1003 Nancy Ln #1003
Costa Mesa, CA 92627

I have two children attending Victoria Elementary. We LOVE Victoria. Here's why:* Victoria is the smallest elementary school in the NMUSD. *The class sizes are small. My third grader has 17 kids in her class and my first grader has 21 (Victoria 18:1 vs. Davis is 25:1)*The teaching staff is phenomenal. My girls have been challenged and loved by each teacher they've had. They talk fondly of all staff (lunch monitors, who are parents of students at the school, and reading teachers, speech teachers, etc).*We have the friendliest office staff around. *Our PTA is small but mighty. They are very inclusive.*The principal is all in. He knows almost all the students and he is very up to date on latest research and implementing new ideas.*The extra curricular options are tremendous: show choir, sports, dance, Spanish, band, stem experiments, plus built into the school day: art recess, maker space, gardening.*Did I mention this is our neighborhood school? So we get to walk and bike and build relationships with families from our neighborhood.*I love that my girls get to go to school with kids who look different from them and also with kids who are in the mod-severe special education program. Victoria is one of a few schools in the district with this program.A note about Davis: We, like most parents, were bombarded with the privilege of school choice. Greatschools is helpful but also does not show the full picture of a school. We knew other families at Victoria and felt very comfortable and excited to send our kids here, but I did get some pushback from parents who looked at the Great schools rating. Having been a teacher myself, I wasn't phased by their comments. I know that what makes up a good school is caring teachers, a great principal, parents who are all in and of course, small class sizes are very helpful. For many parents doing their best to make the right choice for their children, Davis captivates their attention. I mean, there's a lottery, so that must mean that more parents want to send their child there, which must mean it's a better school?? The parents who have sent their kids to Davis and have been slightly disappointed when they realized that Davis has its own set of problems and is not the gold standard when it comes to education. I would strongly suggest meeting with Dr. Peralta about Victoria if you reside in the neighborhood and are wondering about Victoria. He loves meeting with new families and can give insight into confusing data.

My granddaughter is going on her 2nd year at Estancia and I have to say I am glad we are at this school. The teachers are amazing, they make learning exciting. My granddaughter got an A in history and she hates history. Mrs. Lee has made the class so fun. She is completely engulfed with astronomy and so excited about it due to Mr. Cleppy! As far as mental health goes I couldn't ask for a more supportive team of people from teachers to counselors to principal. Truly very grateful for all of the support. I almost forgot to mention drama production! Wonderful teacher, Ms. Marroqiun! The students have a great connection , I believe due to the exercises and encouragement from their teacher. The big negative is the amount of fights that occur here. It can be traumatizing to see an actual physical fight, it IS traumatizing. This needs to be addressed. All in all, I think it's a great school with great teachers and amazing staff.

This school has awesome programs as well as school fairs, fun electives, AVID programs. Although in the past this school was filled with troubled teens, Tewinkle has managed to "kill them with kindness" and encourage new generations to be more involved in academics. They have AC now in most classrooms and test scores have been improving! This school improves as time goes by.