I attended this school from 7th through 12th grade. It was a…read morerare thing, it's a difficult to describe culture among the faculty, but I'll do my best- an anecdote: two students steal from the school, they take thousands of dollars worth of video equipment. They get caught- now, in a normal school where students are payroll numbers, the school could have easily justified dismissing both students and even gained face for it. I'm certain they considered it to, but it's not a huge school, even the secretaries knew my name and asked me about my family when I needed to pick up some class registration form or whatnot. These two students had been going there since sixth grade, they weren't bad kids- they just got caught up in the moment and they let the thrill of what they were doing cloud their judgment. They just needed someone to put them back on the straight and narrow- so instead of dropping down like a ton of bricks they gave them the opportunity to come clean to their fellow students! What a concept- because that necessitates that the student body have a conscience and love the school, otherwise they would pat them on the back, and it also necessitates that the student body be forgiving else these two would be ostracized. They did come clean to the student body, returned everything, the school pressed no charges, and the incident was never put on their record. Now they both attend respectable 4-year universities. The capacity for mercy from a large entity is almost nonexistent it seems, a mom and pop steak house can let a guy who left his wallet in a cab come back the next day and pay, a huge lumbering chain never would. This is a school that upholds its values. Also the student-Teacher ratio is awesome and the English teachers have a bit of a Dead Poets society thing going on where they discuss literature freely with students/other teachers during lunch or after school. The math teachers are downright sassy and hilarious individuals. Overall it was an excellent experience and I feel that I was bettered greatly by it.

I worry about MVCS. Our two sons graduated with the 2nd son having finished with his 12th grade…read moreyear less happy due to changes in staff and programming. But that was about 4 years ago. We have a young niece in MBCS but we are uncertain if MVCS will be as good as it used to be. Hopeful but uncertain. Why? Because our younger son kept in touch with friends still there and have received some unfavorable reports, especially about a two year college credit program called I think IB (?) which has been with problems. And the problems have shown up in decrease in student population. Beautiful campus. We hope reforms improve things at MVCS so we can send our niece there when she is ready for high school. RH, Marina

Truly exceptional place! Our son thrived in this environment. There have been some recent problems…read morein selection of school administrators, but they have been corrected. Would STRONGLY recommend this school. Do NOT believe the baloney rumors you may read. What difference does it make if the school administration is of a particular religious bent if the do NOT (and I can absolutely confirm this!) proselytize?

My grandson started the Preschool at Aptos Academy this year and he loves it so much (age 4) that…read morehe's constantly asking, "Go to school tomorrow?" - he wants to go back even on his way home let alone that evening or the next day! Not only is the school in a beautiful setting but all the faculty and other students are friendly, caring and welcoming! Small class sizes, a faculty that is caring, nurturing and fills the needs/requirements of each student individually for educational/physical/mental growth and well being in the beautiful Aptos community...what more could one want for their child? We feel so blessed to have discovered the Aptos Academy!

I am reviewing AHS's disc golf course…read more It is really a fun course and you get a good workout from walking all over the campus and up the hills. I really enjoy it!

**Review is strictly for the baseball field**…read more Parking is horrible. Since the diamond is on the hill, if the (small) parking lot is full, it is quite the trek up. Field is well maintained.

This might be a strange review, but I'm at a volleyball game and the Salesian girls are all wearing…read moremasks. I really appreciate how respectful they (and their families and coaches) are being. The other team, sadly, is not showing the same amount of care and respect for our community. This tells me so much about Salesian at a time when no one under 16 is vaccinated for COVID-19.

We did extensive research on schools in the area. This school was recommended by an educator. It…read morehas one of the best blends of environment and academics I have experienced. The surroundings are beautiful, the facility is good, the staff cares and listens to the children, the children are held accountable, and the academics are challenging as they should be. I also found that many of the parents themselves are teachers and staff at other surrounding schools, and they have their children at Salesian, that says a lot. They also have an extensive sports program, even though they do not have an indoor gym. They work it out using other local facilities. We are glad we found Salesian!

