There are lots of cliques among the teachers, and favorites are obvious. If parents aren't "in the group," your child is treated differently, they gossip about families it spreads easily. Not Christ Like ! Many parents act entitled and unkind, with a high class, elitist energy that makes the environment unpleasant . Ms. Munoz is moody often yells at kids, refuses to take responsibility for her actions, and misrepresents herself as "kind and empathetic". The lunch and P ground staff can be unkind, and favoritism is rampant, especially toward Moms who are teachers themselves. Only kids who seem safe are the quiet, submissive ones who never speak up about mistreatment. The school has a high turnover of teachers, and principals are constantly rotating. When parents raise legitimate concerns, they are often called into the office and subjected to gaslighting made to feel as if the problem is their fault. Accountability is nonexistent. Doesn't Feel like a warm welcoming Christian School read more

My son has been at this school for 2.5 years and everything has been great. This was the best decision we have ever made for our sons education and growth. I can't say enough positive things. read more

After reviewing all the negative reviews online -- including Yelp, GreatSchools, and Niche (since they disabled Google reviews) -- I believe that what happened to me is not the first time. Almost all the negative comments are directed at the elementary division. I hope the school's leadership will take all parents' feedback seriously and thoroughly evaluate the work of the principal and vice principal. read more

United Christian Academy has been a dream to work with! They are so communicative and really care about their students, especially Zeke Zaragoza. If you are looking for a great team to work with, I can't recommend United Christian enough! read more

I've been going to this school since kindergarten, this school has helped me grow my relationship with God and helped me build a good Christian community. I definitely recommend this schoo!! read more

Amazing Christian Academy! My son has been coming here since Pre-K! Love the staff and amazing environment! read more

We love UCA!!! Our daughter goes to school here and we love it so far. They do many activities with the kids

Kids get a great education with a biblical foundation. The kids really care about their students, pouring whatever they can into the lessons. read more

I have 3 kids that have attended UCA from kinder on up. 12 years ago I was so impressed when I heard the superintendent at the time share the college acceptance rates and scholarship earning of the graduates that I wanted to give my kids the best advantage I could to realizing their dreams. 12 years later UCA has delivered on their end. I have a daughter that is at USC and a son that is accepted to Baylor, both with almost full scholarships to each. While the school is not perfect (as no school is) it is a healthy environment that challenges my kids to excel. The teachers and faculty have been so encouraging and nurturing to my kids over their time there and have become family. If you are looking for a school that does everything perfect, I don't think that exists. But if you are looking for one that does their absolute best to partner with you to have your children reach their potential then I don't know one better! read more

United Christian Academy - My son's college acceptance offer. - Religious Schools Near Me - Rancho Cucamonga, California

Parents need to know what happened to my family at United Christian Academy (UCA). After I raised concerns about the school's culture, curriculum, and communication, and later shared an honest review, my children were abruptly disenrolled without warning or explanation. They were not even allowed to collect their belongings. It was shocking and deeply unprofessional. Before this happened, I also brought forward concerns about what I experienced as inappropriate boundaries, gaslighting, and manipulative interactions from administrator Dorothy Semanovich. As a Black parent, it was especially troubling to feel that a Black principal was being used as the "acceptable face" to enforce a narrow, conservative, and judgmental school ideology. In my experience, this created a dynamic where concerns from Black families could be minimized or dismissed under the assumption that "if a Black administrator is involved, it can't be biased." This environment made advocacy for my children unnecessarily difficult. During their brief time at UCA, my children were also exposed in "Bible class" to content that felt more like political indoctrination than religious education. They were shown videos of conservative Christian personalities debating progressive youth on issues like abortion and LGBTQ+ rights. This did not align with the values of respect, empathy, and open-mindedness I teach at home, and my children found these lessons uncomfortable and unsettling. After the disenrollment, the issues escalated. When I requested my children's records, I discovered multiple entries that did not match their actual conduct or attendance, including several created by administrators Dorothy Semanovich and Charles Mounday. These new entries appeared only after I raised concerns and were inconsistent with everything I know about my children's behavior, daily schedule, and academic performance. The entries included: * behavioral "incidents" that were never mentioned while they were enrolled * dress-code and "gum chewing" violations that never occurred * absences, even though my children never missed a day * and major attendance discrepancies -- for example, one child listed with 18 tardies and the other with 11, despite arriving together every single morning My children have no history of behavioral issues. They were doing well academically and had no prior documentation of any of these concerns. The fact that multiple negative entries appeared only after I voiced concerns raises serious questions about how UCA handles feedback and treats families who advocate for their children. No school, and certainly not one that identifies as Christian, should use student records in a way that appears retaliatory or inconsistent with actual events. I share this so other parents can make fully informed decisions. Think carefully before sending your children here. Our experience was a three-month nightmare, and my children have been traumatized by everything they endured. #UnitedChristianAcademy #UCA #ParentsRights #EducationMatters #ProtectBlackChildren #AccountabilityInSchools #InlandEmpireSchools #TruthMatters read more

