My daughter spent 3 years at Stanbridge Academy, the education is definitely a little behind, but my biggest concern with this school is safety. My daughter was assaulted by male student on campus repeatedly and my daughter informed the principal and several staff members and zero of them reported this to us as her parents or police. In fact when I brought it up to the school they blamed my daughter for the assault, this floored me given this is no where near the truth. If you have a daughter especially please be very careful, no child should have to experience what mine went through and is still going to therapy for 9 months later. The head of the school Julie is the one who blamed my daughter for being assaulted and claimed her word was less credible due to her being autistic, these people are supposed to be keeping our children safe and us as parents informed. Please be careful sending your children here read more

This school was very helpful for my disabilities. As I first came here in 2012, it was a difficult time getting to know everyone there at first, but as the years passed by, it got better. read more

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I graduated Stanbridge in 1999 and really enjoyed my years I spent enriching my education and potential. When I first started in 1993 I knew I would be accepted into this loving and caring environment. With their various programs from drama, to experiential education my love of education started to become a reality. Jeff Patheal instilled confidence and challenged me in ways I never thought were possible with the experbtial trips. Angel Island, Tall Ships, river rafting, skiing and backpacking. I must also shout out to Dick Wesendunk and Jeff for making PE both enriching and fun. I can attribute my love of fitness and the outdoors thanks to their dedication and patience. The classes were small and the faculty really cared about me. Homework here was not busy work but more of an extension of the classroom. It was not hours and hours of work but more project based. Andi Jobe and the late Headmaster Richard Bowen along with the Administrative support staff including Betty Scalf wanted the best for me. Every attention to detail was done with the utmost care and respect. I was able to transition to a regular neighborhood High School and graduate with a 3.5 GPA and then attended West Valley and Foothill Community Colleges. I graduated with a BA in Liberal Arts(Summa Cum Laude) in E-Learning, MA in Human Resource Education, certification in Travel and Tourism as well as Assistive Technology. I am in the field of researching Accesible Travel for individuals with disabilities and advocate for individuals with disabilities. The future is bright and I attribute my success to Stanbridge! read more

I waited years before finally deciding we would find a way to get to Stanbridge (we live in S. San Jose) and now I regret daily not making the change sooner. Teachers and administration are both willing to work with my son's individual strengths and weaknesses. It is always a warm feeling for him walking on campus, being greeted by all staff - not just the current teacher. His confidence is soaring and his academics are progressing. His favorite part is the experientials - as he is a kid who learns most by doing and experiencing for himself. And, of course, PE w/coach Jeff. But that's not to take away anything from the music, art and technology teachers and his amazing classroom teacher. Oh, wait, and the SLP - Keri... And office staff... Tired of editing - it's a good crowd, the lot of them. We've been there 3 years now and I'm happy with his continued love of school despite the commute. read more

Very old school and biased admission personnel controlling the process. Don't bother to apply here if you are a minority and is capable to fund and your kid has a disorder that can still be managed at their school. Prepare that your application will be tossed away straight after you apply even when you took so much effort to gather all the correct documents. Having been in the industry for four donkey years, claiming to be special educationists, very uncaring, unprofessional and uncompassionate people to work with. I pressed for the specific reasons why they didn't bother to discuss about the application, but they never wanted to face it and disappeared from the scene. Head of the school is another piece of work. Same bad reviews posted on greatschools and other sites disappeared..These people are paying up these sites to cover up their bad practices. Now that says something..be cautious! Glad we are out of this nonsense. read more

This is one of the best schools for kids from k-12 to grow up as many students have learning disabilities.. Many teachers are younger, but understand every students wants and needs every day as they grow older and grow into the nature life of adulthood.. I graduated here in 2009 and i still love hopping on by to see my old teachers/ alumnae read more

Stanbridge Academy - These are a few I took of the science class taught by Jay Huston who was there when I first started in 2005.. - Elementary Schools Near Me - San Mateo, California

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Thank you, Stanbridge!! Stanbridge has changed my son's life and provided him with so many amazing possibilities. Our family has been at Stanbridge for six years now and my son started Junior High this fall. We came from the SF Unified School District as our son was falling behind academically. He also could not establish any friendships there and it really hurt his confidence. When we walked into Stanbridge six years ago, my wife and I were unsure what to expect. First off, we live in San Francisco and it would have taken a lot to convince us to drive him every day to San Mateo for Stanbridge (this is before Stanbridge started offering a shuttle from SF to school).... So we took the tour (loved everything we saw) and had our son shadow for a few days. After the shadow, there was no turning back. The leadership, the counselors, and teachers really knew our son and his learning profile. We knew right then that we could not pass this up. Fast forward six years later and we see tremendous growth in him. He's confident, joyful and compassionate. The school continues to provide him with great support academically and emotionally and socially. The environment is very safe and nurturing. Class sizes are perfect with 6-8 kids per class. The teachers are very devoted and the leadership is so thoughtful. Just last Friday, my son seemed a little off. So I emailed his homeroom teacher at 6:30pm and she called me back 5 minutes later and we ended up talking for 15-20 minutes -- on a Friday evening!!! It's the big things and these little gestures that set Stanbridge apart from all other schools. The academics are also very serious yet flexible to adapt to the kids learning styles. The principal, Matt, has made some helpful improvements in the curriculum the last two years. I attended the back to school tonight and all of the parents were so impressed with the teachers, their academic objectives, the breadth of the content they will cover, how they will be grading, and priorities for the classroom.... They really took the time to carefully plan out the academics and are really preparing our kids for high school. I asked the math teacher how realistic would it be for him to teach all that content, and it was a lot and very deep, and he meticulously explained how he planned to break down each of the course materials into blocks and then into smaller blocks to make easier for the kids to understand. He got very specific and seem very confident. Though the academics are very serious, I do feel it's all grade appropriate and the teachers and support staff are experienced and flexible enough to make modifications to help the kids learn. I also love how all the kids have been transitioned into Chromebooks and Google Classroom. It gives us parents good insight into what the kids are learning in the classroom too. Stanbridge is a remarkable, one-of-a-kind school for those children that need a little extra or more support. Expect smaller classrooms, devoted teachers, and a very solid curriculum. read more

