Pasadena

Prospective Parents… be aware. All that glitters is not gold here. Since our new principal Mrs. S has arrived, the parents feel little support. If your child doesn’t rank in the top 3% of the nation, do not expect any teacher to care about their education. All resources go towards the top achievers. If you have a child with a simple diagnosis, don’t expect the school to support or respect it. It’s a system that rewards the connected and powerful. Parents are not welcomed in older grades and students are punitively punished for being a kid. No accountability for teachers since the new principal has arrived. She sees pleasing them as her top priority. No follow up with parents will be made, even if you request it. What Smith does well is how they hide the complaints in order to “seem” good. Do extensive research and look for parents with kids like yours. Unless you have an endless budget for private tutors and additional taxes, look elsewhere. The teachers never give outside of their scheduled day and if they do it’s because they charge large amounts for their own private programs. They will say they care, but in reality it’s just lip service. No one listens. The ONLY reason Oakwood ranks high is because of the parents that care about their kids. It’s all about the parents here. They are the ones that make the TRUE difference. Any tag line they are giving you about us being #oneoakwood or #together is just that. No one cares about your child’s education unless you do. And if you try to hold them accountable, you’ll come against the machine. So be ready.

The teachers at this school seem wonderful. The school feels understaffed compared to the number of students it serves and the rooms are overcrowded. My child has almost thirty kids in their room, which is counterproductive to learning, considering the teachers do not have aides. So that is one teacher trying to teach 30 kids with a lot of different needs. They also only have one recess a day, which is 10 minutes long, and no playground equipment. Just a parking lot to play in. That is not enough time for play. Recess is also frequently taken away as punishment, so some kids don't really get to play. I get it's a Catholic school, but really? They're kids. They're going to make some mistakes and taking the only 10 minutes they have to relax seems harsh. I never really get to see work, just grades on the report card. Their is a ton of pressure on kids to test high on map test and lots of pressure for good test scores. My oldest child is in tears over the testing pressure. They handed out worksheets this year with their previous test scores on it to help the kids try and "beat" that score. It is a LOT of pressure. My guess is funding is tied to these scores? I'm not sure. Just a LOT of pressure on test scores and my child feels like a walking number.Overall- the school feels like it's less focused on child development and more focused on how many kids they can cram into a classroom and how high they can score on a test. I plan to pull my children and find a better school that is more child-focused.