft was the old six grade before the current and she's very nice unless your on her bad side. Overall it was a good school, except having annoying teachers that always have an authority issue and will call you out and get you in trouble for anything stupid.

Unfortunately, my family's experience at Santa Sophia Academy was very disappointing…read more My biggest concern was the lack of transparency regarding my son's final Science grade. After he received an F, I repeatedly requested a breakdown of the assignments, tests, and missing work used to calculate the grade. The FACTS parent portal did not display any of this information, despite the school directing me there, and my requests for clarification and a meeting with the principal and teacher went unanswered. We also had a very difficult experience with my son's fourth-grade teacher, Mrs. Genna. As the parent of a child with ADHD, I did not feel he received the patience, understanding, or support he needed to succeed. In addition, we were asked to pay for books that the school said were missing, even though those materials had remained at school. We were also initially asked to pay $270 for a damaged Chromebook without being given the opportunity to inspect it, determine whether it could be repaired, or understand how that amount was calculated. After I requested an explanation, I felt that my concerns were not handled respectfully. In the end, the Chromebook repair cost was only $54, a significant difference from the amount originally requested. Throughout our time at the school, my family also felt that we were treated differently at times. As a Mexican family, there were interactions with staff that left us feeling unwelcome and, unfortunately, gave us the impression that bias may have played a role in how we were treated. While I cannot know others' intentions, that was our genuine experience. My concerns are not about expecting special treatment, they are about communication, transparency, accountability, respect for families, and appropriate support for students with different learning needs. Based on our experience, these are all areas where the school has significant room for improvement.