Our friends kid goes here and she has nothing but great appreciation for the school teachers here…read morewho go above and beyond for the little kids. Great neighborhood school and hoping to see the ratings go up in the future.

Disappointed in this schools performance. If you look at test scores compared to state avg. Hayes…read moreElementary is below the state avg. overall. I've looked at multiple sites to reference. The latest numbers as of 9/28/22: Schooldigger.com 2019 states 44.49% avg standard score. ranked 2912th out of 5789. Ca state percentile 49.7. Per Pupil Expenditures: $13,417 Niche.com Academics as of 2022: Percent proficient in reading - 47% Percent proficient in Math - 40% Avg Teacher Salary: $102,234 Greatschools.org Test Scores 5/10 English: 44% state avg is 50% Math 40% state avg 39% Considering they are getting $13,417 per child and the teachers on avg. are bringing in $102,234 they should be doing significantly better. As a parent who's children are assigned to this school district, I will NOT send my child to this school with these test results. They clearly have the funding, so why the poor test scores? I hope the school is able to turn their numbers around. As a concerned parent simply put, it's unacceptable and the kids deserve better.

Hello! As a kid who attended this school for 5 years and is…read morenow entering 7th grade in a different city, I can reassure you that I am well educated most students reviewing schools only tell you the cons of it, which isn't helpful. So, I am bound to give you a completely honest review. Since most 5 star reviews are from 50 year old dads who have never experienced what the school is like once you're actually a student and that it's all sunshine and rainbows everyday. To begin with, the school is pretty awesome. Art vista, science, and the library are like no other. Even though I love my new school district, nothing will ever beat the library they have at Hacienda. The field is HUGE and great for younger children to play in. Although I'd never choose to have hot lunch, I've always gotten breakfast. The food is amazing. Especially the mini pancakes. MOST teachers and staff and especially my counselor were super helpful throughout the years, and I would recommend this school to those around me. But of course--like any school, there is a downside to it. Now obviously, I'm not going to start rambling about how "annoying" teachers are, or how much work they give us, or the dress code, but this is rather a warning for those like me with learning differences. I have really bad anxiety, and a learning disability, so most days at school were rough for me. Of course, I had good days, but staff need to care less about scheduling assemblies ABOUT kindness and shift their attention to actually helping the kids who are being bullied and left unnoticed--because just acting like everything is fine and not doing anything at all only causes more problems. And who wants their kid to be in a school that feels like walking on eggshells every day? Nobody. At all. Most kids in my grade today most likely loved this school. And no, I am not saying that their opinion is wrong, but if you are looking for a school with a FRIENDLY community--that is something that is something that the school does not have. So please, think twice before trying to get your kids in this school. You may be saying "but it isn't the schools fault that the kids are mean!" Well, fun fact, if the teachers get irritated, they can also be the same. And no, I'm not talking about getting your phone taken away because for some stupid reason you thought that breaking school rules would be quote on quote "funny."(you know who you are.) Speaking from personal experience, some teachers cannot care less about learning differences, or your children's mental health--but rather care more about the money they're receiving after each day. Of course, not every teacher is mean, but it would be much more helpful for some teachers to care a little more about their students. In conclusion, summing up everything I have said in this review, I can assure you that this school is in a safe environment, and is most likely one of the best schools you'll get in this neighborhood. But, please pay attention to your children as they grow older at Hacienda. You never know what is happening behind closed doors.

I wish Yelp had a 6 star rating that you could give to one thing. This would be mine…read more The only non 5 star reviews are from somebody who TOURED the school and an anonymous coward. That pretty much tells you all you need to know. This is the best school I have ever heard of, let alone seen. My eldest goes here, and her sister starts Kinder soon. When you pick the kids up they want to go play on the playground with friends. They are crestfallen if you pick them up more than 5 minutes before closing at the YMCA. This is a special community and it is infectious. If you don't win the lottery don't despair. Both my kids were waitlisted to start and got in by Sep so it does happen. As for the big class sizes, it's more friends for your child.

