1. Highlands Elementary School

    1. Highlands Elementary School

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    San Mateo, CA

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    Highlands Elementary School

    3.2 (6 reviews)

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    Odyssey Middle School

    Odyssey Middle School

    4.3
    (21 reviews)
    0.7 mi

    We initially chose Odyssey because it promised a strong sense of community, solid education, and…read moresafe educational trips. Unfortunately, our experience was far from what was advertised. My son was bullied by a group of girls for half of his crucial final school year, and when he failed Algebra 2 (with a D grade), the principal--who also taught the class--blamed my son entirely. What was left out was that the principal had to frequently cover for other teachers, making his own teaching inconsistent, and the school even went without a science teacher for half a year. Worse yet, he failed to inform me when my son came forward about the bullying. The teachers at the 8th-grade level didn't step in to stop the bullying until I personally got involved, and that's unacceptable. While the trips were enjoyable, they were not as safe as we were led to believe. There were several issues that my son told me about only after the fact, and I wish I had known earlier. Overall, I can no longer recommend this school based on our experience.

    Odyssey School in San Mateo has been a gem for our family. Over the years, both our sons went to…read moreschool and graduated from Odyssey (not at the same time). The impact on them? Huge. As products of public K-12 education followed by college, my wife and I always put academics as a priority. We were a bit wary of Odyssey's smaller size at the start. But, a close friend's endorsement and our interactions with the faculty convinced us to take the plunge. The outcome? Our boys got more than just book smarts; they received tailored education thanks to the smaller classrooms. Importantly, each of the boys didn't just pass through Odyssey; they flourished there. Both boys enrolled in their preferred local private high schools post-Odyssey. While we always emphasized academics, the expeditionary feats at the school--like scaling Mt. Whitney, exploring Japan, or sailing the Channel Islands-- helped make them who they are today. Big kudos to Odyssey for this experience.

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    Visiting temples in Japan
    Visiting temples in Japan
    Zombie Girls from Zombeo and Juliet
    Zombie Girls from Zombeo and Juliet
    Konnichiwa!

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    Konnichiwa!
    UP Academy

    UP Academy

    5.0
    (7 reviews)
    2.6 mi

    I have 2 kids attending UP Academy and they love the school!…read more My older son used to struggle in a public school with math and writing. 3 years ago, at 2nd grade, we transferred him to UP Academy, and, within a few months, he has become a lil writer. He fell in love with writing. He wrote one full-page of very a fun story. I can't thank you enough to all the educators there. Since then until now, he always happy every morning that he gets to go to school. He loves the community there and the small-sized class makes him feel like a part of the community. My younger one started last year as a kindergartner. He loves his teachers and his friends. He learned a lot academically and socially. We love how UP academy teaches kids by their own paces. Thus, our kids get challenged throughout the year. If you are looking for a project-based learning, a place where you child can build confidence and empathy, small class sized, great community, and personalized learning, UP Academy is the place for your kids.

    We love UP Academy!…read more My older one went to the school since 2nd grade (now 3rd grader), and my younger one since TK (K now). The school is relatively new (2.5 years old) but our kids attended since 2 years ago. We are happy with the school in the full two years. ***Strength** We love the super low teacher-student ratio, the differentiation of learning. We also love the mixed-age classes, that allow kids to grow and thrive not limited by grade but by the their own levels. The school focused on growth mindset and recognize the efforts and progress. We also love the focus on project-based learning and social-emotion learning. The school also offers foreign languages classes, Chinese/Mandarin and Spanish. This might be a good plus for some families. We love that. We also appreciate the schools offer afterschool extension to 6pm as well. This is very helpful for parents who are both working. The school builds a great community. Teachers that we experienced - which means all teachers since we have two kids there for two years - are all very caring. Kids love each of them. The founder has an amazing vision inspired by a strong why. We love the philosophy, the vision & mission of the school. ***Potential concerns some families may have*** - Small school space: As a micro school, the school space is small - basically an office building only. But with various field trips and outdoor learning opportunities, especially during the pre-pandemic era, we don't have any concern at all. There's indoor facility for exercise, and kids love it. - Small class size For some parents, the small class size might be another concern for social issues. However, I appreciate this a lot since it also means great individual attention from teachers. Every kid can develop his/her own learning plan, academically and socially. We particularly appreciate the small size of the school during the pandemic time. A small class makes us feel safe to send kids to school in person during pandemic, knowing that the school is small and our kids could still learn and socialize safely in person with the COVID precautions that bigger schools may not be able to offer. The school remains open in 2020-2021 school year with the waiver. I believe it's heathier for kids to interact in person than virtually on Zoom anyways. - New school This is a progressive lab elementary school, and yes it's pretty new. We've seen the school evolving in the past two years, and overall towards a even better direction. I do encourage families to experience the school themselves during the trial-out days. We did so before we transferred our kids from a good public school in the following school year. Kids loved Up Academy so much that we made the decision right after they experienced the school. It turned out to be one of the best decisions we've ever made. Overall, we love the school and highly recommend the school to other families.