My son went to UCA. I thought that a God based school with a Christian staff would be better and have more compassion. He has ADD and ADHD. The proctors, some of the teachers, and the principal behaved horribly and treated him terribly. This was shocking. I would not recommend this school for any child. All it did was give him poor self-esteem and ruin his view of school. He is now flourishing in public school and is back to the happy kid he used to be. What a poor example of a Christ-like environment UCA sets. It took me two years to write this review. I wrote it because I really think people should know what they are getting into before sending their kids to this school. ~Beware! read more

Great school. My son is great academically and socially. No political agendas. Teachers and staffs are amazing, zero complaints. Highly recommended for anyone who are looking for a high ranking private school for their kids. read more

It's been more than a month, but even now when we think about what we went through we can't contain our anger. Dear parents who love your children, please make sure to read the following carefully before making your choice. The principal Dorothy Semanovich and vice principal Lucy Wainaina-Mahiaini of the elementary school (remember the names of these two terrible people) are extremely discriminatory toward children of color, even though they themselves are people of color. First, only children with the same skin color as them are treated as superior. Next come white children, and last are children of other skin colors. Second, they have no ability to accept or understand children's personalities and differences. Although they talk about "love" every day, their actual behavior shows they cannot tolerate any kind of diversity. Children must operate like computers running the programs they approve of in order to stay at this school long-term. Third, once they decide they don't like a child, they will start looking for ways to force your child out. Anything your child does will be labeled as intentional wrongdoing, and then they will try to lead your child into admitting to their accusations. They would also exaggerate my child's behavior and escalate everything into so-called "safety" or "health" concerns ( this were the most often tactics they used on my child ) As a parent, you have no way to defend your child, because you were not present when things happened. And even though they themselves were not there either, they will still tell you that your child already admitted to everything Lastly--and this is the most disgusting thing about this school--they will kick a child out at the beginning of the month because tuition is paid monthly. Even if the child only attended for one week, the parents have already paid for the full month at the start, and they refuse to issue any refund. The actions of the school and the two elementary school administrators caused tremendous harm to my child. At home, my child cried for two full weeks and only slowly started to recover after entering the new school. In the new school, my child hasn't had any major issues--just like throughout all the years from TK onward--none of the so-called "problems" they claimed ever appeared. read more

This is a long overdue review. My son has been attending United Christian Academy for four years and loves the school. Academically he exceeds above his grade when it comes to STAR testing. Highly recommend this school looking for a Christian school. read more

My daughter just started kinder this year and we love the school! We love our teacher, and the staff is super friendly too.

The School is very beautiful. All of the staff is very nice and friendly. My granddaughter loves the school and has made new friends. There are other activities besides classroom instruction. The trip to Catalina created some nice memories. I would recommend the school to anyone. read more

very nice . granddaughter enjoyed. Thank you..We came for a football game and ended up here early for this. Enjoyed

Its been 2years I sent my son and it's been great. The teachers and staffs are great and the programs that they have are really nice as well and they are centered in Christ and everything they do. I just love it. I look forward to sending him until high school and I recommended the other two friends to come here. It's a great school read more

I showed up for an interview and was told to leave because I didn't complete the application questions that were "sent to my email." I told the lady at the front desk that I never received these application questions to my email and she was quite rude and clearly didn't want to help me. She told me to leave, even though she wasn't my direct point of contact. She was really rude and unprofessional and I wouldn't care to work here if I had to work with her. read more

It was very unfortunate to see how the change in leadership went from God led to lack of Godliness. If you walk into the school you'll never see the principal or even get a hold of her (elementary). The head of school seemed to lack leadership, and allowed too much gossip go on. My time here at UCA had its ups and downs, but the biggest issues I found was the lack of God fearing teachers that would talk about everyone from parents to teachers and staff. Don't get me wrong there are some solid biblical teachers but very few. Most show lip service but lacks the actions. The turn over of teachers is mind blowing, and the crazy thing is they let go the best ones. When it comes to staff you can see the clicks and those who are very very very fake. When I come to a christian school I expect to hear about how God is leading, but instead I constantly heard how they drank too much, and or vanity things. My children did have some great friends and 3 solid teachers. Even though they let one go because she was unfortunately miss lead and had no guidance in her first year teaching (according to the school she didnt cut it) she was amazing and great. She was a 4th grade teacher that showed love and my child flourished under her leadership and guidance. I pray that they can get God fearing leaders in the elementary school so this way the school can survive and not be torn down. read more

