Garden Grove Elementary School

My son has been coming here for 5 years and was always disliked and picked on at this school . The teachers are the best but the principal doesn't do anything she just says stop'STOP'! staffs ROCK!!!!!!
--Submitted by a parent

Garden Grove IMPACT Academy is a great school. We have attended this school for six years now and cannot say enough about it. Transforming into a IMPACT Academy this year with the focus on Critical Thinking, Math and Science has really shown its colors. My students come home with great questions and information. They are really excited to be learning things out of the textbook. Their Exploratory Lab is fabulous. My kids visit the lab once a week for demonstrations or experiments or to explore whatever the study is for the time. When you have very few if any students leaving to middle school from 5th here and choose to stay here for their 6th grade, it speaks volumes. The 5th and 6th teacher team ROCKS! I believe they really care about their students and want to ensure the transition to middle school is as smooth and prepared as possible. They have a diverse population in that our special needs students are included with the typical child and our students are, I feel, better prepared to handle different people and situations in everyday life. Our students show tremendous character! "A" in my book. However, would love to see more parent involvement. Their PTA is active.
--Submitted by a parent

Garden Grove is not our neighborhood school--we chose to come here because of how impressed we were with the entire staff and their new science, math and critical thinking program (called the IMPACT Academy) during a visit. We could not be more thrilled with Principal Mary Curtis (who is always circulating in the school and seems to know all of the 550 kids by name), the teachers (who have been amazing at teaching, very dedicated and incredibly caring) and the IMPACT Academy, which encourages kids to ask questions and explore the answers themselves with an emphasis on hands-on activity. This school may not have the highest test scores in the district, but that is because of so many special needs students there. Even though our child is not special needs, we see that the school has a more flexible attitude toward children's learning overall as a result, such as encouraging kids who are ahead in some areas (such as reading) to go to the next grade class for part of the day to be more challenged. As news spreads about the IMPACT Academy program and the teaching staff overall, we think that Garden Grove will be one of the most coveted schools in Simi Valley.
--Submitted by a parent

My child who attended the LEAP preschool program for 2 years has language delays and autistic like characteristics. I am delighted to express my views of this outstanding program. I am an educator in another district and have seen many special day classes and Lida Miller is by far one of if not the greatest preschool special ed teachers I have known. All of our concerns in his IEP were both respected and addressed. Everyone on the IEP team genuinely cared and listened taking into account our personal preferences and experiences. The typical peers in class were a joy and my son developed friendships with some of them. The aides were always attentive and loving toward all of the children. I will deeply miss the children and staff we come to love over the two years my son has attended. If there is any doubt about this program please take my endorsement as a teacher and a mother into account when considering enrolling in this program. Teacher Lida you will be missed.
--Submitted by a parent

This is our home school. Though this institution received a 7/10 rating, when you compare to other schools in the community, it's scoring on state test are not much lower than others. I think parents in this community need to support this school, enroll your kids, get involved and make this schools score a 9 out of 10 or 10 out of 10. The school, alone, can't do it. It needs every parent's help to do make this happen. Thank you!
--Submitted by a parent

The leadership at our school is amazing. Mary Curtis works so hard to run a cohesive environment for the teachers, children and parents. I wouldn't go anywhere else but Garden Grove. Her genuine attention with each student is so appreciated as a parent. My children have been so lucky to be at a school like Garden Grove. The teachers here are fantastic! Their enthusiasm for teaching is abundant. They know what they need to do and they do it well. Making it fun and exciting for all students; they ensure that each child is included and no one is left behind. Garden Grove ROCKS!
--Submitted by a parent

Garden Grove is such a wonderful school because of the caring teachers and staff. The Special Needs program that they offer allows kids to be intermingled and respect the differences of all people.
--Submitted by a parent

Garden Grove Elementary School is a strong community involved campus that instills a very nurturing, caring environment for the students. The principal, Mary Curtis, the teachers, the office staff, ;the school nurse, the instructional aides, ;the librarian, the long term substitute teachers, the campus supervisors, the maintenance staff, the PTA, everyone works well together with one goal in mind, what's best for the kids. My daughter could not have attended a better school than Garden Grove Elementary. A very big plus for the students of the school is the interaction of the children of the school's SDC program with the rest of the children on campus. This interaction will no doubt help produce well rounded citizens of the students who will go out into the world with a hands on perspective that there are all kinds of people on this planet with all kinds of abilities. Kudos to Garden Grove Elementary!
--Submitted by a parent

I love Garden Grove because of the kindness and diversity of its staff.The way staff,PTA and volunteers work together is amazing..Building a strong feeling of community that hopefully will extend beyond Garden Grove now and unto future years..

We have a wonderful staff and a great diverse student body!
--Submitted by a parent