Our oldest boy was at MBCS from kindergarten thru 8th grade and was well prepared for high school. Our younger, 4 years later, also was at MBCS from kindergarten thru 8th grade. Both graduated at top of their classes. MBCS had about 15 in older son's 8th grade class and younger son's graduating 8th grade class had about 4 due to some staff changes that parents did not like. The education was still good and MBCS dealt with small class size (something the public schools complain about) by combining some grades. Which was not us parents' preference, but it worked. After all, the USA somehow survived long ago in the "one room school house" days of combined grades. It worked and our younger son graduated and went on to MVCS in Watsonville, like his older brother which was an academic kick butt school at least until his senior year when new leadership made changes the staff and students did not like ("IB" etc) and lost experienced teachers. MBCS is affordable at around $7,000 a year. Classes small. Teachers dedicated. They try hard for a small Christian school. And teach both academics for high school prep and good citizenship (Bible teachings) though one does not have to be a professed Christian to attend. Older son went on to MVCS (Watsonville) and was a top student and got a merit scholarship and then on to U.C.Davis which was good on classes but totally sucked at helping him get into a grad school. Davis did nothing to help. Happily older son made a friend of one professor who helped him get accepted into a good grad school in PA, Marywood University (Catholic) where I think she was alumni, and where he did well, got a job in his major and now works full time and is happy with everything but the weather (hot summers, cold winters...not Monterey, CA weather for sure!) It took a lot of effort to even get older son's diploma out of U.C.Davis...huge school, huge classes, huge graduation and so next to nothing in support timeliness and help. Plus did forced "get covid shots or get kicked out" right before classes started so no time to change schools. Younger was a top student at MBCS (the small, mixed grades classes did not hurt...maybe helped with so much individualized teacher/student attention), and then became a top student at MVCS and when applying for college, applied about a dozen schools and was accepted by all. He went to Simpson University in Redding, did well. Good teachers, ho hum counseling dept. A modest sized Christian college where he did well. Worst was 4 in a dorm room for Freshmen, after that he got double rooms with a friend as RA (dorm resident assistant. RA was a good deal...got 1/2 price on cafeteria and free room in dorm as I recall. Plus a $20,000 academic scholarship per year for 4 years. Which was nice for a $50k/year private college (tuition, books/fees, dorm, meals). Then he applied to grad schools, where all but SFSU (San Francisco) the last college I attended, accepted him and is now at Sacramento State University in a very tough doctoral grad program that makes him glad his previous schools were academically intense. So two kids, one now working for a couple hospitals (one full time and one part time) and one a top student due to intense hard work with a heavy, exhausting medical-related academic load, both got their start to successes at MBCS. A small, humble, caring K-8th Seaside, CA Christian school where they began. So yes, I like MBCS because it started out two kids out to a path to successes. And our young niece there is happy. Has friends and likes the teachers. Where could MBCS do better? It could send graded quizzes, tests, etc home each Friday so parents could get weekly "how their kid is doing?" feedback. I think that would be a very helpful idea. Weekly academics feedback instead of less frequent parent/teacher conferences. RH read more

This school has had a bit of administrative turnover since my children have been here, but it has not affected what has gone on in the classrooms whatsoever and they have had amazing teachers who absolutely love and live for the students. The principal they have now is amazing and a visionary. The academics for the younger grades (can't speak for older yet) have been great and challenging. Jesus is palpable on campus and everything they do from curriculum to leadership to discipline is through a Biblical world view. Everyone knows every students' name. They are extremely family oriented and all of the staff looks at the whole child before they see them as a student. The class sizes are small and the teachers really learn and work with the individual needs of the students and communicate so well with parents. The students are so well loved and cared for. It's a small but mighty and sweet school! read more