I am grateful for Stanbridge Academy. My son has been attending for the past 4 years (since 3rd grade) and has grown tremendously socially and academically. He is surrounded by caring and supportive staff each day who understand his needs and quirks. The small class size allows him to be independent. This was not possible in our public school district, where the only options were full inclusion in a regular class or a separated Special Day class. Neither option was appropriate for my son. Thank you to Stanbridge for providing the right environment where my son can thrive! read more

My son started in 9th grade at Stanbridge and will graduate this year. It has been a wonderful experience for both of us! The staff and faculty are highly skilled as well as welcoming and flexible. They are willing to work with parents to ensure that appropriate goals for the student are met. What I appreciate most is that Stanbridge provides the most typical high school experience as possible for a school that serves students with special needs. My son enjoys many of the activities such as the dances, the after school movies and particularly the experiential trips. Stanbridge also has a very active parent community who organize many fun events for the students. I'm so happy we found Stanbridge. We'll be sad to graduate! read more

Stanbridge has been a great school for my son. I recommend this school to the parents who are looking for a good school for their kids with learning differences. In Stanbridge my son grew socially and academically, and we are very grateful :) I wish we had found the school earlier ! read more

The faculty at Stanbridge is truly dedicated to the academic and social needs of every individual student there. They have small class sizes with no more than 8 students in each class which my son truly benefits from. The level of instruction is personalized to his strengths and the teachers use a variety of resources and technologies to help him reach his potential. His teachers are always available to talk whenever I have a question. After many false starts elsewhere, Stanbridge has been a lifesaver! Stanbridge is a fantastic resource for families with special needs students (my son is an "Aspie") They have a great staff and wonderful counselors and resource faculty. We discovered this school last year and wish we would have found it earlier. A hidden gem! read more

Stanbridge Academy is truly an amazing place! The staff is skilled at small group, differentiated, strength-based instruction combined with social emotional learning opportunities. The supportive environment creates students who love learning and school. Stanbridge is a model of what special education should like like. High expectations and accountability delivered in a setting of understanding, support, and encouragement. read more

The elementary school at Stanbridge has been an excellent experience for my son for the last 4 years. He thrives in their classes that have a maximum of 8 students. It has been great for him to get speech and social skills as a program and integrated into the day. In addition there is a great PE program taught by an APE specialist, and they get art, music, and technology. It has been a very supportive place for helping with his dysgraphia. read more

Our son has been going to Stanbridge for 3 years now after experiencing difficulties in a public elementary school. In public school, we recognized that our son was "falling through the cracks" and wasn't receiving the hand's-on and focused attention that he needed to perform to the best of his abilities. We also noticed that his self-esteem was beginning to ebb due to his inability to keep up the pace of his peers in the classroom. As parents, we recognized that our son was not going to receive the support he needed to reach his potential so we were very, VERY fortunate to find Stanbridge Academy. My son (along with my husband and I) were immediately and enthusiastically welcomed into the Stanbridge community and my son has received outstanding academic and social learning support. The faculty is exceptional - all are passionate and truly caring individuals who are dedicated to helping children with a variety of learning needs be successful. As for our son, he is now in 7th grade, is involved in Stanbridge's after school clubs and is proud of his academic and social achievements. We truly feel blessed to have found Stanbridge Academy and are so excited about our son's future! read more

Stanbridge is a terrific school for students with mild to moderate learning differences. The incredible teachers like working with these students, and it is obvious in the connections they build with the students. The teachers are able to differentiate education and challenge the students. My child has been there 6 years and is now in high school. He has close friends, is engaged and excited about what he is learning, and has learned to be more resilient and better at problem solving. He has made more progress here than he would have being fully included in a top public school in our district. Absolutely the best thing we ever did for our son and our family was to send him to this school. read more

My son is a junior in high school at Stanbridge, he started as an 8th grader with significant reading disabilities but with normal social behavior. Stanbridge has been awesome for him! They have taught him so many ways of coping with his reading troubles and ways to augment his ability to learn, he will be able to go to at least community college and hopes to go to a 4 year program after that. The low class size (my son took chemistry with 7 other students, for example, most classes in high school are around 8 kids and even lower at the lower grades) allows a personalized approach to kids with special needs, and yet he's learning what all his friends in public school are learning (and to be honest, in some cases, even more). And don't think his social development and life has suffered at all: he has a ton of friends, is on the basketball team, goes to all the dances, is on the leadership committee, and is blossoming in so many ways. I was worried about pulling him from public school but it was one of the best decisions I've ever made, his learning disability will not hold him back in his future due to Stanbridge. I cannot emphasize how well the Stanbridge system works. read more