Head-Royce School

We have now transitioned from Head Royce after attending the Elementary division for a couple of years. The pros are the art program, exposure to variety of language classes, small class sizes, secured campus and a group of individuals on staff and teachers that do really care. Drawbacks are too much focus on pushing identity topics (without informing parents though requests were respectfully made to keep us in the loop), lack of corrective action towards students that behave poorly towards others but come from families that donate heavily to the school. Other drawbacks are there is a lack of follow through on DEI initiatives (a lot of talk about DEI being a priority but when you look closer it’s more talk than action). For instance as an African American family we shared our concerns to a variety of staff about what our child was experiencing in terms of not feeling a sense of belonging, we had requested that for our child’s next school year that our child not be the only African American boy and to our surprise our request was ignored and they proceeded to keep the only two African American boys in that cohort separate. Lastly, there is a BIG focus on money. We were on financial aid and when we decided to transition out before the school year began we requested that the tuition we had paid be returned given our financial situation. We asked to speak to the current Head of School to share the reasons we were leaving, our request to speak to her was denied and the school kept the tuition we paid. If you are interested in this school, really do your due diligence, ask the hard questions and do your research on if the school is truly putting in action the value and commitments they promise.

Title: Disheartening Changes at Head RoyceI've been a part of Head Royce since 6th grade, and I've noticed a significant decline in the standards of the mathematics program. The once high standards have been removed, and the dedication from teachers doesn't seem to match what it used to be. This shift has made my experience at Head Royce less than pleasant.Moreover, it's disheartening to see the focus on money for new construction taking precedence over maintaining the quality of education. The school seems more invested in financial endeavors than in upholding the academic excellence that initially drew me to Head Royce.I hope that these concerns are addressed to restore the educational integrity and the sense of community that Head Royce once embodied.

The high school has no homework regulations, and the learning environment is counter-productive to students' mental health. Numerous high school teachers need to retire because they have been there too long and are WAY past their prime. The school needs to focus on hiring for the QUALITY of teachers and NOT hiring for diversity. Having a diverse group of bad teachers to check that "diversity" box is not good. I would not recommend going here. It's a small school, the students live in stress, and several high school teachers are over-the-top liberals. Even if two students take the same exact course but have different teachers, your learning will be so different because the teachers can change the curriculum so much and will give you 2X the amount of work as the other teachers, teaching the same class.

We have had two children transition to Head Royce at the Middle school level. Overall, we are absolutely thrilled with the school. Both of our children are happy and thriving. There is no substitute or greater joy than that. The transition from OUSD was a soft landing for each of our children, who are very different people. I do agree with some of the other reviewers that the focus on social justice and inequity are a little too intense at the moment. I realize there are many factors at play that have caused the administration to move in this direction and I fundamentally agree that we as a society need to make these causes an urgent priority. However, there are only so many hours in a day for school and I do feel other aspects of development are being compromised because of it.

Superior teachers and students. Challenging environment and would recommend Head Royce only for a child who’s highly motivated. Graduates are accepted to all the top colleges and are well prepared.