Loma Linda Academy - Loma Linda, California

Anonymous

As a student from this academy, I had no issues with the community during my last two years. This review will be covering my first hand experience with some of the instructors I found to have issues with that must be made known to any parent(s) considering sending their children to this school. The teachers will not be named in order to maintain professionalism.

Within the English Department, there lies an instructor that I felt had left me with nothing learned. We read books and took quizzes/tests
like every other class, but their method of teaching was too indirect. They sometimes did little to announce new assignments and their due dates, making their class feel like a big struggle. However, I credit them for their impressive level of abstract. I simply suggest that they reproach how they cover content and have a change in their attitude that can be seen as discouraging to students. They would make a fine teacher if they decided to become more considerate, understanding, and patient.

One of the instructors from Team Act, the physical education class, had an attitude that made many of my former classmates feel VERY uncomfortable. In honest words, it would feel as if they were actually hitting on us girls with the words used by them. Having said phrases in class that sound inappropriate for a student/teacher relationship, the conduct of such instructor should be reexamined. Not to mention, it would seem that the instructors took greater interest or bias in students that had an athletic background, which personally made me feel uninvolved and less of a priority.

Despite having these issues, the community is a pretty safe environment and the rest of the departments are performing their jobs with excellence and professionalism.

This review will be revisited the moment that I am notified from the administration that they have begun to take action towards what is addressed above. Until then, everything stated could be a big problem for incoming students and those responsible for them.

Aly R.

For a school that claims to be Christ-centered, I did not feel the presence of Christ in the majority of the staff and students. Elementary was a wonderful experience, but junior high and high school were a complete turn around. Students typically came from rich backgrounds allowing greater ease to drugs and partying. Bullying was extremely common due to the hierarchy classmates created among one another. Faculty had favorites and excluded students who weren’t “popular.” Tuition just continued to rise to the point where it’s almost like paying for a child’s college education, which is ridiculous because, compared to public school (also known as free education), there is very limited AP/honor classes, extracurriculars, and opportunities for students to stand out while applying for colleges. I’m very disappointed to have wasted so much time, energy, and money into this school. So much work needs to be done to navigate the detrimental issues that affect the well-being of students.

ً

My daughter's been in this school since kindergarten and has had no problem with the staff until she reached Junior High. i just had an encounter with the Junior High principal, Donald Krpalek today and from how I was treated, I wouldn't wonder anymore why the enrollment went down for this school year. He does not embody the christian attitude that the school claims it has. He did not show any interest in my concern/inquiry. I feel that no effort was made to help me with my concerns. He made me feel so insignificant. I left the school feeling worse and frustrated. To the higher administration, please let your staff undergo customer service training so they will know how to interact respectfully with parents like me.

Iris X.

The management office staff of this school are really rude, they don’t care parents, once they admit the student, they are not willing to assist parent. The tuition is low because of seven day Adventist school, they upset me in several occasions in the office or over the phone, in which they dont have patience to explain tuition statement and uniform purchase, etc. they should train their staff to be polite especially to the parent who pay Money to the school which the staff receive paycheck from.
i wish google have 0 star i can choose from because of them.

Anonymous

Pretty good school but there is quite a number of cliques and people feel left out sometimes (especially introverted types). So I'd suggest working on that by really encouraging students to work on trying to make everyone feel included. Great diversity, athletics, safety and academics (for the most part) though!

Melissa P.

Loved this school! great principal and teachers! We moved out of the area and that is the only reason we are not still there. The new Christian school my boys attend didn't come close to how well this school was run! Front office is also so organized and helpful! Really miss being there!

Haley W.

Honestly, LLA is a pretty mixed bag. I went from Kindergarten to 12th grade, and there were a lot of good things about it. There are several teachers I love, connected with, and learned a lot from. At the same time, a lot of the administration give off the vibe that they'd rather be anywhere else. There's a seperation between them and the students they are supposed to be taking care of. The different offices have communication issues, and it takes a lot of time for anything to get done.

As far as student life goes, everyone is stressed all the time and it's pretty cliquey, at least in High School. Granted, there's not a lot that can be done with that, but it's good to keep in mind. It's easy to feel like an outsider, despite a high chance that you've known the people around you for years. The stress for me eventually got so bad that I took a semester to homeschool because I couldn't deal with it anymore. I don't want to blame the school for that, but it would have been nice to see that anyone cared before it got to that point.

If you're considering sending your kid here, I'd recommend looking at it with an open mind and try to get the full picture. Whether they will enjoy it or not is pretty dependent on their personality.

TL;DR: Cliquey, unorganized office, stressful environment, majority good teachers, small school benefits and pitfalls.

Paola S.

I am a LLA alum. From Pre-first to 12th grade. Many kids in my class went through their entire childhood education here as well. We had great kids even in the upper class men. Everyone was pretty nice. Not too much bullying. It's a great school in the sense that you build long lasting friendships, it's very safe (for the most part), and most of the teachers seem to really care about the students. At least while I was there. They aren't making a ton of money. They truly believe in the SDA educational system and want to be a part of that for these kids. I have had teachers who have had an exceptional influence in my life to this day and I'm in my late 20s. The tuition is expensive and it's not very reasonable for most people. I do think I received a good education. Once I entered the real world I realized how much other people don't know and realized how much I learned from this place. As much as I wasn't a fan when I was there now looking back I would send my kids there if I had any, could afford it and lived near by.