Sad to see a couple bad reviews here, that seemingly have ulterior motives…read more... Parents and kids love Santiago! Mr Johnston recently got promoted to another larger school, and was honorable, excellent and very hard-working in all areas. We've had a new principal for a while, and she has a great relationship with teachers and staff which is evident in the school spirit and supportive learning environment. The school and PTA have worked very hard in the last couple years to develop a learning agricultural garden and charming nature paths. Even better, the students respect and take care of their school and each other. The school has some awesome events like the PTA supported Fall Festival with great community-based STEAM related games. It's also nice that the school is tucked away off of Jeronimo, which results in a bit more traffic but an amazing cozy campus. Parents and kids love Santiago!

I would not recommend sending your kids to the school as the teachers are really rude and the…read moreprincipal was not good and they accused me of doing something that I didn't do when I went there. The teachers do not support you in anyway when kids make fun of you they don't care.

Worst experience. Sad to think that we live in the area, pay tax to create suck a horrible school…read more Watch your kids closely and dot not take the teacher or staff words over your kid. They lied and will blame in on the kids. Sad!

Such a Great School, Students, Staff and Parents! High…read moreexpectations, yet achievable and students show kindness. Positive experience with all teachers! LFE is amazing!

This school does have a lot of problems but they come down to a lack of support from the…read moreadministration and parents. For example, there are a lot of split classes and teachers have no control over it--that's a financial decision made by the district to save money. The teachers are, for the most part, extremely hard working and devoted. Parents like the reviewer "Essence" expect a teacher to give them full attention on demand and they are always eager to criticize for any slight, real or imagined, instead of getting involved in the school in a positive way. I was shocked to see anything negative about Mrs. Feller. My kids and their friends had her and loved her and she is an excellent teacher who clearly LOVES her job. I'm sure there is another side to THAT story, but the teacher doesn't get a chance to give it. If parents would get more involved they could help make improvements to this neighborhood school. Right now it seems like the teachers are the only ones who care about it.

I am attending this school and all the bad thing I remember is that a kid got his hand stuck in the…read moremiddle of to bars. one lose hit another with a rock. my leg got cut on a pole. bees formed a beehive in the middle of lunch. we found a bong at the 3-1 graders playground. The girls and boys were fighting and someone's teeth got knocked out. In another fight a kid broke his finger. And if you got sick they would give you a ice pack and tell you to go back to class. And that's all I remember while righting this.

My son started at Oxford Preparatory Academy - SV in kindergarten and is now in first grade, and we…read morecouldn't be happier with our experience! From day one, the teachers and staff have been incredibly supportive and dedicated. The chancellor and dean personally welcome students and families each morning, which sets such a positive tone for the day. As a parent volunteer, I've had the chance to see firsthand how much care and effort goes into creating a nurturing, engaging environment for the kids. The teachers go above and beyond to meet each child where they're at, providing individualized support to make sure they can truly thrive. OPA-SV feels like a community, not just a school. We are so grateful to be part of it and look forward to many more years here!

Our daughter is entering first grade at OPA this year. Last year was our first year at the school,…read moreand we had an amazing Kindergarten and overall school experience. The amount of growth I saw in my daughter after her kindergarten year is directly attributable to her amazing teacher, the caring administration, and the involved community of staff and parents. We also see a lot of growth in her academics through nightly reading and homework assignments to reinforce the lessons throughout the day/week. We also love how the kids are exposed to music, Spanish, and Mandarin, and the offering of after-school clubs is diverse and fun (running club, board games club, debate club, gardening club are just a few). There are also a number of school events through the PTA and school throughout the year to enrich the children's' and families' experience. The fundraising done goes directly back to the children and is used to enhance the school environment. In terms of overall learning/academics, we love the theory of multiple intelligences the school uses to tailor to the individual child. Even in kindergarten, my daughter's confidence and love of learning grew through family projects, classroom projects, plays in front of parents (ABC fashion show and a kinder circus), and so much more. Im looking forward to seeing her growth this year too, and hopefully will have my son start TK there next fall! Lastly, I'd say the experience is best when students and parents get involved and work together to make it a great school - even small contributions have a big impact in a community like OPA.

