A wonderful school. My daughter had several delightful years there. Responsible and caring staff.read more

Can't thank this school enough. As a now grown student, I still look back on this schools'…read moreteachings and absolute life lessons that it has taught me. With patience, nurturing, and all around acceptance, Orchard raised me when one person couldn't do it alone. They say it takes a village to raise a child, and I had never felt truer words that befit this schools benefits. It truly helped keep my childhood lively and adventurous, and to this day my thoughts linger on just how grateful I am. If I ever have a kid, I'll do my best to ensure they get to go to a school as fine as Orchard. Only shame is, they used to go from K-8, if I recall. But to know they're focusing their teachings on earlier ages is just as righteous to me.

Great school went there when I was a kid. I had such good teachers and learned a lot. It was my…read morefirst public school after Montessori.

Our daughter just finished 6th. grade at NBMS and It was a very positive experience for her…read more She loved all her teachers and excelled in academics as well as sports. I was able to witness how the principal Craig Broadhurst and the vice principal Andrew Weiss handled several conflicts that arose. They were professional and quick to act with wisdom. I personally saw how their love and compassion for students and their dedication to creating a safe learning environment was a major priority.

This school has excellent academics but could improve on their athletics. School doesn't have an…read moreathletic field or gym. Overall great community and nice people, and good sports teams, but for sports we have to practice at other place.

This is a horrible school to go to. I hate this school so much. The teachers are horrible, don't…read morelisten, don't support us, and don't care if we are not happy. They expect you to memorize every thing they say then quiz you on it the next day. They only care about you if your grades are good. Me and everyone I know has had a horrible experience with this school usually leaving after 1-2 years. The grade numbers get lower as the grades get higher because everyone leaves. The school also does not have good classrooms, doesn't have good sport programs, AND doesn't even have a field or gym. The only thing that is okay about this school is that its college prep.

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.

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 son attended NCC for three years and had an amazing experience. The teachers were dedicated,…read morecaring, and loving, and the campus provided a spacious and welcoming environment for children to play and learn. The school also did a great job building a strong academic foundation through the Montessori method. For parents considering NCC, don't be discouraged if the admission process takes some effort (headmaster L may not like to reply to messages); it is well worth it when you see your child's happiness and growth.

Great school. I realize that the school is more guarded during the waiting list timeline to protect…read morethe safety & guard the routine of the children during school time. My daughter is attending this school now and I have to say that the children are prepared for educational success in every way imaginable. There are three groups; youngest group, middle group, and pre-K. Some highlights: Onsite reading specialist Bilingual education Montessori classroom time structured and free learning time Non profit with emphasis on community service Healthy (usually organic) vegetarian diet served at meals Parent involvement in the direction of the school. Wonderful educational field trips Advanced curriculum designed for school preparation. Emphasis on Science, math, music, language, cultural enlightenment. This school is also very culturally diverse, when looking at the "make-up"' of ethnicities amongst the children. The school is extremely hygienic with an aggressive health policy, with sink stations in every class room and around the play yard for hand washing. Resulting in healthier children (and parents) with less time off from school in the long run. I am very pleased with this school. We were invited for a visit once our names were high on the waiting list. I was instantly sold when my daughter was invited to participate in the days activities. The first was dissection of owl pellets and identification of the animal consumed based on bones found. The next was a story circle, the children each performed a portion of the book in a dramatic manner with props and costumes included. The next was a bilingual story and song circle, with children being "submerged in spanish," for the duration of the 20 minute circle. The final was a magic circle., which was fun and educational. I highly recommend this school. The teachers were patient and supportive while my daughter adjusted to the separation from me and my husband. They actually surpassed my expectations!

If your child is fairly average, it can be a great experience if they get one of the better…read moreteachers. Our child started here in kindergarten, and had 2 very good to excellent teachers, 1 okay teacher, 2 poor teachers who used old fashioned methods, seemed burned out, and lacked patience, and 1 young teacher who appeared to want to win a popularity contest with the students. If your child has any sort of disability related to a learning problem or difference, RUN. The school receives very little money for special education, and views those students as a liability. They will go to extreme lengths to avoid providing any specialized instruction or related services. Most people either move or find another school district in the area.

Brook Knoll is a great school that is made up of wonderful teachers, support staff, administration…read morestaff, parents and kids. My son has been attending for a number of years and we have had a lot of great experiences.

I have to start with the disclaimer that my children attended SLE for a few month, during a…read moretransitional period for our family. The school secretary is very sweet and caring. The teachers that we were assigned were wonderful. They inspired both children by being wonderful role models and making learning fun. There were practical applications of lessons such as playing town and learning to write checks (4th grade). Parents were very involved and were wonderful. We attended the science fair which was both engaging and a lot of fun for the whole family. Both kids always looked forward to going to school each day and when their time here was up, they were really sad to leave. This school has similar logistical problems as other schools such as student pick up and drop off. There are parents who should have left 5 minutes earlier than they did, so they take it out on others by acting impatient or not waiting for people in crosswalks... which is especially bad if you drop off and pick up by the entrance to the Jr. High. Speaking of parking, if you do use the entrance near the Jr. High, please use the church parking lot and do not violate the 'No parking' signs in the residential neighborhood. surrounding the school. They are there because those are narrow streets and when too may people park there, emergency vehicles couldn't get through. It's happened and someone almost died. The neighborhood surrounding the school does have people with health conditions, are aging, etc, so please have respect for your fellow community members that are the most vulnerable. Your perceived (illegal) convenience is not worth someone losing their life because an ambulance or fire truck couldn't get through. Please also don't park IN people's yards. Not cool. And hey, if you don't want to do it out of respect, do it because you will get stuck if in their muddy yards if you do and you may have to pay for a tow truck. It's not worth it and you didn't save any time doing it. To add to the list of things that people shouldn't be doing but they do it anyway... Stop your car when you see people crossing the road. It's a school zone and it take the 3-10 seconds to wait while you are stopped. That's it. Not minutes. Seconds. That's all. You aren't making up any time by rolling at pedestrians and you are willfully putting someone's family at risk. Don't be a nincompoop, just stop. Again, leave a little early and you won't have a problem finding parking. If you can't leave early, just arrange a late pick up meeting area. I did this with my kids and I promise you that it works out just fine. There is also a school bus (check if you are on their route) and there are after school programs that will pick up your kids and hold them until you can get there. You have options. Take a deep breath and do the right thing. Thank you to SLE for the memories before we start the next chapter in our life.

I go to San Lorenzo Valley Elementary. I am in first grade. This school deserves 5 stars. Zoë Haffread more