16748 Calle Arbolada
Pacific Palisades, CA 90272

I am a 8th grader at Paul Revere. The school itself has a big campus, with a farm, and a large PE field. My issue are the teachers. There are a few hidden gems, my elective teacher, and my old math teacher. But, some, nay, most teachers here seem unprofessional. Some barely teach, and some get mad for reasons beyond my understanding. Most students here are awful. There is a bullying problem and kids are not engaged. Most are just on their phones. Vaping is another issue. A lot of the bathrooms smell like smoke and students vape and smoke drugs an awful amount. The teachers never notice any of the things I have stated above. I’m not telling you to not send your kid here, because I have made some memories I will never forget, and safety isn’t a big issue, like the school is in a wealthy neighborhood and I don’t believe there will be any shootings anytime soon. But, just don’t choose this school as your first option.

Marquez is such a special school. We went into the kindergarten selection process four years ago thinking that only private schools would offer the best education and the best social-emotional support for our daughter and we were completely wrong. This small neighborhood school has the most fantastic community full of extremely experienced and caring educators who know every child, committed and involved parents who lend their talents and resources to improving the school at every turn and wonderful resources to offer students who need extra social support or academic challenge as needed (our daughter has needed both throughout the years). We started our daughter in kindergarten at an expensive private local elementary school and pulled her out after the very first semester - the staff was inexperienced and not properly credentialed. Our daughter was bored and unchallenged. It was only when she transferred to Marquez that she truly fell in love with learning and with the experience of going to school.

Beware. The school has a targeted hate and bullying issue. We moved from another city in July 2022, felt we did extensive research, and thought our child would thrive. WRONG. Within 1 day, a boy was stalking our child (had a record already with Dean). Within 3 weeks our child was surrounded by a mob with cameras, being harassed, accused of lies, and told not to come back to school. As a result, she was hospitalized for weeks. Our Junior still does not feel safe going back to school. After I reported the incident, my peers labeled our child a "snitch". Our teen is on also on a 504 and was not able to return to school. The school held resources back and did not provide homework or instructions for months after the event. Our child fell so far behind, it complicated the matter and I had to hire private tutors, being told 6 months later there were tutors available. They also delayed meetings and it was Feb 2023 before they offered the online academy. The new restorative justice professional dropped the ball on the case. In recent weeks, 2 of the kids involved or bystanders have notified us they left the school too. I still am getting the runaround and eventually withdrew. I am also getting the standard cover-up language from Dr. Pamela McGee who delayed and did not do her part to secure a safety transfer. The school is not equipped to handle the teens of today. They are unorganized and extremely overwhelmed.