UCLA Lab School

330 Charles E. Young Drive North

Los Angeles, CA 90095

26 Reviews

School District
Grade

K-6
Type

private

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Reviews

Submitted by parent on May 22, 2024

The academic level of this school is terrible compared to any other school my child’s friends go to. Case in point, I picked up my 5th grade child from school and asked 5 of her classmates: What’s 7x8? One of them got it right, and had to count. Yet the teachers expect the children to understand fractions and simplify! My child and her peers are in 5th grade and don’t know what a verb or a noun is, either. I don’t know what they’re teaching at this school but I am concerned about how kids will keep up with middle school after attending this school. Furthermore, the administration and some teachers have some serious issues yelling at children and when incidents occur, there is absolutely no accountability. Any LAUSD public school is probably a better choice over UCLA Lab School. At 25k for tuition they should be ashamed of themselves.
Submitted by parent on May 07, 2023

UCLA Lab School is not serving the needs of children that it claims to serve. They are highly lacking on providing quality researched based instruction, and are lacking in providing a well-rounded instruction. Although they claim to serve a diverse population, they have limited support for those who need extra help, as they are short staffed. The class sizes are large, which makes it difficult for the teachers to help each child. With the exception of daily PE, other specialist classes such as Art, Music and Stem lab are only available on a rotating quarterly basis. The social emotional curriculum is lacking and due to lack of supervision on the playground incidents go unnoticed, and bullying occurs. The school has also had several racial incidents, and as another poster mentioned they have not been properly addressed. The administration is also unresponsive, and cold towards families. Until Lab School has a transformation in leadership, and aligns with their mission statement, I would stay clear of this school.
Submitted by parent on April 09, 2023

Terrible school. Used to be wonderful but has majorly gone downhill. Teachers and administrators do not have a collaborative working relationship and are often at odds. The teachers went on strike this year! Used to be very diverse but now only caterers to wealthy white people. The administration has spent lots of time and energy covering up very racist incidents at the school. They offer zero support and blame parents for all the problems. The principal is cold and not approachable. Lots of families leaving this year. It’s very disheartening to stay here.
Submitted by parent on March 20, 2023

The school is in a beautiful setting and has some wonderful teachers and administrators, but the school is not without problems. The grounds are beautiful, but the rooms have no central air or heat. The school had to close on extreme heat days and some rooms had no heat on winter days.The lower grades (4-5 year olds) do not have formal P.E. class. Young children have about 30 minutes of play time at lunch and 20 minutes at snack. There’s no Spanish classes for students in the English program. Visual art is integrated into the curriculum and instrument instruction is available to kids beginning in 2nd grade, but dance, theater and other art education is absent. Most families use tutors to supplement the math and literacy instruction because a lot of kids get too intermediate and are unable to read or follow the CGI math instruction. In my experience, the teachers will not differentiate instruction if your child is performing above grade level.The school offers some special education services including speech, behavioral services and occupational therapy, but families have a hard time accessing consistent services and the services are largely subpar. The specialists can be dismissive and teachers will forget to implement inclusion plans. The teachers have gone on strike and it’s not clear how many will remain at the school. Families and teachers are afraid to speak up when issues occur. Do not expect support or warmth from the administration.You may find a better education at other magnet, charter or private schools.
Submitted by other on December 22, 2019

100 out of ten it is the best school ever and you are very very lucky if you go to it.
Submitted by parent on September 03, 2019

Overall, we’re happy with our experience at the Lab School. Our child wakes up happy to go to school every day - and we have a tough commute. The campus is beautiful, the parent community is great - lifelong friendships are built, the pros have definitely outweighed the cons. This place may have its challenges, but it can also be magical! You get out what you put in - get involved and you’ll find places to create magic for your child and yourself.
Submitted by parent on August 29, 2019

