Valley Charter Elementary School

16514 Nordhoff St.

School District

Los Angeles Unified
Grade

K-5
Teacher/Student Ratio

1:23
Type

charter

School Map for Los Angeles 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 parent on June 29, 2024

Love this place! The team here is incredible from principal to teachers, to support staff. They truly care about education and social emotional development of the children. I have had experience with multiple schools as we were trying to find the best. This is an incredible school for my children. Highly recommend to anyone who wants their child to be happy, listened to and supported.
Submitted by parent on June 05, 2024

Le dan un buen trato a mi hijo es la mejor escuela ,me encata la seguridad y las reglas son muy buenas .
Submitted by parent on April 15, 2024

I was so happy to see an elementary school nearby when choosing schools and VCES has turned out to be such an amazing school. I'm very pleased with every aspect of it: small classroom sizes, teacher assistants in every grade and a real dedication from everyone involved to make sure the entire school has a wonderful learning experience. My family could not be happier with this school.
Submitted by parent on February 05, 2024

Our daughter, now in 1st grade, has thrived at Valley Charter Elementary for the past two years; both socially and academically. She is genuinely excited to go to school. We have found her teachers thus far to be enthusiastic, insightful, and communicative. As an independent charter school they do ask for ample family participation with various fundraising events throughout the school year… however you can see where the funding goes. They have renovated the recess playgrounds, added additional privacy screens on the perimeter campus fencing, etc. We love the small school community and the fact that there are only two classes per grade level. We feel connected to other parents as well as the staff. We look forward to sending our younger child to VCES when he is of age to attend.
Submitted by parent on July 11, 2022

We decided that we are leaving this beautiful school we once loved so much. It has been said many times but the turnover between staff and teachers is overwhelming. To the point, the school no longer shares information on leaves, replacements, etc. Two teachers on extended leave had their classes run by TA's. No notification or communication. Most grades came back from COVID and resumed as normal. Some, unfortunately had teachers so afraid of germs that they cancelled everything. Things that showed valuable to our kids, readathons, and math olympics. All other classes had some type of performance for families too except for these grades. There wasn't even an attempt to conduct these events safely, just cancelled. Not even an attempt to do on zoom or outside in smaller groups If you asked questions, you were shunned. Just like all the school functions, except fundraisers, cancelled. Extra incentive fundraiser was a raffle for tickets to Disneyland. BUT, no raffle was done, or 'winners' ever announced. The school has monthly PFC but really only two staff members attend. The school has a reading interventionalist and math help for certain kids, but not all. Kids are so desperately behind grade level. Parents run the school, and there is definitely seniority. There was a fair, random lottery of culmination tickets for families of 5th grade families. However, funny enough all the 5th grade parents who planned the 5th grade party and room parents were the fair, random winners of the front row tickets. Emails come from parents all the time asking for funds for this, that or another but no follow up ever given anymore to what the funds went to. When you have kids in multiple grades you will see the vast difference of how things are done from class to class. Emails are sent out for a peaceful protest from a parent school wide saying had principal approval which the next day was recanted. Covid testing takes on average 3 days for results, so if your child sneezes they have to miss a minimum of 3 days of school.
Submitted by parent on June 22, 2021

I've been a Valley Charter parent for two years now and could not be more satisfied with the care and education my sons have received. The leadership, teachers, and staff are warm and exemplary. The school has an authentic sense of community and is welcoming to new families and students. Furthermore, VCES knocked it out of the park during the pandemic and our experience with Distance Learning was as good as it gets. My family is looking forward to in-person school in 2021-2022, and growing further with Valley Charter.
Submitted by parent on June 13, 2021

Valley Charter's commitment to educating and nurturing the whole child is evident in all they do. I have had multiple children at this school, each child with very different learning styles and personalities than their siblings. Valley Charter has met each child where they were and help them thrive. The project based learning keeps my kids engaged and excited. I feel fortunate to have found this school for my family.
Submitted by parent on June 12, 2021

If you don’t care about your kids learning but have a teacher judging, controlling and demanding them being up to par when they only like asking hypothetical questions, no spelling, and dancing then this is the school for you! Kindergarten and first grade here has failed my child! They seem like they like helping kids that are on the spectrum. However if they don’t think it’s necessary they don’t help. Spent most of the first grade watching YouTube videos and dancing. While on distant learning and trying to keep up with the teacher. Teacher expects kid should be as smart as her, or they talk and treat your child like they are in preschool. There’s no in between. When you complain or ask questions about their curriculum they like shaming and judge you. Principal doesn’t care. I have an older kid who is doing fine but that’s because she’s a fast gifted learner and has to be sat next to kids that distract her. But that okay for the school. I tried giving them the benefit of the doubt because my older kids teacher actually cares and teaches them. I feel sorry for her because she needs to cover the slack from kinder and first. Shame.
Submitted by parent on December 04, 2020

