605 Strand St
Santa Monica, CA 90405

Hello! Was and am horribly bullied here. Accommodations can be good but are often flimsy and awful in the experience of myself and my friends. Lots of teachers have obvious biases that they make little to no effort to overcome. Trans kids not allowed to go to correct bathroom, “gender-neutral” bathrooms (converted teachers’ bathrooms that are essentially just there for the sake of an “all gender restroom” sign) perpetually locked. My friend had things thrown at him by awful boys when he was just trying to use the bathroom (an attitude that is, may i add, more common than not among the student body) and he was the one who was punished for being in the boys’ bathroom. Queer and disabled people horrifically bullied, clearly struggling students essentially ignored. May I restate the obvious biases among some staff? I am autistic and am blatantly mistreated by teachers and students, almost every day. Certain staff members (will leave unnamed, I don’t want anyone getting in trouble over me saying this) mock me whenever I am in the hallway. I am moderately traumatized (not because of this school, although it sure made it worse), and it is par for the course to have people intentionally yell my name or pose threateningly just to see me flinch. My friend was sexually assaulted on campus. Sexual assault merits a suspension or expulsion according to the JAMS rulebook. The boy who did it was mildly punished, told to leave them alone, and then essentially otherwise let off scot-free. When we directly approached the vice principal about this, she treated us as if we were being ridiculous and ungrateful. Had a teacher that laughed along with my bullies once because I was apparently strange enough for it to be acceptable. This school can be lovely in many ways, I’m sure. For every icky teacher there is a good one , and for every student’s struggles ignored or improperly treated there is a student with a lovely IEP and complete assistance who thrives with the help of on-site counselors. But the two months until I leave for high school seem revoltingly, unbearably long.

After touring two private schools, one charter school, and two public schools, we chose John Muir, our neighborhood school. There are only two classes per grade so the school feels like a village, not a small city. The small size also means that the entire teaching team coordinates closely. We have a very intellectually curious child who loves learning. She is doing great here, and has loved all her teachers so far. Like all the SM schools, the curriculum uses CGI math and Readers and Writers Workshop. Muir students also have P.S. Science, P.S. Arts, and music almost EVERY week, which is awesome. (Recently our daughter brought home art inspired by the sculptor Giacometti.) Homework is not excessive-- it seems to vary by teacher but in 2nd grade it is to do at least 20 minutes of reading every weeknight, and on Fridays turn in a list of the titles of the books you've read. Kindergarten was homework optional in my daughter's class. After school, our daughter takes Musical Theater and Chess, which are two of the CREST classes offered to Muir and SMASH students. We also love how global the school is – in addition to English, Muir has students who speak Swedish, French, Spanish, German, Russian, Arabic, Hebrew, Bulgarian, Portuguese, Amharic, Finnish, and Czech! Last but not least, walking to school (and to play-dates in the neighborhood) is a huge bonus in terms of quality of life for our whole family.

Good to see the score on Great Schools has gone up over the years. I had some reservations before my kids attended looking at the reviews. Now, I am SO grateful for this school and the district. It's a diverse school that offers quality education for my two sons who are pretty different. One is academic and can take lots of advanced classes, have a strong cohort that spurs each other on, and lucky for him he is into music. Samohi's music program is INCREDIBLE. He's performed in Carnegie, the Berlin Philharmonic, Dublin. My younger son is more athletic and has a 504. His volleyball coach, the AP Lit teacher, goes way above and beyond, organizing team travel, potluck lunches in his classroom, etc. The counselors really know them. And I love that they have fun, school spirit, and friends with a lot of variety which is another important kind of education you can't get in private schools - some in public housing, some extremely wealthy, kids from different cultural backgrounds. The previous superintendent did an incredible job dealing with crazy parents, covid, and introducing ACES curriculum before the state did.