8360 E Shining Star Ct
Anaheim, CA 92808

Do not bring your kids to this school, they do not prepare students for success. They just give them study guides so they can memorize and that’s how they get good grades. From the time my children entered 9th grade, I asked the counselors how to prepare them for the IB program because I wanted them to have the best chance at getting into a good college. Since I didn’t study in the U.S., I depended on the school’s guidance. Instead, I was misled.When I first asked, the counselor told me to wait a year. By the next year, I was told it was already too late. Later, they told me that the ACT wasn’t required, which is technically true for some colleges but if you want your child to have a real chance at highly selective or Ivy League-type schools, strong ACT/SAT scores are still very important. That guidance was never made clear.Meanwhile, both of my kids have 4.0 GPAs here, but when it came time for standardized testing, they were completely unprepared. My senior son tested very low in math, English, and reading. After paying for outside tutoring, his English scores improved, but in math he is still struggling because he doesn’t even have a solid foundation in algebra. That should have been addressed long before his senior year, yet the school failed to provide the preparation he needed.Now I am spending a lot of money on private tutoring and outside academies just to make sure my children have a chance. For my daughter, I am already relying on an external program because I know I cannot depend on this school or its counselors to prepare her.Bottom line: if you want your children to be prepared for college admissions, especially competitive ones, do not rely on this school. The lack of proper guidance and academic foundation has been extremely frustrating and costly.

There is a lot of bullying among the students and some of the teacher are nice while others just be mean for no absolute reason at all. If you are in honors , especially in 8th grade the teachers get meaner and care about the smallest things more. At least in 7th grade the teachers understand you a more and are more friendly towards you.

The teachers are great, the PTA is amazing and dedicated. The IB and GATE program has made this a unique school. The current principal is not as involved and dedicated as the previous one, but the amazing front office has been there for many years and has made up for it.