Almaden Country Day School

As a educator, coach, author, producer, public speaker, and parent, I cannot recommend ACDS for families seeking a supportive and academically enriching environment. Based on our experience, I strongly encourage parents to carefully evaluate their options before enrolling their child at this school.

While ACDS presents itself as inclusive and progressive, our experience suggests that these values are not consistently upheld. The school environment prioritizes ideological conformity over open dialogue, and students who express differing viewpoints may face disciplinary action, social exclusion and even expulsion. This approach can be particularly challenging for students with learning differences, who may struggle with the pressure to adopt perspectives beyond their developmental capacity.

The academic program, despite boasting certifications like Orton-Gillingham, does not meet the standards one might expect. Coursework is diluted, grading lacks rigor, and the social climate can be discouraging rather than uplifting. Many parents, unaware of these issues, assume their children are receiving a high-quality education, only to later discover a decline in their confidence and academic performance, and even struggle to function in high schools with higher demands. Children have also experienced stunted social development as a result of in appropriate behavior by the administration and staff.

Students enrolled in the TLC program, designed for those with learning challenges, often experience a lack of appropriate support. Reports from multiple families describe instances of public shaming, exclusion, and inadequate accommodations. Rather than working collaboratively with external specialists to support students' needs, the administration has been resistant to outside expertise. Concerns regarding bullying and misconduct, including serious allegations of inappropriate behavior being overlooked, have led some families to withdraw their children.
Privacy concerns also raise red flags. There have been instances where sensitive student information was inappropriately shared, fostering an environment of gossip and undermining trust between families and the school. The stress created by this atmosphere has had lasting emotional and physical effects on students.

The school's approach to sex education has also drawn concern. An outside contractor teaches a curriculum that includes content many parents find inappropriate for the age group. Discussions of explicit topics, far beyond what is developmentally suitable, have caused discomfort among students and led to inappropriate conversations spilling into the broader school environment including much younger children. When parents raised concerns about this program, the administration's response was inconsistent, initially denying awareness before ultimately defending the curriculum.

Given these issues--ranging from a restrictive social environment to academic shortcomings, privacy breaches, and controversial programming--I strongly encourage parents to conduct thorough research before making an enrollment decision. A school should foster intellectual curiosity, emotional well-being, and a culture of respect. Families seeking such an environment may find better alternatives elsewhere.

This school should be closed. Grades are inflated and the academic level is very low all around. This is particularly true in TLC. They diminish expectations for the kids in TLC, and the kids come out of 8th grade lacking basic math, reading and writing skills, then they try to pressure parents into sending them to Kirby in Santa Cruz. While Kirby is a good school for kids who genuinely need it, most kids at ACDS should not end up there. They tried to convince us to send out kid there, but we doubled down on educational therapists and tutors to build up his skills post-middle school. While it will be a long road to recovery, our kid is already improving. The experience in middle school at ACDS made his condition worse and ruined his confidence. ACDS is not the school for an academically challenged or sensitive kid. Hire a good educational therapist to help you assess your kids and use the therapist's network to help find the best school. All of the tutors and therapists did not recommend this school, and our experience confirmed this.

I am a parent who deeply regrets sending my kids to the TLC program at ACDS. I trusted them with the wellbeing of my child and was greatly let down, as was my kid. The recent positive reviews here are the employees who work at the school and are required to post positive reviews. Mine is genuine, I assure you. The teachers and admin staff have no business teaching children, they have no moral compass. Sex ed was taught by a depraved person who encouraged demented behavior in the interest of normalizing it, and there is not an option to opt out. My kid came home sharing information that was beyond a child’s understanding, particularly for a vulnerable child with learning challenges. They pressure children to be LGBT advocates and preach things they don’t even understand. Even in their reading courses they were required to read crude and poorly written stories involving sexual activity and profane language that the teachers required them to read and listen to out loud in class. I confronted them about what I was hearing from my kids and their friends and the TLC teachers and administration denied it, even though I verified it with various kids. The grades are inflated and the curriculum is below their grades.