Stratford School

Stratford's high expectations and nurturing environment make for a wonderful experience for students. My preschooler loves school and is learning Spanish, Science, Math, Phonics, Music, Art and more! The staff is supportive, positive and enthusiastic about what they do. I am so happy with Stratford School in Los Gatos!
—Submitted by a parent

I have been a parent at Stratford school for almost 8 years. My older son completed his pre-school and pre-k here at Los Gatos campus and it s my 4 year old s second year at this campus. I love this school! It s well rounded and provides a lot of fun learning experiences. The kids learn from many hands-on activities. The teachers and staff are nice and caring! I was delighted to find out that over the past years, the curriculum has been developed in such an amazing way. Now they have Spanish and science in the pre-school programs and are taught by great specialty teachers. The principal is great and always there to help out and gives great advice. My son is a late talker and the teachers are great in coaching an encouraging him! I was amazed to see how much he has learned during the past year!
—Submitted by a parent

My daughter, a three-year old, joined Stratford this fall and I have to say, what a life saver! I enrolled her in a different school earlier this year and she hated going to school in the morning, made no friend and came home crying every day. We are so stressed out and had to pull her out of that school. We were hesitant to send her to any school after that experience. Well, Stratford/Los Gatos and Ms. Kim completely solved our problem. My daughter stopped crying on day 4 after she joined Ms Kim's class. And it just got better and better from there. Within two weeks, she told me "Mommy, I don't want to go home" when I was picking her up. What a difference! They have the most caring and experienced teachers at this location. Ms Kim has being working here for 10+ years I believe. The overall environment is fun and academic-focused. The site is open, safe and clean. Student demo mix is good too. I'd recommend this school without any reservation and plan to send my second kid to Ms. Kim's (hopefully) class too!!!
—Submitted by a parent

This is our first year at Stratford. WE have friends whose kids have gone to this school and we heard wonderful stories of their experience here. Now we can share ours. Our daughter is on the shy side and usually it takes her some time to get used to a new environment. She loves the school and her two teachers and we have had a great experience so far. What strikes me the most is the academics here, of course. My daughter has exposure to another language (Spanish), music, art, science, which is not a typical experience with most Pre-K grades. We love it here - the teachers and staff are very warm and kind, welcoming and helpful. I feel blessed that we can have our child at such wonderful school.
—Submitted by a parent

Our son is in Pre-K. He simply loves his school. He really enjoys both his teachers and he looks forward to school each of the three days he attends. I really appreciate the mixture of fun with the academics.
—Submitted by a parent

I used to think very highly of Stratford, unfortunately, I think the "quality" of school had been degraded in the last past couple years. One of the biggest concerns is the high teacher turnover rate. The inconsistency among the campuses. The school is expanding in Bay Area, however, lack of vision of high school is a concerns.. Where ar the kids going to go after 8th grade ?
—Submitted by a parent

I personally love the Los Gatos campus. The principals are warm and caring and my daughter is always so excited to go to school every morning. It's truly a parents dream come true to see their child so happy and having a great time learning. When I enrolled my daughter, I asked about their elementary, middle school, and even if a high school was in their plans! Sure enough, it is! Things like these take a lot of time to plan and I know that Stratford has high expectations even for themselves. Whenever they do open a high school, I am confident it will be the very best. Worth waiting for in my opinion! I am a proud Stratford parent and I really value the quality of education my daughter receives. Thanks Stratford!
—Submitted by a parent

I love this school. The teachers are AMAZING! They all care about each and every child. The Preschool Principal is one of the Best. She really takes time to say, "Hello" and see how my child is doing. She is friendly, warm, and loving. My daughter is in PreK. and she loves to go to school. She always comes home with wonderful information about the science she learned for the day. She also loves to share her Spanish with me and she corrects the way I pronounce it. Her art projects are really fun and creative as well. I coulnd't have picked a better school for both my children. Thank you Stratford!! If you are a concerned, parent I would advice you to do a walk through and watch the classes in action. It will amaze you!!!
—Submitted by a parent

You must love Stratford school because it's giving so much to your child.Warm,loving,caring,Excelent academics,music,art,great teachers,staff....My daughter is proud to be a Stratford kid ! Thank you Stratford !
—Submitted by a parent

This has been a great experience for my daughter. My review is only of the Pre-K/Pre-S program. We love it here. I have seen my child blossom socially, academically and become quite a performer. I have to mention Ms. Kim, Ms. Denise, Ms. Sarita and Ms. Rita: wonderful teachers who work very hard for the kids. They go an extra mile with the school performances. The Music/Spanish/Science programs are great. The school has satisfied my expectations with social development, discipline, academics and cultivating the love of learning. I feel safe with my child here. My oldest was in another campus that does not hold a candle in any way to this one. The subject and extended care teachers are wonderful. There is much creative work in extended care and the "Imaginative Play" session in the morning makes my daughter want to be the first one through the door. If they continued till High School, we would have stayed, but they don't have it yet. My only gripe here is the playground equipment - we spend a lot of evenings removing splinters from my daughter's hands. The teachers and the balanced curriculum is what makes this a great school and I am so happy for the 2 years my child spent here.
—Submitted by a parent

