Merryhill Elementary and Middle School - Milpitas

My child have been at this school for over 8 years and I've seen ups and downs and changes in the total experience of the school. Because this is a private school, it has to be measured against a different set of standards not just that it's "better" than public school. If a parent is throwing out 10-12K+ a year to send a child here, the school has to deliver on a total educational experience that far exceeds that of a public school. From this perspective, Merryhill has only 1 advantage. A small and safe environment for your child. If your child is already a good to exceptional student this is a good fit. If not, don't expect the school or teachers to step up and help. You will have to get very very proactive to advocate for your child. They are not setup to respond when your child is struggling. You find out when grades are set, not when it matters. This is noticeable as you get to the higher grades. There are some bright spots in terms of teachers, but I find that most of the teachers have been there too long and their approach is about structure not creativity. It's like public school with a big price tag. If you can, go to Discovery Charter or Carden for Middle School.
--Submitted by a parent

Merryhill WAS very good when it was Rainbow Bridge Academy. One of the few private schools which was not caught up in the race with Challenger schools. However, I feel their corporate influence (Nobel Learning) seems to have put pressure on them now. It used to be that they would accommodate kids of varying abilities and work with the children to grow their skills. Nowadays their target seems to have changed to match the extremes of the competition. This seems to drive for only the best students to stay. This may work for their corporate reasons - focusing on scores. But I am sorry to see another school caught up in the rat race. I pulled out my child to my neighborhood public school due to this. Also, the recent curriculum changes moves towards history, writing etc. instead of having a balance across subjects.
--Submitted by a parent

The overall academic structure of the curriculum is very solid. The push for parent involvement is a definite plus...
--Submitted by a parent

A nice small school, a lot of fun activities. But if the after school program can extend to 6:30pm, that will be so great for those parents that both need to work.
--Submitted by a parent

It is pretty good school overall. From the academic programs point of view, it needs to forcus more on the public speech and English writing. The children need to have more homework instead of playing most of time in the day care program.
--Submitted by a parent