Monta Loma Elementary School

460 Thompson Avenue

School District

Mountain View Whisman
Grade

K-5
Teacher/Student Ratio

1:16
Type

public

School Map for Mountain View Whisman 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 parent on April 28, 2024

ML has been great for my family. I have a 1st and 3rd grader there. ML is a fantastic place to learn because of its rich diversity. Being surrounded by classmates from different backgrounds exposes you to a wider range of cultures, perspectives, and experiences. This mix has fostered my own empathy and understanding of the community it serves. They have wonderful teachers who care, are responsive to my questions, and have made learning fun for my kids. For example, the 3rd grade teacher plays Europe’s The Final Countdown at the end of the day when they clean up. The kindergarten teacher just exudes a warmth and cheerfulness that I think only kinder (and preschool) teachers seem to possess when having to deal with a classroom full of kids. I surely don’t, and I only have to deal with my own 2 kids. And yes, my kids are doing fine academically, both are above grade level for those who want to know but it's not the point of my review here. The GS is low and there is a 2021 bad review that people seem to be particularly irked about but I’d note that it was right after schools opened post Covid (during Covid all MV public schools were closed) & no school is perfect. School ratings often focus on test scores, which don't tell the whole story. They might miss great teachers, extracurriculars, and supportive environments. There are a lot of reports that high ratings are skewed by factors like family income, making it tough to compare schools fairly (i.e. more affluent areas or schools with more affluent families can send their kids to additional math and language arts programs & have more home support, which leads to higher test scores. And yes, Mountain View’s school ratings reflect this). 40% of ML’s students are identified as socioeconomically disadvantaged, so there’s a large subset of students who are dealing with a lot more than just academics. Military families also attend ML. These students move every couple of years, sometimes just after one. Not to say these students aren’t strong academically, but I’m sure some have to deal with the stress of adjusting to a new environment, fitting in and making new friends all over again. As a parent, I complain about daylight savings every year, so I can only imagine how military families have to deal with moving so often. So take the rating and reviews with a grain of salt (or more), because as with most things, it’s not always black and white.
Submitted by parent on March 22, 2022

This school is fantastic. We have been sending our 5-year old here for a year and he has been welcomed by both his Kindergarten class and by the older kids at the school. We can see how much the teachers care about the kids on a daily basis, and how involved the parents are here. It's a small, but well-loved school, and very responsive to the surrounding neighborhood. The grounds are clean and well-kept, the classrooms are organized and well designed and most importantly, our kid loves going to Monta Loma! There have been some comments about bullying above, and we haven't personally experienced any bullying, but I don't doubt anyone's claims that it is happening. Bullying is going to take the whole community to stop, and we are 100% here for it. No tolerance for bullying!
Submitted by parent on April 16, 2021

This school has absolutely no interest in your child's mental health. Bullying is rampant and nobody cares, and the school remained closed for the entire pandemic. Teachers just play videos and do not care at all about ensuring student socialization or interaction. Abysmal, horrible school.
Submitted by parent on March 08, 2018

We have loved Monta Loma. We're proud of this school, how many opportunities the kids have for after school programs, field trips, assemblies, CSMA and MVEF programs. The PTA is able to fund the teachers well for their classrooms and field trips, and sponsors movie nights, Fall Festival and Walk a Thon to fund raise and bring the community together. Our school is likely one of the most diverse with military families as well as racial and ethnic diversity. Our kids are growing up understanding differences are normal and celebrated. We love Principal Higgins and look forward to seeing her vision continue to be implemented.
Submitted by parent on August 29, 2017

This school is not a good school to place your children! my child has been attending school since 2nd grade, now in 4th grade. I am in the process of transferring my child now. There are some real bad kids that attend this school. There is not good supervision of the children as there have been several bullying incidents that have occurred over the years being there. The bullying is not just with my child but my child has informed me of bullying being done against others. No real punishment have been issued out to these habitual trouble makers. The police have been called a handful of times based on the behavior of students. There was an incident where a child written a statement about stabbing another kid. Boys have been caught looking at naked websites. I just don't understand how these kids are getting away with this. More importantly I don't understand the administration.
Submitted by parent on August 17, 2017

