I had to write an update to include this: the office staff is just the absolute BEST. They are so…read morewelcoming and kind as soon as you enter the front office, and when I see teachers around the campus they always wave and say hello very genuinely. I also LOVE and appreciate that there are students here who have babies and can't afford child care so they allow the students to bring their kids to school and have help with the kids. That's amazing. This honestly is one of my favorite schools I have been to.

This school is designed for a student that needs a small classroom, more attention, and has…read morehistorically struggled in the comprehensive high schools. All academics are offered. After school programs are designed to foster social growth. Go to your San Marcos High School and ask about TOHS.

I like this school. The teachers are really nice and helpful with students. The kids I take here…read moreall like the school and get along well with their classmates. The school is also fenced in and locked during the day so it's safer.

My girls go here and I was impressed with the dedication and personal attention that the teachers…read moregive to each student. We have two different teachers who have different styles but they are fairly consistent in the curriculum (same grade level) and they pay attention to details. They are organized with weekly homework assignments provided at the beginning of the week along with weekly newsletters that spell out the expectations and activities for the week. The parent-teacher communication is great! I love that my kids have a full day of school (just under 6 hours) and have the opportunity to learn a wide variety of subjects and get physically active. The school uses Ki's lunch for it's lunch program so it makes it easy to have healthy, nutritious lunches on the days I don't feel like packing one. I saw a previous review that commented on income disparity. I think this is a factor at any private school that draws from a wide variety of communities and demographics. Yes, there are upper middle class folks and there are working class folks. The school offers financial assistance so that kids from many different income brackets can attend. As far as private schools go, this is probably somewhere in the middle in terms of cost. (I did extensive research for private schools in north county) But I can also say that the teachers are very sensitive to the disparity and try to be considerate of any additional costs for parents. Overall, we are very happy that we chose this school!

My son attended Tri-City Christian School from Pre-K through 4th grade. In the early years, we had…read moresome truly wonderful experiences. Teachers like Mrs Bicum, Mrs Cinors Mrs.Lever, Mrs. Theis, and Mrs. Mackey were caring, dedicated, and genuinely invested in helping him succeed. I will always be grateful for the kindness and effort they showed our family. Unfortunately, our experience changed dramatically in 4th grade. My son struggled with reading and had educational needs that required additional support. Instead of receiving the help and encouragement he needed, it felt like the school gave up on him. He went from being a student who earned B and C grades to receiving failing grades, and we saw very little effort to help him maintain the academic progress he had made over the years. During this time, our family was also wrongly accused by a teacher, which resulted in a report being made to CPS. We found this experience deeply upsetting. We were also concerned to learn that the same teacher allegedly shared private information about our family with other parents without our knowledge, which further damaged our trust in the school community. As parents, we were repeatedly made to feel that our son no longer belonged at the school because of his learning challenges and his need for an IEP. Rather than partnering with us to help him succeed, we felt pressured to find another school. The message we received was that Tri-City Christian was not willing or able to support a child who learned differently. If your child is a strong student who does not require academic accommodations and excels in sports, your experience may be very positive. However, if your child struggles with reading, is behind academically, has an IEP, or may need one in the future, I would strongly encourage you to carefully consider whether this school can provide the support your child deserves. What hurt the most was that this happened at a Christian school. By the end of our time there, I felt embarrassed and unwelcome on campus. Every child deserves patience, encouragement, and support--especially when they are struggling. Sadly, that was not our experience during our final years at Tri-City Christian.

Wonderful school. We love that they offer pre-K through high school, so the kids aren't losing all…read morethe friend's they make between elementary, middle, & high school. The kiddo has also really been enjoying the additional Elementary classes outside of the regular classroom, such as music, art, P.E., & chapel. The elementary school has a fun new playground. The kids also enjoy checking out what's growing in the garden! Highly recommend for Christian families!

