270 Gabarda Way
Portola Valley, CA 94028

M-A is an impressive place, especially given the extreme socioeconomic diversity and varying high school readiness of its student body. The curriculum provides for courses ranging from remedial to AP and beyond. There are extensive resources for academic help (ranging from office hours to after school help to peer tutoring), a huge number of clubs and extracurricular activities, highly competitive athletics, nationally-ranked debate, award-winning orchestra and jazz bands, the list goes on. Students are given opportunities to participate and excel regardless of family financial situation. And this is borne out in the college outcomes - the majority enter college, and many go to Ivies, Stanford, MIT and top UCs. Most importantly, I have found that the teachers work hard and really care about their students - not just their academic outcomes but their entire well-being. During the pandemic, many teachers went well above and beyond to ensure that their students' mental and physical health was secure. It is a hard thing to measure, but, as a parent, heartwarming to see in action.

This school focuses on traditional school methodology and basic skills with a focus on helping bring up students who are struggling to grade level.The teachers at this school are experienced care and love their jobs. The parent clientele is high on the spectrum of demanding but teachers still work harder and try to meet client needs. Most of the teachers have been teaching for a long time and it is rare for the school to hire a brand new teacher out of teacher college. Teachers tend to help each other and make sure all students are getting similar treatment. The music program is phenomenal here. Highly experienced teaching staff with experience in high school and more complex band and musicianship backgrounds. This school also has an actual librarian with a Library Sciences degree who has a lot of experience teaching and coaching teachers. There used to be a STEAM enrichment technology specialist but after Covid19 the program went away. My son really missed that teacher.Recently admin has changed and there is more focus on equity and inclusion as well as learning loss and bringing students who are struggling up to par. The special education program in particular is phenomenal compared to most. Very caring staff! I recommend La Entrada for students who thrive in a traditional school setting or if your child needs extra help in certain subjects or learning differences. The basics are very important in this school and all subjects are deeply taught. Great teaching staff and admin who work very hard and deserve lots of respect for what they do.

Our kids are super happy and thriving at Las Lomitas!