How is a school so complex and caring so bad i disagree with all you guys this school deserves more…read morerespect than all you guys

Great teachers we them an APLUS. Everyone was very professional and had great personalitiesread more

There's a lot wrong with this school. First off it started with a scandal from the top down, well…read moreok, these things happen, but it never really seemed to recover. The teachers are very green, full of hopes and dreams but egregiously lacking in skill. The administration doesn't seem to be much better, my kiddo was in a class with a pregnant teacher, mind you they had several months to get a replacement ready, however after this teacher went on maternity leave it still took them several weeks to replace her. The student body has a ton of delinquents apparently because they were kicked out of other schools and this place appears to be a miscreant catch-all. I can't tell you how many times bullying has occurred. Their after-school program is a mess, my kiddo was injured by one of their staff who got too over zealous during a game!! And after the first couple years almost the entire after school program staff had turned over. If your school district is half ways decent I suggest you keep your kiddo there. In most cases non-charter schools have been doing their thing for a long time and have already figured out the solutions to the problems that OPA has.

Our son started kindergarten this year and so far we've been very pleased with the school! He has…read morebeen making a lot of progress and I love that he has Spanish, music and steam each week. The administration and teacher seem to be very caring and also very serious/reliable. The PTA is active and the school often has events for the whole family as well as an incentive program to motivate the students. The school is very diverse with many students of different cultures, which is important to us. I was a bit hesitant seeing the reviews on Yelp and Google, but glad we made the decision to send him at OPA!

It's a great school (minus the drop off and pick up fiasco!)…read moreRules are put out about proper drop off and pick up yet parents break the rules, cut in the line, block crosswalks and stop in the middle and not pull all the way forward as instructed. People on parking lot duty never enforce the rules..... super frustrating! The Principal and teachers are great and they also have a wonderful PTA! If you can ignore the rude parents at drop off and pick up, you will survive

La Madera is a nice small elementary school with not a lot of bells and whistles but it does the…read morejob. Each classroom has a door leading to the outside and a door leading to the grand interior hall that connects everything together. The campus is quite small but has recently built a MPR in the farthest corner of the lunch area and there is a substantial grassy area for the children to play on. The parking lot and surrounding streets can be a little hectic in the morning drop off window and from 2:30 on because La Madera lies across the street from El Toro High School. The parking lot is one way so that helps a lot with the flow of traffic but there will always be those that cannot conduct themselves in such a setting. ;] All in all, its a nice little school and your kids will be safe.

Our daughter has now attended Grace Christian Schools in Lake Forest for 2 years now for Preschool…read more She loved the teachers so much that she asked to go full time the 2nd year. Now our second daughter is also attending the preschool. She only goes 2 days a week and is so sad on the days she doesn't get to go to school. The staff and parent community are God first and come from different churches in the area. All of the staff we have ever spoken with are friendly, helpful, and always remember our children by name. It is the smaller class sizes and tight nit community that allows GCS to be around for the last 46 years. The school is a hidden gem. Highly recommend.

My daughter went to Grace for a year... and boy it was amazing til they drop the ball early this…read moreyear. School was closing d/t financial problems. Everyone was heartbroken bec of the news. 4 stars for the staff, because they deserve the recognition. They are AMAZING. For the upper management, i have nothing to say. The fact that you kicked our kids in the curbed just like that says a lot. Thank you GCS staff for providing a memorable school year for our daughter, thank you for our teachers and aides, Ms Kim W for the assistance and everyone who kept the school going til the end! its heart breaking but we should all move on, I hope the decision of the management to close the school is worth it.

The FOOD there is not good. My kids rather bring a peanut butter sandwich and some fruit than…read moreeating the stale, cold food. I really don't understand how the people in charge of contracting these providers don't go and check the food. But there is good news, once the kids graduate from Gates Elementary, Los Alisos Lobos has much better food. But the government is wasting $$$ from our taxes there.

Wasn't a good fit for our kid. He wasn't picking it up and there was no extra help. When we asked…read moreif we should get an outside tutor, it was advised against. His kindergarten teacher was not very nice. First grade teacher was nice. Seems it's hit or miss. A lot of the kids he was in class with have also left.

I went here in the late 70's , great teachers & staff, from the Los alisos Jr high, wow memories,…read more anyone else went to Cresent bay in the summer

This school and the staff members here are so awesome. My son has been attending speech therapy…read morehere for the last year, and he LOVES going. He talks about his teachers all the time! The speech therapists here are SO kind and friendly and really work with him in a FUN way. He's improved his speech so much, that he met his yearly goal a few months early! Thank you so much Miss Robyn and Miss Heather and the other loving therapists that have been working with him. You guys are the best!