The Dorris-Eaton School

My son attends DE since Kindergarten; he enjoys and loves DE very much. My friends are asking me that is the school perfect? Well, it is not. But think about the option that I have in my school district; I don t think my son can thrive if I enroll him into public school. They also ask me: Are the teachers perfect? I told them No. Not really. However, the majority of them are wonderful and caring teachers. The teachers did not put the pressure or stress on the kids. It comes from their parents. Finally they ask me: "Are the kids competitive? Yes. Kids are competitive with each other, but this happens at any top notch public or private school. But the good thing is the kids respect each other and themselves. If you want your child to be success or well academically prepared, I believe DE is a right choice.
--Submitted by a parent

The students at The Dorris-Eaton School do keep up with the pace which allows for excellence. While some students do have private tutors, it is because they want to as they have a desire to achieve beyond that which they do in the school day. The Dorris-Eaton School does an excellent job of educating the students and has for over 50 years as demonstrated by the admission to the finest high schools and universities in the United States.

Although the school teaches at a high standard, most students are not able to keep up with the pace. Parents spent many hours teaching their child at home. In addition, many students have private tutors or are in other learning programs after school. The school itself does a poor job of educating the student.

Highest Academic School in the East Bay.- If you are going for academics this is the place. Son was an average student in San Ramon Unified. In Dorris Eaton he still is an average student. The difference is the material is much more accelerated. 70% of the 7th graders at DE are taking Algrebra including mine. DE's Language Arts program is where they truly excel spending 12, not 5 classes a week on English.
--Submitted by a parent

The results speak for themselves: Fact 1: The average 8th Grader at Dorris-Eaton has an SAT score higher than those of the average college bound 12th grade senior at all area public high schools and most private high schools. Fact 2: 2010 high school acceptances from Dorris-Eaton: College Preparatory School 12, Head Royce 6, Bentley 4, Athenian 2, Cate 1, Asia Pacific International School 1, Harker 1, Jewish Community High School 1, Thacker 1, Del La Salle 2, St. Josephs 2 Fact 3: Nearly all of Dorris-Eaton grads go to the top USNews ranked colleges/universities - most on academic scholarships.
--Submitted by a parent

The teachers are the only reason why this school is what it is. Your child will be more than prepared for highschool, period. On the other hand, the administration is usually unresponsive. The headmaster is rarely seen by the students, and gives the same old speech every quarter of the year. Also, the faculty can be unreasonably strict - one time when a kid forgot his blazer, he was kicked out of a school assembly and the parent was forced to drive to school to bring him it. It feels like sometimes the teachers are more like disciplinarians than they are teachers.
--Submitted by a parent

The school's physical site is very sterile, but the size of the field is fantastic. Many books are quite old, and the school is for profit and the primary focus of the Administration is to enroll new students. We found that the school was not a good fit for our family, and it may not be for you if your child does not conform easily to rigorous rules. Many teachers are loving, but some are stuck in the dark ages.
--Submitted by a parent

Dorris-Eaton is the best of the best. I lived on the East Coast and so high quality private schools are prolific. Out here it is hard to find an academic school where kids learn at an extremely high level and each student can reach his or her potential. They set the bar high, but give your child the tools to reach it.
--Submitted by a parent

Dorris Eaton is a highly academically oriented elementary and middle school. The parents and the kids are very motivated and the teachers push the kids to excel academically. Students are open and friendly and not overly competitive with one another despite the inherent pressure in a school of this type.
--Submitted by a parent

Excellent prep-school for college-bound kids. Very diverse student body. A safe,polite,challenging, traditional learning school. A very safe & trusting environment to learn in. We looked at a lot of schools that would be challenging enough for our child. We feel we made an excellent choice. We tried a less-expensive church-based school but they did not provide the challenge our child needed.
--Submitted by a parent