We recently pulled our neurodivergent child from Saint Patrick Academy (SPA). I am sharing the…read morefollowing information to express my opinion and our overall experience as a family. I feel SPA struggled to understand our child as a neurodivergent student. My child was often labeled as "defiant" and "loud" leading to my child being regularly sent to the office. My child felt as if nothing they did was ever right. We decided to leave a month and a half into the 2024-2025 school year after I walked in on my child's teacher visibly angry, when my child was repeatedly attempting to explain something to her. The teacher did not let up or back off my child even after seeing me at the doorway, and walked my child out of the classroom. Once outside of the classroom, she threatened my child (in front of me) stating, "I don't need to take anyone that yells at me to the field trip today," which was the reason I was there. High functioning or not, neurodivergent children process things differently. The way you respond and react to their behaviors can significantly impact that child. Punishment creates shame, especially for a special needs child. I feel this is something SPA repeatedly failed to understand. In response to my complaint I was told to respect their profession when they themselves did not act professionally on many occasions: 1. I was told by my child's male teacher it "just gets worse when they get their period." I was in disbelief when he said this over the phone. Why is my young child's future menstrual cycle any of your concern? 2. We were asked to come in and sit in our child's classroom to offer the teacher assistance with our child, then, I was told by the secretary, "you're not really doing anything just sitting there" so this time (6 hours per week) would not count towards the 75 total required volunteer hours due at the end of the school year. (I took SDI/PFL and missed time off work to be there). Another staff member advocated for us and these hours did end up counting. But the awkwardness/dissatisfaction from a certain office staff member each morning after this request was uncomfortably apparent. 3. After being completely transparent about our child's diagnoses, a staff member stated our child does not take responsibility for negative actions/words. I had to explain to this staff member due to our child being on the spectrum they are often unable to control their impulsive behavior and is a characteristic of the diagnosis. Instead of continuing to complain about a child with special needs, why not research the condition and learn more about the disability itself? I understand SPA is not a good fit for my child but the school should acknowledge the incident which occurred with my child's teacher, the morning of the scheduled field trip, was not okay. As parents, we understand/understood our responsibility as primary educators, were extremely involved, fully present. We participated as much as we could, and were very communicative with the school regarding our child. Any request they asked of us, we were there at the drop of a dime. Things I learned: Private schools are not required to offer a FAPE (Free Appropriate Public Education). Even if your child has an official medical diagnosis, it does not mean they will qualify for a IEP (Individualized Education Plan) if they are attending a private school. Because Saint Patrick's receives federal funds, you may qualify for a 504 plan. We had to jump through hoops trying to get the IEP and make it work for our child. In hindsight, it was simply not worth it. Also keep in mind in California, teachers within a private school setting do not need to be credentialed. (I am not sure if the SPA staff is) You can research information related to FAPE, IEP's, 504's, and teacher credentialing online. I will say, the Assistant Principal who is also the Learning Center Director, was always kind to us. She was with us every step of the way when we were trying to obtain an IEP for our child and worked tirelessly to support us. She never belittled us or made us feel like a bother. (Like many other staff did). We will always appreciate her graciousness towards us. Do your own research before enrolling. Also look at the "reviews not currently recommended" all the way at the bottom of this page. Those may provide additional insight and information not listed on the main page. Weigh the pros and cons. Don't be afraid of exploring public or homeschool options. Private doesn't mean better. To me, SPA did not have the capacity or resources to nurture the emotional development of **our** neurodivergent child. I feel the staff truly needs training in this area. Above anything else, our child's mental and emotional wellbeing is why we decided to pull our child out immediately after the incident I witnessed for myself. Wishing anyone who reads this the best on their child's educational journey. It's tough, but always be your child's best advocate.