I attend this school honestly this school is waaayy better than a "regular" high school ! Best…read more2years that I attended here I made lots of memories here ! I even graduated earlier almost 1yr early than my class ! The teachers here are so awesome & really cool !They actually care about you and give you the attention you need to get caught up in credits or even graduating not like at whs! and there classes here are small groups of students which is why you get more attention not like other schools where there's18-26 students in a class room and you can't even get the teachers attention due to many students ! I see renaissance high like a family everyone knows everyone here I am truly going to miss this school now going to college thanks to this school

A wonderful school. My daughter had several delightful years there. Responsible and caring staff.read more

Can't thank this school enough. As a now grown student, I still look back on this schools'…read moreteachings and absolute life lessons that it has taught me. With patience, nurturing, and all around acceptance, Orchard raised me when one person couldn't do it alone. They say it takes a village to raise a child, and I had never felt truer words that befit this schools benefits. It truly helped keep my childhood lively and adventurous, and to this day my thoughts linger on just how grateful I am. If I ever have a kid, I'll do my best to ensure they get to go to a school as fine as Orchard. Only shame is, they used to go from K-8, if I recall. But to know they're focusing their teachings on earlier ages is just as righteous to me.

This school has been a life changing experience for my son, the school staff treat the kids like…read moretheir own, everyone is welcoming, loving and genuinely kind. The education is top notch, incredible sports program, my son loves all his teachers, his coaches, athletic director Mr Ausman has been an inspiration for Gabe. Father Marcos is super cool and kind to the kids. We will definitely miss this incredible high school years at st francis Watsonville, sad that is coming to an end as my son graduates class of 2026! We will miss everyone so much. Thank you for being the best high school in Northern California! We love st francis!

Posting this as having 2 kids attend 4 years now. I'll start with the positives: small school,…read moresafe environment, some of the teachers and coaches (not all) are amazing and my kids love them! Negatives: no response from certain academic vice principal on multiple occasions regarding academic support or concerns. Over the years, I have to pester with multiple emails to get general questions answered and wait up to a week to get a response (or no response at all!). There is no excuse for not answering general questions to parents, especially with a student who is struggling. After submitting my initial review about lack of academic support, my daughter just informed me our vehicle and her backpack were searched and she had a metal detector on her today. She was pulled out of class for this because Claritin was sniffed out by the drug sniffing dog in our car. Seems like there is more emphasis on drug and weapons policing than academic support. They are using these random "searches" to warn these kids not to attempt bringing drugs/weapons. There was no reasonable suspicion, and it does not warrant pulling students out of class for. It is a commitment to attend there, some families and kids commute long distances and there is a graduation requirement to fulfill 80 hours of volunteering service. Families also have an annual volunteer requirement, plus the tuition expense.

Gud Evening, I've…read moregive this school FIVE stars because of the IMPECKABLE life experience I gained during my OCCASIONAL attendance. I list my attendance as ****occasional**** only to re-hit the fact that I still took away more life skills than any other bitch ass white kid who did school every day without missing anything except for standard hollidaze such as CHRISMAS, EASTER, HALLOWEEN, ETC. (PLEASE NOTE: these five stars are NOT related to my technical education and I would ask that you do NOT mock me for anything based on your judgement of what my education shud be. I have had enouph of that and we ALL move at our own pase. You WILL regret ANY mocking that you choose to do.) Anyway, my apologies for the note which I have been told is aggressive but it needs to be said and we are each the only ones responsible to stand up for ourselves which brings me back to my main point of this review which is that WATSONVILLE HIGH (GO CATZ!) IS THE ONLY SCHOOL WHERE YOU WILL LEARN TO BE A BALLER. DON'T TRY TO COME AT ME WITH ANY STREET CRED UNLESS YOU WENT HERE. Sincerely, Went There/Done That