445 S Santa Anita Ave
Pasadena, CA 91107

Our daughter has had the absolutely most amazing time at Hamilton! There's nothing like your kid always having a smile on their face when you pick them up from school. Hamilton is known for academic excellence, science, student diversity and social-emotional learning. Hamilton has a special focus on leadership, art and science with a wonderful annual science night (there was a real Mars Rover at the last one!). The school has worked w/the Armory for years to provide art classes and more recently a special Pasadena tax started paying for certified art teachers, a music teacher and P.E. teacher. The Annual fund pays for a librarian and computer teacher. (The school is currently looking to replace the previous very popular teacher). Our daughter is in 1st grade and also attended Kindergarten here. All the teachers her and her friends in other classed have had are wonderful, communicate well w/parents (even during weekends and evenings) and genuinely seem to love kids. In Kindergarten, she had the amazing Ms. Yamada, an exceptional teacher who installed a love for learning in our daughter and won "best teacher" award for Pasadena (and another LA county teaching award). Our daughter used to say: "I love Ms. Yamada the most, then Mommy, then Daddy." Ms. Negrete and Ms. Anderson have also won teaching awards. Hamilton has an active and welcoming parent community which organizes an amazing Multi-Cultural fair, School Dance and Science Fair. Hamilton celebrates kindness week and recognizes students once a month for leadership, helping other students and academic excellence. Bullying is non-existent, at least in the Kinder through 2nd grade group our daughter spends time with. (Our daughter was born w/a small disability and this was important to us). The Annual Fund fund-raises very actively which to some might be a negative if they prefer not to get involved and to some it might be a plus since this funds extra programs. (However, more than half of the students are eligible for free lunch by pre-Covid criteria and no one is pushed into donating if they don't feel comfortable). My husband was offered a great job opportunity in another city and we will likely stay because we love Hamilton that much. Send your child here if you can! (Getting into Hamilton by lottery can be competitive but I've also heard good things about other PUSD elementary schools.) Let's support our excellent non-charter public schools and dedicated teachers!

A lot of people in Pasadena send their kids to private school, but our oldest son wanted to go to PHS. We went in with low expectations, and have been very impressed.PHS' greatest asset is its teachers, the majority of whom are stellar. I can't say enough good things about them; they are so dedicated and genuinely care about their students. Just this morning, one of my son's teachers called me on the phone minutes after I sent him an email explaining that my son was sick and would miss his exam. Last month, his AP chemistry teacher arranged an all-day field trip to the Wild Animal Safari Park to work in their labs.One of my kids is in the the Law and Public Service Academy and he loves it. Again, the teachers in that academy are stellar. I have heard that kids really love the App Academy as well. If your child is coming to PHS from a non-PUSD middle school, I recommend plugging them into an academy so they can find community. One the negative side, the facilities are severely lacking, but PHS is set to get a major upgrade in the next few years. My kids are getting a great education.

Very poor. I would be ashamed to have my daughter graduate from here. Luckily, if you jump through enough hoops, there are other options.