I realize this is a religious school. However, major red flag, this particular school thinks it's important enough to put in their student handbook that: "Human beings are each made one of two sexes/genders, male and female, and are designed for monogamous, heterosexual union according to God's will." My friends and I both considered this school for our children and this statement was a major red flag. My friends are a married lesbian couple, there was no way they were going to send their children to a school that so blatantly makes it clear that they have a problem with non-hetrosexual families. I am not going to send my kid to a school that is so blatantly discriminatory, and my family does not want to be affiliated with an organization like this. I went to religious schools most of my life, and none of them had statements in their handbook like this. A parent of a child that attends this school tried to argue with me that the bible is against gays, and this is a Christian school, so it's okay to say that, but everyone at the school is nice and not going to judge a non-hetrosexual family. Well great, the entire Bible is not in the student handbook, only a summary of the most important stuff, and apparently the school felt this was important to specify. And honestly, if the parents at the school really disagree with it because they are all "such nice people", then they should be actively petitioning that the school change their handbook. Want to check it out? The 2018/2019 handbook is on their website under parent resources, look at page 9. https://s3.amazonaws.com/media.cloversites.com/10/1059ffaa-61c4-4855-bb2e-6cb593793ea0/documents/Family_Handbook.pdf read more

Monterey Bay Christian School - "male and female, and are designed for monogamous, heterosexual union according to God's will" - Elementary Schools Near Me - Seaside, California

This place is horrible. If your child doesn't fit their "standards", they will manufacture something to run your child out. They have no coping mechanism for handling different types of kids. My experience there was horrendous. I'm so glad my child is out of there. These people are intolerant and poorly trained. I'm not even speaking about the philosophical side as other negative reviews had mentioned. This place just down right sucked. Do your research before enrolling your child here. Sometimes paid education isn't always better. read more

Normally I don't leave reviews for schools but for this one I can make an exception. Education quality: The curriculum is 100% on a computer and it is very easy for a child to get left behind. Teachers do not complete entire lessons so a parent has to ask their child what is going on when they go into the website for the curriculum and see that the class is 20 lessons behind. When kids do get stuff wrong in this ignitia website/program it just says that the answer is wrong and doesn't give in depth feedback on why the answer is wrong. The teacher doesn't engage either and the child can just move on with no idea what they are doing. It just gives them the answer. The lower grades use physical material but they are overfilled. Third grade had a teacher who was forced to absorb another 3rd grade class because one teacher quit and there was no urgency in hiring another teacher. So that class currently has more than 25 kids. A few of the kids who are doing advanced work, ended up bored because large classes have to cater to the lowest denominator in the class. The advanced learners are bored. Philosophy,conflicts, punishment: The school is only Christian in name. While they do have a daily Bible class and chapel on Friday, that is as far as Christian values go. Teachers, mainly in the higher grades,don't resolve or apply any sort of teaching ( biblical or not) to help kids through conflicts. They punish arbitrarily like for example teachers give detention for not doing long division correctly, or even looking at the principal wrong. There is a click mentality and a flagrant display of favoritism. For example a child who is not violent but hyperactive and irritating to teachers is excessively punished and it is made clear that the child isn't someone they enjoy. Even if a child who has a history of bullying and being violent, if that child grabs or pushes or strikes the child whom they do not enjoy, the child who was assaulted is punished far more severely than the assailant. Children are allowed to use foul language, tell each other to shut up, call each other stupid, sing inappropriate songs, etc...all within earshot of teachers who do nothing. **Bullying: The " strict" hands off policy is not strict at all and it's only a way to lure families who have had to deal with bullying in other schools. Several students on campus are bullies within various grades. On many occasions (more than once or twice) my own children have experienced bullies calling them names and children touching them with the intent of causing harm. Each time the teachers did nothing and the principal allowed the bullies to be victims. For example: bully( with history of violence) violently grabs and shoves a smaller boy. Smaller boy is terrified and punches bully. Bully gets nothing because smaller boy was dancing during a game. Bully says oh he was taunting me....bully gets nothing, boy who defended himself gets detention and in school suspension..... OR little girl continually grabbing a child, calling them stupid, pushing. Teachers and the principal allow such a child to say things to justify her actions and then the adults validates it. For instance " she said that I got out in four square so I hit her" or " she did something 4 months ago so I hit her"...the same child can use the exact same excuse whenever she is about to be in trouble. Through all the initial smiles and welcoming attitude, once they have your money that all goes away. If you're considering Monterey Bay Christian School, consider homeschooling because the children are doing a homeschool curriculum without any thorough oversight at all... It's not worth $12k (for two kids) and from what I understand tuition went up for no discernible reason. read more

Everyone at MBCS is very friendly and nice. My kids go there and it's the best private school there is!! We love it!

