Atascadero, Irvine, CA 92602

Hicks is a wonderful school! The principal and administration are supportive and responsive. The PTO and community are among the strongest. My kids love going to school and they feel safe and well supported. The school has excellent family programs, extras for kids like sports, theater and robotics and a counselor who teaches social and emotional wellness. It is one of the newer schools in the district so the facilities are in very good condition. Overall, our family has been very happy to be a part of this amazing community.

Honestly, we've had a really tough time with Orchard Hills school lately, especially when it comes to student safety and how they handle bullying. Our kid recently got hurt by another student, and what happened next was just shocking. The school seemed to twist the story and even blamed our child, which was totally unfair. They even told us to keep it quiet, like we shouldn't talk about what happened. Turns out, this other kid has a history of causing problems, and the school seems to just brush it off as "conflicts" instead of real bullying. It's like they let these things slide, and it makes you wonder if our kids are truly safe there.What really got us was how they kept our child and the kid who hurt them without any clear separation after the incident. It felt like they just didn't get how serious this was. Trying to get a straight answer from the principal was a nightmare – constant cancellations and delays, and we basically had to go over their heads to the district just to get someone to listen. We're so incredibly disappointed with how everything was handled. Because of all this, we're actually pulling our kids out and sending them to a different school, which is a huge hassle and a big burden on us since we have to find something outside our neighborhood. Until Orchard Hills really gets its act together, with clear rules and real consequences for bullying, we just can't recommend it.