I attended Pinewood a couple years ago. I am now at an elite university on the East Coast…read more I think that Pinewood is excellent because the teachers are able to provide you with one-on-one attention. Very good for college recs obviously. Public school ones might be very general... Anyways, teachers will help you during lunch and even after school, when they are not being paid. I think it's cool how they have math help hours after school with Mr. Green (if he even works there). My favorite math teacher was Ms. Walters (Genius lady :) ) Overall, the homework is not that excessive, and, more often than not, if we are ahead of the material, we can use the time to work on assignments for a portion of the class. The English department is good, however, I would appreciate it if they would have been stricter on us. Honestly, the longest paper I ever wrote was a 10 page paper for AP US Gov, and we allocated class time to write it. In English the longest paper was about 5 pages. I wish that the length and standards for papers would increase as one takes more advanced courses. The English department prepares you well for writing 25 minute essays for AP exams, but does not prepare you for 10-20 page papers you have to write as a college freshman at top colleges (Ivy leagues, top LAC, or top UC's). Please add a writing intensive course for seniors that IS NOT GRADED, that way students can learn to write college level papers without feeling so much pressure. Just make it a graduation requirement. The Spanish language department seemed to be more demanding than the French language department. I think because Ms. Schmidt was very very strict. I think she retired now. However, Mr. Tezlaff and Madame Daniel were/are very approachable and would always practice French with you whenever you need. They want you to succeed on the National French Contest and do well on AP French! Merci beaucoup mes professeurs. If your child does have a learning disability, the school will accommodate with longer test times, separate exam rooms, and sometimes extra hours of help with a teacher, so long as you can provide a paper verifying the disability. Also, of course disability is confidential information and students are not let known of classmates' disability. It is very common for children at PW to suffer from social anxiety, test anxiety, and depression though. Extracurriculars such as sports were really fun and the coaches (thanks Craig and Jackee) are really passionate! My main complaint is that the school lacks racial diversity. Of course this is because those who can afford the school are primarily White and Asian (South Asian as well as East Asian). When there were black and brown students (some of whom are on academic/athletic scholarship) many would feel ostracized and out of place and often leave after freshman year. Please provide counseling services/ extra funding for students of color. I specifically remember always having to pay tons of money for new uniforms (they would change each season) and new equipment. I would have appreciated it if there was fund that could help scholarship students with sports/extracurricular fees.

I went to Pinewood during the 80's, from kindergarten through sixth grade. I am still good friends…read morewith several people from my class, none of who stayed at Pinewood through high school. I say this because we feel like the best education we got, and the hardest we ever worked in K-12, was during our Pinewood years. What stands out to me is the fact that Pinewood did a wonderful job of enabling us to develop academically as well as artistically. They found a balance between the phonics-based Carden method, daily reading groups, math, science, and social studies classes, and the singing, drama, P.E., and art classes. Whenever I see Beatrix Potter books I flash back to 1st grade, and what would I do without my vast collection of oil paintings and clay sculptures of horses made during seven years of art, or my memories of being in "You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown" and "The Velveteen Rabbit" on the Pinewood stage. Pinewood was also strict in the sense that we feared the "demerit" and worse, "getting ten" which meant you had earned ten demerits that week and would have to see the principal. I think from that we learned responsibility and how to respect others, from our peers to our teachers. From following others in my class through Facebook updates and periodic announcements in the Los Altos Town Crier, I know many of us have gone on to become doctors, lawyers, entrepreneurs, and earn PhDs in subjects like bioengineering, computer science (or English- me- maybe that's liability to the Pinewood reputation, hah). However, most of us also came from the kind of high achieving, upper middle class, occasionally dysfunctional families that make those kind of achievements seem average, and admittedly, I was a little bit of a snob coming out of Pinewood, thinking only bad students would "have" to go to a UC instead of an Ivy. In those ways, Pinewood isolated us from the realities that not every kid could have their own pony or live in their own estate, and that could certainly be held against the school, our parents, and us. Knowing what the tuition is now, I don't know how people can afford to send one, let alone multiple, kid(s) there, and I wonder if the class-based elitism is still pervasive. Weighing those two sides of the coin- the fantastic academic and artistic education against the narrow exposure to others from any other socio-economic or religious backgrounds (most of the kids in my class were from the dominant Pinewood Mormon families)- a Pinewood education might not be the right choice for everyone. However, I am still grateful for the academic foundation I received there, and the real world came anyway, after I left Pinewood.

Gunn High School in Palo Alto is apparently on the list of top 100 schools in the country…read more I can't even imagine the luxury of having the assets, extracurriculars and extras not available to so many other students; they are fortunate. We were at Gunn High School for a swim meet and intelligently, since it was SuperBowl Sunday being played close by in Santa Clara, they started the meet early at 8:30 with warm-up beginning at 7am. Since my son was swimming unattached from his team, I connected with the director over email to introduce myself; Coach Anderes was so gracious. We had a great meet, good to get more competition time and push forward. I hope our division expands its reach to the south because Palo Alto is as easy or easier to reach than Sebastopol, Napa and others. And this site was exceptionally welcoming and well-run with clean facilities, lots of on-deck seating and plentiful parking in their private attached lot.

just for being a great school and curious but one thing that is good is the patience but sometimes…read morethe teachers are busy sometimes

Daughter is now a Junior. Principal Wynne Satterwhite is…read moreoutstanding - I seldom meet such a hard worker. I know she works long hours and have amazing memory for many of her students!! Her counselors, teachers (e.g. Messner, Arias, Russo,Blach,Wei,Cathy) badminton coaches all deserve medals of honor!! Daughter started 2017. She liked all the teachers. Great facilities. All teachers I met seem dedicated and nice. I like their "Challenge Day" where kids are taught to be nice to fellow classmates. I'm glad I volunteered for the 3 days they brought pioneers/captains of different industries to educate kids about their professions and how they succeed in life and how to avoid bullying by appreciating fellow students, some of whom are hurting inside. I learned a lot from these lectures.