To be completely honest and to prevent other families in believing this is a great school please…read moretake the time to read this!!! My daughter started here in first grade and it has been by far the worse educational experience of our entire lives!! Let me start off by stating that their teachers Are not very well trained, do not have many years of experience or practice and are often absent. My daughter now being in fourth grade has had a substitute about 12 times so far and the year is not even over yet, not to mention her teacher is a substitute that got hired on because they were not able to replace her. There seems to be a great volume of low income families, which there is nothing wrong with but my daughter has experienced bullying and learned explicit content because of the the poor attitudes, morals and values some of these kids are brought up with. She received her first black eye in first grade, experienced her first physical fight in third grade and was constantly bullied by other kids because of her arm hairs. She refused to take her sweater off for months because she was so traumatized. The kids also stole a strobe light at last years Halloween parade and my daughter often witnesses the 5th grade girls greeting the male students with a kiss in the mouth. She thought this was ok to do because she sees it and nothing is being done about it. I have also witnessed the way students treat and interact with each other and let me say I was shocked to hear how much cursing was involved in their vocabularies. My daughter has caught lice 5 times now! Which is outrages and ridiculous. Me and my husband have complaint so many times but we're told the kids here were "dirty" and there was nothing that could be done! We explained our concerns to mrs. Ross but eventually nothing change. I'm aware the staff has change including the principal. I am really hoping that things turn around at this school. Either way, we are considering moving just to get her out into a better school. I would not recommend this school to anyone, has education is extremely important to us and our children. A great school is usually rated a 5 this school has been rated a 3 for a Long time so if you don't believe me then look it up for your self.

The worst school ever it's sad that people actually belobe it's a good school to start the teachers…read moreare so mean and yell at the students they get mad and don't explain to your child as well as they are just unreasonable when having to go to the principal office they have favorites an want the favorite kids to not get in trouble it's unbelievable. Also the kids there are so mean they get the innocent kids in trouble then the ones that did it it's actually upsetting how this works Overall it's the worst place to put you're child in this is so bad DONT trust this school with you're child!

My daughter is wrapping up the third grade at ACDS. Our family has been with the school since her…read morefirst grade year. It's interesting to note how I just mentioned "our family" in reference to ACDS, because it's true - from the start it never felt like it was just my daughter being welcomed into a classroom. My husband and I were also ushered into a community of parents, children, teachers, administrators, and staff that truly are a community. This sense of familiarity and care, right from the start, was welcome. We looked at ACDS for my daughter after having been with a couple of other schools in the region that seemed to emphasize academics above all else. Academics are of course important, but I also wanted my daughter to have the chance to play and explore other possible interests. ACDS has a full complement of enrichment and extracurricular activities. Science, art, drama, music, you name it. There's a choir and a band. And every year every grade puts on a theater production, which I'm hoping next year can be done in the brand new Event Center. When school closed for COVID in March of last year, ACDS was ready for it. They moved their entire educational program online within a matter of 3 days, and it has been going strong ever since. When the school reopened for in-person learning in the fall, they continued the remote learning option alongside it. My daughter is presently the only child left online in her class, though she will be returning to school next week. Her teacher has been in close touch with me to make sure that she feels included and supported. The real gift is that my daughter has felt she is an active and important part of the community no matter where she physically is in relation to the school. And speaking of the teachers, wow! Dedicated and enthusiastic sound cliche but I assure they are not. The thought and energy they put into their lessons, especially even across two learning platforms, is phenomenal. If they had a high school, I would be planning to send my daughter. But for now I will just enjoy the stellar preparation she is getting for whatever step she chooses next.

The recent issues in the middle school here are very sad. Inexperienced and power hungry…read moreadministrators are ruining an otherwise vibrant and exciting learning environment. We hope this can be corrected before the school goes further downhill.

My kids are much older and yes I have adjusted. I am more than grateful for the school that my boys…read moreare attending. They have a new Principal and both my boys are equally impressed with her format as they loved the old principal as well. They do seem to mention that they see her more around campus...So thats a plus in my books!

Excellent school, great library and teachers, only complaint is that the garden is just dead…read moreplants, and smells like weed, but otherwise it's a great school.

My daughter has been going to school here since kindergarten and she enjoys going to school each…read moreday. She is supported by her teachers and staff and looks forward to going to school and likes the dress up days and other events like Los Dichos

I suggest families take time to consider other schools in the area. From my experience, there were…read moreinconsistencies in how policies and student support were handled.

