Garden of Angels School

My son learns about a different country, a great artist and and a great leader every week.
—Submitted by a parent

Garden of Angels is truly a special school. We have been there a little under two years and I honestly can say that miraculously, the teachers genuinely love every child and treat them all with the same amount of dedication and attention. Due to the play based and thematic curriculum, the children here learn experientially and retain their knowledge. Our family is a very academic family (from the East Coast) and we feel blessed to have experienced this school. If your child is precocious, I especially recommend continuing on for Kindergarten as there are field trips every week and there is a continuation of learning on a higher level. Also, your child can easily advance to the first grade level with Kindergarten peers. Due to the individualized curriculum, the school is able to further enhance your child's strengths while evening out the areas of development! My child loves school!
—Submitted by a parent

At the beginning GOA looks to be a great place. They say they're diverse but the truth is they cater to the hollywood crowd. Those parents and kids are definitely favored and even though we considered ourselves liberal, the left wing ideas of the administrator can be a bit much. Yes they have a diverse program but how great is that diversity if you don't have a diverse staff or the ethnic student diversity is only marginal or if the majority of the families are from the entertainment industry? We had such great hopes for what this school represented but after a year or so we find ourselves more and more disappointed each day. Also, too often I have seen sick kids at the school as I drop off my daughter.
—Submitted by a parent

Garden of Angels is definitely a rare and exceptional place for children to learn and grow! There is a great director and office manager and an attentive and very well trained staff. The campus is beautiful, very brightly colored and kid friendly. Although there is a strong quality in academic programs, the children have fun and learn what they need to know and also do art, music, dance, yoga, sports and even two performances a year. The parent/family groups and involvement is strong - you knew going in that everyone does community hours and helps out and the level of committment and pride shows. One of the many philosophies visible is play learning and experience learning. The warm and loving teachers, like Mrs.Kimber generates such excitement that each day is a new and wonderful experience! My child did not want to leave at the end of his day!
—Submitted by a parent

Garden of Angels is definitely a rare and exceptional place for children to grow, explore, learn and thrive! There is a great director and office manager and an attentive and very well trained staff. The campus is beautiful, very brightly colored and kid friendly. There is a strong quality in academic programs. The children have fun and learn what they need to know and also participate in art, music, dance, yoga, sports and even two large performances a year. The parent/family groups and involvement is strong - you know going in that everyone does community hours and helps out and the level of committment and pride shows. One of the many philosophies visible is play learning and experience learning. The warm and loving teachers, like Mrs.Kimber, generate such excitement that each day is a new and wonderful experience! My child does not want to leave at the end of his day!
—Submitted by a parent

Looks great and seductive to parents: lots of coloful painted walls, big smiles from the administraiton. The school is never clear in it's communication (besides when they need you) and the snacks are usually unhealthy! This preschool has changed a lot (the older kids campus had to be closed down; the owner is not involved.) The school is looking to attract the Hollywood crowd -not 'bad' by itself, besides the fact that it has become much more superficial and fake, and that there is no real diversity in the school. Sometimes, here is real chaos around with some safety issues. As a three year old, it may be nice to hear about Van Gogh (through books and copies... actually never in a museum!) but, wouldn't it be more important to learn some Spanish -it's a claimed 'left wing' school...
—Submitted by a parent

What can I say? GofA is unique, like gold or Miles Davis. They do it all, they do it well, and the end result is extraordinary. So many aspects of the curriculum are remarkably inventive and encourage creativity and the amount of love and detail put into every facet of the schoolday is truly inspiring. My kids hate to leave when I pick them up and I feel that the faculty are more friends and family than just teachers, even though they're wonderful at that too.
—Submitted by a parent

This school is a child's paradise. The ambience is enthralling and makes the child run, not walk into this school. The staff is the most attentive, friendly and inviting. There is extra attention and focus on every indiviual child and thier needs. The quality of the academic education is exceptional. Your child will learn to explore the world in the most unique and wonderful ways. There is a major emphasis in the arts and music, and an unlimiting amount of extracurricular activities. The parents are also heavily encouraged and are reminded on the importance of thier participation in the school's activities and events.This is the school you wish existed when you were a child. One visit to the school and you'll understand.
—Submitted by a parent

Our two daughters both currently attend the GOA. Both the Directors and the teachers are not only highly qualified at what they do, they are all truely delightful people. I often have trouble trying to get the girls to go home after a 7 hour day. The children learn all the fundamentals in fun surroundings and enviroment. I would recommend this Pre-school if you want your child to enjoy their early years in a not too structured enviroment.
—Submitted by a parent

*exceptional, positive, compassionate communication with children *children are given choices and dicipline as well as communication is based on 'center for non-violent communication' tactics *campus environment is wildly colorful, earthy, bright, creative, alice-in-wonderland, hippie, intensly artistic *director is veryY available to address parent concerns, every issue that has come up has been resolved in a manner that felt comfortable, sincere and pro-active *teachers are extreemly affectionate with children *students (even toddlers)are exposed to 'great minds' (ie. gandi, king etc.) , 'great artists' (picasso, ansel adams,etc.), different cultures/countries, etc. each week and create art/literature inspired by each. *two amazing school preformances each year where all kids (including toddlers)geton stage and sing, dance, wear elaborate costumes *parents are highly involved and required 40 hours of service each year *many long breaks during the year without childcare and late start once a month
—Submitted by a parent

This is an incredible school! My daughter has been there for three years and has loved every minute of it!
—Submitted by a parent

My children have been at GofA for 2 1/2 years and have bloosomed from their experience there. Kimber and Andrea in pre-k are amazing teachers. They create a partnership of love and discipline which gets the job done. The children know how the class is run and what is expected of them which prepares them for kindergarden. There is an abundance of art and music in the curriculum and GofA offers 2 beautiful performances a year which helped my girls gain self-confidence through the dance and music they performed. The other staff involved in the school are wonderful and have offered love and support to my children during hard periods of their life so far. I would heartily recommend this pre-school - we will be sad to leave!
—Submitted by a parent

We've been very impressed with the students and teachers at Garden of Angels. Good support and academic focus, very artistic and development oriented. Our child has flourished. The only criticism that we have is the P.E. classes are not satisfactory and the kids have a limited play area. We've volunteered to help support a P.E. program!
—Submitted by Drew Rosen, a parent

The school teaches to each individual child. Tolerance and self-expression are nurtured.
—Submitted by a parent

I was relieved when I walked into Garden of Angels for the first time. Everything from the teachers down to the colors of the signs are inspirational. I didn't want to leave so I knew down deep in my soul that my preschooler would love it.
—Submitted by a parent