i was the original anonymous reviewer, i am gonna go more in detail here: so basically, this school…read moresucks. i am neurodivergent, and a quote unquote "weird kid" and HOLLLYYYYY MOLY people are rude, there are some girls a grade below me who constantly, and i mean CONSTANTLY bully me and my friends, not to mention, ms. moreira genuinely seems like she doesn't care, she constantly overworks us, not to mention the fact that she has given my class 3 homework assignments in one day! which is actually INSANE!!! but ms. peletta is great, 10/10 teacher, gonna miss her. i feel like ms. nguyen actually doesnt care much about students hardships. she doesnt deal with the bullying problem, and my friend who is also neurodivergent, she is constantly in trouble for things she CANNOT CONTROL, the school has a huge issue with how they deal with kids, and a lot of the teachers are ignorant. the curriculum should've been fixed, but oh well, too late now, there's only 2 more weeks. tl;dr - school is ignorant, teachers overwork, principal doesnt handle bullying issue, at this point, im happy the diocease is shutting it down, or else i'd have to deal with more years in this terribly run school with terrible people that i'd rather not be around.

We have had two students at this school who have deep emotional disturbances. The staff is so…read morehelpful and strive to give the kids the best educational experiences possible.

NCPS involves a lot of control, social engineering, pressure to conform to neurotypical…read moreexpectations, and staff trying to get students in trouble. They do not understand or accept neurodivergence, despite advertising the opposite. Teachers deduct points and lower grades for minor or nonexistent infractions. I get far perfect grades and do not get in trouble for behavior in general education, but at NCPS I got B's and marked down for behavior. Staff take an ABA-inspired approach, forcing compliance and "acting neurotypical". Students are forced to socialized, but not allowed to exchange contact information or speak to each other without staff present. Staff pick favorites--some students get scolded or punished for the slightest thing, while others get away with far more. A lot of the staff are super grouchy and rude towards the students. The only positive thing is that the academics are better than other special education programs (but not like a traditional school). Oh, and the student are nice for the most part--the staff and administration are the problem.

The Instructor "Aspen" super rude with her bad attitude. And seemed impatient with my "training"…read moreSean the clown above her was just as bad as her. They took my statements out of context during training when I shared a little bit about my culture of how the children get disciplined from there, not that I am all for it. But it was just shared during training and I guess it was a bit too much for them to understand or I guess it's an sensitive American issue they have. But it's not like I was going to bring this topic up in the field of working with children... (common sense) i can just tell off the bat Aspen just didn't really care for me during training. Surprisingly she started off as a "Behavior Aide" and you would think she would be compassionate towards a newbie. Apparently not, moreover, on my last day with them I brought over donuts for them too, just to be later terminated the following new week. What a way to start a job, without even getting the opportunity. I have so much experience working with children from a top notch hospital in from the "Behavioral Health" Unit with excellent Mental Health references. Just to be treated this way from this company with poor reviews. I am not worried, I will be moving on to bigger and better.

Staff is very unprofessional. My child learned many new terrible behaviors instead of getting help…read morewith his. Had had his medications stolen by staff without any repercussions and had to make them give me a incident report that blamed my child for bringing Contraband instead of them taking it, even though my child was never in possession of the medications, they were given directly to staff.... he's learned a lot of explicit language and sexual behaviors he never had before going there. Anytime my child tells me about something they do wrong to him and I call the school he is retaliated against by staff. They go through staff like crazy... I wish I had never sent my kid here and I wouldn't recommend sending yours there unless you seriously hate them...

Venue: Luther Burbank High School Theatre [Sacramento CA]…read more Came here once on August 23, 2014 when I watched my hubby officiate for the first time a Sacramento Youth Football (SYF) game between the Burbank Titans and El Camino Jr Eagles. whoa... some of those 13-14 year old boys are bigger than him. Anyway, fast forward to 2023... my daughter and I attended a special event held in their school theatre. We watched a Hō'ike 2023 performance by Kūhai Hālau O Nohea. The size of the auditorium was very big and was nice that it's air-conditioned too -whew- because it got up to a sizzling highs 107° today. Cushioned seats were available on the first half of the theater closest to the stage which we were able to snag. This made it pleasant and comfortable to watch the show since the performance was three hours long. Non-cushion wooden seats on the second half of the theatre. I don't know what the capacity of the theatre was but it was a full house. Vendors were set up in the spacious lobby area of the auditorium. Bathrooms were spacious too. Nice venue. Review #3078

