Mountain View High School

Attended from TK - 1st grade, and each year the teachers got progressively worse with less and less experience. They can't seem to keep the good ones we liked. While math and science were good, my child's English suffered learning when teachers who could not speak clear English themselves without heavy accents. One year, the teacher complained my child was hyperactive, but sat my child alllll the way in the back of the class. The art and music programs were great with winter and spring performances, but that's not enough to justify over $22k / year. Ultimately, I felt I was paying a college tuition for inexperienced teachers and got stuck the majority of the time with teachers who did not have native proficiency in English. If your child doesn't fit their cookie-cutter mold, it's like they don't know how to deal with a simple thing such as hyperactivity. Bullying was also annoying at times by a few spoiled entitled boys. Lastly, the school is sorely lacking in diversity being predominantly Southeast Asian, and I say this as an Asian person myself.

St. Simon Parish School in Los Altos has been one of the best decisions for our children. They are thriving academically and growing into kind, respectful individuals. The school emphasizes character development through the lens of Catholic values. While students attend Mass, the focus is on living the principles of the faith: kindness, humility, compassion, and service, which are a part of daily life at the school. We especially appreciate how the curriculum encourages civic responsibility. Students participate in charitable activities and volunteer efforts, helping them develop empathy and a strong sense of community.The teachers are caring, dedicated, and attentive to each child’s needs. They create a safe and engaging environment where students can succeed. Beyond the core academics, the school offers a robust enrichment program and talented resource teachers who round out the curriculum:- The dedicated art teacher works with grades K–8, introducing various techniques and tailoring projects by grade level.- The athletic PE teachers emphasize fitness, sportsmanship, and healthy living through varied activities.- The music teacher brings formal training and passion, teaching instruments across grades and leading the children’s choir.- Spanish is introduced in Kindergarten and continues as an elective in middle school, taught by two energetic and engaging instructors.- The science teachers are passionate about STEM and create hands-on learning opportunities.Our children haven’t faced significant conflicts with classmates, but we trust the school’s leadership to handle behavioral concerns equitably and carefully. Speaking of leadership, the principal leads with compassion, humility, and a visible commitment to every aspect of the school community. Her presence and engagement make a tremendous difference.St. Simon Parish School has become more than just a place of learning; it’s a community. We’re proud to be a part of it and grateful our children are growing up in such a nurturing, values-based environment.

Our experience with Challenger School (Sunnyvale campus) has been deeply disappointing. While the school emphasizes academic rigor, our recent experience raised serious concerns about how student safety, behavioral incidents, and exceptional family situations are handled.There were repeated concerns involving inappropriate behavior toward our child that were known to staff. However, the response remained limited to warnings, without a structured or proactive resolution. This lack of escalation or preventive action was concerning.The situation became even more troubling during a genuine family emergency that required our child to be with us. The school’s approach lacked empathy and flexibility, and decisions felt rigid and disconnected from the realities families sometimes face.Additionally, decisions following the incident were made with limited transparency and without meaningful parent involvement. The overall process felt unilateral, with little opportunity for discussion or consideration of context.As a result, we withdrew our son from Challenger School with immediate effect due to concerns about accountability and unilateral decision-making by the school management.We urge other parents to monitor their children’s well-being closely, as these issues may not be apparent in day-to-day school life. Awareness and proactive communication can help avoid situations like ours.We hope the school reflects on this experience and improves its processes around bullying prevention, incident handling, compassionate handling of family emergencies, and parent communication.