My Daughter loves this school. After the public schools started getting weird we decided it's best to pull our daughter out and send her to private school. Best decision ever. So grateful for the teachers and staff for working with my daughter. Great support system. Keep up the good work. read more

Ms kaisa locked my classmate in the closet and yelled at him this was very traumatizing for me and I felt very bad for my classmate

My son started kindergarten this year, we also attend church here. I just live the school and the teachers, feels so much more nurturing than a public school for sure. Hopefully my son can attend all his years here this is the type of environment I want him around his foundation is building strong read more

My two kids are both in UCA and have an amazing experience! They learn to be thankful and kind to others. Enjoying the happy smiles on their face everyday! It's a great private school that I would recommend for sure:) read more

I loved my experience at UCA. The teachers were great and really helped shaped my worldview. After being in college for a few years, I began to realize how much UCA prepared me for rigorous courses. I am very thankful that my parents sent me to this beautiful school. I hope that one day I'll have the opportunity to send my own kids here. read more

This experience was form my son in kindergarten 2017 Mrs keen. Beware of this teacher. Here's how the story goes I was called for a meeting about what my son did. The teacher openly blurted to us that it's not like he's scared of me. Then I say, so you want him to be afraid of you. And she says "yes". The superintendent is really not all there first of all. Claims he can " hear god" through groundskeepers. My son got in trouble once here and the superintendent would just say at the end, pray to god and tell me what he says tomorrow. Now normally, I would tell this guy to shut the hell up, but that same day my son got into a accident at home. Overall, do not come here. The new principal would invite his family members as teachers and a majority of staffs would wuit read more

This is our second year at UCA and we are absolutely thrilled! The staff is caring, welcoming, patient and always remember us by our name. I also love how much emphasis they put into God and Jesus Christ. It's also safe with gated and locked doors and fences all throughout the campus! My son loves going to school here and his academics have greatly improved since transferring from a public school. The only regret we have is not registering here soon enough! read more

We have been at this school for a year now, and have seen such a difference in every aspect compared to his previous school (Alta Loma Christian School). The teachers and staff truly reflect Jesus in all they do, and that was the most important thing for us. We value that they attend church regularly, and encourage that their students and families do the same. And you can tell that they care about each of their students so much. I cannot tell you enough how many updates we constantly get throughout each day and week letting us know what is going on. It is a little more expensive than other schools in the area, but believe me when I say it's completely worth it. Our child is completely in love with this place, and we are, too. We have already registered him for next year, and pray we can keep him here for the rest of his school career. I wish everyone could experience this place. read more

Our daughter has been enrolled since 6th grade. This is by far the BEST academic and spiritual decision for her. She absolutely loves her school and will be a senior this coming fall. We will forever be grateful to the school staff and we will always consider UCA our home. Mr & Mrs. Danny Guida read more

My second time leaving a review!! I just want everyone to know that uca is the worst middle school ever in elementary it was so fun and everyone was so nice. But now that I went to 6th grade there it is the worst. I know it's supposed to be different, but it's a bad bad bad difference. For example, mrs semanovich (the principal) starts the drama. When we are trying to figure out what is going on she just makes it worse. Then she's like "what did I ever do to you" like she tries to gas light me. But she did everything to me she is the worst principal ever she needs to calm down and realize no one likes her and she is rude bad over dramatic. It seems like I'm going over the top but I'm not this is all very 100% true and I can't deal with it. It was so bad that I had to change schools. I am never going back there again! The people there are nice but the teachers are horrible! There is this one teacher. He teaches bible for 6th and 7th. He is also the discipline advisor. He is always in the principals office with me. I always get called in the office for no reason most of the time. He is rude and disrespectful to his students. He stares into my soul. He is so nice to everyone else but specific people. Especially me, he always calls me out for not doing something I get he is a teacher but he doesn't have to be rude like that. I definitely do not recommend going to middle school here!! read more

Great and powerful massages. Thank you for Grandparents Day! Mr. Barnes is a great principal and truly appreciate him. read more

Worst school I have ever experienced. Teachers are not required to be experienced or credentialed. Ms. Wahl, a first grade uncredentialed teacher, and it was her first year teaching elementary school, advised that she thinks my son has ADHD. We went through the process of getting him tested for months only to find there is nothing wrong with him and he is academically advanced. After this I realized the teacher had little experience, and no credentials. I asked to have my son moved to a different class but was advised there was no room to move him. There was room. I left half way through the year because they offered no options or alternatives for me and my family. They now attend a Lutheran private school and my son is THRIVING!!! His experience at this school was MISERABLE!!! He didn't want to go to school, he was always being put down, always being punished, recess teachers were mean and didn't respect kids, principle and Ms, Plant knew and offered very little options for us, just wanted to defend their uncredentialed, inexperienced teacher. Save your money and go to a better quality school. Public school is even better than this school! read more

