219 E J St
Benicia, CA 94510

I've had more experience with this school than most, given I myself went to Benicia High, and now have my third child entering her junior year. My older two have already graduated. I have one child who is on the autism spectrum, and struggled a lot throughout all of his schooling. But, with the exception of a few bad eggs, His teachers were very supportive and encouraging. They really wanted to see him succeed. My daughter had issues with a couple boys being overly handsy and inappropriate towards her, but the school took immediate action, kept me informed the whole process, and followed through on everything. They went through with protection orders, requiring them to keep a distance and in one instance a student had to have his schedule changed to keep the distance. One was a stalking ex, so to have everything handled with such care and discretion was much appreciative. All of the teachers were onboard and aware so they were always there to support and protect her- yard duties too! And finally, when my youngest was dealing with school avoidance after some mental health trouble and PTSD the counsilors were great! They worked with us to get her caught up, provided a phsychologist who was sub contracted with the district and my daughter loved her! She was excused from class once a week to meet with her. In no time she caught back up and is a principals honor roll student again. No school is going to be perfect, you're going to have some mean kids and a few crappy teachers anywhere you go. This school, and the district in general really loves these kids and tries to support, encourage, and set them up for success. I'm grateful to have my kids in such a wonderful school district, I wouldn't want to raise them anywhere else. This is a hidden gem small town, surrounded by fast pace big city vibes of the SF Bayb area.

I hate bms so much I come here everyday for the past 2 year and I haven’t learned a single thing. The only kids that get recognized are the popular kids or the kids of color. It gets so annoying cause all the popular kids fat shame, say racial slurs, don’t respect people’s boundaries, disrespect the teachers, and are over all so annoying. I do not recommend this school if you want your kid to start vaping, SH, or anything bad. There are a few kids that are nice and will respect you but a lot of the time there aren’t. The kids who aren’t ’normal’ get bullied and left out from a lot of things. I am personally apart of the lgbt community and I get harassed everyday cause of it. I’m still Christian and I get the jokes but a lot of kids still go to far. 2/10 don’t recommend

Mary Farmar Elementary does an excellent job of keeping families informed and involved. Communication is consistent, clear, and supportive, which makes it easy for parents to stay connected to what’s happening at school. The school truly feels like a community. families are welcomed and encouraged to participate in events and activities, which creates a strong sense of belonging.The kids love coming to school every day, and it’s clear why. The teachers are caring, approachable, and really focus on the whole child, not just academics. They pay attention to student development, encourage growth, and support each child’s unique needs. You can tell the staff genuinely want the students to succeed and feel happy at school.