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    UP Academy
    UP Academy
    UP Academy

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    Ralston Middle School

    Ralston Middle School

    2.6
    (9 reviews)
    2.3 mi

    Today during snack, one of my friends got milk from the cafeteria. He opened it and dipped an Oreo…read morein. When he took out the Oreo, the milk that was on the Oreo was slimy and sticky. He immediately threw away the milk into the trash in disgust. Once, when I got a cheeseburger from the cafeteria, there was no cheese, and the meat looked weird. It still tasted okay, but not the best. On Fridays when they serve pizza, it is similar to cardboard. The paper holder for the pizza sticks to the pizza, and when I take it off to eat the pizza, the paper sticks to the pizza so that I get a mouthful of paper when I eat. The pizza's taste is underwhelming and lackluster. Last year was much worse though. The pizza was a tiny square in a small plastic tray, with a ton of peas next to it. The pizza itself was covered in a layer of grease so thick that most of the pizza was grease. The pizza was essentially a little bit of cheese on top of cardboard without sauce. Coming back to this year, some days the lunch is just a plain bagel inside of a paper container. The bagel is very cold with just a packet of sunflower seeds, and bad cream cheese for seasoning. So, speaking truthfully, it was bad. There is also no water and only milk served.

    I would give it negative 10 stars if possible. Mr Banker is the only good science teacher, the rest…read morehate kids. Ms Peters even uses ChatGPT on multiple occasions. (according to my child) She favors classes and has obvious least favorite classes. Ms Chaidez is stern but a good teacher, my child says they learn a lot in her class. The school lunch was moldy one day, and it sometimes makes my child nauseous. Please do something. This school was so bad that my child could not stay in the school for much longer. We decided to move cities completely as that what was best fit for our budget. Thank you for all the tears and hard days.

    Fusion Academy San Mateo

    Fusion Academy San Mateo

    4.0
    (6 reviews)
    2.1 mi

    I nightly recommend Mike, who taught my son for geometry and algebra and chemistry. son has ADHD…read moreand was very responsive to Mike's approach and calm demeanor. Also, Ty enjoyed working with Alicia for English 3. The tuition is higher than some. Also, I leaned that they do not qualify for 1098T filing. So, you can not use a 529 Plan to pay for tuition. We're hoping to continue to complete high school core requirements for graduation. COVID took a lot out of our kids. Grateful for this option that has helped restore some of my son's confidence in school.

    The 1:1 model is great if the student and teacher dynamic is a good fit. The school has a wide…read morerange of classes to offer, however, not all of the classes are available at each campus so a student may need to take online classes. Very expensive tuition and there is no financial aid available. Be careful of additional costs if your student is unable to complete the class during the regular number of sessions allotted and mastery sessions are required. I worked at both the San Mateo & Palo Alto campuses. The organization places a lot of pressure on the staff and there has been a lot of turnover at both sites.

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    Fusion students graduate with confidence and a plan for what comes next. In Fusion Academy's class of 2025, 99% of applicants...
    Fusion students graduate with confidence and a plan for what comes next. In Fusion Academy's class of 2025, 99% of applicants...
    Fusion Academy offers 1-to-1 instruction: just one student and one teacher per class for the entire session.
    Fusion Academy offers 1-to-1 instruction: just one student and one teacher per class for the entire session.
    Classes are personalized for each student's interests, learning preferences, and pace. The academic research is clear...

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    Classes are personalized for each student's interests, learning preferences, and pace. The academic research is clear...

    Highlands Elementary School - elementaryschools - Updated July 2026

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