1352 80th Ave
Oakland, CA 94621

As a teacher, I love working at New Highland Academy. Our staff is a cohesive group with a culture of collaboration and teacher leadership. We are excited to share what we are learning from our students and in our many professional development pursuits, such as inquiry research on our teaching practice with the support of Mills Teacher Scholars, as well as the Alameda County Integrated Learning Specialist Program initiative in teaching through the arts. Teachers at New Highland are dedicated, caring people who are true activists for social change.

So I had a bad experience at a charter school in Oakland and this school came highly recommended, so I enrolled my daughter here. This was the worst decision I’ve ever made in my life and I feel so bad because I feel like I failed my daughter. Every day it was something. The kids were beyond evil and mean. They were disrespectful and bullies. My daughter was jumped twice at the neighboring library and the footage was uploaded to Instagram. The kids were so underprivileged and it showed and they took it out on my daughter. The principal told me it was an inclusive school, which I had no clue of. Basically it meant she couldn’t turn any students down. So my daughter was in class with slow kids, kids with behavioral problems, kids with learning disabilities, kids that don’t speak English and so on. I’ve sat in her classrooms on several occasions and it was like a zoo. Kids were up playing around with toys, talking, not paying attention and the teacher didn’t say one word! If the kids couldn’t understand something and would raise their hand for clarification, they were either scolded or ignored. Half of her math and science class was in Spanish for the non English speakers. I attended a parent/student night which displayed the kids work and my daughter’s paper had so many grammatical errors. I pointed it out to the teacher and she told me she had too many students and didn’t have time to correct everyone’s paper. Then to make matters worst, the principal is a fake and far from a problem solver. Because I cared about my daughter’s education and well being, I became a nuisance to her and she always stood up for the bad kids. That school is a joke. There is absolutely no learning or discipline going on there at all. The teachers, especially 4th grade, seemed tired, burnt out and like they could careless about the students education. They need a serious revamp. My daughter came home upset every single day, so I said enough is a enough, so I pulled her out. If you are a parent that cares about your child’s education and well being PLEASE AVOID THIS SCHOOL BY ANY MEANS NECESSARY!!!! OUSD needs to step in and do a serious investigation/evaluation on everyone there from the principal on down. The principal is real good at pretending her school is problem free and covering up the nonsense and real issues that go on there.

when is time to help your kid they instead send them to the office and private them from learning instead of offering help to the teacher such as a teacher Aid or less students so they can be in a smaller ratio for the teacher...... bad experience to the point that I feel that they discriminate my kid

When I visited Rise Community School, I was pleasantly surprised. The school is small but I felt a big sense of community among the staff and the students. The Principal, Mrs. Tillman is energic, innovative, hands on with the students and staff.

Mr. G and Ms. Ramos are the best teachers ever. Don't tell them I said that. When I had a problem with Mr. G I could talk with Ms. Ramos wen I had a problem with Ms. Ramos mr. G was always there. Ms. Ramos is like the mom and Mr. G like the dad. She's more strict but is nice and you know she loves you. Mr. G is hecka fun and makes history exciting. Ms. Ramos is a good math teacher. She makes you take notes that tell you exactly how to solve the problem. Whatever you do take notes. Ms. Ramos will do science experiments with you is the whole class pays attention. Mr. G is hecka funny. They the best teachers at roots.

Teachers sometimes grade you by behavior making your grade go down by a lot. They give too much homework not allowing students to have a life out of school. In conclusion this school is depressing.

I liked this school because i had good grades and i liked how that school worked hard for me too graduate.