This school has been amazing for my kids. We stumbled upon it post pandemic, my son starting TK…read morehardly able to hold a pencil, and I was so blown away by how much he learned in such a short amount of time. The arts programs instantly brought out his passion for all things drawing. Most importantly, he has always been happy there. Five years later and neither of my kids have ever said "I don't want to go to school today". Besides the arts programs, which include music, dance and physical arts, they also have a garden program ran by California Climate action fellows. The social emotional education has been invaluable to both of my children as well. Absolutely love the diversity the school offers and the strong parent community. Volunteers are welcomed and encouraged and I always feel at home there. While we absolutely love it here, individual experiences will always vary, even in the absolute best schools. The school as a whole has wonderful teachers and a great philosophy. It works so well for so many kids, especially if you're invested in your kids education and supporting them from home. Definitely worth a tour if you're just starting off with schooling or in search of a new fit for your kid!

Our family has been part of this school since 2020. Over the years, we watched many families leave…read moreand often thought, "It's not that bad." For our children, it wasn't--until this year. The school year began in complete disarray, with inadequate supervision, students without assigned teachers or classrooms, and widespread confusion. Unfortunately, conditions only deteriorated from there. Throughout the year, students experienced repeated injuries, classroom evacuations, student elopements, frequent fire alarm disruptions, and recurring lice outbreaks that were not consistently communicated to families. One particularly troubling incident involved a substitute teacher who told a student with autism that autism "isn't real" and threatened to "call the cops" on a group of elementary students. Despite repeated efforts to raise concerns with school leadership, the board, and LAUSD, there was no accountability or communication with the affected families. LAUSD has already voted to close the middle school, and the elementary school's renewal will be reviewed during the 2026-2027 school year. I regret not taking other parents' concerns more seriously. We have decided to enroll our three children elsewhere next year. Our focus now is helping them recover academically and emotionally from a school environment where chaos often felt normalized and leadership seemed unresponsive. Parents should understand that this independent charter school operates under highly centralized leadership, with limited transparency or accountability. Many families, including ours, ultimately leave only after feeling they have exhausted every other option. I am genuinely glad for families whose children had positive experiences. However, those experiences do not erase the injuries, trauma, learning loss, and challenges many other students faced. Please consider a school with proven curriculum, healthy leadership and above all - safety.

Mala organización , la directora se aprovecha de su autoridad... no me sentí escuchada a mis…read morepreocupaciones y necesidades para con la educación y programa educativo de mi hijo

Awesome school, my nieces go here. The teachers are very patient and caring. It's hard to find…read moreparking around here when I gotta pick them up.

I was honestly really nervous about enrolling my son in a center, but I knew I needed the extra…read moresupport. A neighbor at the time recommended this location, so I decided to take a chance--and I'm SO glad I did. The staff and principal are incredibly nurturing, supportive, and truly care about both the kids and their families. I saw my son completely blossom during his time there, and I truly credit them for that growth. Life took us in a different direction and we had to move, but I can confidently say--you won't regret enrolling your child here. It was the best decision I've made and I really wish my boys could've stayed there. Thank you so much

My daughter, nieces and nephews, friends children, and now my 2 yr old son have/is attending this…read moreschool. I am very please with the atmosphere, curriculum and staff. Mostly,I would like express that all the staff members are extraordinary. Starting with Ms. Mendoza, She is truly the most wonderful person to talk to and easy work with. The principal Mrs. Ewing has been so helpful throughout my sons speech delay journey. Also all the T-A's and Teachers have been a great support. They all deserve more that 5 stars. I have known most of them for many years because my daughter went there for two years and I also have referred many family members and friends since they needed more children or the city would be closing it down. Hands down!!! Best EEC in Atwater Village and surrounding neighbors.

This school has come a long way from where it was about ten years ago. The administration is…read morealways walking around the hallways, helping me students that are lost in this gigantic campus. They are very personable and easy to talk to. I can tell teachers really care about and motivate the students in different ways. The principal has an annual Christmas raffle where all students have the chance of winning a variety of prizes from candy bars, gift cards to Target or In N Out, to bicycles and skateboards. The students really enjoy having their name called on the intercom to report to the office and collect their prize. Mr. Roskam (principal) makes it fun for students to love learning!!!

Ts school is very bad they have a horrible math program that has homework of things they haven't…read moreeven learned #FREEELI

Terrible school, rude passive aggressive staff, rude people overall. Made my daughter feel like she…read moredid not belong. Do not send your kid here unless you want them to have an unreasonable horrible high school experience with very rude people. Not to mention the bullying my child has gone through without it being properly acknowledged. Horrible school with horrible staff and a horrible experience.

Terrible school. The staff are so unreasonable. Old ladies need to take a chill pill. My daughter…read morefelt really threatened today because of some female staff members since they were very passive aggressive. Overall its an Okay school.

