An amazing school filled with the best teachers around. The school does have a new name Mary W…read moreJackson STEAM multilingual elementary school. The playground is gorgeous.

My daughter just started Kindergarten here. She's speaking Spanish! Her teacher rocks! She has pull…read moreout science lab on Wednesdays! Computer lab on Wednesdays! Gardening class! New elaborate play equipment is getting put in from a grant they just got! Exciting stuff going on over there, thrilled to be a part of it. I'm a teacher myself, have been teaching for 8 years around Pasadena, in public and private schools, and Jackson is a GREAT contender. Parents in Pasadena should invest in our public schools. They only get stronger when strong parents and students join the community and commit to making it a great place by investing their time, opinions, money and resources. The private schools around Pasadena make a strong economic line in our city that can often breed inequalities. Ponder it. Jackson is great.

We have been a part of the Pasadena Christian Community (both in the Preschool and the Main School)…read morefor over 5 years, and we have absolutely loved our time here. Every teacher and staff member we have interacted with has been professional, kind, knowledgable in their field, and focused on loving our children well by pointing them to Christ. At every step, PCS showcases the importance of Christian education with their attention to details--to the beautiful campus and the inclusion of parents in the learning process--which shows that they practice what they preach. Our entire family is known and supported by the school community, and that has been an immense blessing.

As a mom of a junior high boy, I'm so impressed with the focus of the sports department and coaches…read moreof the athletic teams at Pasadena Christian School. Winning is not the primary focus, but learning skills, developing a love for the sport, and learning about teamwork are the mainstays of the program. The coaches care deeply about the students and never sacrifice social emotional support for the "win." Building kind, confident and disciplined athletes is clearly the goal as well as the primary foundation of developing Christ-like character. Well done, PCS!

Maranatha offers great academic opportunities for the students, the athletic programs are well run,…read moreand I feel welcome at the school with any of my needs. I would definitely recommend the school.

Our family's experience at this school was profoundly disappointing and deeply painful. Despite its…read morepublic messaging around Christian values, integrity, and community, what we experienced behind the scenes was harassment, emotional harm, favoritism, retaliation, and a complete lack of accountability. Early on, we had a disturbing interaction with a staff member who told us that if they had known our family was applying, they would have "made sure we didn't get in," allegedly based on third-party gossip from someone we had never met or heard of. This was alarming and unprofessional, particularly given that this person had access to our personal information and approached us as if they already knew us. It became clear that negative opinions about our family were being shared internally. Between 2022 and 2025, after we raised concerns about what appeared to be unethical practices within the athletics program -- including favoritism toward students connected to donors or board-affiliated families -- we experienced what felt like retaliation. Shortly afterward, both of our children were quarantined for over three weeks despite repeatedly testing negative for COVID and showing no symptoms. We were told it was "protocol," yet it was not enforced consistently for others. At a time when restrictions were easing everywhere else, it felt targeted toward our family. When we asked for clarity and support, administration collected extensive information from us but ultimately refused to take any corrective action. Instead, we were called into an urgent meeting and told our children might be removed. We were instructed to write a letter over a weekend and told leadership would "consider" allowing them to stay. This felt coercive rather than collaborative. Eventually, one child was allowed to remain while the other was removed -- without explanation, due process, or any cited violation. During this process, a conversation between us and senior leadership was secretly recorded by an administrator who is closely related to school leadership. This occurred without our consent, which is illegal under California's two-party consent law. Rather than addressing this serious issue, the school ignored it entirely. We later learned from multiple sources that external influence may have played a role in decisions affecting our child, including pressure from families connected to leadership whose relatives directly competed with our child athletically. Despite being a strong student-athlete, our child was pushed out. During attempts to transfer schools, negative statements about our family were shared. Athletic staff did not assist with recruitment, and we learned that outreach to other schools appeared focused on protecting institutional relationships rather than helping our child. A college recruiter confirmed a campus visit with us that staff later denied ever occurred, despite us witnessing it firsthand. We have documentation, emails, and written correspondence confirming unfair treatment. One administrator privately described our situation as "awful" and escalated it to HR. Despite this, no accountability followed. Instead, staff involved in these events have continued to receive public recognition and awards, reinforcing a culture where those in power are protected rather than corrected. Despite being told directly that our children had done nothing wrong, we waited seven months for formal communication. When it finally came, the reasoning kept changing. Our child's transcripts were withheld from universities that requested them, confirmed in writing by those institutions. After we spoke out, our child was also removed from the school's alumni list, despite having graduated and despite the thousands of dollars paid for his education. This felt like continued punishment for sharing our experience. After posting this review, we received no outreach, apology, or attempt at reconciliation -- only efforts to have our reviews reported and suppressed. Rather than addressing harm, the school appears focused on protecting its image and silencing families who speak up. Say anything to the leadership and there big egos-- they will gang up against you, brother in-laws, father, board member, baseball coach, football coach, staff members and they will each other public awards to faculty members, students and families that have taken part in this harm-- a cult like mafia. Not a true Christian lead School by the spirit and ALL of the bible, just the parts they pick out. They also have solicited these recent reviews, also staff member finance officer in June 2025 sent out a defamatory emails including our financial contracts to a stranger, making the financials look as though we hadn't paid and we owed money when we were paid in full. She offered to go line by line with a stranger when she had no firsthand information about our family at all. Just sick unethical behavior from our experience.

