Guadalupe Elementary School

We have had a great experience at this school, academically and socially. I have one child who has moved on to middle school from Guadalupe and one child who still attends Guadalupe. We have experienced many outstanding teachers who take the time to tailor learning experiences to the individual. The new principal, Mr. Jones, appears to be an effective leader, making positive changes to the school. One of my children received some special education services and the team was great overall. Ms. Carroll is an excellent resource specialist. The grade-level teachers we have had work really well with Ms. Carroll and implement classroom accommodations to help students succeed. The STEAM program and new lab is a fun and valuable asset to the school. The PTA/GHSC is very active, providing great events like an ice cream social, art vista night, Olympics day, and a spring carnival. The downside to this is that it is run by a few very strong, opinionated personalities who also volunteer many hours at the school. I believe, as do some other parents, that the PTA has some overbearing and judgmental parents who drown out other voices and complicate being involved in volunteering or even school dropoff/pickup. To address some concerns posted by a past reviewer who stated that Guadalupe falls short of an east coast school, I grew up going to a northeastern public school and went to a top 25 university. Many parents at Guadalupe are also highly educated and have top university degrees. One thing I learned from our time in a couple different school districts was to research and think critically about our school choices. I know that many extra-curricular activities I had growing up were funded by tax payers in my northeastern public school. Unfortunately, that is not the reality in most of California, as I knew before we started at Guadalupe. However, this school tries its best to make up for that with the GHSC-funded physical education, art, and other programs. For us the positives well outweigh the negatives. Guadalupe provides a great education.

If I could give it a zero I would. Coming from the education system on the east coast all this school has done is solidify why a California education is awful compared to a New York public school education

I'm so upset with this school. My family is a low sugar family. This school feeds more sweets to my kids than I have ever fed to my kids for their entire lives! I made gluten free sugar free (with stevia and erythritol) cupcakes for my daughter's birthday yet she came home crying because kids teased her about them! I emailed the new principal about changing birthday policy to non food items only. She replied that it is a policy change that can only be done at the district level and that's it. She had no intention to go out of way for it (despite there are many obese kids in this school). I also emailed the principal about another issue between students and she bounced email to the teacher and did not want to deal with it at all! Some teachers are very hard working and very good at communicating with parents. Some are totally the opposite! We just started at a new school district that has strict non food birthday policy. I'm very happy with where my kids are right now.

I've read the older reviews of this school and completely disagree with the parents who say the teachers and principal are just focused on test scores. Year after year, my children have had caring, dedicated teachers who have taken the time to help my children with learning throughout the year. This is the greatest school ever! Every time I think of something I wish they had, I find out it is already in the works. The principal is on top of trends that need to be addressed and the teachers are the most dedicated group of people I have ever encountered. Sour grapes and unique situations may explain the negative comments made in the past. My kids have had an amazing experience here. I am so glad we live in this area.