2424 Sunnyside Ridge Rd
Rancho Palos Verdes, CA 90275

This is a wonderful school! Despite what others say *ex. Teachers throwing chairs* they have never done this in all the time I have been going here. This school has great facilities, wonderful staff, and amazing opportunities. I love going here! The teachers are awesome, and they really take care of disabled students. The cafeteria lunch is not terrible, and most is very good. This is a great school!

Like a few others, my criticism of Dapplegray relates only to the drop off/pickup sitiation. (The teachers, admins, families have generally all been fine.) We've had three kids attend DG and I can't wait for my last to finish. We live about 2 miles away and we have to budget 20 min for our drop off and 50 min for pickups. The majority of that time is spent sitting in a car, waiting in a line full of other cars. There simply is no way to avoid it. Look at a map and you'll understand the reason: the road/driveway is like the LAX horseshoe. Because this school appears to be the largest in the district, the administrators appear to have decided to jam the kids in. While the class sizes are large and still manageable, the traffic is not. The district dose not appear to care about the drop off situation jam-packs the school to the max. As a result you'll see the sheriffs allowing two lanes of cars on a single lane on PV Drive North (with one lane running onto the sidewalk). The administrators tolerate chronic tardies (on a daily basis), etc. All this is allowed simply because there is no physical way possible to jam all of the cars of all the families into the horsehoe and surrounding streets.It sucks badly enough to have to do this every single day - but consider those days when you have to pull a kid early: with the all the parents waiting in line, you basically need to arrange to pick up your child about 1 hour before the earliest dismissal times. Otherwise, you'll get stuck in the horsehoe, with no way, literally, to get out. So if you need to pick up your older child (1-5 grades) for an afternoon appointment, and the dismissal time is 3, unless you want to run the risk of getting blocked in, you need to pick them up before 1:40. If you go later than that, you'll run the risk of getting blocked in by the TK and K parents that have earlier dismissals. It is bad enough with appointments and family issues - however you need to also factor in the days where large portions of the school need to get there or leave at the same time. E.g., the first and last days of school, music programs or performances, promotion days, etc. It's a nightmare. With one child it's doable. But i'd strongly encourage familes with more than one to consider going to another school. After 3 kids and the countless hours spent waiting in the horseshoe, i regret not sending my kids to one of the other fine elementary schools in the district.

While the school is academically elite, the culture is driven purely by the students and not the faculty and staff. Some teachers are amazing and actually want to see you succeed, while others almost take pleasure in seeing students fail. A difference in teachers in the same exact course can be a difference of over 15% in your grade based purely on their inability to teach or how they chose to approach the material. School spirit is extremely low and attendance drops year by year for good reason. As a Senior, while I have excelled academically with a 4.8 gpa that will give me good chances for top colleges, I do not feel I have really learned much, as classes are so fixated on grades that students focus on loopholes and copying to get assignments done quickly rather than learning the material. Additionally, despite what many teachers and staff repeat, PVHS’s ability to get you into a good college is equal to Pen if not better, due to decreased competition in admissions. I would have had an infinitely better experience at PVHS, with more school spirit, friendlier kids, more caring teachers, and ultimately an environment that would allow me to learn and actually appreciate the information I was learning. Send your kids to PVHS.

Pros:School spirit, activities on campus, block schedule, sports teams, clubs, communication, dual enrollment, independent study PE, administration, college & career center, option to take online classes not offered on campusCons:Cold and foggy, no culinary classes, poorly taught and equipped art department, over the top and overly expensive dances in downtown LA, no team vans or buses, not enough student parking, dark and disgusting bathrooms that smell like urine, limited food options on and off campus, outdated campus and learning platforms, teachers who curse in classA comment towards the review saying if you aren't white and rich, you won't get respect. There is some truth to this. A couple teachers have disrespected my child repeatedly and then kissed up after they found out who our family is.