The best elementary school in Santa Cruz county. Their PTA raises six figures every year.read more

We have had an absolutely wonderful experience at Santa Cruz Waldorf School! The nurturing…read moreenvironment and dedicated teachers truly set this school apart. From the moment we stepped on campus, we felt welcomed and inspired. The curriculum is thoughtfully designed to foster creativity and critical thinking, allowing children to explore subjects in a meaningful and hands-on way. Our children have flourished here, academically in math, writing, and languages, as well as more broadly with the arts, music, gardening, outdoor education trips, and more. If you're looking for a school that encourages a deep love of learning, I highly recommend the Santa Cruz Waldorf School.

Santa Cruz Waldorf School has been a good fit for my children. The kinder program is magical! Being…read moreable to play and learn to connect with peers and teachers AND nature is just what my children needed at that age. Over the years, we have learned reverence and rythm and the beauty of slowing down from our time at the school. Their love of festivals and community connection is unmatched. I appreciate the deemphasis on screen time as well. The Waldorf practice of teacher looping was something that was quite new to me and at first I was a little hesitant about. I have grown to see the process of keeping the same teacher from grade 1-8 as a true gift. It has given my children time to be seen and understood to learn most effectively. If you are exploring elementary and middle school alternatives, SCWS is a great option to consider!

I am posting mostly because I was shocked by the other review from 3/1/11. I went to Happy Valley…read morein the 80's and loved it. It's true that the school isn't very ethnically diverse but that's because the community is primarily Caucasian. However, the school has always had a great reputation for excellent education and a more liberal accepting atmosphere. Granted, it has been a long time since I was a student there, but please don't let one person's bad review send you away. Check it out for yourself!

We had great communication with teachers and our children loved the school. Horrible experiences…read morewith office staff/admin. (my rating ) Definitely a result of the pandemic and How tough this all is on everyone. Just ruined the whole Holy Cross School Experience I think we would have had. We love Holy Cross Preschool, maybe if the office up at the main school were more like the pre school admin/teachers it could have been a different year for me And my husband. But the schools teachers go above and beyond with the students. just was my experience. hope this whole thing passes. good luck and blessings

This is a horrible school. They lie to parents, they break labor laws and have no business being in…read moreeducation. The teachers are poor and under trained. Many don't have teaching credentials and lack teaching experience. They go through principals like a revolving door. Kimberly Chang was the worst of them all. Don't send your kids here if you want them to get an education or learn morals like honesty and faith.

Whenever I ask my daughter if she likes her school she shouts, "No, I love it!" Wonderful teachers,…read morelarge campus, bilingual program, fabulous librarian, and some of our dedicated parents have worked to launch EXPLORE AfterSchool, an after school enrichment program with enormous potential. Plus, the totally rad people of Santa Cruz approved a measure that is allowing us to do some major, much needed maintenance upgrades. Our score on Great School doesn't look like much but when I come to Bay View and watch my little daughter run, laugh and play with kids from so many different backgrounds I am filled with optimism and pride. She is learning so much at this wonderful school. I'm proud to be a Bay View parent and proud to send my kids to a Santa Cruz city public school.

I think sometimes people get a little over-anxious about junior's second-grade experience. Is he…read morebeing challenged? Are his interpersonal skills appropriate encouraged? Do his teachers understand his personal foibles? He's in second-grade. So long as he's reading the appropriately-colored book and hasn't bitten anyone, he's probably fine. This was a great school, as far as I recall. We were a rag tag bunch of kids of hippies, some farm workers, academics from UCSC and pretty much everything you could think of. What I remember best is that we had great guest speakers. There was an environmentalist from up on campus who came to give a talk about unleaded gas (yes, I'm that old), and a lady from the temple who showed us how to play the dreidel at Hanukkah, someone's dad gave a translated account of Mexican Independence for Cinco de Mayo, and a sweet hippie who played us songs about love and peace in music class.

