25 Brandon Ct
Hillsborough, CA 94010

Top notch educational experience with great teachers, with 1-2 exceptions

We have a kindergartner. Our first year at the school introduced us to a very engaged and motivated parent community. There is a lot of support for the schools! We were immensely disappointed by the kinder teacher who did not communicate with us that she felt our son needed a tutor, extra homework studies in the form of flashcards, and OT, and that he was telling her he was in pain while writing. Once we learned about the concerns we wanted to proactively engage with the teacher to support our son. She couldn’t understand our request for information. She said explicitly that she doesn’t worry about him and couldn’t understand why we’d be checking in. There were 15 kids in class - perhaps spare some worry for all of them? Yikes! He has come home in tears or with bruises and scrapes - no communication despite repeated requests to let us know if he cries or is injured. Gosh, this all feels horrifying to write. The teachers in specialty areas like music, iLab, phys ed, and library seem caring and thoughtful. The enrichment from these classes is wonderful. For reference for incoming families, your kindergartner should know all their letters or hire a tutor. Curriculum is fast paced. Spelling tests by spring in kinder. Homework is spelling, math, and phonics each night + reading. Recommended donation is 2900 per year per child as of 2022. If it helps keep the programs like music and library and iLab I support it. Expect zero communication from the teacher so plan to check in more than the conference schedule - in our case at the end of September he was fine, by early November there were a host of concerns only shared after our outreach. If I knew what I know now I would have gone to a private school or a San Mateo Public School. Teachers in other districts who I’ve spoken to are appalled at the communication.

To be very honest, this was probably the worst experience in my life. I’m a current college student looking back on my high school experience making this realization. The staff are very unsupportive, particularly the academic counselors. They see the students as numbers and can be a little racially biased. My counselor in particular constantly mixed me up with other students and overlooked my achievements simply because I was Asian. The teachers are very harsh and don’t provide enough support to each individual student. The students can be very comparative and toxic with one another, with constant rumors going around. It was common for people to run out of their classrooms crying while going on a bathroom break. The peer pressure for academics was too much and there were nearly zero mental health resources. Overall, my experience was a 2/5. If I were to repeat my high school experience I would choose San mateo high school. Aragon is a breeding ground for poor mental health.