This school is awesome. I asked my son how it was and they loved it! my daughter goes to stratford to. There is Spanish, Computers, P.E., and Music. Challenger is ok but it stresses your kid. They stress academics and don't even focus on extracurricular activities. My son is the vice president of one of the stratfords and goes to meetings and speaks for the school. I hope you send your probally wonderful child to Stratford. Your Son/daughter earns to go to Stratford. Go Stratford!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
—Submitted by a parent

I love the preschool. I had my older daughter in Challenger and she was reading earlier than my second who is in Stratford BUT, this school offers a much better balance between academics and fun. I do not think it is important that the children just learn how to read, they need exposure to many different things like art, music, language etc and that is exactly what Stratford preschool provides. The teachers in Room 1 (2011) have been fantastic!
—Submitted by a parent

I have two children that have been attending Stratford for four years, my third child is entering his third year. Overall the academics are stellar compared to public schools. There is a mix of really great teachers, and not so great teachers. Unfortunately Stratford is focused on opening new campuses instead of improving their current campuses. Stratford campus does not have a library, gym, art teacher/room, of school nurse. The home office/administration run the schools like a corporation but fail to have policies in place for the safety of it's children. I agree with previous comments, the administrators are ill prepared for high level things that occur in school.
—Submitted by a parent

My kids love Stratford, I can t thank Ms. Denise Maderis preschool principle enough for her support and wisdom. I visited Stratford last summer to enroll my 3 years old twins for the 2009-2010 school year and I was very anxious. I am a single mom, my husband passed away when the kids were one year old and with the support of my family kids have never been to daycare or someone else s care. I was worried that my kids will be traumatized first days / weeks of the school. I just needed few weeks to get them adjusted to the school environment. I have few friends with same age kids as mine and we all are so different for some of them it is so easy to drop off their kids and go and I was totally on the other spectrum. Ms. Maderis was very understanding and patient with me and with a very calm and caring manner tried to come up with multiple solutions to remedy my anxiety, for that I will always be grateful to her. One of her suggestion was that I could enroll the kids for summer school and since parents can t stay in the class, I could stay in their office and they will monitor the situation and keep me informed and I could pick them up earlier or even right away if I felt it is needed. And with her excellent staff I have to say the transition was so smooth and I worried for a whole year before enrolling them at Stratford for nothing. Kids are now enrolled in the pre-k program, and love the school and their teachers. I am so happy I trusted her. Room 4 parent
—Submitted by a parent

We love this school! We enroll my daughter in their pre-school program recently. The transition seems to have been unexpectedly smooth. I clearly remember that my daughter kept crying almost for two month when we sent her to her old school. We love teachers in room 1. They are devoted, loving and enthusiastic. We ve been also pleased with the program that they design in a fun and creative way with just the right amount of learning.
—Submitted by a parent

We have been extremely satisfied with this school, particularly the Los Gatos Campus. All of the students needs are met, the classrooms are bright and organized the music and art is exceptional and beyond a doubt the staff is incredible! Ms. Denise is the very best principle you could ask for and makes us feel safe that everything is being taken care of! My son went through the pre-school program through kindergarten and now my daughter is begining her journey there. I love the curriculum and the fun programming as well as all of the school events they design to bring the stratford community together!
—Submitted by a parent

I see Stratford school as a very good school. They hire experienced teachers and offer a quality program. The facility is clean, neat and design is age appropriate. We love our teachers in room 4 (preK) program. They are caring, loving, energetic and always have a good word or advice for us. My son attends Los Gatos campus for the second year and we have a wonderful experience. He doesn't want to leave this campus. Mss. Denise is a great principal. Many children including my son adore her: smiling, details oriented,enthusiastic, energetic and caring all at the same time. We've always had a very pleasent experience with her from the first years she came to work for the school (long time ago...). Also elementary school principal has been very nice and supportive at any time in any situation. Many times I had to go through the school office: always helpful and professional.
—Submitted by a parent

Great Preschool! Preschool principal, Miss Denise, is very passionate about her job. Teachers are very loving and they have been there for a long time. Great music and arts program for preschoolers. My daughter sings constantly at home. It is by far the cleanest preschool in Los Gatos, I have seen all. Big and bright classrooms that get direct sun light. This location is very diverse unlike other Stratford locations. Beautiful campus. After school programs are excellent. Parking lot gets too crowded sometimes but they manage it well.
—Submitted by a parent

Many of the reviews listed are outdated. There is a new principle and administration is constantly changing their principle assignments - for the good and potential bad. My two children have been attending Stratford for 3 years at the Los Gatos location. We are the happiest we've been with the school after having experience at some of the best public schools (Fremont - Mission San Jose; and Saratoga Schools), in addition to 3 Harker Academy (not recommended). My children are STAR testing 3-5 grades in advance of their current grade level - as a testament to the teaching and well... parent involvement we should all give our kids. Stratford is rapidly expanding in the Bay Area, as it seems they have an aggressive business plan, so I am cautious that they will remain true to their roots and 'customer' expectations. The staff overall is caring, energetic, 100% student focused.
—Submitted by a parent

If your child is not academically gifted, this may not be the school for him. But if your child likes a challenge, there is a chance for him to succeed because the teachers are so dedicated and supportive. It's amazing how the school has manage to maintain its high academic expectation and still have the time for so many social events and community services? Too bad, this is my child's first year with Stratford and he is a 5th grader...
—Submitted by a parent