Hi! Well it's been a while since I've blogged but I really wanted to share this with you.
Last year I put my kids in an amazing private school. It is called Kids World School for the K-4th and they also have a separate Upper school called Cornerstone Academy for 5th-12th.
It's a small school in comparison to public school campus' but it is very cute. I researched them a lot before putting my kids in. Their last California Grades Standards testing results were amazing! The AVERAGE for all students ranged from 1.5 to 3 whole grades AHEAD of their expected grade per age. That is quite a statistic. And they don't do any special test prep work, to teach the kids the test before hand. The owner Paula Gonzalez, has created a curriculum over the last 20 years she's been teaching children and it is really quite amazing. She's taken little bits from different educational series and over time proved which ones worked the best. The result has been phenomenal for my kids. I literally had tears of joy when I saw how well my kids were doing there. Within the first month there was a noticeable difference in my kids feelings towards school and also their ability to do their work. Now after 1 year there, they are really light years ahead of when I brought them there.
My oldest is in the Cornerstone Academy section of the school and she has done a virtual 180 about school since being there. From not wanting to read to speeding through her assigned reading books.
They are very unique in that the teachers set plans for the week for each student to accomplish. It lists out all the assignments and overall is aligned with a grade graduation date. The students work to achieve these targets throughout the week and if they get it done early they are rewarded. It makes it into a game instead of a chore. Also there is a lot of one on one.
It's not a mass group class, each student is on their own track of courses which was laid out for them after enrollment and testing was complete. It goes back over area's of missed understanding from prior grades and then brings them up through their grade and ahead. There are set times for different subjects but each student is working on their own targets.
The other really noticeable thing about the school is how genuinely friendly and caring all of the staff are. Being a parent of multiple children can be challenging and sometimes I feel bad if I miss a notice or show up late. Instead of having a Gestapo'like attitude about it they are actually nice, though they still of course are firm and expect resolution. It surely makes working with a school a lot less stressful to know they really care about not only the kids but me as a parent. The teachers really work with us, and help us to understand what our kids need to do to stay on track. In turn we help make sure that our kids are doing so. It's a real team feeling.
Oh and I also wanted to say to parents out there who have been told or who think their child has some kind of learning disability, try taking them to this school before deciding that you believe that. I personally feel the ADD and ADHD are a cop out for many teachers to use to shift responsibility onto your child as to why they can't teach them well. I also think that in many cases nutrition and good sleep can help the hyperactivity that is often thought of as a disorder.
Kids World School has a no sugar policy. They also ask for 10 hours of sleep and a good breakfast, for most children in order to be ready to really absorb what they are learning. They don't have a cafeteria so you do have to send a pack lunch, but on Friday's they have Pizza day.
Other notes, they have cooking class and art classes and several other extra ciricular activities. The upper school has it's on computer lab also. The play yard is small but they do take trips to Griffith Park and even go on school bike rides in special bike riding course along the LA River.
I hope that someday they can upgrade to a much bigger facility so that they can accommodate 10X the students. I feel badly for anyone out there who's child is not doing well in school, especially when there is a school that is so special that it could probably resolve the problem easily.
I highly, highly recommend them!!
Go and see for yourself! Talk to the principal, see the place!
The phone number is:
(323) 663-4703
The school is located at:
2132 Hyperion Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90027-4708
