531 Beth Dr
San Jose, CA 95111

In my experience the teachers are very nice, helpful, and understanding of students' education and well-being. It very much depends on the people you hang out with or the class that you're in that determines excitement/enthusiasm about what is being learned and I've heard many mixed reviews from other students, so I can't speak for the whole student population for the better or worse. I've also heard mixed reviews about the counselors but I've had nothing but good experiences with them myself. There are regular calls, meetings, and other opportunities for family engagement, and accommodations are made for students with both mental and physical disabilities. I'm not exactly what to say about safety: I've never felt unsafe, and I've never seen or known someone to take a weapon to school (apart from the occasional accidental pocket knife), but fights aren't too infrequent (maybe 1-2/month, but I don't know, and I don't know what the average is). Just don't go around antagonizing people or calling others offensive or racist slurs and you should be okay; the general population is patient and understanding, but everyone has a limit. Overall this is a pretty good school with a neutral-positive environment, many good teachers, good programs, and lots of student resources.

The principal is rude and doesn’t help at all. The social workers are not helping either. This school I don’t recommend to parents and kids it’s horrible and my daughter had a problem there 2 years ago and they never did anything. Both of my kids had a horrible experience at this school.

Sylvandale is a good school rapidly moving toward greatness. Safety has improved with a new administration that is fair and approachable. The school offers several new and innovative programs for students and families. Students have caring teachers and opportunities for fun electives like Culinary, Band, Leadership, and Life Skills. They have before and after-school programs, including an after-school robotics program and a computer science program led by one of their veteran Science teachers. In two years, the school has almost completely transformed from one of the most violent schools in the school district to one with the fewest incidents of fighting on campus. Sylvandale may be the only public school in San Jose teaching technical skills that give students access to opportunities in technology that could lead to a career in Silicon Valley's tech companies. Students are excited to have real-world teaching in classrooms, field trips and Spirit Days, extracurricular sports, and many cultural events and school dances. Parents meet with the administration at the Coffee with the Principal (Cafecitos) meetings and serve on the School Site Council, which helps make decisions to support learning and a strong sense of community. No school is perfect, but this one is visibly on the rise!