My children all have different personalities and needs, but they are all thriving at Aveson. We…read morelost our beautiful campus in the Eaton Fire, but we're settling in at our temporary home, co-located with Alma Fuerte Charter on the former site of Cleveland Elementary. Despite it all, our kids still love Aveson, and we're still here because the community is wonderful and we share the values of the school. Aveson focuses on social-emotional learning, project-based curriculum, and personalized mastery. In practice, what that means is things like: -- Classes that begin with a short mindfulness exercise to help kids transition into a new task. -- Time spent teaching even little ones about how the brain works, and how to process big feelings. -- An emphasis on kindness and mutual respect, in how teachers interact with students, and how students interact with each other. -- A "safe spot" (cozy corner) in each room, for kids to go to if they're having a tough time or just need a quiet moment. -- Projects that are very open-ended, that all kids can get something out of regardless where they are in their growth. All grades do a lot of writing (and/or drawing, for the little ones) and learn about editing and proofreading--always useful, regardless of your level. Grades 3-5 do Passion Projects, where kids learn about the many steps in researching a project and present on it at Celebration of Learning, the twice-a-year open house. It's really cool to see the growth from year to year as the kids better understand how to research, find cooler and cooler topics, etc. They build a lot of skills while doing something they care about. -- Small groups in the core curriculum classes (Literacy and Math), so kids can work at their level while the teacher and an aide float between groups. In a math class, it's typical to have groups working at multiple levels, ranging from extra support to working ahead. In grades 1-2, the teachers have organized reading groups that each have a dedicated aide or teacher. -- A Healthy Living class, where the wonderful and warm Ms. Arlynn teaches garden and cooking. My children will try foods in her class that they'd run away from at home. And there's nothing as beautiful as starting a school morning at a garden. -- At 2nd grade, a camping trip to celebrate moving from the younger division (TK-2) to the older division (3-5). On our old campus, the campout would be on campus, which was a thrill for the kids. This year, post-fire, a parent organized a fabulous trip to Trask Canyon instead. At 5th grade, students celebrate the end of their time at school with a trip to Catalina that was their first sleep-away trip. The kids have an incredible time and come back with a new swagger. The time since the fire has been so hard, in so many ways. A lot of families in our community lost their homes or have been displaced long-term from standing homes. Some of our families have had to leave the school because of where they've had to move, or because they needed their children back in school faster than the school was able to pivot to a new location. The school is in transition as it recovers, and I suspect it will be for years to come as we figure out where we'll be long-term. But the spirit of what makes Aveson great is still here: the classroom experience. The amazing Ms. Weinstock, in 5th grade, helped her students process the fire by creating a unit on first-person historical narratives, reading accounts of Pearl Harbor and the Holocaust, and encouraging students to write their own accounts of the fire. They wrote poetry--odes to things they lost. As a class, they kept learning while also processing and grieving together. Things like that were happening in every grade. We have phenomenal advisors and caring staff, and that means so much. If you're reading this, you're probably looking for a school, and I do agree with the negative reviews that, if you're socially conservative, you might not agree with Aveson's curriculum and culture. It's a welcoming space for a diverse community, and teaches a curriculum with anti-racism and affirmation/acknowledgment of LGBTQ+ people as some of its values. My children did have questions, and sometimes misunderstood things, but talking things out at home has always been really fun and interesting, and also something I've learned from a lot. I don't think that's age-inappropriate, however; kids are capable of learning complex things if you're willing to talk and keep talking as they grow. For me, the fact that they teach these values is something that I was hugely excited about when I learned about it, and it's a piece of why I love the community. Despite everything it's been through, it's still such a beautiful school.

