Sycamore Elementary School

My kid was bullied at Sycamore and the principal had no idea what to do about it. Thankfully he is in a kinder place now.
--Submitted by a parent

I'm glad a couple of you are having good experiences with your child. For us it turned into "home schooling" because the school was more interested in presenting something they viewed as "creative" rather than teaching the students how to read. For us, their priorities were upside down, or, more probably, they didn't know what their priorities were...
--Submitted by a parent

Sycamore is a unique school with dedicated teachers and an excellent principal. The parents are involved and interesting. It is committed to multi-age, progressive education. This means your child will be in a classroom with a range of up to three grades (e.g., 4-6, 2-3, etc.). Critical thinking skills, treating others with respect and project-based learning are emphasized. Learning times tables, phonics and memorizing standards-based data are not emphasized. Because the school does not teach to the test as much as some others do, the test scores tend to be lower than they might be if more time were spent on test preparation. You have to investigate and determine whether the school is right for you and your child. We have no regret over sending our child there. We also supplemented a lot at home in areas that we thought were missing or underemphasized. Our child was happy and productive at Sycamore, learned important skills and is now doing well at a more structured traditional school. She remains a critical thinker, an important lifelong skill. Finally, Ms. Hernandez is an excellent teacher. My child had Mrs. Hernandez for math and she was caring and effective.
--Submitted by a parent

Sycamore is a great school, the principal is awesome, ALL the teachers really do care about each individual student they are loving, compassionate, creative and dedicated. The teachers are absolutely amazing, the communication is much better than anything I have experienced with other schools- It is easy to feel a part of a community because parents get involved, there are so many volunteer opportunities, and it is nice to be around so many like-minded, creative and interesting parents.
--Submitted by a parent

Sycamore is a great school with children who are independent and taught how to think. Teachers find creative ways to teach standards while encourage students to develop in all areas. The students are kind to one another and do especially well in junior high and high school. You can always tell a Sycamore kid - they are the ones who smile when they think about their elementary school experience
--Submitted by a parent

If you read the reviews, take into consideration when it was written. Anything before September 2009 describes a very different school than what is here now. Poor Sycamore has fallen into the California school abyss.
--Submitted by a parent

I volunteer my time as well as, tutor at Sycamore Elementary in Claremont. Sycamore Elementary is an excellent school. The teachers, staff and principal are very caring. They help meet the needs of their students. Their education is student-centered. They encourage their students to strive for their very best and "think outside of the box". I recommend this school to any student who wants to enhance their quality of education and have fun while learning.

Our family actually moved to Claremont from another state just for Sycamore, as it was most like the multi-age-classroom school that we had to leave. It's unique in the San Gabriel Valley, if not all of LA County. It's a very caring, welcoming place with a great sense of community and a very enlightened approach to children's development and learning, both by staff and parents.
--Submitted by a parent

Sycamore has wonderful community spirit! Parents are actively involved and come from a broad cross-section of the city. Professors, artists, professionals and more bring their talents to the campus. An emphasis on student teamwork is supported with multi-age classrooms, allowing kids to develop relationships with younger and older kids. It also gives them flexibility to work in groups of differing abilities. Kids move on from Sycamore to become leaders in middle and high school, maintaining close friendships with their elementary school pals. Most graduate from college, and there is a large contingent of kids whose parents also attended Sycamore as children!
--Submitted by a parent

The combination of academic and ethical social education, parental involvement, positive peer learning structures and respect for the child as a whole human being put my daughter's education at Sycamore beyond measure.
--Submitted by a parent