Sebastopol Independent Charter School

The worst elementary school in the area. We have changed over to Sebastopol schools, and the extra five minutes to drive is a gift. The children were reading books based on some agenda, and not based on what would give children a love of reading. Teachers let the children know that they aren't happy with their pay. One teacher put the American flag on the floor at a board meeting this year, in front of the children. It may have once been a great district, but it has gone way down. I am not surprised by what I have read about the middle school, because we took a tour. The classrooms were packed, and the children were not paying attention to the teachers. My childs' friend said that children use cell phones in class to play games, and there is a HUGE bullying problem. 65% of children are from out of the district. Save yourself a TON of stress and choose a great school district in Sebastopol. Middle schools have 24 students vs. 35 students per class.

I went to willowside and oak grove from kindergarten to 7th grade. I loved some of the kids I met there, and the education was actually great, but the issue is, is that it is so unsafe. Everyday I came to school wondering if I was going to be picked on that day. I was harassed/bullied by the SAMe PEOPLE for around 4-5 months, what did the school do about it? Nothing. They set up a meeting with me and one of the people bullying me, which was, if you couldn’t already tell, a terrible choice. Just escalated it more and made me feel even less heard. My parents actually specifically asked them not to do that. Another huge thing, the teachers and anyone in charge of discipline chose to discipline kids for doing things like cursing while there were kids vaping, fighting and getting high all throughout the school. So if you don’t want your kid getting bullied, getting beat up, etc, this is NOT the place for you. However, I loved most of my teachers from what I can remember, so, that’s a plus.

When my kindergartener started school all seemed well initially. However, one day I picked up my daughter and she told me through tears that the teacher had grabbed her and drug her across the classroom floor. I called the principal immediately and she suggested the teacher and I speak on the phone. The teacher called me and was immediately defensive, stating that my daughter was lying. She said my daughter was just embarrassed because she got in trouble for talking to a friend. I asked for the teachers version of events which changed multiple times and was riddled with excuses. Each time I attempted to speak she cut me off and was incredibly rude. The conversation was VERY unprofessional, I explained the conversation did not feel productive and that I should go which made her upset. She then began attacking my parenting because my daughter had missed school due to illness (that is normal). I explained I no longer felt comfortable with my daughter returning to her class. That is when her teenage daughter (who I had no clue was even present) started to scream at me through the phone. I filed a formal complaint and removed my daughter from the school that day. I left my son as he was having a great experience with his teacher/friends. Unfortunately, just 3 days before the end of the school year I went to pickup my son from the bus stop and he was not there. I called the school immediately and they had no clue where my son was and informed me that his stop had been removed for the remainder of the year. I was then advised to call the bus company. Thankfully, I got ahold of the bus company who rerouted my son to the school. For an hour I did not know what happened to my son or where he was. He should have never been put on the bus. I drove up to the school and found my son crying outside all by himself. No staff bothered to ensure he was okay after the ordeal. This school does have some great teachers and staff but these two events ruined our entire experience. I have since heard from multiple people that this teacher is known for this behavior. This school apparently used to be great but has been going down hill in recent years. We moved my daughter to a new school and she is absolutely thriving and happy as can be. I had no clue how much we were missing out on. My daughter went from being behind and doing absolutely nothing at school to coming home with all sorts of projects and is catching up to her peers after being terribly behind.

We had a fantastic experience at this school. Our son just graduated early with 42 college credits. The teachers are very special. The teachers at OVS seem to love what they do. We got very lucky to have Sunny as a supervising teacher. I don't have the words to express our gratitude for her involvement in helping my son apply to the next step of his life, for her patience with our son, and her recommendations for him. To end his journey she gave him a book that she picked out just for him. Thank you OVS for a great experience, awesome prom (last year), great new principal and for giving us Sunny!

It seems loving and caring. However, it’s not loving to set a student up for failure later in life. I trusted Sunridge and they left my child several grades behind when it was time to transfer. It took almost two years of tutoring to get my child at grade level. There’s just not enough academic exposure. I worry about all the students who blindly think they are doing great. I was told my son was doing wonderful. The reality in high school won’t be pretty.

I’ve had three children move through this school. It’s been excellent.

Plumfield Academy is a great school for teaching boys with learning and emotional issues that is located in a beautiful rural environment.