I attended LAHS back in the late 80's early 90's... yes... way back then... and let me tell you…read more.. I have mixed feelings for LAHS. Education: High standards if you are the right kid whose counselor has interest and believes in you. My counselor insisted I attend a JC first... you know.... something my family could afford (I was an honor student!!!) being that I was from the other side of the tracks! But I managed... took many AP and honors courses... did not go to JC... got myself into many fine institutions of higher learning... Social Life: At LAHS... Cliques rule the quad... well, they used to, but something tells me it is the same old thing! While I was there I had two groups of friends... my recess crew and my lunch crew. The two did not mix I have always beenneutral and get along with almost anyone. So, this system worked for me. Teachers and Staff: I had teachers that have been there their whole careers. A bit spooky if you ask me. I think someone had even been a student there... It is a bit too much. The staff was interesting indeed. I knew most of them, being that I tried to participate in anything I could. Overall: Great education. Snobbery everywhere, had to try to fit in with the crowd. Academics a plus! I just think that originally coming from living in major cities, Los Altos was a bit too sleepy for my taste. But I thank my parents for the effort. ;-) If I had to do it over again I guess I would take the 4 years of torture again... It made me who I am today... an intelligent snobby gal... of course... only when needed! Go Eagles!

The comment by Patricia V. is basically the same for all 3 schools. I find that amusing…read more Terman is a good school. I mean that from deep down inside. It's not great, but not bad either. It's the newest out of all the schools, and has generally nice staff. Their students are known to not become bullies. They have a good balance in academic and sports. If you are looking for a tight community school, you've chosen the right one! The school itself does have some downsides. The lockers are outdoors.. preventing from any assurance that your belongings will still be there the next day. Most of their class rooms are separated, and a considerably small field [comparing to the other schools], which was my worry for fire escapes. Their race balance is very nice, although like JLS Asians are slightly more common... That isn't a problem in the teachers though. They are mostly American. Overall .... a nice school. :]

Terman is one of three excellent middle schools in the Palo Alto Unified School District. Terman is…read morethe smallest of the three middle schools and was reopened in 1999. Soon a new upgraded computer lab and library will be added as part of its modernization program. Excellent teaching Dedicated teaching staff Student support services Excellent technology program Great music program Library Computer lab Gymnasium Swimming pool Cafeteria Snack bar Home of the 'Tigers' ...black and gold

The state of the running track at this establishment is subpar. It is worn down to the asphalt…read moreunderneath in many places. I hope it gets redone soon.

This is a very nice school with a big campus. Teachers and students are both helpful here. This is…read morea high school but it looks more like a college.

As an Educational Consultant I have great confidence in Bowman School. The academics are strong…read morebut without pressure. Bowman provides such a level of individualized attention it is an excellent school for many kinds of learners. The faculty turnover is low, leading to consistency and strong relationships. The Montessori philosophy promotes learning how to learn and a passion for lifelong learning. Graduates of Bowman have a long history of success as they continue their educational journies. The year round schedule and flexibility of hours make it an ideal school for working parents.

Parents need to be prepare: this school has been expand from one campus into 4 in past few years,…read morewhich explains why tuition raised 6% - 7% each year. There will be a plan for high school expanding and ask for high donation on top of tuition raise. Good luck.

I can tell from having two kids and 13 years in the school. Go somewhere else, unless you want your…read morechild to be treated unfairly with clear discrimination in a toxic environment where only a few elite families get the special treatment. Jan (The principle) is in adequate to say the least. We finally left after 13 years, and we did not realize how bad St. Nick was after what we saw in the new school.

Walking into St. Nicholas Catholic school felt less like entering a place of learning and community…read moreand more like stepping into a perfectly rehearsed performance where certain kids were cast as favorites from day one and the rest of us were expected to play the background no matter how well behaved or hardworking we were. Myself, my friends, and even my sibling followed the rules like everyone else, yet we were constantly singled out, blamed for situations we did not cause, and punished for things other students did right in front of staff who somehow never saw it, and the worst part is they acted like their uneven treatment was justified instead of admitting their own bias. Over time it became painfully clear that they were not interested in supporting us, only in protecting a narrative where certain families stayed untouchable and the rest of us were easy targets whenever they needed someone to blame. The way they spoke to certain kids was shockingly mean and downright cruel, and I experienced it firsthand from certain staff who twisted the truth whenever it suited them. This school loves to package itself as nurturing and community driven, where a kind and empathetic community is the main focus, but the reality was a strange, exhausting experience where favoritism thrived, accountability disappeared, and the truth was always whatever made them look good; if you are thinking of sending your kids here, I would seriously reconsider, because no child should have to carry the weight of adults who cannot handle their own insecurities or responsibilities. St. Nicholas may your "polished" reputation shine bright enough to distract from the truth.

Very gifted and dedicated teachers. They really tailor to what the student needs. Cannot recommend…read morehighly enough. Can accelerate the pace for faster than average learners, or adjust those who need more support. Both our children loved it and attended 1-3 years full time. Have recommended to other families who now go full time and say their student loves learning again. Our students have been very successful in college, too.

My son who is neurodivergent graduated from School of Independent Learners this year. We decided on…read moreSIL after considering various options that did not need his needs. We are very pleased with the quality of education that he received. The 1:1 model of instruction worked very well for him due to his unique needs. The teachers are passionate about what they do and this helped develop a love of learning. The principal Ms. Pham is caring and always available to help. Overall our experience was a very positive one, and I highly recommend SIL.