Aster Ave
Sunnyvale, CA 94086

My son attended this school from 2nd to 3rd grade. When we first arrived in the United States, I relied heavily on school ratings, not fully understanding how they were calculated. I assumed that a 6/10 rating meant an average school. But let me tell you— the teachers at Ponderosa truly know their craft.My son always had homework, was required to read for 20–30 minutes daily, and had to maintain a Reading Log, which he submitted to his teacher every day. He started at Ponderosa with zero knowledge of English, yet from day one, he was fully supported by everyone—classmates, teachers, and school staff. He was also provided with an ESL teacher to help him learn English as a second language.Later, we moved to a different area with a school rated 10/10. And you know what? The teaching quality and approach at Ponderosa were far superior to those at our current school. Here, students don’t have regular homework—reading at home is optional, and no one really follows up if they don’t. Now that I have something to compare it to, I can confidently say that Ponderosa offers an excellent education.Beyond academics, the school has a vibrant social life—family events, school-wide activities, field trips, and in-class celebrations.I also want to touch on conflicts at the school. Due to language barriers, occasional misunderstandings, and sometimes poor manners from certain students, we encountered a couple of conflicts. However, we always addressed them in writing with the teacher and, in one instance, with the principal. The school took action every time—they listened to us, engaged in dialogue, and resolved the issues. This level of responsiveness is a huge advantage.I wholeheartedly wish Ponderosa continued success! Thank you, Ponderosa!

After 4 years here, I understand that it's a very good school to go to. It's (for the most part) very diverse, but many groups of friends are less diverse. However, I had a very diverse group of friends, which worked to my advantage, and I played sports, which are more diverse. Some sports are very good while others are laughably bad, it really just depends on the sport, but besides badminton, I'm pretty sure most teams have a very good and supportive team culture, especially the track team. This is one of the safest schools around, as there's only a couple of fights per year (and by fights, I mean two people maybe getting in a couple fake punches at each other). There's virtually no physical bullying. Academically, people are all over the spectrum, but it is definitely skewed towards smart kids. In general, people are motivated to do well in their classes (except for those suffering from senioritis), which is reflected in how almost all my friends, even ones who weren't the best at school, took at least 1 AP class during their time at Wilcox. People are willing to help each other if you ask for it and push each other to do well. For the most part, classes aren't too difficult and don't have too much work; if you use your time wisely, you can do sports or clubs and still have time for homework, and I got all A's when I was in high school. There are many people, especially in their senior year, who deal with burnout; while that wasn't the case with me, I know others who were taking 5 or more AP's who were struggling mentally. Counselors do warn students about the potential harm in taking too many classes, but pressure, mostly from parents, motivates many to do it anyways. I chose on my own do 6 AP's when I was a senior, and unlike others, I didn't suffer from mental health issues, which I attribute to not stressing over things. The teachers at this school are for the most part stellar, as I only had 1 teacher I really didn't like and around 10 or so that I really got a close bond with. If you ask someone a grade above you, they can usually tell you what you need to know about a teacher before you take their class. There are a lot of people who open-enrolled instead of going to Santa Clara high, and they all say the same thing: they go to Wilcox because it's "better," which is really true. People here kinda look down upon Santa Clara, just because they're worse at academics, sports, ect, but the students aren't arrogant. It's one of the best schools around.

BETTER THAN CABRIJO (HEHEHEHE). Teachers are very nice, PE is easy, we get ok food, we have a nature center with a bunch of animals, most students are nice and the mean ones actually get punished. They got real good counselors and teachers and learning is fun and easy. They also have special Ed classes for many those who need it. Also they have many socials per year and electives.