DONT ENROLL YOUR CHILDREN HEREEE!!! Teachers do NOT care about the student or their education…read more They're always degrading the students and it shows that they care more about their jobs. They don't even teach at alll. If you're not going to teach, then why be there? The school needs to shut down. There's no saving it, especially with all these teacher shortages. They don't deserve any stars but I had to give them one to spread awareness!!

They have so many free programs for the community. They offer zumba, kids cooking classes, English…read moreclasses, support group for pafents/care givers with special needs children, citizenship courses, hip hop dance classes, read to a dog program, embroidery class, homework club, carseat class (you get a free carseat), movie night, dental screenings, parenting classes and more. All material is provided and free. I love how active they are in thd community. They are very family orientated. This place is a true gem. They have free clothes and baby items sometimes. The only bad thing is that after about 3:00 no one answers the phone even though they are still open. During the day they answer and are very friendly. All staff memebers that I have encountered have been friendly. They have staff members that speak different languages.

This is an awesome place that helps single and or families who are low income and at risk. I have…read morehad absolutely no issue with these ppl. Their always positive and willing to help u when resources are available.

I attended California Learning Center from the ages of 10-18. I received assistance with study…read moreskills, history, chemistry, physics, English, entrance exams into high school, ACT prep, college essays, and more. California Learning Center is an excellent resource for children of all ages. Run by an outstanding teacher. If you believe your child could use extra help OR your child could use a challenge, CLC is the best option. All teachers are certified, licensed educators in the state of California who are dedicated and hope to see your child thrive. As a long time student of CLC, I know I am the student I am today, receiving my Doctorate in Physical Therapy because of the skills and knowledge I received from California Learning Center.

I know some people love this place, but this is my experience after nearly 2 years. My child's…read moregrades did not improve and my child's test scores stayed flat. Everything about this place is dated - they've had the same tutors there for 30 years, the same teaching materials for 30 years - look at the books and supplies. It's all super old. Even the furniture in the waiting room is 30 years old. I don't think this organization has the energy, enthusiasm or passion to engage with young students anymore.

I've went to this school for 7 years to be exact, my time here has had its up's and downs but some…read moreof my bests friends were made at this school!

My kids don't attend this school, but I've driven past it multiple times since it's located in a…read moreshopping center. Personally, I wouldn't feel comfortable enrolling my kids there because of the location. Having a playground and cones set up in the middle of a parking lot just doesn't feel like a safe or appropriate environment for a school. On top of that, the kids I've seen there were behaving pretty poorly. I honestly don't understand why a school was approved to operate in that type of location in the first place.

We've loved our experience at Alice birney so far. The play based kinder is amazing. We wouldn't…read morewant to be anywhere else!

horrible school i've left 3 years ago and will never come back the teachers are rude, you don't…read morelearn anything and the schools campus bad

8 years ago, I was looking for a Islamic school that could provide good education but also adheres…read moreto religious teachings. Back then, I was in Bay Area and the only option for Garnada. I didn't go there because the school was k-8. One of my friend recommended me to check Al-Arqam, we visited the school and found it "okie". From then (8 yrs ago) to now, the school has drastically improved. There could be opportunities for improvement and this is where the parents play an important role. I've seen many parents signing up for volunteer work - this not only helps the school but also help parents be part of the community. The principal is very empathetic person. She does not only listen to you but also try to understand a parents perspective to find a solution. If there are limited options, she is always open to parents recommendations/solutions - and if abides by the school policies, she is willing to try your suggestion. The school in general has a nice environment. Yes, there are rules and for stubborn students, it will be challenging specially if they are not used to following rules. However, for my kids, they are excited to come to school from last 8 years. There might be a few pieces missing, but by far, the administration and teachers are very accommodating to provide a nurturing environment.

