Van Avery Prep

I've had my children at two public schools before putting them in VAP. My 5th grader is diagnosed with a learning disability and this is the first scho that has made a difference in his learning! The former teacher who commented below couldn't be more wrong! I am not part of the in crowd at VAP and I do not see what they are talking about whatsoever! My kids have excelled here at VAP and my husband and I will continue thier education here. The teachers are caring and go above and beyond for the children. It's a safe and nurturing environment. My kids ate excited to get up and go to school everyday. My son with the learning disability is doing so well that he no longer needs private tutoring. I highly recommend Van Avery Prep!
--Submitted by a parent

As a former VAP teacher, I can tell you that the negative comments are absolutely true. The positive comments come from the well-to-do crowd that think they have an "in" with administration. Eventually, the truth comes out and those bridges get destroyed, not just burned. It was tough trying to fit in as a caring teacher there, but did so out of necessity to work. Once an opportunity arose to leave, I was out of there. Many (most?) teachers are not fully credentialed and lack the resources public teachers acquire during credentialing and other staff development courses. I heard many complaints from parents regarding the admin staff and could not really find arguments for their complaints. There is little or no attention given to special needs children. Those that aren't perfect get left behind. Socially, students are far behind those of public school children when they do graduate to public high school. All in all, public school is still the best place for any child to be. Leave your child's education to the professionals.

My three children currently attend Van Avery. They have been in three different school systems. Van Avery is the best. When we moved to California, we were very disenchanted by the local public schools. In fact, in our highly rated local public school, my children were not challenged at all. Van Avery has been very different. Not only have they been challenged academically, they have had more exposure to art and music than they had while in the public schools. The clubs that they offer after school are excellent as well. One of their favorites is a robotics club called Gears2Robots. I had no idea that children could have such an exposure to robotics. One of my sons became so involved that he went as part of a team to Legoland for a robotics tournament. Van Avery also has "Homework Club" after school. The students spend time after school in this club to work on their homework. During this time, the students have access to their teachers to ask them questions. Needless to say, I have been very pleased with the experience that my children are getting while attending Van Avery.
--Submitted by a parent

Is a fantstic school. They acknowledged the school next door with respect as a good school as well, but offered so much more in structure and teaching. I think my children will be spending their elementary/middle school years here,,,,,,, unless we moved out of the area.
--Submitted by a parent

Van Avery sets the benchmark, by which all schools could be measured. The environment is incredible; academics are outstanding! We moved, because of military service. One of our greatest regrets is not having our daughter at Van Avery anymore. This school is an incredible investment in your child's future. It comes with our highest recommendation. If there is space for your child and he/she is accepted, register him/her without hesitation!
--Submitted by a parent

So far so good. We have our daughter in Kids World and our son in VAP second grade. We are impressed with the structure of the school and the teaching as well. My son is learning things in second grade that I and his older cousins learned in third. Our daughter is being very well taken care of and learning a lot to prep for VAP. The school is a for profit scool, but they put that money where it should be,,, in the class rooms and the facility. The private non-profit school next door that we surveyed was a mess in some of the class room plus an unpleasant order was in there as well. We will definitely stay with VAP and look forward to our daughter attending VAP next school year.
--Submitted by a parent

My son had attended Kids World since he was two and like most parents we went directly into Van Avery without researching any other private school first. When we decided to relocate the faculty were extremely difficult to deal with and would not send out the proper documentation for my son to be considered by other private schools in the new town. This we now know was because Van Avery is not accredited, not really. They can not receive accredidation because they are a for profit learning facility. Their accredidation has no board of directors or charter to improve its academic structure from year to year. If you plan on relocating and changing to an accredited, not-for-profit private school you will have a problem. Parents are not allowed in the classroom to view teachings or to volunteer. The teachers are sufficient but their curriculum is dated.
--Submitted by a parent

Of my 4 children, 3 attended Van Avery one did not. There is not a day that goes by that I don't kick myself for not making my oldest attend VAP middle school. It is a wonderful environment. I wish they went thru 12th grade!
--Submitted by a parent

We moved our 6th grader out of Temecula Public Middle school where he was receiving a basic education with nonexistent extracurricular activities. We are thrilled with Van Avery Prep. VAP has a superior level of education. With small class sizes and more days in school the teachers are able to give hands on, in depth instruction and really connect with the children personally & academically. The academic activities like Science Olympiad, We the People, Debate team, writing competitions, etc are fabulous -VAP students are constantly winning awards! The sports program is also ecxellent, offering basketball, soccer, volleyball, golf, football, etc. Not to mention year round art & spanish; drama & music; field trips & honor society... VAP has it all in a safe, fun-loving, yet disciplined environment. If you are looking for a magical middle experience with high quality education come to Van Avery Prep-you'll love it! Mr. & Mrs. Palm
--Submitted by a parent

The school has a good learning environment but the teachers are sometime ridiculous. They think we don't have a life out of school and are constantly assigning essays, projects and homework over the weekends. They expect too much from the kids and most of the teachers do play favorites. The sports department is good and coaches are competitive. The drama department, or more like a lack of one is disastrous with the new drama teacher. Some teachers actually get involved with students but they expect everyone to be an A+ student which is not the case most of the time. Most of the staff only cares about making the school look good and when possible attendees come to visit, a fake show of education is put on. I believe that it can be a good school once more and I also believe my time spent there has not gone to waste.
--Submitted by a student