I went to Calvin from 6th grade up to 10th grade, before finally opting to transfer to a nearby…read morecharter school. Calvin is a small school. It has grown, but it's still small. There are benefits, of course, such as small class sizes, individualized attention, and open dialogue between teachers and students. However, it also has its downsides. Please look at this list of criteria (created by me): Is your child considered "troublesome"? Is your child struggling with any sort of mental health issue? Is your child not Dutch/Caucasian? Is your child not a teacher's pet? Is your child not often a popular kid? If you answered yes to any of those questions, Calvin is not the place for you. I am not a troublesome student. I graduated high school with a 4.11 GPA. I got A's in almost all my classes no matter what school. However, I did struggle with my mental health starting freshman year, which is ultimately the reason I left the school. I received the label of being a "depressed kid" and was never able to shake it, and I ended up taking that on as my identity. I transferred to get a fresh start from the teachers and the students, and I did much better once I didn't have that label following me. There isn't blatant racism at this school, but in my class all the Dutch girls sat together, and all the non-Dutch girls sat elsewhere during lunch. I am not Dutch, so I sat elsewhere. The Dutch girls didn't say you couldn't sit with them but weren't welcoming to any newcomers in their group. There were no other friend groups in that grade. That's also pretty much how it went for every grade. Calvin has diversified since then, but the saying "if you ain't Dutch, you ain't much" is well-known and I would say it is true. All the Dutch students were favorited by the teachers as well, but that's because most of the Dutch kids had their parents go to school there, so they were really just "legacy" students who were automatically favorited. The trick for getting good grades is to be a teacher's pet. If the teacher doesn't like you, you're screwed. I was a teacher's pet, and I was able to finagle my way out of several bad grades by gaining sympathy from the teachers. If you're not a teacher's pet, Dutch, or a popular kid, you're going to have to do a LOT of hard work to get good grades that other kids get simply by having parents who went to the school. Most of the teachers were amazing. Shout-out to Mr. Marriott, Mr. Bakker, Mr. VDP, Mr. Beutlich, Mrs. Lapka, and Mrs. Lundgren. They made learning fun and were genuinely such kind-hearted people. I always felt safe around them. However, as with every school, there are teachers that aren't great. The history teacher, when I was trying to explain my ADHD to him in regard to the accommodations plan I had, just kept telling me, "Oh, it's like my tinnitus". He also refused to accept my accommodations plan to break up a 100-question test into two parts. When my mom reached out, he told her that the class has a B average, she's never taken the class, and would I be receiving a modified diploma? I took an incomplete for this class and retook it my senior year at my new school. I got an A+. Also, they do present that 100% of their students go off to college. However, that's not actually true. I had a friend who ended up faking that she was going to go to college (she wasn't) so that it would look like she was in the graduation ceremonies. They even got her college merch from the college she was supposedly going to attend. I would have never known had I not been close friends with her. This school has its secrets. Teachers were quietly removed from the school for reasons that were pretty big deals, such as inappropriate communication with students and emotional outbursts at students. As for the principal. I thought he was great... because my beliefs aligned with his and he took pity on me. Yes, he does meet with students with the blinds open for all to see. We once all saw a student get his backpack searched for drugs in the office. Whether or not he had drugs, the blinds should have been closed. His office is in a common passing place so everybody can and will see. The principal seemed to like me a lot, so we got along and I liked him, but I can see how others wouldn't like him. He is adamantly anti-LGBTQ+, which can be expected at a Christian school, but he expressed this in an unkind way. God still loves those that are LGBTQ+ and this principal did not express that. Last thing! I hope your kid loves public speaking. My class had to give 7-10 minute speeches with no notes... apparently, this is not a thing in public schools, and my class was graded quite harshly. Anxiety was not tolerated. It's good to learn public speaking, but 10 minute speeches without notes on subjects kids aren't passionate about? That's harsh, especially for sophmores. This was for sophmore year. I am ultimately glad I left this school, but I believe others can thrive here... just check that checklist!

The food at the breakfast is always cold or has plastic cheese. The lunch has a frozen pb&j and the…read morestaff is just abundantly rude. Several times they burn the food and set fire alarm off

My daughter has attended Del Lago for 4 years and has developed into a thoughtful, critical thinker…read morewith an open mind to different perspectives, and prepared for any college or university in the nation. I credit the school's inclusive vision, talented staff, and commitment to students for her success. Del Lago does an extraordinary job in all categories! (not sure who Bob B. is, but he may have the wrong Del Lago if he's from Placentia, Ca. There's another Del Lago up there. This one is in Escondido, Ca.)

As parents who relocated to Vista from out of state, we found St. Francis to have an exceptionally…read moreinviting and welcoming community. We set down roots here and the school and parish community has become our family. Our children thrive academically and socially, and we couldn't be happier 11 years later. Helping students develop strong character to become good stewards of our community has been an integral part of our family's experience. My children serve on student council, and participate in numerous character-building community service projects. The Learning Support Program has been very effective in allowing my children to succeed at their grade level and given them the confidence to push themselves academically.

My two sons were failing in the public school system. I had to pull them out mid-year and put them…read moreback a grade. Both boys have done a 180 at St. Francis. They are flourishing. They can't wait to go to school. My older one now has his sights set on private high schools as well. St. Francis completely changed the course of their lives. I am forever grateful. The staff is amazing, they pay such close attention to the kids they can tell you what you packed them for lunch and if they ate it all. The after school activities and sports are super, the fundraisers are such a blast!! I love this school, I love everything about it.

What a gem! LOVE LOVE LOVE this school!…read morePriced right! Wonderful staff- It is like going home everyday when I drop off and pickup. So blessed and thankful to have found this gem- feels like a step back in time when pace of life was slower and things meant more.

So I was an ex parent at the school, and they charge a lot of extra money that is not worth it…read more They charged me $200 on something I did not agree on, and we were going to use that money for my daughter's birthday, and now she can't have fun. Although they get a lot of money, they cannot afford school buses nor other things schools need. They give a lot of very unnecessary extra work that has been very hard on my child, physically and mentally. The staff are not the kindest, and there is very little people at the whole school, so my child will not get a proper experience to work with many other different people. If you are looking for a private school, I do not recommend.

I enrolled my child at this school last year, and it was a very bad experience. From middle school…read moreup, classes are mixed with much younger students all the way to high schoolers in the same classroom. The older kids openly bullied the younger ones, often in front of the teacher, with no consequences. According to my child, teachers were passive-aggressive toward each other, which created a tense and unhealthy atmosphere. The principal also controls what teachers are allowed to tell parents, so you may not get the full truth about what your child experiences during the school day. I would not recommend this school.

Pacific Academy Encinitas has been a great fit for our 7th grade daughter. She feels valued, safe…read moreand cared for at school. The staff is loving, encouraging and accommodating. The small class sizes lead to individualization and great support from teachers. In addition to academic support, PAE encourages participation in school sports & activities, even without prior experience. These opportunities have helped our daughter to develop self-confidence and allowed her to create friendships with students across grade levels. We are so grateful for PAE & the culture of learning they have created.