based on 18 reviews
Highlands Christian Schools
1900 Monterey Drive
San Bruno, CA
94066
(650) 873-4090
http://www.churchofthehighlands.org
By: parent
Date: January, 2007
Both my kids have been attending Highlands since their pre-k days and have never appeared stressed out. They enjoy going to school and are both more upset when we pick them up since this cuts down on their time with their friends. Most of the kids are well behaved and always greet the parents as we pick up our respective students. My kids enjoy their extracurricular activities i.e. piano lessons, bell choir, golf and swimming lessons (during summer). I agree that some of the rooms need more windows but this is why they are moving their upper grade classes to a different location so that the lower grades will have more rm. Highlands is expensive but worth every penny! Our kids are our best contribution to the community.
By: former student
Date: December, 2006
I attended Highlands from pre-school to 6th grade. I was very blessed to attend this school. The entire staff is great. The academics are excellent. Basically, I grew up in this school. And I've learned many important things there that I will always carry around in my life. I would never want to forgot those years I attended Highlands.
By: parent
Date: October, 2006
My daughter is in her second year at the preschool. Highlands is an excellent school if you actually want your children to learn something. Most of her classmates are well behaved and extremely intelligent. Some may call it 'too academic', but she can 'play' all she wants when she gets home. Also, it's really expensive, but my opinion worth it. I agree it's not for everyone though.
By: parent
Date: September, 2006
My experience with this school is in the Pre-K setting. The curriculum is intensely structured with a strong emphasis on academics, achieved through a rigorous religious forum. Strict setting, with somewhat unreasonable school policies. Questions or concerns are addressed through administration and director and not via teachers. Playground is a parking lot. Classrooms are without windows and feel closed-in. This school didn't quite work for my child for the program was 80% academic and 20 % play. In my opinion, a bit too demanding and stressful for a 4 year old. Overall, strong academic school with limited parent teacher interaction. I pulled my child out after 2 weeks.
By: parent
Date: September, 2006
My experience with Highlands has not been very positive. Pre-K setting too structured and very academically based, which left my child feeling very anxious and stressed. Also, too much emphasis on religion. Rules are unreasonable and very strict. Teachers are friendly but very academically focused and offer very little play time. Class rooms are small with a closed-in type feel. I pulled my child out after 2 weeks. I truly feel that a preschooler needs a good balance between academics and play and that this program, in my opinion, is too academic for a preschooler. Overall, a very micro-managed operation with very strict and unreasonable rules.
By: parent
Date: September, 2006
I think Highlands is a great school. They strike a ballance between structure and independance, challenging and nurturing. My oldest son last year switched from a public school to Highlands. We were very concerned about him being able to handle the academic load, We found that our son was able to adapt quickly and I think a lot of that had to do with the teacher he had. So far, I really like the teachers and directors I have encountered. Pros: -Lots of programs for the students and their families. -Great staff -Not aggressive with wanting your time & money and they don't push the 'Chrisitan beliefs' -all teachers/directors have email addresses and voicemail Cons -Parking lot is a nightmare-at times -Sports program doesn't start till 5th grade -No PTA type of organization, parent envolment is limited to holidays or your child's birthday only.
By: parent
Date: May, 2006
My experience with Highlands is with the Pre-K through early grade school ages. The academics are strong and place a great deal of emphasis on mastering the basics early. For my daughter this meant reading in kindergarten, and double digit adding and subtracting in first grade. There is a fairly high level of parental involvement as most rely on the school to watch after our kids for a large portion of the day. I would like to see more sports opportunities for grade school kids, and hopefully this will happen once the new facility is purchased (2006?). My only real beef with the school is the dogmatic religious teaching. I would prefer a more open discussion about issues, which I feel helps children develop a stronger reasoning and analysis abilities (I should know, I went to the same type of school from K-12). Bottomline, good grade school, so-so beyond that.
By: former student
Date: April, 2006
Great school with great teachers and pastors. I attended this school from Pre-K through 8th grade.
By: parent
Date: January, 2006
Great pre-k program. Children learn how to count to 100; writing; reading 3 and 5 letter words; how to tie shoes; address/phone; bible verse and lesson; pre-math; phonics etc. Teachers are warm and friendly..very understanding. They will always call you if there is a problem. Great summer program.
By: parent
Date: October, 2005
The enviroment is not good. Some teachers are not friendly. Not very clean. Air quality of classroom is bad.
By: parent
Date: September, 2005
Highlands is very much involved with the students academics as well as extra curricular activities. Involvement of parents allows the teachers to touch basis with how a student is at home and school.
By: parent
Date: August, 2005
My daughter started going to Highlands for preschool & I can say that she has learned so much. They have a pretty well balanced program.
By: parent
Date: July, 2005
I like the school and they have a very nice and warm teacher.They explain everything really clear and it is expensive school also. They have a extended day care available, and full of art and music school.
By: parent
Date: June, 2005
Highlands Christian school appears to have high academic aspiraions. The results can be seen in the students test scores which tend to be above average. The school also understands that parents work and provide very good after school child care and parents can pay a small feee for music lessons if they choose. The only draw back is there is no comprehensive sports program and children have to wait until the upper grades to participate in sports at all.
By: parent
Date: March, 2005
Highlands Christian Schools has a high academic program but too much emphasis on religion. My daughter attended preschool here and she is now in Kindergarten at a different school. According to her teacher, she is far advanced in class. The school however, do not have a playground for the older kids. Preschool have their own playground but the older kids use the school's parking lot as a playground. Cars come in and out while the kids are playing which I find unsafe. They don't have a gym either. The upstairs classrooms do not have any windows so when the weather gets warm there really isn't much of an air ciculation. I took my daughter out of the school.
By: parent
Date: February, 2005
Has one of the best academic programs. Offers music, art, and basketball. Parents are very involved with field trips and special raise invents.
By: parent
Date: January, 2005
Very Academic School, with reading beginning in their preschool program. Emphasis on reading, spelling and math continues in each grade.
By: student
Date: January, 2005
Although this school gives a great education and has wonderful teachers, my daughter and most of her friends hated the time they spent there. Their guidelines for dress and behavior were way too strict. The work put on the children is also much more than they need. The students there are very stressed out and have little time for extracurriculars.
