Stella Middle Charter Academy in Santa Monica, California

“Even though i am about to graduate to high school this school is very good and you learn a lot and you get to do fun things to”
This review was posted by a student.

“This is my childs second year at Stella, and I stayed only because of the two teachers. The hours are long and some are not productive at all. The ASES program is a joke, as well as some of the mandatory items the Director comes up with. The location move has caused more problems and more cost to a 'free' school. The overall idea is good, implementation is another subject.”
This review was posted by a parent.

“This school is in some ways amazing and in others horrible beyond imagining. When I was in a different school the year before I enrolled in Stella, I had terrible grades. I never listened to the teacher and all I cared about was recess. But when I came to this charter school, my grades lifted to all As. Unfortunately, that is the only good thing I have to say about Stella. The school hours are unreasonable, starting from 7 in the morning to 6 at night. The teachers don't care about the feelings of the students, and they have barely any punishments for the students being bad, making bullies common in the area. If your child may go to this school, I suggest you should dig a little deeper into the information on Stella.”
This review was posted by a student.

“Stella is a great school, the principal is simply wonderful and listens to the parents. Yes, the hours are long but worth it. My child is learning and her mind is expanding, everyday she comes home and tells me what she learned. I love the fact that children wear uniforms and that there is a strict policy in that matter. Although, I think Stella's academics are top. I disagree with forcing the children to take field trips, it should be optional. If you are rewarding the children with fields trips let the parents decide if they want their child to attend or not. The trip to Big Bear is something that my child and I are not interested in. I understand that the school wants to reward the children, but it should be up to the parents not the school.”
This review was posted by a parent.

“I disagree with much of what's been said about stella academy. Although the hours are long, the fact remains that stella academy is the third top school within the Los Angeles school district. To say that teachers are uncaring or inconsiderate of the children's feelings is at the very least a gross misstatement. The teachers are there every step of the way. They're there to scold the children when they misbehave but they're also there to encourage and congratulate them. The truth is that many schools fail their children academically, which ultimitately comes at the expense of the childrens' futures. Stella does not have to invest so much time into their children, stella does not have to agonize over funding so that the children can go on field trips to top universities, but they do anyway. The proof is in the pudding, folks.”
This review was posted by a parent.

“I agree completely with the comment made in April of 2007. The children have an extremely long school day and are given an unreasonable amounts of homework and special projects each night. And the worse part is that staff does not seem to care about the well being of these children. The staff can be harsh and uncaring. From my observation, the voice of parent concerns do not count at this school.”
This review was posted by a parent.

“Never anywhere else have I seen a staff more caring and dedicated to enriching the lives of our children. The hours are long and it is tough, but I feel that this is a good lesson for my child. Stella Academy believes in taking responsibility for your actions. Also that there are consequences for everything that you do in life. This to me is a wonderful lesson that needs to be taught to our youth. They have a strict academic program, but there are rewards for meeting goals.”
This review was posted by a parent.

“The principal and teachers care little about how the children feel and how over worked they are.”
This review was posted by a parent.

“The principal and teachers care little about how the children feel and how over worked they are. Just because a child goes to school from 7:15 am to 4:45 p.m. does not mean that they are receiving the best education. The amount of homework is to much for these children after being in school all day. This is discouraging the child from education instead of being excited about it.”
This review was posted by a parent.

“Academics program hinders their progress. The principal is wonderful but teachers are very punitive when it comes to children.”
This review was posted by a parent.

“The quality of the academic programs are very high. There are music, art, sports, dance, etc available as extracurricular activities. The school is very strict, and as a parent you must be prepared to complete hours and have your child in school from 7:25-5:45p.m.”
This review was posted by a parent.

“A fanstastic learning enviornment. Develops well-rounded children with strong academics plus great sports, art, and music programs.”
This review was posted by a administrator.

“Academics in this school are wonderful. But Stella Academy is too strict they make the child who did the mistake feel ashamed of themselves. And make everybody know about it. I should know I've seen it happen.”
This review was posted by a parent.