5 Moonshell
Newport Coast, CA 92657

We moved from Rio Vista Elemetary in Anaheim to El Moro in Laguna Beach where my son has attended 3rd grade via virtual academy and now 4th grade in person. Standards were low at Rio Vista and my son fell behind, we thought he was doing well! El Moro raised the standards and, on their own, provided him with extra support to catch him up. With such a beautiful location, teachers are happy to be here and want every student to succeed. They are kind and patient, excited to teach bringing love and fun into their classrooms and are strong advocates against bullying. The principal is on top of it, kind, prompt, concerned for every students well being and success. Their school events are big! Wow! People really show up for their kids here, it's amazing to see a community that cares so much about education and emotional support. As a school that puts mental health over grades, the love and support they shower our kids with here is shown in their test scores.

The teachers do not teach an adequate curriculum and do no allow students to move ahead if they have already learned or proven they have more advanced knowledge on the subject. The school has no protection and is oblivious to bullying. The flimsy school board wants students to be at the same level and will heavily resist any movement up to higher level classes. This school is great for those who are not as smart but fails to provide and prevents the necessary accommodations for those who are more advanced than average.

The teachers are mostly fantastic, but the bullying is horrendous. It's beyond anything at my friends' children's other schools. The school's leaders need to stop protecting and tiptoeing around bullies that beat the you know what out of good kids and destroy their self-esteem with severe harassment that is tolerated by the adults. They need to give bullies a required class to help them change, tell the non-caring parents that their bully students are on probation, and expel them if they don't shape up. It's an epidemic at Thurston, and older parents tell us it has been this way for years.