Gilroy Prep School

277 Ioof Avenue

School District

Gilroy Unified
Grade

K-8
Teacher/Student Ratio

1:30
Type

charter

School Map for Gilroy Unified School District

GreatSchools Rating

The school rating calculation is based on four ratings: the Student Progress Rating or Academic Progress Rating, College Readiness Rating, Equity Rating, and Test Score Rating each designed to show different facets of school success. Learn more about GreatSchools Ratings

Reviews

Submitted by other on October 26, 2024

I previously worked at GPS and it was for lack of better words a hot mess. There is obvious nepotism in their D.O. None of the administration are qualified to be administration. The people in the D.O. care more about the image of navigator schools and pushing their model and agenda on other schools than actually working on their currently established schools. The turn over rate has always been high in teachers, paras, and small group instructors due to the fact that there are little to no consequences for students who act out. There is no discipline plan in place and students learn quickly that they can get away with abusing their teachers. I have witnessed students actually strike teachers and there be NO CONSEQUENCES. Navigator schools does not care about their employees.
Submitted by parent on August 19, 2024

The toxic environment here stems from administration and leeches down through to the students- it’s a sad thing. High marks on great schools come from state testing- they spend too much time on that. There is now a percussion program but it is very new and needs a lot of work. Clubs and extra curricular activities are not a priority here- testing for state tests is their main priority. It doesn’t help students and they lose on many things. I read in a lot of reviews that everyone has issues with bullying. It’s awful in middle school but not as bad in elementary grades. My biggest problem is with the lack of experience in leadership/administration. They are mostly promoted from within the navigator schools and don’t have outside experience. Their experience is limited and narrow but they speak loudly about how wonderful everything is. They are delusional if they think the school is so perfect. The entire school needs an overhaul of their curriculum- too much iPad time, too much students teaching students, too little experienced teachers- especially in middle school. They introduced a new program in middle school called circles to help students learn more about each other but it is nothing more than a group therapy session where students are later made fun of for sharing their feelings. It’s teacher lead and teachers were taught by administrators who went to a training course in Tennessee. It’s the blind leading the blind- no one wins here. There are a few good teachers in elementary and I’m not sure how they have lasted so long in this environment. I once saw a middle school teacher crying in the quad after getting yelled at by one of the vice principals. It was appalling. We were here for 3 years and saw 4 teachers/small group instructors quit- we asked one where he was going and he said he’s going to work at the Beach Boardwalk since it’s better than trying to stay here. This is not a place where students can thrive- it’s toxic and even teachers are struggling. We took our kids out and have enrolled them elsewhere.
Submitted by parent on July 30, 2024

We expected more from this school when we accepted for our children. With the higher rating on here we fully thought it would be the best place for our children to learn and grow. We were wrong and regret our time there. The staff minus the front office ladies and some yard duty, were rude, dismissive and constantly swept things under the rug. If you have an issue, they do their best to avoid it, avoid you, lie about it and then make you feel like an outcast. Our children were not prepared to go back into public school - it was a shock as they had a hard time adjusting to the standard expectations and amount of homework given. GPS made it super easy for the kids to “excel” on paper and state testing as they spent MONTHS focusing on it instead of teaching curriculum. It’s a revolving door of teachers in their middle school and most have less than 3 years of teaching experience. Our children were bullied incessantly while the school did the bare minimum to protect them. Parent involvement is non existent - the school says they encourage it but they completely got rid of ANY parent club and replaced it with their own staff lead group that quickly dissolved to nothing. Homework was so minimal that our children finished it at school and it didn’t supplement their learning in any way. They dreaded going to school and lost their love for learning. It was our fault for not pulling them out of this place sooner. This place was like a bad infomercial selling a faulty product and it proved to be the worst experience for our family. We strongly advise everyone to avoid this school. GUSD with all their faults, is a much better option.
Submitted by student on May 30, 2024

This school is one that I would 100% NOT reccommend. The bullying and racism is a constant issue. Random students will use racial or other slurs as if it's ordinary language. In my two-year experience here, there have been over three accounts of physical bullying. One of which had a kid suffer serious injuries because of an "accident" in P.E. class. The educational system "squads" is not used in many other schools and for a good reason. In squads, students are placed in groups of three consisting of a Squad Leader to guide the squad, a Squad Presenter to present the educational material, and a Squad Quality Control to keep everyone focused. The students then teach each other the content while three Squad Leaders traverse the classroom to make sure everyone understands the lesson. What does the teacher do while all of this happens? I'll tell you, NOTHING! As if to add insult to injury, we then get GRADED by the teacher on something they didn't participate in teaching! The students here have no idea what's going on half the time, since they're too busy fooling around and making noise. As a result, most of them can't answer simple questions! The girls are all doing makeup in a corner while all the boys are making animal sounds and pounding on the table. It's no wonder why people hate this place so much!
Submitted by parent on January 29, 2024

I strongly recommend avoiding this school. The curriculum is heavily focused on testing, with students spending over a month taking the SBAC, answering five questions daily, compared to other schools where the test is completed in just three days. Bullying is a pervasive problem that is not addressed with the seriousness it deserves. Numerous incidents occur where children are seriously hurt, and parents are not even kept informed. The school excels at being deceptive and maintaining appearances.
Submitted by parent on January 12, 2024