Heartbroken over the loss of our beloved school and eagerly await its revival in a new form.read more

This is Thanksgiving and I have pledged to thank those who helped me succeed this year…read more I'm an alumna of this school. To be fair, I arrived with a solid academic foundation from Foothill Country Day School. Poly was a great school though. Quite large, so you need to find your people, as they say. But overall, the campus is beautiful, the classes challenging, and the other students were kind and ambitious. I went from Poly to Princeton and now work in a science field in Silicon Valley. I'm grateful to Poly for guiding me on my path.

Administration is full of hypocrisy. This school tries to mold young kids into thinking a certain…read moreway than allowing them to freely learn and critically think. 1/2 the kids in upper school are socially awkward and equal amount of parents are clueless as this school is living off a rep from 20 yrs ago.

St Francis is an all-boys college preparatory high school in La Canada Flintridge…read more Beautiful school w breathtaking views! St Francis hosted the 2024 Round 3 CIFSS D6 playoff game last night. The school is situated on a hill off Foothill Blvd and has its own parking structure. The architectural design of the school itself along w the football field was gorgeous and well thought out... we were in awe!! They have an award-winning snack bar in the western region, according to a popular magazine (they announced). Staff running the event are helpful and well coordinated which made for a very smooth, organized event.

Nice sports field and spectator stands. We were there for a flag football play off game for our…read moreelementary school.

FOR THE TRACK FIELD ONLY:…read more Open to public after school and sports after; for sure the weekends! Very nice track field: 4 laps is one mile Track made of rubber Painted lanes (there are 7 lanes total) Public trash bins and bathrooms nearby Tennis courts and bball courts nearby Free street parking Can still run on the track even during a football game

I used to dislike this school, but since I became closer to the women in the front office I have…read moregrown to love everything about this place. Truly is a magical wonderland thanks to the people who make it special. Shoutout Jill and Katie!!!

We moved to La Cañada when my son was still in elementary school, and everyone always talked about…read morePrep like it was the dream school. Now that we are here, I can say it is a very good school, but it is not perfect. The teachers are very knowledgeable and most of them really care about helping students. My son has found a few teachers he really connects with, which makes a big difference. The campus is clean and safe, and the students are serious about school but not boring. They also have a lot of activities like sports, theater, and clubs, which I like because it keeps the kids balanced. At the same time, I feel like Prep expects the students to manage everything by themselves. If your child is already very outgoing and knows what they want, it is a great place. But if your child is quieter, or needs more help finding their way, it can feel overwhelming. Sometimes I wish the school checked in more instead of just assuming the kids will ask for help if they need it. Also, socially it is a little tricky. Most students are friendly on the surface, but real friendships are hard to build if you are not already part of a group. It can be lonely sometimes, especially for new students. Overall, I am still very happy my son is at Prep, but it took longer to feel comfortable than I expected. You really have to be your child's advocate and make sure they speak up and find their place.

Both of my children attended and graduated from this school. My children attended here for 5 and 6…read moreyears. We chose the school because of the small class size and great teachers. We stayed because of the great teaching and great friends my children made here. I would strongly recommend this school to anyone who has a really smart child who lives to learn for fun.