John Muir Fundamental Elementary School

My son attends Grand Avenue Christian School. He is in the Pre-K. I chose this school because of its student/teacher ratio and its commitment to integrating Christian values and principles. The teachers are caring and provide a safe environment for the children. I really appreciate that they take the time to deal with active boys. The principal is very active with the preschool and knows all the students by name. I am praying that my son will be able to continue at this school wherever they relocate.

Our family had a bad experience last year, and this year’s rosters reinforced our concerns. In our experience, there appeared to be preferential treatment for staff families in both teacher assignments and front-row seating—even though my son was the only student wearing glasses in his class and needed a closer seat. As the new year began, there was still no assigned 3rd-grade teacher. When we chose to withdraw before school started, the school declined to refund two months of tuition (the registration fee is explicitly non-refundable per policy). Throughout our correspondence, the tone from leadership was unnecessarily harsh and not what we expected from a Christian school. We also noticed teacher departures during our time there, which added to the instability. Based on our experience, we cannot recommend this school.