2129 E Cole Ave
Fresno, CA 93720

This is one of the best high schools in CA. It is located in the nicest part of Fresno so receives lots of funding from the surrounding wealthy community. The teachers are top notch and the education is on par with a private school. The academics are challenging and definitely prepares kids for college. There are so many extracurricular clubs and the sports programs are top notch!

My daughter is an 8th grade student at Kastner. Overall, she enjoys her classes and teaches. The school provides a solid academic foundation and many opportunities for students to seek support if they are struggling with classwork. There are lots of great ways for students to get involved in campus life - many clubs, extra curricular activities, and sports to chose from. My main criticism with this school is the lack of enforcement regarding the cell phone policy which creates many issues from safety to bullying to classroom distractions on campus. Although Kastner states it enforces a "bell to bell" policy for cell phone and electronic use on campus - I have not seen any evidence that this is true. In fact, many teachers (especially the P.E. teachers) encourage students to play on their phones when they do not have a lesson plan for the day (which is often). Visiting Kastner, you will see a vast majority of students walking to class with a phone in hand, playing on their phones at break instead of participating in social engagement, running with a phone in hand during P.E., and using cell phones during class time. Students are frequently bullied and recorded without consent, both during break and in the locker room, with videos and photos landing on social media. No consequences will be issued to perpetrators unless students report it is happening, which many students don't want to take the time to do. Students are also frequently exposed to explicit and inappropriate content, as many students have no parental controls on their smart phones and share content with others at recess, break, and locker room time. This school could be so much more if it actually enforced the cell phone policy and encouraged social interaction, instead of encouraging a "play on your phone and be quiet" mentality.

I have 3 daughters, one that is presently attending Liberty Elementary School (5th grade) and 2 that have graduated from this school (now in the 8th and 10th grade). My experience with this school was great for my first daughter - no issues and quality education. However, I have seen a significant decline in the quality of academics, teachers, and administrative staff after she graduated Liberty, and more specifically after the pandemic. A vast majority of the classwork has become robotic in nature (essentially practice assignments for State Testing) with minimal challenge. The class work in grades 4 and up is primarily computer based, with kids spending a large portion of their day on a screen completing assignments or playing computer games as a reward for finishing. There is no incentive for kids to try for academic excellence. There is no encouragement to develop fine motor skills with handwriting or complete quality work.Two of my children participated in the GATE program. It is essentially a short meeting once a week (meetings start in December) where the kids are given an optional activity they can complete at home. Liberty's GATE program does not include academic acceleration, classroom based challenge, or a sense of pride in being academically different as the GATE students are encouraged not tell anyone they are in the program. There are some genuinely amazing teachers at this school. However, there are far more mediocre ones. Many teachers seem tired, lazy (using the computers to babysit their students and "teach" them using learning games), and generally don't seem to want to be there. The teachers K-3 are the best but as you get into the upper grades it is harder to find quality teachers. Safety and bullying at this school has become a big issue. Liberty had a change in GIS several years ago, and the new GIS seems to struggle with how to appropriately handle these situations. The bullying between the girls is bad and seems to fly under the radar. The GIS seems very focused on punishing trivial infractions like switching seats in the cafeteria, running in the hallways, not picking up trash, etc. than handling the more serious issues at that school.I am writing this review because this school is changing, and not in a good way. If you have a high academic student, care about safety and bullying, want a supportive admin staff, and want teachers that provide a quality education then this school will not be a good fit for you.