VCES has a great curriculum that engages the students and makes them think outside the box. They focus on project-based learning to get the children out of the classrooms and into the community to truly comprehend what they're learning. They definitely emphasize on the children in becoming STRONG readers. They also study Singaporean math, which is AWESOME and CHALLENGING! Lastly, the teachers and staff care greatly for the students. Overall, I'm having a good experience at the school!
Submitted by parent on October 26, 2020

My children are both in middle school now and we miss VCES! They are responsible students and are able to self advocate, thanks to VCES!
Submitted by parent on May 21, 2020

My children love school and, even more importantly, love learning. The teachers are passionate, dedicated and creative in their methods. Each grade builds on the previous ones. All the teacher of all the grades work together to make this happen. The kids do a lot of meaningful collaberative projects to bring the study topics to life. These projects are done during the school day, not sent home for parents to work on with their kids. If raising well-rounded happy kids who love to learn is your goal, this school is for you.
Submitted by parent on March 02, 2020

I’m definitely looking into a new school for next year. The teachers are dedicated, but the crazy turn over with principals are out of hand. And each one wants to change the “rules” without even consulting the ENTIRE parent community.
Submitted by parent on February 07, 2020

We love VCES! We have a 6th grade now at VCMS and a 3rd grader. They have thrived with the project based curriculum. They have developed problem solving, independence, critical thinking skills. There’s a strong focus on reading, writing and Singapore math. My kids natural curiosity and love of learning has really grown here
Submitted by parent on December 27, 2019

We love VCES! The community is so inviting, the teachers are phenomenal and my daughter loves going to school everyday. She enjoys what she is learning because it seems relevant to her due to the project based approach in the classroom.
Submitted by parent on October 15, 2019

This is my first year here at VCES. We moved down from Santa Cruz and I was in a panic searching for schools. VCES was definitely at the top of my list as I combed through the internet and meticulously searched every school review site. Thank God that I was able to get BOTH my children in. I'm in love with this school and my kids are loving it!!!!
Submitted by parent on October 15, 2019

We absolutely love Valley Charter Elementary School. My daughter wakes up everyday excited to go to school. She comes home with enthusiasm and so many stories of things she learned, fun experiences she had and all the hands on Project Based learning she did that day. We love the small school environment with small classroom sizes and huge grass area. You feel like you are at a private school. The emphasis on social and emotional development was a high priority on our list when looking for schools and Valley Charter does an amazing job on helping kids grow socially and emotionally, we couldn't be happier. My daughter loves the hands on, project based learning, many field trips each year, Math Olympics, Read-a-thon and minimal homework with emphasis on instilling in her the love of reading. Valley Charter makes learning fun and allows kids to still be kids while going to school. We are beyond grateful to be part of this amazing school and community. I still tear up when I think about how fortunate my kids are to be in such a truly wonderful school environment.
Submitted by parent on October 11, 2019

I am extremely happy with this school. My kids are excited, engaged, part of a community, have fun learning opportunities a beautiful campus with a grassy field that kids are allowed to run and play. Their teachers are so caring, I can’t even begin to explain what these teachers. Both the elementary and Middle school mean to my children. They believe in them, they encourage them, they let the kids make mistakes and really really celebrate accomplishments
Submitted by parent on October 11, 2019

We love VC! It has been an incredible school for both of my children. I feel so blessed to be a part of this wonderful school community. My kids are engaged in their learning experience and love going to school.
Submitted by other on October 10, 2019

We truly believed this would be an excellent school choice for our children, but as the years have passed we believe this less and less. The teachers and TAs truly care about the students. The other parents (while often clique-ish and divided between “stay at homes” and “working parents”), have generally been nice and are trying to do the best for their children. You find your niche, and you’ll be okay. It’s relatively diverse, although not entirely representative of the local population, which is an issue at most charters. The bigger problems are less obvious... Four people as principal in the past two years. Three music teachers in the past three years. There are a lot of demands placed on parents to raise money AND to volunteer. Most field trips require close to a dozen parents to DRIVE the children in their private cars as well as chaperone. The guilting of parents to give them more money and then also get onto committees and volunteer in classrooms is nauseating. If you’re paying teachers less than the average amount and not paying for textbooks, why can’t you afford to charter a bus for most of the field trips? Our family’s yearly donation alone should cover 5 buses, and we aren’t the only ones donating. I have no idea where the money is going at this point.
Submitted by parent on October 10, 2019

This school is truly an amazing place for students and a great community for parents to be part of as well. Their focus on project-based learning keeps students engaged but they also are very focused on literacy and numeracy skills that allow students to engage with rigorous content and become real thinkers. My children love to go to school each day!