We initially chose Odyssey because it promised a strong sense of community, solid education, and…read moresafe educational trips. Unfortunately, our experience was far from what was advertised. My son was bullied by a group of girls for half of his crucial final school year, and when he failed Algebra 2 (with a D grade), the principal--who also taught the class--blamed my son entirely. What was left out was that the principal had to frequently cover for other teachers, making his own teaching inconsistent, and the school even went without a science teacher for half a year. Worse yet, he failed to inform me when my son came forward about the bullying. The teachers at the 8th-grade level didn't step in to stop the bullying until I personally got involved, and that's unacceptable. While the trips were enjoyable, they were not as safe as we were led to believe. There were several issues that my son told me about only after the fact, and I wish I had known earlier. Overall, I can no longer recommend this school based on our experience.

Odyssey School in San Mateo has been a gem for our family. Over the years, both our sons went to…read moreschool and graduated from Odyssey (not at the same time). The impact on them? Huge. As products of public K-12 education followed by college, my wife and I always put academics as a priority. We were a bit wary of Odyssey's smaller size at the start. But, a close friend's endorsement and our interactions with the faculty convinced us to take the plunge. The outcome? Our boys got more than just book smarts; they received tailored education thanks to the smaller classrooms. Importantly, each of the boys didn't just pass through Odyssey; they flourished there. Both boys enrolled in their preferred local private high schools post-Odyssey. While we always emphasized academics, the expeditionary feats at the school--like scaling Mt. Whitney, exploring Japan, or sailing the Channel Islands-- helped make them who they are today. Big kudos to Odyssey for this experience.

Send your son here if you want him to turn into a jerk. These boys are a menace on the roads every…read moremorning and are incredibly rude. The parents are not much better...one of them tried to run me off the road.

The school lost its faith base. Catholic morals are encouraged but not taught in depth. Favours the…read moreathletes and lots of bullying goes unnoticed.

I was class of 1998 This was a good school I miss it all the teachers had a good smile I miss Maz…read more rest in peace Mr Lydig was a good principal Mrs Ballmana It was awesome school I miss you so much

When I was in high school locally, the options weren't great at the time so my parents went the…read moreprivate route. I wouldn't think twice about sending my boys to HHS. The small learning communities model is genius and the extracurriculars are varied and quality. As an educator, my bar is pretty high and the teachers and administration at Hillsdale have proven top notch. At Back to School Night, I was so impressed with the resumes of each teacher; each was highly educated, clearly engaged and the level of care and nurturing is obvious. When my son needed support, I reached out to his advisor Amy Rally and counselor Jenny Rienzo and received such helpful feedback and guidance. Highly recommend Hillsdale High School; Go Knights!

My son is a student at Futures Academy in San Mateo. We enrolled him right before SIP began. It has…read morebeen a great experience. His teachers and the school have been very responsive to his needs and he engages in his learning in a way that did not happen before. I highly recommend Futures Academy. We are glad we found it!

Futures was a tremendous help and stress reliever to our family. My son's health had affected his…read moreability to attend school regularly, and had forced him to withdraw from his high school mid-semester. We needed an alternative schooling method to help us bridge the semester missed with an accredited program for Precalc AB Honors to keep him up academically while we addressed his medical condition. After a very disappointing experience with another alternative school in Palo Alto (much closer to our house) that wasted 2 weeks of our time and effort, we turned to Futures. What a wonderfully different experience! The 1:1 teaching method was hugely effective in both catching him up and targeting where he did/didn't need more focus, and built up his confidence and morale. The staff and teachers that we interacted with were flexible and accommodating to my son's needs. He is now back in his "regular" school again, and ahead of many of his classmates in a hugely challenging math class. I can't thank the team (esp Nicole, Jayne, Greg, and Carolyn) enough!

This review is for their outdoor field - it's very big and well maintained and great for sporting…read moreactivities. The field is astroturf and is surrounded by a running track. There are bathrooms located onsite and plenty of seating space in the bleachers. The parking lot is right next door with ample parking spaces available.

