Still feel the same -- this will be my daughter's 3rd school year here! Crazy! I really appreciate…read morehow involved the school is, and the staff truly seem to care about the students. They encourage students to guide themselves, which was hard for me at first but is so important for teens to develop independence. If you're interested in the school, I absolutely recommend coming to check it out!

If your focus for your kids is to get ONLY API scores, this is the best school for you. Public…read morecharter with extended school hours where parents can just leave their kids there to get bombarded with homework for Free! If your kids are bullies, this is the best school for you as well. There are no consequences whatsoever, who wouldn't want that, right? But God forbid, if your kids get bullied, or harassed..expect the answer to be "we understand, we will look into it, but you haven't finish your iReady." "Look at her/him, getting mad about the little stuff( bullying)" Ever watched a drama movie? Most of teacher in this school acted just like that. Personal opinion about your kids is shared with others...and in front of your kids...as F the professionalize, who cares, teacher get to abuse their powers over little kids, totally normal. Your kids can totally learn a great length of how to be bullies, racists, and assholes in this school, humanity do not exist here. So have fun at it!

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.

After visiting several schools to enroll my child, Santa Sophia was the most positive and…read moresupportive school. The principal and staff were very friendly and welcoming. The curriculum looked comparatively good. The difference was the positive attitude of the teachers. It's on a beautiful private large piece of land. Very secure with a large area for sports as well.

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.

FOR TRACK FIELD ONLY:…read more -Open to the public to run/walk the track field -Rubber track ground for knee protection -4 laps is one mile -restrooms nearby open to public -parking lot right near the track field also available for public to park -can still run on the track laps even when there was a game going on -remodeled with laps numbered and painted lines

Everybody at Helix that I have met over the past seven years has been wonderful. Just the name a…read morefew that I know well coach Cole Holland, Mr. Damon Chase coach Pat Hause coach Diego coach Tyler most of these are baseball coaches for Helix Charter high school I do the announce for varsity And JV games for their baseball. I have been doing it for seven years at this school. I am grateful to have this opportunity. I highly recommend Helix Charter High School to anybody.

I cannot say enough about this wonderful place that my children are fortunate to be a part of. We…read morehave 2 little ones (TK and K), and they absolutely love school. This can only be a testament to the amazing, loving, nurturing, motivating staff. EVERY SINGLE member of the staff TRULY loves their job and their school. From the crossing guard staff saying good bye as we walk home to the warm smiles given out by everyone we see. The principal Mr. Iriqui has a huge presence on campus and I've heard him greet and say good bye to each child by name. It's one of those places that you go to and you can really tell the staff enjoys what they do. Our youngest had a tough start to TK and the staff really embraced her and made her feel at ease. Now she's sad that it's the weekend and no school for 2 days. The school has so many activities for the children as well as the parents. There are seminars on various topics regarding parenting and education and are really informative. There's always an activity for the kids incorporating something from the STEAM curriculum. As a father, I'm encouraged to know my children are in good hands and are being molded for a bright future.

Im so happy we decided to enroll our daughter at our local school for kindergarten. La Presa…read moreElementary is amazing. Every single staff member truly loves and cares about these kids. Safety and a healthy learning environment is top priority for everyone. I was blessed to help out with picture day last week and got to meet all the kids and teachers from every grade level. This is truly a special place. The kids were all so well behaved. Their teachers were amazing at keeping large groups of kids calm without being nasty. The children with special needs, omgosh the love that poured out of every single teacher was unbelievable. All the teachers know these kids and truly love them and the children definitely know it! The principal, Mrs. Rabasco is fairly new to the school. This is only her 2nd year. She is amazing. From day 1 she knew my child, she knows all the other children by name as well. She has kids standing in lines to give her hugs. She is also completely immersed in the neighborhood even though she doesnt live here. She attends the Spring Valley community meetings and does everything she can to help the neighborhood that La Presa is in , which in exchange helps the families and kids here as well. This place is truly an amazing school and everyone should give it a shot before judging a school without even meeting the staff and taking a tour. LOVE La Presa Elementary !!!!m This will be our school of CHOICE for as long as we live here.