Vallejo Mill Elementary School

Durham is a good school with good teachers who teaches brilliant students

Both of my children attended Gomes—my older child is now at Hopkin, and my younger is currently a 5th grader. Gomes has truly been their second home for six years. They know the teachers, staff, and even Mr. Norm, who volunteers at the crosswalk every morning. The strong sense of community, care, and support is unmatched. From academics to games, activities, and an outstanding PTA, Gomes has given our children a joyful childhood filled with great memories, friendships, and a solid foundation. If you are choosing a school, I highly recommend Gomes—where your child’s story begins and prepares them for the next chapter.

One of my children attended this school for a few years and it was a extremely well kept school! Teachers prioritized teaching students to get ahead and score well on standardized tests!

My kids were in this school last year. The teachers were fine but it was the parents who caused so many problems. Many of the parents kept asking the teachers to add more homework. Hellooooo....??? It's 1st grade!!!! And also felt like some parents looked down on the teachers. They worked at some fancy schmancy place which I guess made them look down on the teaching profession as a whole. And it was hard to make friends with these parents. They asked questions like it was some interview - where I worked, what did I or my husband do for work, etc... Chill people! There are a lot of good things about this school but seems like this small group of parents love to try to bully everyone around.

I have had three children attend Our Lady of Guadalupe School (aka :OLG)--one is now in high school, and two are still there. If I had to describe OLG in only one phrase, I would say the it is a special place. In fact, "a special place" is how other current and former students, parents of students, faculty and former faculty have most commonly referred tp the school as well when we've discussed it. The school is small but has energy and a sense of community far beyond its size. It is amazing how much it offers for a small school, including a Chess Club, Choir, school band (and Music and Art classes as part of the curriculum for all students), and a wide variety of extracurricular sports through the CYO. There is even support for students with learning disabilities (although if your child's special needs are more severe, of course, you will need the services of a public school). One nice traditional OLG has is "Faith Families" in which students from different grades meet monthly in small groups so that older students are encouraged to care about younger ones. By the way, another wonderful thing about OLG is that it returned to fill-the, in-person learning a full year before Fremont Unified schools did so! That saved our family's sanity not to mention our children's educational progress. You do not need to be Catholic to atteOLG also offers reasonably-priced before- and after-school care, and even if you pay the full cost of tuition, it is a bargain compared to any other private school, religious or not, in the area. However, if you are worried about the cost, OLG also offers good sibling discounts if you have more than one child enrolled and also offers scholarships and financial aid.I am saddened that the previous principal, who was there for several years, contributed in a major way to the decline of enrollment of the school, which it is still recovering from. She was simply a deeply unpleasant, unkind person, and she turned off a lot of parents. (We loved the teachers and other aspects of the school so much that we kept our children enrolled despite her.) However, the good news is that the current principal is excellent--she has also been a teacher at the school for several years and has her own children enrolled there, so she truly cares about and is passionate about the school and its students. I strongly encourage anyone looking for a safe, caring alternative to public school to check out OLG.

Both of our kids attended preschool at POP but did not continue with elementary. It was one of our biggest regrets to date. We returned in 2020 and our eldest has continued on to middle school and our 5th grader will follow suit.After being away from POP for 3 years and enrolled in the various public schools (due to address changes) here are the main reasons, we came back and will stay until middle school.#1: Christ-centered. This school is rooted in kindness, mercy and grace.#2: Education: The curriculum is challenging with advance math and offers a wide range of elective classes such as Spanish, art and music. Lower teacher-to- student ratios.#3: CommunityThe overall community here is an extended family unit. The staff/teachers are committed and dedicated to every student. The goal is for your child to succeed not to just get by. The parent community is very strong and shows up for their child and the school. The administration is always thinking of ways to improve for the better of the school/students not for profit or other motives.