We started out loving the school in the lower levels, but became very disappointed in the upper levels. The break in trust after the firing of Norma Silva has been catastrophic for morale for two years. On a more practical level, the double classrooms at the primary and intermediate level are particularly difficult to manage, even for experienced teachers. Each teacher has to get to know more than 50 children (up to 10% of which are complex learners) in a somewhat chaotic and unstructured environment. It's very easy for kids to fall through the cracks. Academic standards - particularly in math - are not important to the mission of the school. Thus, if you want your kid to stay at grade level - you'll need to extensively tutor them. Anyone who claims "the school can only do so much" hasn't sat in the math classes in the intermediate levels. They are appallingly turgid; the kids just don't progress through the material rapidly enough to gain any mastery. Many who can afford to tutor do so, especially by 5th grade. In summary, it's sadly not possible to recommend the school at this time.
Submitted by parent on August 26, 2019

I have had a wonderful experience at this school. Every teacher we've ever had has been above and beyond and I'm always sad to leave them. Both my kids love learning and love going to school everyday. What I have learned about every private school is that if your kid is smart they will do well anywhere, if he is not, you can blame it on the school but it is not the school's fault. They can only do so much. Lab school does a good job at teaching to the child so they all read different books, etc based on where they are at and every child feels good about themself. I'm very grateful to be at a place with wonderful families, wonderful teachers, and seriously the most beautiful campus of any school.
Submitted by parent on August 26, 2019

When my child got accepted to the Lab School, we were living in Hawaii, we left our magical island for the Lab School and it was the best decision we have ever made for his education to date. Our child is smart, confident and fully bilingual and biliterate. I attribute his happiness and self assurance to the wonderful community that is the Lab School.
Submitted by parent on May 02, 2019

The school used to be exceptional under the principal Norma Silva. The dean of the graduate school traumatized the school by abruptly removing a beloved principal and installing a puppet who parrots what the dean wants. Both the principal and the dean are not interested in the lives of students or getting to know or listen to parents. This is an unacceptable situation where many are unhappy. The teachers are great and the campus is great. However, the class size of 25 is too large, and double classrooms means that teachers need to get to know 50 kids, which means they are stretched to thin to really know your child. The math program has deteriorated due to the baffling suspension of a beloved math teacher. The 5th and 6th grade students are not well prepared for middle school, and virtually all families who can possibly afford or arrange for math tutoring use private services to get their children to grade level.
Submitted by student on May 01, 2019

There have been many wonderful aspects to this school over the many years that we have been there. A beautiful campus and many caring teachers. Strong emphasis on leadership and creativity in students. In the past this was carefully balanced with a gradual increase in rigor and accountability as children got older. Unfortunately these functions are no longer emphasized, resulting in the oldest kids at the school being left unchallenged, bored and languishing, at a point where they should be preparing to go on to middle school. It has been alarming to see things devolve so quickly over just one year since the new principle, Georgia Lazo was hired. The school now says it is "not an academic" elementary school, and parents looking to prepare their kids for any sort of rigorous education should not come to the lab school. This is an alarming development for UCLA, who uses admission for children of faculty as an enticement for retention and recruitment. Most academics are interested in an elementary school with some pretension at academic achievement. The current school administration seems to be driven exclusively by the needs and desires of the UCLA Graduate School of Information & Education Studies, rather than balancing those needs with those of the parents and students at the school. In the past the school worked collaboratively with families, but now if parents are concerned about any aspect of their child's education the school hides behind the blanket excuse of their " pedagogy." Frustration and lack of trust in school leadership has had a very corrosive affect on the school community.
Submitted by parent on February 12, 2019

Very good overall. The campus is just amazing and the sense of community is really strong
Submitted by parent on January 19, 2018

Amazing community that celebrates every student and family and their different backgrounds and learning styles.
Submitted by parent on November 04, 2016

The main criticism I see posted in these reviews is a general "lack of academic rigor." Though it's not lacking in academics, per se, I suppose you could argue that it's lacking in blindly quantifiable academics. If that's what you're looking for, try Merman or Curtis. I, personally, believe there is much more to education than just quantifiable academic achievement - especially at the Elementary level... Creativity, empathy, emotional intelligence, socialization - these are all just as important as academics. To be sure, the school's absence of grade "rankings" may rattle hyper-competitive parents (there are certainly plenty of those in LA and other major urban centers). For those parents, this is not a school with which they'd be satisfied.But do keep in mind that a fairly sizable percentage of families have strong, advanced academic backgrounds - resulting in a fairly nice percentage of students whose home lives are steeped in academic thought, inquiry, creativity and general curiosity. This is important to note, as it has created a culture of academics that is quite alive at the school.So just know that this school might not be for everyone...
Submitted by parent on February 17, 2016