I have 3 kids that go to this school, all started in Kindergarten. My eldest is now in 8th grade!! Love this school. Very innovative in the curriculum, using evidence based teaching techniques. What I love most is the goal of closing the achievement gap. Students from all groups and differing socioeconomic status are geared to succeed. That's exactly the environment that I want my kids to learn, that it shouldnt be just about the haves and have nots, but to give access to all kids in the community for a great education.
Submitted by parent on December 18, 2023

We try this school for 1 month coming from local Middle School. We transfer back after we try this school. My son did not like it there. He did not learn as much. He say kids there are mean. Teachers are nice but not same education as local school. Local school give more homework and project. Local school has more club, sport, music for students. This school supposed to be good since it has high score but we do not know why they have high score when education not strong. We will not go back and take away application for my young kid.
Submitted by parent on October 06, 2023

This school is horrible. The kids are expected to learn in a bullying environment. The teachers do nothing and the administration turns an eye. There is no control whatsoever at this school. The students are talking back to teachers.
Submitted by parent on September 23, 2023

Stay away from this school. This school offers absolutely nothing extra to children. Children in middle school are taught in a squad setting made out of 3 children, one of them being the leader. The squad leader is entrusted to lead the teaching and score students. All teachers do is walk around the class. While the squad format is a good idea, it should be used as something other than the primary teaching method. Children can not always pass their knowledge to other students; they are not certified teachers. Admin staff is not inductive to developing relationships with parents, and parents' requests are not taken seriously. This school administration staff is unprofessional and rude.The bullying problem is a real issue in this school. The standards are so low in what is tolerated. Some children are afraid of reporting who are victims of racial slurs, constant teasing, and harassment. When issues are brought up to the administration, they don't know what to do. We are about to move out of this school and recommend that other parents not send their children to Gilroy Prep.
Submitted by parent on September 19, 2022

This schools test rating on this site is not reflective of accurate numbers. They have a very high turn over rate for teachers and students. Very weak parent club and events. A lot of bullying and inappropriate behavior from children that is reported and does unsolved. No resolution consistently for years. This school is very young and they require long hours of their teachers and I believe that affects the children negatively.
Submitted by parent on July 22, 2022

I this school loves to broadcast their great test scores. However to get those scores, the main focus for the students is test prep. I feel like all they care about are test scores, not fostering independent thinking, project based learning, advanced concepts. We have asked multiple times for more challenging work and they cannot accommodate this. There are no advanced classes. Most of the day is spent learning on an Ipad. I have sat in class many times and seen this. What we experienced transitioning from a high score driven school to a traditional school is they don't know how to learn, all they do is memorize. My daughter struggled going to a traditional school after this school, where she was supposedly well beyond her grade level at this school. Bullying is also a problem at this school and they do not know how to handle it. My child was bullied at this school and despite asking time and time again for the school to do something about it, nothing was done. I have heard from many other parents they have the same experience. School safety has been brought up many times, they have a large unhoused population on school boarders since this school is right on the train tracks. Last year a fire was started by the unhoused on campus. Teacher and staff turnover is also an issue. Every year they have many new teachers. I suspect they are teaching in an underserved school to qualify to get their student loans paid off and then they leave.
Submitted by parent on October 17, 2019

Overall a great school, well intended people, and effective approach at education. The campus is not as nice as surrounding public schools, but they are producing results.
Submitted by parent on March 26, 2018

I am very happy with the way the school teaches students. My children are very blessed to be able to attend this school.
Submitted by parent on June 02, 2017

My child is very happy at GPS. It is evident that the teachers are passionate about their jobs. The school profile says the teacher/student ratio is 1:30 but each class has a small group instructor so it's really 2:30. There is a designated PE, art and music teacher. Lego robotics has been my child's favorite enrichment class. The middle school's competitive sports program is growing. If as student is struggling academically, it is immediately addressed - no student will slip through the cracks. The students definitely work hard in academics but they also have a lot of fun activities (student reward system, spirit days, Halloween and Christmas carnivals, student talent show etc). Communication could use some improvement as there is often last minute communication but overall Gilroy Prep is a great community.
Submitted by parent on February 28, 2017

I'm a first year parent for 1st grade and I love my child's teacher. The school has introduced more extracurricular activities, but more is needed. I know my child is getting a good education .
Submitted by parent on July 27, 2014

Poor communication No arts, history, language or science Too focused on tests No extracurriculars Poor student behavior Low parent involvement Great academic program, but that's about it
Submitted by parent on November 04, 2013

The structure of this school allows teachers and administration to innovate in ways traditional public schools can't. Student progress is monitored using technology on a daily basis so no one falls through the cracks. My children love knowing about their progress in each subject and are motivated to do their best. It's cool to be smart at Gilroy Prep School.
Submitted by parent on September 17, 2013

First school I've seen successfully blend applications and lessons in a seamless and effective way the kids enjoy and learn with