My daughter attended from TK to 7th grade. Like other reviews, this is not an ordinary school…read more It is fundamentally not an In-N-out style magically changing your kids into whatever parents wish. Parents have to participate in all activities in order to learn skills to teach your kids and others. Definitely a good school if you care about your children's education and willing to invest your time and effort. They are not focusing on grades but on cultivating a love of learning and reading for their entire life. I know for some people this could be unacceptable. Education is not just teaching a parrot to talk. To learn how to learn: Reading, writing, logic, and math have to be consistently practiced within your family -- better not to depend solely on any school. If any school can teach your kids self-motivated learning before K-8, it's already very successful. My wife and I learned a lot every year, and those lessons are still part of our daily life. "mistake can be a beautiful oops" If you attended any public school you know how it felt when they acted like DMV. That is why we put our daughter in D2. "Prepare the child for the road, not the road for the child."

We decided to withdraw from this school shortly after Labor Day Weekend. One of the main concerns…read morearose when I was showing a family member how to pick up our kindergartener -- we discovered the school building was completely unlocked at 9 PM on a Monday night following the holiday. Not only was the main entrance open, but the atrium providing access to all the kindergarten classrooms was also unsecured. That raised significant concerns about safety and building security. Additionally, we heard from multiple returning parents that teacher quality varied significantly, and there was a noticeable trend: returning families' children all seemed to end up with the most sought-after teacher. It gave the impression that there might be favoritism or uneven distribution of classroom placements. Another concern was the dynamic between some teachers and parents. It felt as though staff were hesitant to be candid, possibly out of fear of upsetting families. We were told things that didn't line up with our own observations about our child -- mostly overly positive feedback that seemed designed to reassure rather than inform. The environment gave off a sense that the school was trying hard to maintain enrollment numbers, possibly at the expense of honest communication. While we know no school is perfect, these issues were serious enough for us to feel that it wasn't the right fit for our family.

My husband and I are both educators and have worked in public education in secondary schools for…read morethe past 15 years. We were lucky that for the first 3 years of our daughters life, we could rely on grandparents for complete childcare. When going to work, our minds were at ease knowing she had excellent care and attention at home. The downside was that at 3 years old, our daughter had not had much opportunity to socialize with other children or stay with an adult other than her grandparents or parents. We were of course, concerned that the transition to child care or school might be disastrous. I cannot be more satisfied with our decision to enroll our daughter at the Challenger School, Shawnee campus. We began with the summer school option, enrolling her in a half day program, 5 days a week when she was 3 years and a few months old. This was the perfect transition for a child who had no experience staying with other adults outside of family. Her cognitive, social, and emotional progress was visible immediately. That Fall, we enrolled her in a full day program in the 3 year old class. A year later, and we are still so happy with our experience. Our daughter will be enrolled in the 4 year old program for the 17-18 school year. While the curriculum and academic expectations are indeed rigorous, the staff is so incredibly loving, caring, and nurturing. The instruction is given in a way that engages the students through music and art. The children genuinely have fun while they learn and appreciate the structure and routine. We are always impressed with the work our daughter brings home. She is only 4 and can print her name, blend letters to phonetically read and write 3-4 letter words, add and subtract numbers, and so much more. Her experience is not unique as most if not all the students in her class can do the same. On top of this, every staff member from the administration, security guards, secretarial staff and teachers are excellent. I feel as though I am leaving my child with family. This is an incredibly important feature to me as I need to feel as though I am leaving my daughter in loving and capable hands when I drop her off to go to work. We have bonded with a number of parents from her class and get together for the kids birthday parties and other social events. I cannot imagine a better place for our child. I am happy to answer any further questions about our experience if you are interested in enrolling your son or daughter. Also, the school offers a tuition incentive of 15% off through a referral program. Please contact me if you are interested in this opportunity.

thanks As a retired…read moreelementary school teacher (25 + years,) I am thorough in my evaluation of schools my grandkids attend. Challenge is definitely NOT one I would recommend! The teachers (mostly young women with minimal experience in a classroom) are closely controlled by the administration (which has little to no classroom experience.) Creativity is discouraged, since it's expression would cut into the school's "cookie cutter" approach to education. Another note to consider: Challenger is a "(or profit" school; although I notice it is now using the word "Foundation" in its title. Consider the multiple options of schools in this valley before making a choice; there are many in our valley!