Good school, nice area, good teachers, small number of students, and current principal Armineh is…read morevery involve in activities and with students. I like what she does last month especially, she gave a medal for the student who did proficient and advanced score on last year California State test (CST), when my daughter got an award, she was so happy and proud because this is her first medal ever. And i know it leaves a good impact to inspire other students to do good. Also they got a blue ribbon award in this school. All my 3 kids went here and i am very satisfied. Currently one of my daughter is 3rd grader. Thank you all to the principal, teachers, staff, parents and students for making Clifford a nice and memorable elementary experience for my kids.

A truly special school that we feel so fortunate to have found. There are many reasons we…read moreappreciate El Rio, but one that grows daily is our appreciation for a no-tech/low-tech learning environment. As data mounts about the harms of pervasive tech in schools, it is simply not something we have to worry about.

It's hard to write a review of a school that had its inaugural year smack dab in the middle of a…read morepandemic, which is why I'm giving it three stars instead of the two that I would be inclined to give it under less extraordinary circumstances. I'll start with some positives, the staff, teachers, and parent community at the school are lovely and kind, and the student body makeup seems to have a good mix of race and socioeconomic backgrounds. The school is lottery-based, so their student body's diversity depends on who they target via marketing efforts. The first red flag I had with the school was attending a parent education night, and the person leading the meeting mentioned that the 3rd-grade class spends the year studying stories from the Old Testament, starting with the "myth" of Cain and Able. Another mother and I did a triple take, we asked, "How is this possible in a public school?" The reply was that they teach these stories a "myths" and not as biblical stories. Around the same time, there was a rumble amongst the parents because some of the children in the older grades were told not to use black and brown crayons because they "weren't as pretty" as the other colors of crayons. In the midst of all that was happening in the world, this felt extremely inappropriate and off-base. That was my second red flag. This prompted me to do some deeper research into the origins of Waldorf because I had come into this school thinking this was a play-based, child-centered approach that didn't stress hard academics in Kindergarten and taught reading when it was developmentally appropriate, etc. The origins of Waldorf are laden with "spiritual", religious and racist undertones and the founder of Waldorf Rudolf Steiner was simply put a religious kook and a racist. This article sums up Waldorf nicely https://medium.com/age-of-awareness/waldorf-schools-are-inherently-racist-cults-91193d1fbef6 There is no science in the curriculum, which they may change later, and if your child turns out to be more academically inclined you will either need to get a tutor to expose them to more complex materials or find them another school. I recently had my child assessed by an independent tutor for first-grade readiness as we are transferring to another school and he had only been exposed to 15-20% of the materials he needed to learn to be ready for 1st grade. Obviously, this was an upsetting revelation. At the end of the day, Waldorf was not for us and I would encourage everyone to research it deeply before committing to having their child attend any Waldorf-based school.

Think twice about sending your children to this school. Weigh your options…read more Rude staff and administration is even worse. Lack of empathy. When my son was seriously injured on campus (during a prior school year) there was no show of concern for his well-being. His recovery was months long and the principal did not reach out nor return my calls. When I went in the office to speak with her, I was told she was unavailable and in a meeting. Sadly, her office door was wide open and she was sitting in there alone not looking occupied whatsoever. There is heavy emphasis placed on the magnet program but unfortunately, not all students are given the same opportunities or attention. Our family learned that over the years. My three children attended this school. My daughter's 4th grade teacher lacked emotional intelligence as did the school psychologist. The teacher made me wait in the hall 20 minutes for our scheduled teacher/parent conference. She took a personal call during our session which cut into my time. She seemed to be screaming on the phone in a foreign language so I don't know what was being said but the tone was very uncomfortable/inappropriate. She was late and ended early not allowing me my allotted time. She did make time to accuse me of not having my kid study enough. The psychologist insulted me and suggested my child was below grade level because I worked until 7:00 pm and served dinner too late. She proceeded to ask me personal questions about my job and my educational background. It felt like an interrogation. My son's 5th grade teacher mocked my son for clearing his throat too often. She was a bully and kids fed off this behavior. There is no accountability from their end and no supportive services were offered to help enrich my children's education. Any deficiencies were blamed on me, the parent. Anti-bullying rules are not enforced. Major concern.

My two girls had Miss Wong in 3rd Grade. My youngest had Miss Miller in 6th grade. Miss Miller and…read moreMiss Wong are the best! They made a positive difference in my kids' life. They treat kids fairly and nicely. They handle different kinds of students accordingly depending on a situation. They teach really good and make sure kids will learn. I want to thank them both, especially Miss Miller who helped my youngest gained self confidence and believe in herself. She is the coolest and funniest teacher. My family loves Miss Wong and Miss Miller!