I am a former Monta Loma parent, my daughter attended Monta Loma from kindergarten through 4th grade. I decided to remove my daughter from Monta Loma for the 2017-2018 school year, because of the following incidents I will describe below. BULLYING AND THE LACK OF SCHOOL COUNSELINGMy daughter was bullied by another student in her class, in fact, there were six (6) incidents - two (2) of the six (6) including ended up with police involvement and two (2) reports for the 2016-2017 school year. I did reach out to the principal, the assistant superintendent, and the superintendent, however, these issues never fully resolved nor did the school get the other parents involve so we can work together as a community to resolve the issues. SOME TEACHER ARE NOT WILLING TO GO THE EXTRA MILE In 2015-2016 school year, I volunteered in class where I found myself advocating for other students. I am 1 of 6 families that I know of - who pulled their kids out of Monta Loma for this 2017-2018 school year. I could go on, but I will stop here. PROBLEMS WITH MONTA LOMA- The school lacks good leadership from its principal Gloria Higgins. - The school lacks powerful tools and resources to support academic and personal success.- The school is trying to incorporate technology without monetization of what kids are doing, for example, while volunteering I found some kids visiting sites they shouldn't have been. - Some of the teachers are NOT getting the resources and tool they need to succeed and they are grossly under paid compared to other school districts. - The school promotes a static learning classrooms environment vs. a dynamic learning classroom environment. Having a static learning environment is one of the main reasons why kids get bored in school. - Ineffective school discipline practices and strategiesABOUT MESingle, African-American parent of a biracial child.I am a senior software engineer working in Silicon Valley. At Monta Loma, we are definitely the minority at 1% of 2% of African-American population at the school.FINAL THOUGHTS!- Would I recommend Monta Loma Elementary School, definitely not!- Overall experience: not good, especially the last 2 years.
Submitted by parent on April 23, 2017

I have enjoyed Monta Loma during this school year. I truly appreciate the continuous communication from teachers. i love the class dojo app, it motivates my daughter and alerts me when homework is missing or incomplete. Special kudo do Miss Rodriguez (1st grade) and Mrs. Stacy (5th grade) they are both great assets to the school.
Submitted by parent on January 04, 2017

I have two kids at this school. We've been there for 6 years and every year has been great and improving over the last. My two kids are very different and teachers and staff have done well focusing on their strengths and building up their weaker areas with compassion. Both are high level learners. Communication is challenge for any school and Monta Loma has made strides in consolidating and improving comms.
Submitted by other on December 04, 2015

Both my children love their school, feel happy to see and work with their teachers, talk to all the adults in the office. The school welcomes all the families and parent volunteers.
Submitted by parent on October 06, 2015

My child has blossomed at Monta Loma both academically and socially and we couldn't be happier with the education she is getting. This is a school with a strong sense of values and identity. They begin each Monday morning with Leopard Launch, a short school rally that fills the kids with a sense of inclusion and enthusiasm for the work they're going to do that week. The classroom instruction is differentiated, so advanced readers or those who are above-grade in math can get challenging material. Principal Lyon is an experienced educator with deep roots in the district. She knows the system well and is open to whatever contributions of time and expertise that parents can give. What I love most of all is the nurturing and harmonious school community. It's a diverse group of families, including many in the armed services. The school is respectful and welcoming to all families. The diverse school population is helping my child to grow in many ways, especially in terms of independence, grit and self-assurance.
Submitted by parent on May 08, 2015

Award-winning school! We have two kids at Monta Loma, in 3rd grade and Kindergarten, and have been very happy there. The staff does a great job teaching to a very diverse group of kids from different socio-economic backgrounds, as well as the military families stationed at Moffett Field... our kids are reading and doing math above grade level, and their teachers have been able to keep them challenged, while still helping close the achievement gap for English language learners in the classes. When we needed extra help from the staff to handle behavior issues, we got it, and the principal was very approachable and positive about it. The PTA keeps raising the bar every year in terms of fundraising and programs it supports. Very glad to have my kids getting a great education, and experiencing the diversity that makes Mountain View unique.
Submitted by parent on May 07, 2015

My daughter is a first grader at Monta Loma and performing beyond her grade level. We are very happy there. It is a wonderful neighborhood school that truly represents the diversity of Mountain View. The teachers are so dedicated and really give more than 110% to the kids and the community. Through the tiered learning approach, they are able to give appropriate instruction to every child and are improving scores across all demographics. This approach as well as the commitment to teaching social and emotional skills, has earned Monta Loma a California Distinguished School Award. Don't judge a school by its API score, there is so much more to Monta Loma!
Submitted by parent on November 14, 2014

