Balboa Elementary School

As others have said, if your child is not Armenian, expect them to feel left out. And as a parent, also expect to be left out. The school was particularly insular. If you are not Armenian, you have to look hard in Glendale to feel welcomed as part of the community. You may be welcomed to Jons Supermarket, but only as a customer. As a family, we realized that we were not Armenian and the only families we connected with were also non-Armenian. They don't handle diversity issues or differences well. The district could use an overhaul on diversity and cultural differences, and the parents really need to be educated. Again, our son had 3 teachers. Two were great, one was not. For the most part, I think the children were not pushed (and for the good teachers, I feel like they were underused and better served elsewhere) and the result is a bare minimum education. They will not grow into leaders or change-makers at this school, they will just learn to get by...in Glendale.

Pulled my son from this school after years of attending. We could no longer put up with the extreme amounts of homework and the ostracism because he was not Armenian. My child should NOT have to learn another language in an American school just to fit in, how dare anyone suggest that he should? He is already fluent in 2 languages, he does not need to learn another. When children tell your child to his face that he cannot play with them because he is not Armenian, that is racism...full stop. Yes, the population in Glendale is not very diverse. That does not mean racism toward any student should be accepted in any way. Make all the excuses you want about population percentages, the simple fact is all children should be made to feel safe and welcome. And in Balboa, they are not.

We had to Pull my child out due to bulling. Teacher openly said she knows about it, but can't and won't do anything. The class was too large.If you are not Armenian, RUN!! The parents and kids would never speak to you anyway

Balboa is a really good school. I just think that the food should be improved.