La Entrada Middle School

I love La Entrada. La Entrada is the best school ever. This is because any other school can't beat La Entrada

I attended LE from 4-8th grade, and was one of the best decisions of my life. The teachers are very thorough and prepared me immensely for highschool -- even the PE classes are more rigid then those in high school. Excellent school, although the administration is a little off-color at times.

It's interesting to see all the mixed reviews here. In Menlo Park, it is known that the Las Lomitas School District (Las Lomitas and La Entrada) is THE school to aspire to In Melo Park ans surrounding towns. The new(ish) principal and vice-pricipal are well regarded by students and parents. With all the cuts in the CA budgets, families have been asked to step up their contributions to the education foundation. In 2010 the foundation raised and gifted $2.4M to help keep class sizes small, and to keep Arts, language and Physical Ed in the schools. The community is one that cares about education, and is very involved,. I have three kids in this school and we have been happy with the education that they have, and are receiving. And, yes, some teachers are better than others, but overall, the quality is above average.
--Submitted by a parent

Typical public school in an affluent area with alot of emphasis on family involvement. Families are expected to contribute alot as if the school is going broke, which I suppose is normal since all public schools are facing budget cuts. Seems bureaucratic since there is only two little schools in the district so it's admin heavy and lacking in special needs (gifted, arts, music, disabilities).
--Submitted by a parent

Our family moved to the area for a job in silicon valley, so my kids have been in schools in another state. This school might be great for standards in CA, but it doesn't compare to where we came from. They only get around 11K per child so we didn't expect much but still, this is supposse to be one of the best (by API standrds) in CA. Lots of emphasis on test taking and academics, a good thing for SAT's etc., but social skills, creativity, and arts is average.
--Submitted by a parent

I find it hard to believe that this school received a few negative reviews. This is the third year my daughter has attended La Entrada and I have no complaints. They have plenty of extra curricular activities available including foreign languages, sports, and music programs. They offer math programs to suit each child's needs from the most basic of classes to an advanced class that puts them on track to complete geometry beofre the start of high school. They offer tutoring after school which is run by parent volunteers. I think some people will never be satisfied and expect teachers to teach their children everything and hold them responsible for their child's failures when the parents should actually take some accountability. Teachers can only accomplish so much in 8 hours and the learning should continue at home.
--Submitted by a parent

The quality of teachers here is all over the place - some are excellent while others are completely "green" (not the eco-friendly kind, the new and inexperienced kind). Getting any kind of additional help for your child if they are struggling in an area, such as math, is challenging and the tutoring program is lacking guidance and any kind of feedback mechanism. Parent involvement is excellent - but almost to the point of feeling like you're in high school again - it can be very cliquey.
--Submitted by a parent

Very disappointing. Our kids have encountered a couple good teachers. Administration and specialists generally unfit for positions, some, shockingly so and in fact, scarily aggressive and/or bureaucratic to the point of being harmful and/or ineffective. If you child is gifted or has any differences (likes special sports or activities, has personality and is outgoing, wants to work on own, anything that sticks out) find a better school where they can enjoy and perhaps learn something worth remembering from middle school. Otherwise, computer would teach a student better with less overall harm.
--Submitted by a parent

My child has attended 4th & 5th grades so far and I'm still not very excited about this school. Anyone who can afford to live in this district is fortunate indeed because while many schools have lost their funding for programs like art and music in these financially challenging times, the parents who can afford to, make hefty contributions in order to preserve the quality of education they've come to expect . The school is well-equipped with the latest technology of smart boards and PC's, and there are many great programs and features about the school, but it definitely falls short in special ed services, and they don't "teach" math at La Entrada. The students bring home their homework and the parents are expected to teach them. Lots of pressure on both teachers and students to perform.
--Submitted by a parent

I love La Entrada because we are the La Entrada Leopards, because I graduated from here and my Daughter, because of how they try and bring out the best in each of their students and because it means Entrance-Entrance into a successful education-