The tuition at the Lab School has been steadily increasing and is not positioned to be as expensive top notch private schools in the area. Yet, the student to teacher ratio or time a student gets to spend getting individualized instruction is not on par with private schools...it's a truly beautiful campus with some very magical elements, yet it's education and organization seem highly disorganized. Kids are bumped around from one activity to another all day. By making the school as expensive as private schools, many middle income families will leave and the school will be left with only very wealthy and those that qualify for substantial financial aid. The academics are bizarre and it seems that at least 50% of the kids we know get private tutoring and that the school expects that from parents. The after school teachers are truly outstanding and so are many of the teachers, the librarian, etc. But, there is a general vibe that families should not criticize the school and that everything is explained off as part of the school being a 'lab' - sad. I think the magical history of this great school is at a low point.
Submitted by parent on February 10, 2015

Wonderful school and environment. Teachers vary in quality. Nice balance of diverse backgrounds, except they are forcing out their middle class families with their year after year excessive tuition increases. Core academic standards are not high and require outside tutors to maintain academic levels equivalent to outside public and private schools. This is in exchange for an emphasis on creativity and more emphasis on conceptual learning. Overall, very nice, happy kids.
Submitted by parent on July 17, 2014

I somewhat disagree with the last post. The school in fact has its fair share of tiger parents (though definitely not the majority) and does a good job of challenging its students - for example, my kid's teachers made sure she was reading books appropriate for her level (about three years above her actual grade level). Keep in mind that a sizable proportion of the families have at least one parent at the University (surgeons, tenured prize-winning professors, etc.) and those folks don't take kindly to teaching to an 'average' level. Kids undergo standardized testing every year so parents have a benchmark for how their kids perform relative to national norms. Definitely a balanced environment, with a lot of happy students and a caring community, but not pure 'granola.'
Submitted by other on April 17, 2014

Any child who can get in here would be lucky in every way. This is a sweet, diverse, caring community. However, it will not suit any Tiger Parents with their hearts set on Stanford. The academics are balanced and geared towards the average child. Those parents who had their kids reading in preschool should look elsewhere. Nicely granola for the rest of us.
Submitted by parent on April 02, 2014

My son has been attending this school since pre-school. I absolutely love the school. I love the fact that the school sits in the middle of a redwood forest and has a charming creek flowing through it. Most of the teachers my son has had have been great. They go above and beyond teaching. My son has been nurtured and massaged into the person he is today. The psychologist Dr. Jacobs has been a fundamental positive staple in my son's life. The math program is phenomenal. As with any programs there are pro's and con's. As far as the con's I wish the administration and school board was more diverse. The safe school policy should have more consequences that happen to repeat and serious offenders/offenses. The writing program is great and many things are taught that I feel as an English tutor will be next to impossible to teach older adults, however the grammar/spelling should be focused on earlier than fifth grade. Overall, the school is great. I am so glad that my son got a great start in life. I know that his academic and social foundation has been so greatly molded here at the lab school that no matter where he ventures to next he will do great.
Submitted by parent on October 16, 2013

I never write reviews, but I had to respond to the insecure parents who think they must hire tutors so that their children can academically compete with their friends' kids at other schools. How sad. Both of my kids attend school here and I can't say enough positive things about the quality of their education--both academically and socially. My kids are happy to go to school every day and it's incredible the amount of critical and analytical thinking that's a part of every grade level at the school. And yes, my kids are academically challenged in every subject as well. Also, contrary to the naysayers, the 6th graders who leave the school consistently go to the top independent schools in the city. This is a FACT. But if keeping up with the Jones' and the "academic rigor" of your friends' kids is your thing, this isn't the school for you.