If I can give them a 10 stars I will. Guys, this is a Christian school. If the school agenda or teaching does not fit your beliefs THEN MOVE ON and find a different school for your kids. I read the pathetic reviews from doctor w, jane s, and loraine l. Your reviews clearly demonstrated that you are the type of parents who cannot be pleased. Why attend a Christian school if you can't even be kind to people and businesses. There is a pandemic going on people, you absolutely have no empathy to others and businesses, rather than take time to work on yourself, you took joy in BASHING people and businesses and leave them a NEGATIVE review because the school will not waiver from the Bible. SHAME ON YOU! I am starting to realize platform like yelp is for HATERS and people who enjoys putting other people and businesses DOWN. I am SO GLAD you guys don't attend this school. I have two wonderful kids attending this school since kindergarten (4 yrs ago), while NO ONE is perfect and NO SCHOOLS are perfect but for the fact that my kids are enjoying going to school everyday, thriving academically, and not behind like many other kids in public school is a HUGE BLESSING. I would HIGHLY recommend this school to ANYONE! We thank God for the staffs and Principal for their love and hard work. God Bless You! read more

My two kids go there. They get plenty of Teacher attention and Hands on Learning! I also LOVE the fact they Teach God's Word and Values!!!!! This is a Quality School! I Agree with The School Handbook on God's Word and Will! read more

I understand that private religious-based institutions are legally allowed to deny admittance based on faith. However, as a fellow Christian, I was blown away that a school doesn't allow all to learn about their faith and community. I'm very grateful they were honest from day 1 about the teachings of negativity towards other Christian faiths as this would have been heartbreaking to learn later on down the road. read more

Although my daughter has only attended this school for a month, I can already say that we are completely satisfied with it. I will update my review as the year progresses. We are a military family and last year we chose a different private school for our daughter. The tuition was more expensive and the campus was nicer, but it was lacking in many aspects, like academics and social environment. At Monterey Bay Christian School everybody is really nice and we can tell from the very beginning that everyone involved in the school genuinely cares about the growth of every single student there. Everybody has been very welcoming. Our daughter loves her teachers, classmates, and is looking forward to going to school every single day. We have witnessed a huge, positive change in our daughter thanks to MBCS. We are impressed with the level of academics and our daughter's teacher is making sure that she is at level with the other students after being at such mediocre school last year. At first we were concerned about choosing a Christian school since we are Catholic and very relaxed in our religious practices. We were afraid that religion would be pushed too much or something. It is not like that. Our daughter loves the religion class, the daily prayers, and they go to the chapel just one day per week. It is actually nice to know that she is learning many positive things and nothing is radical or weird. Also, we like that many of the families at MBCS are military and also the fact that the student body is very diverse. As I said before, I will write updates in the future, but so far I could not be happier. read more

I don't know much about the school since I never received a call back. I called twice and talked to the secretary who had apparently talked to the principal. Both times I was told she (the secretary) or the principal would call me back soon. It has been more than a week and their chance has come and gone. Terrible customer service despite hearing great things about the school. read more

The best school ever . My two kids and my nieces are very happy to be there . The staff are great . Very organized .

