8 Tortoise Shell
Coto De Caza, CA 92679

When my daughter’s teacher told me that she was struggling to pay attention and seemed to “drift off” in class thinking about other things, I asked her what she recommended. She shrugged and said, “I don’t know.” This school is terrible with students who struggle and caters to the super active families who basically run the school. If they want a certain teacher for their child, they get it. The teachers will break policy if the parents pressure them enough, and all but one of my kids’ teachers seemed to dislike children in general. The principal is totally unapproachable and doesn’t mesh well with children. She is a politician looking to move up in her career and the job is a stepping stone for her. Out of all the schools my kids attended, this was the worst. I wish we stayed at our former school.

I am a current student at this school. I feel unsafe and the environment isnt good. The teachers dont care for the well being of my classmates and the administrators dont take bullying or and drugs/vapes/alcohol abuse seriously. Othee students destroy the school and make fun of one another “for fun” because they think its funny. There have been many threats from students about bombing shooting and much worse things. Students are yelling in class and teachers don’t even try anymore. Some don’t know how to teach and never teach in class. Please DO NOT send your child to this school.

I have genuinely never hated a place more in my life. My high school experience here has been nothing short of horrible, and I cannot wait to leave. Although the teachers are generally nice people, most are not particularly effective at teaching. I often felt like I had to teach myself, and many lessons lacked clarity and structure. However, my biggest issue was not with the teachers, but with the rest of the staff. Aside from teachers, most of the staff members I interacted with were rude, unhelpful, and gave off the impression that they did not want to be there. Getting any effective help requires you to go far out of your way to advocate for yourself because assistance was rarely offered voluntarily.To make matters worse, the school has implemented new policies that only make the experience harder. These changes are unnecessary and seem to serve no real purpose other than to make attending school more difficult and frustrating. A new grading system, which my math class piloted this year, also set many students back. Instead of supporting learning, it confused students and made it harder to succeed. I felt that it directly impacted my understanding of the material and hurt overall performance in the class.Socially, the environment is just as disappointing. The student body is largely made up of wealthy, entitled individuals, many of whom are openly discriminatory. The administration does little to address or combat this behavior. As a student of color in a predominantly white school, I never felt truly supported. There were very few resources available for minority students, and at times, the school’s actions made things worse. For example, they shut down the Black Student Union (BSU) claiming it was “excluding other students.” Although the club eventually reopened, it now includes mostly non-Black members. While I don’t necessarily have a problem with that, it is strange that this was only an issue for the BSU, while other clubs do not seem to face the same scrutiny or restrictions.I could honestly go on and on about my negative experiences here. From the administration’s failure to support students to the toxic social environment, my time at this school has been unpleasant and exhausting. I would not recommend sending your children here, especially if they are minorities. There are better, more inclusive schools out there where students can thrive without feeling isolated, unsupported, or undervalued.