My daughter Clara just graduated from Santa Cruz children's school after 6 years there from…read morekindergarten through 6th grade. I was not sure how to thank the school with all it's dedicated teachers and outstanding directors Joanna and Deric, so I decided to write a review. From day one she became part of a large caring family. When she left she expressed nothing but love and appreciation for all her friends and teachers. Though sad to leave, she felt confident and well prepared for her transition to middle school. In the last couple of years my daughter learned to organize and complete all her work with proud independence. She improved her writing skills considerably, excelled in math, and took up multiple musical instruments with the many talented music teachers at the school. Beyond core courses, the school also puts on plays, a yearly concert, and an end of year multi day class trip adventure for older kids. My daughter has had World inspired cooking classes, movie making classes, circus fun, learned to play chess, civics class with a ucsc professor and much more. How they manage to do all this, keep the kids inspired and eager to learn, as well kind to one another is remarkable. If you are looking for a school where your child will be happy, eager to learn and go to school each day, and well prepared for middle school, I highly recommend Santa Cruz children's School.

After beginning our son's grade school at a different private school in the area and then having…read moresuch a disappointing experience over 2 years, both for our son and for us as parents - we decided to check out Santa Cruz Children's School from a referral and reading reviews.-- After attending the open house in June of 2013, we felt like it was worth a try and hoped that they would provide the care, curriculum, enthusiasm, professionalism and transparency they promised, we so desired and felt we deserve. Now half way through our son's first year at SCCS, they have proven to be all we had hoped for and we couldn't be more grateful. My son is enthusiastic for school every single morning and afternoon! The teachers and administration members have shown to be professional and respectful to each other, the children and parent community. The children are also respectful, kind and supportive of each other. There have been no negative issues of any kind in the classroom or on the playground and I feel strongly that is due to the great degree of responsible supervision, respectful, timely and honest communication and policy that is in place and honored. Our son's 2nd grade teacher has shown a true love and compassion for teaching and children. She fosters the imagination, learning and beauty of each child's individualism and personality. It is a small school with about 48 children, at first a concern of ours, but that is really in where the blessing lies. The small class sizes offer important individualized attention, learning and support. Organization, scheduling and attention to details are top priorities. The school's scheduling of curriculum and homework requirements are clear and consistent! This in itself has provided a better learning structure for focus, responsibility, self-confidence and academic success. We have seen our son's academics (Math, Science, Reading & Writing Comprehension, Spelling) progress and are continuously stimulating and engaging. There has also been great support of Music, Astronomy, Life-lab, Spanish, PE, Art and his beloved Chess! His interests are flourishing along with his love for his new school. He is supported and encouraged to be imaginative, inquisitive and true to himself. We feel very fortunate to have found such success with Santa Cruz Children's School. Thank you!

Great community elementary school. Staff truly cares for children. There's been a lot of new…read moreconstruction making updates to the school recently.

It's an amazing school and teachers are very supportive. Also the fact that they keep up with so…read moremany traditions from 1958 is amazing.

This school is not good. They dont care at all if you get bullied, the food is literally trash, the…read moremilk was never cold, they threw the food in the microwave for like 30 seconds and that was it, the vegetables often were moldy, and just disgusting looking. And when I say they dont care if you get bullied I mean it. The ac and heater were often broken or they barely worked, in third grade the heater caught on fire. The only good teacher was mr Centanni. Anyways if your a parent i dont recommend (i dont go here anymore)

We love this school. My daughter has been at two elementary schools and the learning environment…read morehere is very positive for her.

My son has been going to this school for a few years. We love the community, the teachers have been…read moreoutstanding, the parents are actively supporting operations, and overall it's a very happy place to be.

ok so i personally don't like this school that much because the teachers are not nice and they yell…read moreat you for really weird reasons. also, im pretty sure lots of the teachers and office staff have bipolar depression... For example, they are singing and dancing and laughing with you then all of the sudden they start crying or screaming at you. I think alot of the staff have some kind of anger issues or anxiety because they seem to always be uncomfortable around children and definitely seem intimidated by their students.

This is our child's second year at Kirby and we are absolutely thrilled. She is thriving and making…read morebig strides and I give credit to the teachers and staff at Kirby. I believe it is one of the best schools in Santa Cruz County. They do give our grants for tuition scholarship as well. I strongly recommend taking a tour to see for yourself the magic at this school!

This is a great school. They put a lot of emphasis on the skills and needs of the individuals. It…read moreis pretty expensive, but they have financial aid available for those who qualify. Great teachers and a wonderful staff. They are in the process of moving locations. They were in a great old building right in downtown Santa Cruz, but they had an opportunity to get a great building a little further out of town and they took it. The facilities will be better for the kids, with access to Harvey West Park and an underground parking garage.