Words can't express how happy we are that our children (2 boys) have been here at SCWS since 2012…read more I'll share about both academic development and social development. Our kids are flourishing and being cared for as individuals, as opposed to following a regimen determined by testing standards. Some parents are worried about the academics, because reading happens later than in public school. But what they might not know is that the children learn to fall in love with letters and stories, prior to learning to read. I had a concern, but our second grader is now reading beautifully and easily. The early math lessons are more advanced, as they learn how to add, subtract, multiply and divide a number, all at the same time. They also learn the spelling and Roman numeral while they're learning how the number is used. In other words, they have context for what they're learning, so it has meaning (and is therefore more easily retained) vs. just memorizing a set of numbers. Every time I have a parent-teacher conference, I can feel the true love and care for our children. Our boys have developed deep friendships already with other children whose families have similar values. Each of our boys carries a level of confidence and self-assuredness that we believe would be stamped out my well meaning teachers and potentially other children who are modeling what they watch on TV. I understand there were issues with SCWS in the past, with funding and with some administrative policies (or lack thereof). Parents of older children shared mixed reviews...But I believe this issues have been straightened out and SCWS is a wonderful school and community we are proud to be a part of. If you're a parent who wants to give your children a true childhood, where they aren't exposed to violence, too much stimulation through media that is way too mature for them, and a commitment to the development of your child's spirit, SCWS is the place to be.

0/10 would not recommend. Lots of child abuse, lacking qualified teachers, and termite poop in all…read moreclassrooms. Pretty awful place.

If your child is fairly average, it can be a great experience if they get one of the better…read moreteachers. Our child started here in kindergarten, and had 2 very good to excellent teachers, 1 okay teacher, 2 poor teachers who used old fashioned methods, seemed burned out, and lacked patience, and 1 young teacher who appeared to want to win a popularity contest with the students. If your child has any sort of disability related to a learning problem or difference, RUN. The school receives very little money for special education, and views those students as a liability. They will go to extreme lengths to avoid providing any specialized instruction or related services. Most people either move or find another school district in the area.

Brook Knoll is a great school that is made up of wonderful teachers, support staff, administration…read morestaff, parents and kids. My son has been attending for a number of years and we have had a lot of great experiences.

I am posting mostly because I was shocked by the other review from 3/1/11. I went to Happy Valley…read morein the 80's and loved it. It's true that the school isn't very ethnically diverse but that's because the community is primarily Caucasian. However, the school has always had a great reputation for excellent education and a more liberal accepting atmosphere. Granted, it has been a long time since I was a student there, but please don't let one person's bad review send you away. Check it out for yourself!

We had great communication with teachers and our children loved the school. Horrible experiences…read morewith office staff/admin. (my rating ) Definitely a result of the pandemic and How tough this all is on everyone. Just ruined the whole Holy Cross School Experience I think we would have had. We love Holy Cross Preschool, maybe if the office up at the main school were more like the pre school admin/teachers it could have been a different year for me And my husband. But the schools teachers go above and beyond with the students. just was my experience. hope this whole thing passes. good luck and blessings

This is a horrible school. They lie to parents, they break labor laws and have no business being in…read moreeducation. The teachers are poor and under trained. Many don't have teaching credentials and lack teaching experience. They go through principals like a revolving door. Kimberly Chang was the worst of them all. Don't send your kids here if you want them to get an education or learn morals like honesty and faith.

Whenever I ask my daughter if she likes her school she shouts, "No, I love it!" Wonderful teachers,…read morelarge campus, bilingual program, fabulous librarian, and some of our dedicated parents have worked to launch EXPLORE AfterSchool, an after school enrichment program with enormous potential. Plus, the totally rad people of Santa Cruz approved a measure that is allowing us to do some major, much needed maintenance upgrades. Our score on Great School doesn't look like much but when I come to Bay View and watch my little daughter run, laugh and play with kids from so many different backgrounds I am filled with optimism and pride. She is learning so much at this wonderful school. I'm proud to be a Bay View parent and proud to send my kids to a Santa Cruz city public school.

