Viejo Elementary School

Fabulous. I don't know what made the last reviewer so mad. I've been in this school community for four years now between preschool and K-5 and have 2 kids in the program. The administration and teachers have always been open to feedback and requests. Communication is easy with anyone! I love the small community of the school and feel very listened to about anything I bring to Sr. Becerra. He is a dedicated principal who has worked at every level of schools. Professional, passionate and working hard to make a difference at his school! I've actually only ever heard of one family leaving the program for "personality conflicts". I'm knee deep involved with PTA and their are lots of very involved families in a wonderfully diverse school. Perfect for us!

What a horrible experience. We found the leadership to be horrible. (principal Becerra) does not communicate important changes or information in a timely manner nor did he support me as a parent when problems arose. He never did anything about major issues that took place, although he said he would often time questioned if it really happened as if I was lying. I'm not the only parent this has happened to. My child is not up to speed compared to the spanish speaking students because her primary language is english, however the teachers have way too high of expectations and push alot of the work/practicing on the parent and then blame you for your childs progress. While my daughter attended, several parents were pulling their kids from the program for all of the above reasons. The office girls however are the only wonderful thing about the school.

My daughter is now in second grade and is able to read and write in both Spanish and English. We don't speak any Spanish in our home, so the fact that our seven year old is well on her way to being fluent in two languages is nothing short of amazing to me. The principal, Mr. Becerra, very clearly cares a lot about the students. We also have been pleased with the teachers she has had to date. The school community is very close knit with lots of parents pitching in to volunteer for various projects. Most parents I encounter at the school are down-to-earth and friendly, which does not seem to be the norm here in OC. We love Viejo Elementary and are so happy that our children have the opportunity to attend this school.

We really like Viejo. I have 2 kids attending and a third will start next year. We have loved all their teachers and are very excited they will be bilingual and biliterate when they graduate from 5th grade. It was a no-brainier for me to enroll them here. If they can go through elementary, middle, and high school and come out with a great education but ALSO be bilingual, why wouldnt everyone do it? Obviously their test scores are going to be lower because they take the same test as everyone else which is in English. Yet the immersion program doesn't teach reading/writing in English until 2nd grade. So it is not an accurate test for dual immersion students. It's a great program for any child who's parents would like them to learn English and Spanish while going to school. I highly recommend it!