23 Belcanto
Irvine, CA 92614

We have had one child graduate from South Lake Middle school and one more is halfway through her 8th grade year, and we have absolutely loved it. It’s crazy to me that their middle school years went so smoothly and I credit most of that to the administration and teachers at South Lake. The academics are great, but IUSD is great all around, so that doesn’t surprise me. What stands out is how South Lake staff genuinely care SO much about all of the kids. Belinda Averill and David Kette are remarkable leaders—they listen* to kids and parents, they are organized, motivated, intelligent, and thoughtful. They learn students’ names, their social circles, they regularly check in with their emotional status, they frequently communicate with parents, and are concerned with the schooling and character development of the whole child, not just the stereotypical admin who is only concerned about attendance and test scores. We are very blessed to have them and the entire staff team at our school, and we trust them 100% with our kids’ education and safety. Sidenote: I'm sad to read the few reviews with negative experiences, and I sincerely have never heard of anything like that happening in the 10+ years that we have lived here. Middle school years can be emotionally tumultuous, but with the open communication and constant emphasis on positive behavior reinforcement and teamwork, I can't imagine a problem that couldn't be resolved quickly and effectively with South Lake staff and counselors. Just visit the school or ask members in the community. These negative experiences are certainly not the norm.

What Culverdale may lack in test scores, it compensates for with the immeasurable value of the life experience students gain by attending such a diversified school. Any school can teach your child how to take tests, but the exposure to so many different cultures is priceless.

I graduated from Woodbridge a few years ago and I would say I had a pretty okay experience. The teachers are fantastic but the students make the experience worse than it should be. IUSD schools in general are pretty competitive and there's a lot of pressure to do well, especially from other students. This is especially bad in the honors/AP classes but the CP classes are alright. Woodbridge is probably one of the less academically competitive schools compared to the other IUSD high schools but it's still up there. Personally, I don't think Irvine schools are worth all the hype. I am a STEM major at a top UC now and I still think my classes at Woodbridge were more difficult to get A's in. If I had a choice, I would have chosen to live somewhere with great school ratings but not cutthroat competitive, like the Saddleback Valley or Capistrano Unified School Districts. IUSD taught me that high grades are the only things that matter, not to appreciate learning for what it is. If you are the parent(s) of young children looking to move to a good school district, I would recommend against IUSD for the kids' sake.

I'm an alumna from Westpark Elementary and was in the APAAS program. It wasn't so bad, I had many memorable experiences, and my classmates were like family to me. Teachers were supportive and helped me learn. My younger sister, who is currently in Westpark, feels comfortable in the environment, whereas in her old school she hardly made any friends. Occasionally there are some fights and once two children ran away from class (we saw them) but it was mostly okay.