My daughter has attended UCA since kindergarten. She is now in Junior High. We/She absolutely loves it! Very Christ centered. I also love that the teachers are very neutral when it comes to politics. No indoctrination. No picking sides. Just prayer for everyone. The small class sizes are great and they have 100% graduation rate. read more

UC Academy is a great school, with caring faculty and staff, and a deep commitment to the growth of every child. In the 11 years she has been attending, (we started at the old Upland Campus), our daughter has grown, in knowledge, spiritual maturity, and as a person, in part because of the guidance they provide. I think there is no better school to partner with, if you want your child to grow in the Lord and get a great education. We are looking forward to our daughter's remaining high school years and know it will continue to be a great experience. read more

The school recently changed its name to United Christian Academy, to reflect the fact that they had relocated from Upland many years ago and are in Rancho Cucamonga. My three children have attended this school for the past 3 years, for elementary and junior high. The school is located in the beautiful campus of Abundant Living Church. I read more

I don't recommend this school. Some of the teachers are incredible that's why i have a 1 star. Teachers were always quitting. I was so attracted to the video that was on their website but it's deceiving. We wasted so much money at UCA. read more

My family loves everything about this school. The campus is beautiful, the staff feels like family, and Christ is at the center of UCA. If you are deciding what school to send your child to, look no further. My son started in 5th grade and is now a freshman and he LOVES his high school experience so far. I hope this helps!!! read more

Honestly going to this school really wasn't fun. There were numerous occasions that I seriously thought of dropping out because I felt so judged, like I couldn't have my own opinion. They are very Christian based to a point of where if you try to have your own opinion it's almost immediately shutdown. Some of the teachers there are way too involved in the students life to a point where its almost inappropriate. When the teachers and staff start to talk crap about you and spread outrageous rumors, you know that something is not right. After going to school here for the four years of high school I did not get the loving Christian feel that they say they have. read more

UCA would be getting 5 stars if it was just a bit bigger school but overall, this school was great for my three children who attended from preschool all the way up through high school, 2018. The principals and superintendent were accessible and involved and were so kind to work out special accommodations for one of my children as needed. The teachers care and there have been some amazing ones there and yes, some have moved on but I would have confidence the school replaced or will replace them with teachers of similar quality. The academics are competitive with similar schools and my children had no problem achieving good scores on their SAT's and being accepted to the colleges they wanted. Although the small size is somewhat limiting as far as friendship groups, it is nice that the teachers know all the kids well and each child has the opportunity to pretty much participate in what they want like sports teams and clubs. As long as your child clicks well with a group of kids, they will likely be fine socially and develop close friendships. One great benefit of a small school is that pre-K through 12 are all on one beautiful campus and although the elementary, junior high and high school students are separated of course, there are benefits. For instance, it is one drop off location for parents of multiples, school spirit is shared by all siblings, most school breaks are identical across each grade level, and there is a benefit in that the younger siblings get to know their older siblings peers as well and vice versa. This promotes almost a big-little brother/sister atmosphere on campus between the older and younger ones which is very unique and makes transitions to upper grades easier. We also like that you don't have to be a Christian to attend UC, it is a mission minded school so your kids are not in a complete "bubble" but their teachers, who are their role models, reinforce christian values and push them to explore and then deepen their faith as well as learn to logically defend it. When a family tragedy happened to us, we really saw the benefit of our children having a strong faith which was always reinforced and encouraged to grow at UC. We will always be grateful our children were able to attend. read more

It is with a heavy heart I write this post. Last fall my husband and I made the decision to place our son in this school to provide him a Christian education. Our son had a wonderful 8th grade year and he received the principals award for most improved student. My son was on an IEP however made the tradition to all general education classes with a few modifications. We felt a private school with smaller classrooms and a Christian focus was the right decision for our sons high school years. Well, I can say through our experience that children with learning difficulties are not served at UCA and will not get the support they need to be successful at this school. My son struggled a great deal at UCA and we did not get a single corespondents from anyone of his teachers. I reached out to his guidance counselor and only after three attempts dud she get back to me. I also asked for a meeting with all his teachers and only one teacher was in attendance. It is disheartening that my son is being deprived of a Christian education because UCA does not have the resources to serve children with learning struggles. Think twice about sending your child here if they have any issues academically because they will NOT receive the proper support. My son is now back in public school doing well and now has his confidence back. After taking my son out of the school now they are charging us 3,000 for taking him out before the school year ended. We wasted so much money here and my child lost his confidence which had a big effect on him emotionally. Like I said previously he is now back in public school and doing great! We will continue to support him spiritually in our home and through our church. read more