My puppy Chancho had his very first groom here yesterday 1/2/26 and Andrew was very informative and…read morehelped me understand what to expect. My puppy did well and looked so cute afterward. I'd like to thank Andrew and the student that worked on him for giving him a great first experience. I was even taught how to work with him at home to desensitize him when having his face worked on. Thanks so much

Thank you to Andrew and his amazing Team for always doing an amazing job with these 3 furry kids.read more

Caring and supportive staff with excellent teaching skills. My nieces had to pull their children…read morefrom a competing Sierra Madre "Catholic" school with a nice mansion but that was all it offered. The kids have been so much more enthusiastic about their learning and the environment at St. Rita's. The school is established and that says a lot. I think they hit a rough patch when a past principal was fired, took staff and the student roladex to start the competing school. St. Rita's seems to have weathered the upheaval and are strong. My family really enjoyed their inclusive nature. One family is a practicing Catholic but the other not and says no one makes a big deal about it. Both say they feel very happy with their choice of St. Rita. No one seems to shun my one niece who goes to a church closer to where she lives. That says a lot about acceptance too. I toured the school with them. I could just tell the staff knew what they were doing. They discussed their methodologies and how they handled the different learning abilities of their students. Looking forward to their grandparents day, debate tournaments, theater and other events they offer. This school has so much more than just a sports program. There is a variety of opportunities for each of my grand nieces and nephews that do not require they be in a sport. Their PE program is well rounded. I am not sure if St. Rita's has an immense budget but from what I could see the teacher's and staff are creative. No child is lacking from talking with returning families. My kiddo's are making friends and the families we met are delightfully involved. No one is pushing their agenda or sticking their hand out for money all the time. So far so good.

I don't normally review things, but I have had a horrible experience with the school. Many of the…read moreteachers are very unprofessional with their students and the lack of discipline baffles me. Some of the teachers were caring, but I find it preposterous some of the things that others got away with, like blatant favoritism. I do know some of the staff members were fired, but based on previous years, they just cannot find competent people to hire. Also, according to my child's experience, things I've heard from other parents, and events I've witnessed myself, many of the children here get away with terrible behavior. I have heard so many horror stories of children saying racial slurs and micro aggressive comments, but none of them have faced actual punishment, besides maybe getting marked. If you are looking for a small, cozy Catholic school to send your children to, St. Rita is not that.

I have visited this Y twice only - first time to get set up with personal trainer service and the…read moresecond time to meet my new trainer. Their weight rooms are small with less equipment compared to other locations in the area so we set up our following sessions elsewhere. They have two pools here - one outside that's seasonal (I think) and an indoor pool year round - and you make timed reservations via their app. Super easy to use and you can block out 30 minute increments as available in each lane with no limit to how long you want to swim - so helpful in avoiding conflicts! They also have a small weight room with nautilus machines and some free weights, and a treadmill room that includes bikes, ellipticals and a stair master. They have weekly classes you can also sign up for - also very easy to do in their app. They don't have as many class offerings as they used to though - but I think they're all still trying to get things back up and running again from the pandemic. This location does seem to offer more classes than the Monrovia location at the moment. The staff are all so helpful and friendly! Prices are very reasonable- especially compared to all the other gyms in the area - I've been shopping around for general gym services with a pool and personal trainer for several months now and the prices here beat all the others. They have ample parking but it's near a local park and fills up fast.

I'm here five days a week. Soooo much better than traditional "gym rat" places. You're nuts if u…read moredon't go.

My 8 year old year sister adores coming here and looks forward to it every time she goes. From…read morelearning different art techniques and new mediums she is inspired to create more and more. Her favorite teacher, Miss Taylor, cultivates an expressive and enjoyable leaning environment for her students. It's wonderful to see my little sister enjoy showing off her creativity.

I took art classes here as a young child. It was perfect environment for me with the discipline and…read morestructure. And it's where I fell in love with art. I went on to the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts with the foundation I learned here.

We still look back at our time at SMCNS as some of the best time spent on our children's…read moreupbringing. My now high school aged child thrived while at SMCNS and still recalls fun memories of his time there. He was accepted to every private school we applied to in the Pasadena-area, including some of the most prestigious ones, with no extra tutoring or educational supplementation. We moved away when my younger child was in attendance and finding a similar preschool in our new area was impossible. My son was much more prepared for Kindergarten than my daughter who attended a less developmentally focused preschool.

I just transferred my son from a highly rated, 2-year- wait list school in the area. He was…read moremiserable there for some unknown reason, which I still can't pinpoint exactly what went wrong. The teachers, director, and I tried everything we could think of, and my son continued to hate going to school everyday. He threw massive tantrums and pushed boundaries with his teachers, he eventually did the same at home with me and my husband. I was unaware how stressed he was for 2 months until the week my son joined SMCNS. Last couple of months, he started struggling at bedtime and sleeping 1-2 hours less at night. I thought he was going through sleep regressions or that he just didn't need as much sleep as he's getting older. Turns out he's been stressed. Since the first day at SMCNS, he calmly settles down to sleep at night and sleeps for 11+ hours through the night, uninterrupted. He is not cranky after school and does not fight over little things with us anymore. He's back to being his old happy self again. I shed happy tears seeing the immediate changes in my son, and wish I had switched schools earlier. I've been a teacher for 15 years with a child development background, and have 5 education certificates. Children need meaningful and purposeful play-based learning and develop social emotional skills to build the foundation they need to succeed in the future. I'm so glad to be part of the SMCNS community and know that my son is in good hands.

Both of my children went to this school through 6 th grade. It is a wonderful school and is rated…read morewell. One of my neighbors was displaced by the Altadena fire, and has 2 daughters who currently attend this school. They love it so much that they hope to still attend there when their home in Altadena is rebuilt.

On February 20th, my husband and I received some very disturbing news. Our son, Michael, shared…read morewith us that he was using the bathroom at school and a 5th grader was in the same bathroom watching him use the urinal. Our son expressed that it was making him uncomfortable and told him to leave. The other child refused and did not stop looking at Michael's private parts. In fact, he made a comment to the effect of "Next time I am going to take a picture and send it to your Mom!" This is completely unacceptable behavior and frankly warrants taking action. Michael also expressed that he shared this experience with Ms. Alma who later shared it with Mrs. An, his 4th grade teacher, and Mr. Budd, Special Education Teacher, only to be told that Mr. Budd knows who Michael was talking about!?! We as parents were not notified until we reached out to the school, Sierra Madre Elementary School and PUSD. As of today, our son Michael has not received an apology from the student nor the teachers who he trusted the most to share this disgusting experience. When will SME and PUSD take accountability for their actions and mistakes!!!

Wow they offer so many wonderful classes from ceramics to garden tours. I want to draw and paint…read morehere. Super close to the heart of Sierra Madre and many restaurants. Beautiful sculpture garden and peaceful fountains. Picasso only wishes he was here, too bad he's dead.

We stopped by for a quick glance at the artwork which usually we are not impressed with most…read moregalleries. This place had some great artwork that we really would love to have in our own home. I didn't see too many paintings with prices on them so I was afraid to ask what they cost.