I think sometimes people get a little over-anxious about junior's second-grade experience. Is he…read morebeing challenged? Are his interpersonal skills appropriate encouraged? Do his teachers understand his personal foibles? He's in second-grade. So long as he's reading the appropriately-colored book and hasn't bitten anyone, he's probably fine. This was a great school, as far as I recall. We were a rag tag bunch of kids of hippies, some farm workers, academics from UCSC and pretty much everything you could think of. What I remember best is that we had great guest speakers. There was an environmentalist from up on campus who came to give a talk about unleaded gas (yes, I'm that old), and a lady from the temple who showed us how to play the dreidel at Hanukkah, someone's dad gave a translated account of Mexican Independence for Cinco de Mayo, and a sweet hippie who played us songs about love and peace in music class.

My daughter Clara just graduated from Santa Cruz children's school after 6 years there from…read morekindergarten through 6th grade. I was not sure how to thank the school with all it's dedicated teachers and outstanding directors Joanna and Deric, so I decided to write a review. From day one she became part of a large caring family. When she left she expressed nothing but love and appreciation for all her friends and teachers. Though sad to leave, she felt confident and well prepared for her transition to middle school. In the last couple of years my daughter learned to organize and complete all her work with proud independence. She improved her writing skills considerably, excelled in math, and took up multiple musical instruments with the many talented music teachers at the school. Beyond core courses, the school also puts on plays, a yearly concert, and an end of year multi day class trip adventure for older kids. My daughter has had World inspired cooking classes, movie making classes, circus fun, learned to play chess, civics class with a ucsc professor and much more. How they manage to do all this, keep the kids inspired and eager to learn, as well kind to one another is remarkable. If you are looking for a school where your child will be happy, eager to learn and go to school each day, and well prepared for middle school, I highly recommend Santa Cruz children's School.

After beginning our son's grade school at a different private school in the area and then having…read moresuch a disappointing experience over 2 years, both for our son and for us as parents - we decided to check out Santa Cruz Children's School from a referral and reading reviews.-- After attending the open house in June of 2013, we felt like it was worth a try and hoped that they would provide the care, curriculum, enthusiasm, professionalism and transparency they promised, we so desired and felt we deserve. Now half way through our son's first year at SCCS, they have proven to be all we had hoped for and we couldn't be more grateful. My son is enthusiastic for school every single morning and afternoon! The teachers and administration members have shown to be professional and respectful to each other, the children and parent community. The children are also respectful, kind and supportive of each other. There have been no negative issues of any kind in the classroom or on the playground and I feel strongly that is due to the great degree of responsible supervision, respectful, timely and honest communication and policy that is in place and honored. Our son's 2nd grade teacher has shown a true love and compassion for teaching and children. She fosters the imagination, learning and beauty of each child's individualism and personality. It is a small school with about 48 children, at first a concern of ours, but that is really in where the blessing lies. The small class sizes offer important individualized attention, learning and support. Organization, scheduling and attention to details are top priorities. The school's scheduling of curriculum and homework requirements are clear and consistent! This in itself has provided a better learning structure for focus, responsibility, self-confidence and academic success. We have seen our son's academics (Math, Science, Reading & Writing Comprehension, Spelling) progress and are continuously stimulating and engaging. There has also been great support of Music, Astronomy, Life-lab, Spanish, PE, Art and his beloved Chess! His interests are flourishing along with his love for his new school. He is supported and encouraged to be imaginative, inquisitive and true to himself. We feel very fortunate to have found such success with Santa Cruz Children's School. Thank you!

Great community elementary school. Staff truly cares for children. There's been a lot of new…read moreconstruction making updates to the school recently.

It's an amazing school and teachers are very supportive. Also the fact that they keep up with so…read moremany traditions from 1958 is amazing.

This school is not good. They dont care at all if you get bullied, the food is literally trash, the…read moremilk was never cold, they threw the food in the microwave for like 30 seconds and that was it, the vegetables often were moldy, and just disgusting looking. And when I say they dont care if you get bullied I mean it. The ac and heater were often broken or they barely worked, in third grade the heater caught on fire. The only good teacher was mr Centanni. Anyways if your a parent i dont recommend (i dont go here anymore)

We love this school. My daughter has been at two elementary schools and the learning environment…read morehere is very positive for her.