I've only had positive experiences with this school. My son so far has had Lara and Dalida as…read moreteachers in preschool and I can't say enough positive things about them and the school. My son loves his teachers and always talks about them! It is a Christ-centered school that is proud of its Armenian heritage and preserving the culture. I have yet to see an ounce of prejudice (financial or cultural). All students are treated equally despite race and financial status, and despite being an Armenian school, is welcoming to students of all backgrounds. The leadership from the top down is solid and I have yet to have any issues with any teachers or leadership.

If there was a way to somehow put a 6th star in this review I would. It's the best feeling when I'm…read moreable to drop off my daughter here at school and not have an ounce of worry in EVERY single category. Whether it be safety, education, culture and Christian values etc. I am so happy and so blessed to be sending my daughter here at SMACS. Whats better is that the school gives plenty of opportunity to be involved in the school to give me a better look as to what's going on. My daughter comes home everyday happy and excited to tell me about her day. She loves her teachers and principal. Never seen a principal that cares so much about the kids and school in general. This was one of the best decisions my wife and I have made in sending our child here.

Foothill Progressive Montessori is a truly exceptional school that we have had the honor of sending…read moreour daughter to for the last two and a half years. Run by Ms. Kanthi and staffed by a truly excellent array of teachers, including Ms. Chrissy, Ms. Kim, and Ms. Fatema, Progressive has been instrumental in the growth and development of our daughter from age 3 to 5. With the guidance of Progressive, our daughter gained admission to our first choice private school, and one of the most competitive schools in the state. Over the years we have come to deeply value the warm, thoughtful environment of the school. Birthdays are truly special occasions frequented by princesses and superheroes, exceptional art is made with the guidance of teachers, and the educational rigor is unmatched. With the dedicated guidance of Ms. Fatema, our now 5 year old daughter can read, write, and do basic arithmetic at the level of a late Kindergartener, winning the admiration of family, friends, and admissions directors alike. Just as important, Progressive has allowed our daughter to find her voice, speak up and give her opinion, and instill her with a level of confidence that wows everyone around her. While perhaps less well known than other preschools that profess to be "feeders" for the competitive Pasadena private school scene (and who charge accordingly), Foothill Progressive is exceptional in that it stands not on a name, but the merits of its teachers and genuine commitment to the success of its students. Our daughter's success is proof that this is what truly matters. Thank you, Progressive Montessori, for everything you have done for our daughter and family. You deserve nothing less than our highest recommendation and we encourage all parents in La Canada, Pasadena, and Altadena to join your wonderful community.

We absolutely LOVE Foothill Progressive Montessori School. Our kids have been at this school since…read more2022, and I was a student 1997-1999. Ms. Kanthi was my teacher and now she owns the same school and teaches my kids! She is absolutely amazing! All of the staff are incredible. Ms. Fatema, Ms. Chrissy, Ms. Kim, Ms. Sumudu, Ms. Raquel, Ms. Angelica, Ms. Hazmik. Literally every single one of them. All of them treat the kids as if they were their own, so much love and patience with the kids. My kids love going to school and they actually get excited about learning. Ms. Fatema's science class has been amazing in instilling a love for learning for our oldest child. We can't wait for our other kids to take Ms. Fatema's science class and Ms. Kim's science class. My oldest is definitely ready for kindergarten solely because of Ms. Fatema. The school has great hours for working parents from 7:30 AM to 5:30 PM. Hot lunch is available for an additional fee. The school goes all out for all of the holidays and graduation. There are lots of opportunities for parent involvement should you want to be involved. The environment is screen-free and true to the Montessori method.

PWS is a beautiful school that nurtures children's development by providing a holistic education…read morethat protects childhood in the early years and develops critical thinking skills and emotional intelligence. The curriculum is well rounded, academic and progressive, centered around the child's development. The diverse community is one where families genuinely connect and are deeply involved. The relationships students have with their teachers is very special. Teachers get to know them well and care for their education. I highly recommend this school

PWS has been the most incredible learning environment for our child and family. We cannot recommend…read morethis program, these teachers and this community more highly.

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.

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.

My daughter had started here about 1 month before pandemic closures. Although we all had a…read moredifficult time getting situated with online learning, the staff was so amazing and helpful were excited to see how this new year will turn out! My little 2nd grader will now be a 4th grader! Thank you Rockdale for always being helpful and showing love to the students. Go Rockets!!

This school just became a Magnet school last month. The community is very supportive and the kids…read moreare so well behaved when I come to read stories on Fridays.

This is a school that caters to special needs students. I've seen how the teachers interact with…read moreeach student, they are caring and give all of their time and attention to each! I appreciate all of the programs and how they work to fulfill each students individual needs for success! Parking can be tricky around pickup, arrive early to grab a spot!

We enrolled our daughter based on the wonderful experience our good friends had with their sons…read morelearning differences. What transpired there with my daughter has essentially ruined her life. My daughter has learning differences , not on the spectrum. We had complained about a boy who my daughter said was obsessed with her. We requested for her to not be in the same classroom as this boy, request denied. Then one day her mood shifted and she cried every morning not wanting to go to school. She couldn't tell us what happened. It was too traumatic for her to voice it. She was in 4th grade. Her behavior was very anxious and not able to stay in the classroom. They tried to accommodate her by spending time in the principles office. She was still not able to stop panicking. We had to take her out. 5 years of therapy later it was revealed she was sexually assaulted in the bathroom by the boy. She is still traumatized by it and probably always will be. We have been through hell. Suicide attempts , inability to focus, an eating disorder etc etc etc. she is now in 10th grade having to be held back a year because of lost class time due to the trauma. And disgustingly this was not an isolated instance. The one family we became close to who also left discover the same boy sexually assaulted their son. I'm not saying the school itself is awful in sure there are amazing experiences and caring teachers. And for many we met there this is the only option so you naturally choose to accept or maybe turn a blind eye to red flags. I don't know if the head of school has changed but she was awful. Good luck!

We are such big fans of Saint Ignatius! The school is small but up-to-date. The classrooms are…read moresuper clean. And the extras make it feel special. The kids have the option of after school activities like soccer, chess and dance. The teachers, I could not recommend more. We dubbed our teacher, Miss Honey. (Matilda reference ) every child is given equal attention so that no child falls behind. We've seen our son's grades improve along with his knowledge. Our teachers and our principal are amazing at communication. We always get a response and all of our questions are always addressed. Truly feel blessed to be there. It feels like home.

St. Ignatius has been a family school for many years. I love the feeling of community. The teachers…read moreand staff are very attentive to the students needs both academic and socially/emotionally. There is a lot of hands on learning through projects and small group learning which teaches kids how to cooperate amongst each other. This is a skill that many kids loose but not the St Ignatius kids. Love the fact that they still have a very good teacher to student ratio, which gives the opportunity for teachers to give their students the attention they need and deserve. Great school and I highly recommend it to anyone who is looking for a very attentive community.