I have 2 kids attending Monta Loma (K and 2) and we have had all great teachers since starting 2 years ago. If you are reading this site for reviews you likely have dug into test scores for other MV schools. Hopefully you will have noticed that a school's API is really determined by school demographics and not teacher quality. Monta Loma has an excellent teaching staff and a great principal in Angela Lyon, they just have a higher proportion of kids who fall into the category of historically under-performing than the higher API schools in MV. That being said, the kids of college-educated parents will still find Monta Loma an excellent place to send their kids where they will be challenged and their API's will be the same as there counterparts at other schools. The teachers group and teach students based on ability for specific subjects to challenge those at the higher-end and also to serve those who need more help. Monta Loma also does a great job teaching community and emotional intelligence to the kids. There is a plan underway to increase project-based learning so Monta Loma is well-positioned to become an even stronger school.
Submitted by parent on April 26, 2014

Both my twins are in second grade this year and had excellent teachers until one of my twin's teachers had to go on early maternity leave for medical reasons. The school has done a horrible job finding a replacement for her. She was out in Dec.-Jan. and the teacher they got just did art projects all day and the one they have now filling in for the remainder of the year is all talk and doesn't teach well or differentiate as the original teacher did. The school should do a better job at finding replacements. We miss the original classroom teacher.
Submitted by teacher on March 19, 2014

I have been a teacher at Monta Loma for 8 years now and I consider myself very lucky. In the past 20 years I have taught at 3 other schools. This staff is by far the most collaborative, compassionate and hard working that I have ever worked with. The school has a caring and compassionate vibe, not just from the staff but also from the students and families. Our school community is very diverse and we have students from all walks of life. I am so fortunate to work at Monta Loma.
Submitted by parent on January 22, 2014

I came to Monta Loma 4 years ago but have known about it and its programs for more than 10 years. It has improved tremendously in that time. The teachers and staff are welcoming and friendly. The principal has a balanced approach to academics and school climate. She works to make sure everyone is welcome. She recently came to Moffet Field and spent two hours with the military families. We have special concerns and she gave her time and energy to make our experience positive. I saw some of the previous posts and I have to disagree with the one about the special ed staff. I have found them very knowledgeable and caring.
Submitted by parent on December 12, 2013

My daughter is a 1st grader at this school and we have been thrilled with the teaching staff and administration as well as the sense of community fostered. While it is true, there is a supremely diverse demographic, it's wonderful and my daughter has thrived learning about all the various ethnicities represented and has become friends with so many children from all different backgrounds (something my husband and I think is actually quite important). The teachers do a marvelous job. I've become active in the PTA and I've learned so much about how these teachers and administration go above and beyond for our kids every single day. I am proud to call Monta Loma our school and look forward to sending my youngest daughter (who has special needs) to school here next year. I believe Angela Lyon is a fantastic principal - very communicative and involved. The parent involvement isn't as good as it could be and I know language is a barrier (though the PTA makes every effort to provide translators), but all in all, I feel very satisfied with the environment of the school. I know my daughter is safe and in capable hands every weekday and look forward to many more years to come at Monta Loma!
Submitted by parent on September 23, 2013

My son started going to Kindergarten at Monta Loma from this year. It's been one month and so far I liked it. There are several ways parents can contribute in Kid's classes and learning. The Kindergarten teachers are very involved with kids and work hard (I was in a couple of classes to experience this). We get weekly progress report from the teacher. We get all the work that our kid did for the whole week, regularly. It looks like teacher checks them thoroughly and comments where needed. PTA is very involved and they do a lot of activities year around. Overall, I am impressed and got better than what I was expecting.
Submitted by parent on June 17, 2013

I've been very unhappy with this principal. She doesn't bother to learn kids' names and isn't personable or friendly. Mostly gives the impression she's just clocking it in. This is a school with some serious challenges in terms of its population of English learners and I just don't think the leadership is up to the task.
Submitted by parent on May 16, 2013

The teachers are okay. The principal leadership could be improved. She is not involved enough and does not know the students as well as she should. I feel a lot of the the kids that attend Monta Loma are not taught morals and what is right and wrong in regards to behavior. The kids seem to be 'fast' when it comes to behaviors that you would normally see teenagers. There have been a lot issues with a lot of different kids, especially when they are playing outside at the school, with inappropriate behavior. I don't think there is enough supervision for the kids. The classrooms size is large and a lot of the kids do not speak english which seems to take away the level of education for those who do speak english.