This school is horrible. I've been attending since 4th grade and I haven't enjoyed my experience…read morehere at all. All of the teachers that actually KNOW how to teach are leaving because of mistreatment, while the rest are either just blatantly rude or don't know how to teach for the life of them. You can easily get in trouble for literally the smallest thing ever too. I received a full weeks worth of community service for going to the office during dismissal through the boy's side(I'm a girl). The school is also extremely biased toward middle schoolers and girls. Countless teachers have done nothing but accuse girls of inappropriate behavior around boys and would even restrict you from going out to blow your nose because they think you'd start admiring boys. Is that not stupid? You could also wear light makeup or literally just do your lashes and you'd get in trouble, meanwhile I see countless others walking around with the heaviest makeup and wouldn't face any punishment. The staff sucks too. I don't see Dr. Abusalih contributing to the school other than being the face of it and getting you in trouble for breathing wrong around her. It's always Ms. Duso and Sr. Shahana running around the place getting work done. It's also like nothing that's important is being dealt with and instead the unimportant stuff is. The enforced ban of phones is just ridiculous, because you're not dealing with the problem; you're just finding a way from it. Class management is also such a horribly grasped concept. A particular teacher keeps on claiming she's fallen terribly ill because of her students, that she's suffering from depression because of her students and whatnot, while she does nothing to stop their behavior. Instead of fixing it, you threaten to call the already weak office who do nothing but threaten students too, and just start ranting about how much you go through. Like that's gonna fix anything? This school is so horribly managed, it's extremely unfair and racist(heavy on Indians), the teachers are a mess, events are horribly held, issues aren't being dealt with because Dr. Abusalih just wants to give out community services to girls, and overall just a bad experience. I am literally whining to go to a different school because this one is quite literally worse than public and not at all an Islamic environment.

I had a very disappointing experience with SafeSplash. My daughter showed up for her scheduled swim…read morelesson only to be told she could no longer participate because they claimed there was no active authorization. She was turned away without any prior phone call, email, or text warning us that there was an issue. This wasn't just an inconvenience it was heartbreaking for my child, who was excited for her lesson. What made the situation worse was how it was handled afterward. Every response I received simply quoted company policies and shifted the responsibility to Alta instead of trying to resolve the problem. This is not the first issue I've had with SafeSplash. Whenever there's a problem, they don't work toward a solution, they just refer back to their policies. After speaking with my Alta coordinator, I was informed that my daughter's services had actually been extended. However, by that point SafeSplash had already dropped her from the class. Even after learning the authorization had been extended, they told me they could not put her back in her original class because her spot had already been filled and that she would have to join the waitlist. So my daughter lost her place because of a situation that could have been prevented with better communication. A simple phone call or email before removing my child from the class could have avoided all of this. Instead, she was denied services, dropped from her class without warning, and now has to wait for another opening despite her services being extended. Policies are important, but so are communication, accountability, and customer service. Unfortunately, our experience showed very little of any of those. I would NEVER recommend this company to other families.

Before I get into it, first off, I want to genuinely thank Makayla (swim instructor) for being such…read morea fantastic, knowledgeable, & engaging teacher. I sincerely appreciate her patience with me, & kindness when directing me to the hallway showers & family restroom when I asked her where my baby & I could wash off the pool water & change into dry clothes. Even though I greatly appreciate Makayla, it really bothers me that paying customers, such as myself, don't have *any* access to the facility's locker rooms, making me feel like a second-class customer, as if we have no right to be there. Additionally, not having a designated & more importantly, a *safe* space to put our belongings while we swim, having to shower in a not-private hallway (!), and having only one family bathroom among multiple families makes me feel like I might as well go back to the YMCA. At least their locker rooms are open to children! It makes absolutely no logical sense to prohibit *children* from being in so called "adult only" locker rooms when there is literally nowhere else but a dingy tent to change into, and one family bathroom to shower in. Absolutely ridiculous. I'll be spending my money elsewhere.