My daughter has been going to this school since kindergarten. Now she's in the 7th grade. I love the teaching of this school and Dr. Hackney the principal is the best. His love for God..family..church..and the school is amazing. read more

My son loves it. He is a walking advertisement for the school telling everyone how great it is. Small class sizes. Caring teachers. Fun and educational field trips. Lots of family involvement. read more

Both of my daughters went through Little Ones Preschool, MBCS elementary, and middle school. My youngest is in 6th grade there now. My oldest is 19 and is pre-med. I can absolutely say that Monterey Bay Christian provided a firm foundation for the importance of education, homework, etc. prior to public high school. Yes, it's a Christian school, so why are people surprised that they are receiving an education that reflects Christian beliefs and values? There is enough time in life to be exposed to the "real world," kids in K-8th can avoid it a little. I'm sorry that some people had a bad first impression, but as someone who has been a part of the MBCS community for the last 15 years, I highly recommend this school. read more

Monterey Bay Christian School used to be a fabulous school, up until the beginning of this school year. At that time, new management was hired and the principal, whom the children and the teachers loved dearly, was released with no explanation provided. In addition, some of the teachers/staff left, also under mysterious circumstances. Starting the 2017-18 school year the children will be learning though a computer-based homeschooling curriculum. Most of the teachers, who are the school's best asset and wonderful with the kids, will also be gone at that time. It seems the school will also be combining classes, plus moving towards learning at a computer would allow them to have fewer teachers. My heart truly breaks. read more

$7000 or more per child I think is the cost. Not bad depending on your budget I suppose. I dont believe the school is non-profit, so someone is probably getting paid. I cant speak for what its like there now, but when I went it was not great. The school is in the middle of seaside, kind of a ick part of town, but all of seaside seem that way to me. Most of the people who went there were nice. The administration there I didnt like, they were overbearing. "tuck in your shirt" "sit up straight" "your belt is too blue, get one like everyone elses" "You got a C-?Make your mom sign this acknowledgement form" As far as it being a Christian school, you can feel it in a lot of ways. They were definitely strict about everything from the dress code to what you said. Every Wednesday they had mass(?) which involved a lot of singing. The whole feel I got from their ministries was different than Id encountered before. It was like a watered down version of Christianity, with a pinch of rock(to make it seem cool in a lame way) and a "us against them" attitude towards everything. Some parents must of been dogmatic about their views because you could see their opinions expressed by their kids in class. The school promoted a very conservative view on everything from evolution to sex of course. If you asked in depth questions about Christianity they could not answer them as they were a non denominational school, I think that added to the bland flavor of neoconservative Christianity. The non denomination theme I think made things confusing. Mrs. Morrrison would say something like "the jews are the chosen people by god" and instantly all the kids would believe it since they obeyed well. Mr. Hellam challenged what she said one time in a non confrontational way saying "not everyone believes that, theres other opinions. The Jews when they betrayed Christ lost their place as gods chosen people". Confusing at times. Youd hear the teachers talk about how you have to get A's to be successful and then the same ones would tell you how the poor are meek and hint the rich are evil. Mixed signals, hello! At my Church we got a clearer picture on things other than just sex. I think they could have explained better some of the scriptures, but that would be opinion and not go with how they taught. The school grounds at the middle school were bland, lockers were one of the few things that made it resemble a school.For PE change in the tiny bathroom. They had vending machines 1 year, then removed them, apparently they were trouble. Mr. Hellam was knew his stuff but was stern too. Mr. Soski I remember having a meltdown in class like a child and screaming loudly at everyone more angry than Ive ever seen over really nothing then made us write essays about were how were sorry. Mrs. Morrison was opinionated and very vocal about politics, but was by far the best teacher there and the most caring. Mrs. Vendenburg I wish I could say good things about, but unfortunately she falsely accused me of some things while there that caused me to have to transfer at the end of school. Educationally you come out ahead. The biblical stuff is good, but wont help you in public school. Your kid will probably get a A+ in English at public school(if he took Mr.Hellam) and screw up in science. Overall for me the almost 3 years there was a ok experience, nothing great. Public school was heaven comparably with its simple freedoms like dressing out. If you want your kid to obey you like a robot then perhaps this is the school for him, maybe thats why there are lots of military stick their kids here. If you want your kid to come out a theologian then you should probably stick him somewhere where they express their doctrine clearly and concisely. Then again I went there a long time ago, should this review even matter now? Probably not; disregard what you just read! hahaha read more