When I attended San Mateo (class of 2014), it was known as the ghetto school of the district (and…read morewas known as that for as long as many can remember.) I could've attended Saint Ignatius or Burlingame, but chose to get the district transfer into SMHS in eighth grade because I loved the spirit I saw at 8th grade night, Open House, and other events. I wasn't an arts person (I did concert band and Marching Band, but wasn't very good--however, the marching band is a highlight of SMHS and my high school career. 10/10 would recommend waking up for zero period to work with the band, T, and go on trips like Disneyland or Hawaii.) But I digress... There's so many service clubs and other activities to be involved in, there's something for everyone. We weren't the best at sports, but our teams had their moments and I know by keeping in touch with younger classmates or teammates that the sports teams are very good now. Softball, swimming, girls' tennis (right after I left!), boys' soccer... The school is very diverse. You have locals, you have kids from Hillsborough and Burlingame, you have kids bussed in from Foster City. You have kids of Silicon Valley executives as well as kids of those who clean the houses of said executives. And that's not a bad thing--I miss that diversity of thought and people, and seeing the school come together at Friday lunches (wear orange and black that day), Spirit Week, rallies, and more. This wasn't your typical high school experience. Football and cheerleading weren't big like at Burlingame. Teachers were/are amazing (I still keep in touch with a few), and did crazy cool things like dance to Thriller or the Backstreet Boys. The campus is beautiful. It was remodeled in the early 2000's, the PAC is huge and was remodeled in 2014, and the leadership class works hard to decorate the halls with banners. So many banners, it's hard to describe what they do for the welcoming aesthetic. Coming to SMHS was one of the best decisions I made. I hope others will see that too (I'm guessing so--I saw some Facebook pictures and saw so much Lululemon, I thought it was Burlingame instead--that's a new occurrence for sure.)

It was a great experience to go to Borel middle school. I had lots of friends, great teachers, and…read morea great campus. I was very sad to graduate

1987-1990. Don't…read moreknow what to say. A middle school. I will spare you all and not start with the stories... "oh god no not fishbits with the stories" I wish I could remember all my teachers... Mr Trubeau? I can't, but I enjoyed a lot of them.

I have 2 kids attending UP Academy and they love the school!…read more My older son used to struggle in a public school with math and writing. 3 years ago, at 2nd grade, we transferred him to UP Academy, and, within a few months, he has become a lil writer. He fell in love with writing. He wrote one full-page of very a fun story. I can't thank you enough to all the educators there. Since then until now, he always happy every morning that he gets to go to school. He loves the community there and the small-sized class makes him feel like a part of the community. My younger one started last year as a kindergartner. He loves his teachers and his friends. He learned a lot academically and socially. We love how UP academy teaches kids by their own paces. Thus, our kids get challenged throughout the year. If you are looking for a project-based learning, a place where you child can build confidence and empathy, small class sized, great community, and personalized learning, UP Academy is the place for your kids.

We love UP Academy!…read more My older one went to the school since 2nd grade (now 3rd grader), and my younger one since TK (K now). The school is relatively new (2.5 years old) but our kids attended since 2 years ago. We are happy with the school in the full two years. ***Strength** We love the super low teacher-student ratio, the differentiation of learning. We also love the mixed-age classes, that allow kids to grow and thrive not limited by grade but by the their own levels. The school focused on growth mindset and recognize the efforts and progress. We also love the focus on project-based learning and social-emotion learning. The school also offers foreign languages classes, Chinese/Mandarin and Spanish. This might be a good plus for some families. We love that. We also appreciate the schools offer afterschool extension to 6pm as well. This is very helpful for parents who are both working. The school builds a great community. Teachers that we experienced - which means all teachers since we have two kids there for two years - are all very caring. Kids love each of them. The founder has an amazing vision inspired by a strong why. We love the philosophy, the vision & mission of the school. ***Potential concerns some families may have*** - Small school space: As a micro school, the school space is small - basically an office building only. But with various field trips and outdoor learning opportunities, especially during the pre-pandemic era, we don't have any concern at all. There's indoor facility for exercise, and kids love it. - Small class size For some parents, the small class size might be another concern for social issues. However, I appreciate this a lot since it also means great individual attention from teachers. Every kid can develop his/her own learning plan, academically and socially. We particularly appreciate the small size of the school during the pandemic time. A small class makes us feel safe to send kids to school in person during pandemic, knowing that the school is small and our kids could still learn and socialize safely in person with the COVID precautions that bigger schools may not be able to offer. The school remains open in 2020-2021 school year with the waiver. I believe it's heathier for kids to interact in person than virtually on Zoom anyways. - New school This is a progressive lab elementary school, and yes it's pretty new. We've seen the school evolving in the past two years, and overall towards a even better direction. I do encourage families to experience the school themselves during the trial-out days. We did so before we transferred our kids from a good public school in the following school year. Kids loved Up Academy so much that we made the decision right after they experienced the school. It turned out to be one of the best decisions we've ever made. Overall, we love the school and highly recommend the school to other families.