St. Nicholas Elementary School

12816 El Monte Road

Los Altos Hills, CA 94022

8 Reviews

School District
Grade

K-8
Type

private

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Reviews

Submitted by parent on March 01, 2019

We are members of the local parish and send our kids to St. Nicholas School. With one class per grade, the faculty, staff, and other parents really know each kid creating a tight knit community, uncommon in the Bay Area. Jan Popolizio, the Principal, has a laser focus on the quality of instruction along with continually improving academics. Father John Poncini, the Pastor, is committed to faith formation and their collective mission to develop the whole child. As a parent, the education of my children is my single most important priority. I have 100% confidence in the teachers, staff, along with the parent and parish community to develop my kids to be the best they can be!
Submitted by parent on October 08, 2018

Fantastic. Again; proof is in pudding. great school; great teachers; great academics. Turns out great kids.
Submitted by parent on November 17, 2017

A warm and inviting campus and community. The school sits tucked away in the beautiful Los Altos Hills. The school offers great academics, faith formation and communuty involvement. Many who are not Catholic also choose this school because of the amazing atmosphere. Our family loves attending all of the events that the school and community offers. It not only allows the children time to connect outside of school hours but for the parents to as well. The school has a low student to teacher ratio and great resources. The school competes very well with the high academic standards of its neighboring Los Altos public schools.
Submitted by other on May 24, 2016

I'm a happy teacher at St. Nicholas. Besides the beautiful campus, . It is a supportive and caring place to work. We have excellent teachers and leadership. We are using the best teaching practices for 21st Century learners. Our program allows teachers the ability to individualize instruction. We are teaching our Catholic values throughout the day. The children are compassionate and Christine citizens.
Submitted by parent on May 21, 2016

We love St. Nicholas Catholic School! The academics are fantastic; the school is a nationally recognized Blue Ribbon School. The classes all have dedicated aides, so the teacher student ratio is something around 1:11, so there's a lot of small group learning and individualized attention. Even in the lower grades the kids are doing cross-disciplinary projects. They have a reading specialist for the lower grades who is just amazing. I love so many of the teachers.There's also music, art, and physical education, two fantastic science teachers with a great science lab, and a dedicated technology teacher with a brand-new technology center. They've just gone to 1:1 tablets for all grades. The academic focus really pays off - St. Nicholas kids go to terrific high schools (and ultimately colleges), with something like a 99%+ acceptance rate at St. Francis and something similar at Bellarmine College Prep, as well as many of the other Catholic High schools in the area.In addition to academics, St. Nicholas is an amazing community. There's a real emphasis on loving one another. Their buddy system (where a kindergartener is paired with a 4th grader, they will be buddies for the next 4 years) really fosters bonds between upper & lower grades from the beginning. They have a program for the older kids to help manage playground conflict. The kids regularly participate in community service projects. They all know one another; the big kids are really kind and really do know the little ones. And when we go to the grocery store or downtown Los Altos or Mountain View, and we see St. Nicholas folks - and we say hello, and sometimes stop and talk.
Submitted by other on November 04, 2015

I have three kids who have attended St. Nicholas - one is now a freshman at St. Francis HS in Mountain View, the other two are still at the school. All started in kindergarten. There are a lot of great aspects to the school - strong academics, huge and beautiful campus, focus on values and empathy, K-8 format and affordable tuition to name a few. As a working mom, I have also appreciated the affordable and flexible extended care . But my favorite quality is the small community with caring teachers. I feel like they really know and care about our family, and I have seen my kids' confidence blossom as they have gone through the years at the school. There is no way to fully explain the difference that makes in a teen's life, going off to high school with the feeling that he/she can take on the world. I'm really grateful for it.
Submitted by parent on September 09, 2014

All three of my children attended St. Nicholas School. The faculty and staff are all loving and genuinely care about each and every student. The Principal is wonderful and has been with the school over ten years. The curriculum is academically challenging and the students are very well prepared for high school.
Submitted by parent on October 11, 2011

Our experience is primarily with the middle school years but we wished we would have all of our children go K-8 at this school. St. Nick has an exceptional group of middle school teachers. Exceptional. They also have a principal who is primarily a teacher and not a bureaucrat. The focus is on the students and learning. It is a great community where we and our student have felt welcomed and respected. St. Nicholas has a great group of parents who support the school in all sorts of ways. Our student has been challenged to work hard in the classroom as well as participate in all the other activities the school offers. Sports are FUN and not over the top from a competitive perspective. Its very much a Catholic school but open to those of other faiths and beliefs. The technology and teaching methods are up to date and the academic results speak for themselves when it comes to getting into the best high schools. Our student enjoys going to school at St. Nicholas. Its been a great experience and we feel our student is has been prepared well for high school. Its also a very good value when compared to other private schools in the area.