116 Anderson St
Santa Cruz, CA 95060

Bay View has a dynamic, dedicated and passionate principal! Ms. Golder leads a team of wonderful teachers who deeply care about kids and how to meet their needs as learners. I have two kids--one is headed for 5th and the other will begin there in Kinder in 22-23. While covid times were bumpy--just as they were everywhere else--from my perspective, the Bay View team has bounced back beautifully. After his covid year at home, at Bay View my son grew three grade levels in reading and caught up to be at grade level in math during his 4th grade year (21-22). In addition to strong academics, there are so many fun local field trips--mission, creek & ocean trips-- and community events--pancake breakfasts, carnival, bike and walk to school Wednesdays--to enjoy. These were highlights for my older child. Visual and performing arts are a part of Bay View--check out the gorgeous murals! We are so happy to be a Bay View Bobcats family :).

PCS is an overall wonderful school full of engaged students and wonderful, caring teachers. The academic curriculum is excellent and there are many clubs and extracurricular supports. The sports program is 100% funded by player donations, but it is run by an top notch AD. For the right student, PCS is terrific. If your child is academically inclined or doesn’t quite thrive at other schools he /she/they will find friends here. I’ve never heard of a bullying incident and kindness is looked upon favorably by the students. I see several comments about the homework load, but my student didn’t find it laborious. There are many opportunities to get homework done during the school day. There is a lot of opportunity for parent involvement if that is of interest. My only caveat for a recommendation is that politically this school is ultra liberal. Most of the reading involves LGBTQ perspectives. Not a problem, necessarily, but there aren’t many other “voices” in the mix. Conservative perspectives are not welcome, and even moderate liberal students will feel uncomfortable sharing opinions. White male students will have to answer for the patriarchy, despite not having participated in it. Unfortunately, this became more pronounced over the years we spent at the school. I am a big supporter of DEI initiatives but the school seems more decisive and less inclusive than it did 5 years ago. The DEI Director even openly trolls white make students in classroom settings. If I were thinking of joining the school again today I would really have to weigh these elements against the positives.