McKinley Elementary School

La Tercera is a fantastic school. The STEM program offers students opportunities to think like a scientist not only in the science lab and Maker Space settings, but from a social/emotional perspective too. If student conflict arises, teachers, classified employees, or the principal will work together with students to address the matter at hand. Solutions include immediate intervention to discuss the actions that lead to conflict, in addition to "Think Sheets" which provide students the opportunity to step outside of themselves and participate in self-reflection. The school also focuses on community engagement with events like Family Dance Night, Scavenger Hunts, Engineering Night, as well as other great activities. Field trips are fun and educational with trips to museums, Gold Country, and more as they relate to STEM. Additionally, PE, art and music education are included in the the learning experience. Lastly, the site practices inclusion, ensuring a welcoming atmosphere for students in the special education program. From my experience, for the last 7 years, La Tercera has been impactful and instrumental in creating a successful learning environment for its students.

I have two children here and they are both excelling. The small class sizes are great, the lessons are wonderfully engaging. They love going to the science lab, the music class, yoga and PE teachers. The librarian takes a particular interest in what books children like making it fun to read. The field trips I have attended have been great too. We have enjoyed each teacher and staff member we come across, there really is a family energy and time to get to know each kid and their family. Last year we had some great community events and fundraisers by the PTO too. I hope to get more involved since my kids are really enjoying it!

Amazing neighborhood school. After school enrichment, multi-cultural activities, Spanish, art, STEM...don't believe the low score on this site. A school with a third of ESL students will not score the highest on tests. What it will do is teach your kids two languages, to embrace diversity and other cultures, and that test scores only matter to funding, not children. There is nothing bad about this school, tour and see for yourself.

This school has all the pieces for a great offering, except for Special Education. If your child does not fit the mold, they will not fit here. Don’t make the mistake we did. Go to Cherry Valley.

Our family loves the school and school community. My son comes home from school remembering and wanting to talk about what they are learning. The school teaches in a very unique way and the children learn and retain their lesson plans. The children on campus are confident and know they have a role to play in the school community and society at large - they learn to be residents of the world, being inclusive of people and stewards of the environment. The teachers are engaging and are excited to be teaching. Teachers are supported at this school. The children are supported with social and emotional support, as well as academics. We are grateful that we found and were accepted to the community and excited to have two children at the project based school next year. We have heard TK is magical and cant wait to experience it.

It is a community that’s invested in building the whole child with traditional values and morals. The schools organization and structure leads to children that know what is expected of them when it comes to behavior and kindness to one another.great new principal, great kids and fantastic teachers!!! Best choice I ever made!!