Stellar Learning Academy

A great school for children. They teach anti bullying and there's a lot of parent involvement.

Mr. Fienne was laid off prior to the start of the 2025–2006 school year, which was a significant loss for the school community. He was known for his dedication and was often the last to leave campus each day. Since then, under the leadership of Principal Linda Diaz, several changes have taken place.Some of these changes have raised concerns among parents. Families are no longer able to request class placements for their children, and budget cuts have reduced opportunities such as student field trips.Additionally, the current reward system appears to prioritize lower-performing students for program selection—such as spring and summer activities—while higher-achieving students are given later access and may miss out due to limited availability. This has been a source of frustration for some families.Overall, there is a growing sense among parts of the parent community that the school is heading in the wrong direction. McCollam was once considered one of the top elementary schools in the Alum Rock Union School District, but it now appears to be losing that distinction.

My daughter was enrolled into transitional kindergarten under Mrs. Deshpande. At the start of class, my daughter could barely write and was unable to read at all. By the end of class she writes very well, reads way beyond her current level, and has a strong grasp of foundational mathematics. I was immediately skeptical of certain web/online elements integrated into the class. However, I was pleasantly surprised to see how these resources were able to engage the kids in learning far beyond anything I experienced at my daughter's age. My daughter also had issues associated with selective mutism that she was able to overcome under Mrs. Deshpande's tutelage. Mrs. Deshpande is an exemplary educator and would wholeheartedly recommend her to any child embarking on their learning journey at Ben Painter Elementary.

While teachers were as effective as they could be, administrator, safety, and protocol are severely lacking. There is no security and people can come and go as they please. The administrator is focused on scores rather that social emotional well-being of student which also includes instruction. Taking things personally means there is no equity or fair contribution to the students. Without having a background in actual classroom management, both principal and coordinator are ill-equipped to run a school. In fact, coordinator with no credentials or teaching certificate which was in classrooms unsupervised without a Certificate of Clearance (COC) for over a year was with students without teacher supervision. In fact, they only have a certificate of clearance and should not be in a coordinator position to begin with and sometimes acts as acting administrator without any certifiable credentials. Unsafe on many levels.

The school used to be good, especially in the earlier grades. Kindergarten through 1st grade felt warm, fun, and safe. But as I got older, I noticed how strict and unbalanced things became. The leadership completely fell apart after the current principal, who i will not name, took over. She is out of touch with students, staff, and what education should look like.She fired two of the best teachers in the school maybe the best I've had my whole life. One had taught there for decades and was loved by students for being fun, kind, and a fantastic educator. The other had been teaching for 7.5 years and was an incredible support for students struggling with their mental and emotional health. Want to know why she got fired? The principal told her, “One of the reasons is you sit down while teaching.” She has a documented disability (uterine fibroids) but was let go anyway. Why? Because they stood up for their students and themselves.Meanwhile, the school keeps bad teachers even after students tried to petition for one to be removed. They didn’t listen to us at all. But they fire the ones who actually made a difference? It makes no sense.Another big issue was “Silent Time.” This occurred during snack and lunch, and it was ridiculous. The last 20 minutes of lunch had to be in complete silence. You might think, “Maybe they just want you to lower your voices,” but no say even one word, and you lose five minutes of your recess. It didn't matter if you were finished eating or not. We weren’t even allowed to play silent games. We tried playing things like rock-paper-scissors or other non-verbal games just to pass the time, but even that would get us in trouble. If we interacted at all socially, even without talking, we still “owed” five minutes. It felt like we were being punished just for being kids. Our school day ran from 8 AM to 3:10 PM longer than most schools and we only got two breaks. We were bored out of our minds,The actual teaching? Terrible. Most of our time was spent reading packets and worksheets over and over again. And science was the worst. We barely learned any real science. When I got to middle school, I was way behind in science compared to other students. That’s how unprepared I was because of this school’s weak curriculum.In the end, this school has some good teachers, but no one you can trust the same way we trusted those they got rid of. The staff doesn't listen to students, and the principal makes unreasonable decisions.

• Academic decline: The once-strong academic program has significantly weakened. • Participation trophies: Awards are given regardless of achievement, undermining the value of hard work. • Unhealthy snacks: Sugary or unhealthy snacks are readily available. • Teacher qualifications: We question the TK teachers' training in child development. • Safety concerns: The staff seems unprepared to handle serious issues like death threats. • Unstructured environment: The school has become more focused on entertainment than education.