Laurel Springs School

302 West El Paseo Road

Ojai, CA 93023

32 Reviews

School District
Grade

K-12
Type

private

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Reviews

Submitted by other on November 22, 2024

My time at Laurel Springs School was truly unforgettable, marked by inspiring teachers who fostered a love for learning and a strong sense of community. I engaged in various clubs and activities, which helped me develop lifelong friendships and valuable skills. The school spirit during events like LSS Spirit Week created a vibrant atmosphere that I cherished. Academically, I was challenged and prepared for the future, thanks to a diverse curriculum and advanced placement options. Looking back, I am incredibly grateful for the memories and experiences that shaped my high school journey, making it an amazing chapter of my life.
Submitted by other on September 10, 2024

I attended Laurel Springs my sophomore year of high school all the way through graduation. Laurel Springs prepared me well for college. My experience at LSS taught me how to write clear and professional emails when communicating with teachers, developed my individual discipline in doing work/studying on my own, and how to navigate online LMS systems and school resources with ease. All of which are integral parts of excelling in a college environment.
Submitted by parent on August 20, 2024

My family had plans to move from Brazil to the USA, and were looking for an alternative to help our kids (12 and 10 years old now) adapting to the changes to come (language and learning methods). A friend whose daughter studies at Laurel Springs and had nothing but high raves for it, recommended to us. Since the school was 100% online, it was perfect for us as our moving date was uncertain at the time.The hole experience was amazing, the school, study materials and self self pacing method were wonderful and our kids loved! The school offers clubs and other online events that the kids enjoyed and a lot of useful too!s. I would like to mention the most important point of our entire experience at Laurel Springs, the teachers, all the ones who worked with our daughter in 6th grade were amazing. Last but not least, Mrs. Perez-Burney has a place in our family's heart for all the work and support to my 4th grader, who without a doubt went the distance thanks to her.
Submitted by parent on July 28, 2024

This review is specific to Maths courses for acceleration. The stand alone maths courses online for grade 5, grade 6 and Pre-Algebra were taken during summer and school years 2023 summer -2024 summer with experience getting progressively worse . Here are the observations:1. The teachers timings are very early 6/7 am for PST hence if you are on west coast skip Laurel Springs. No or minimal support to be flexible or assign teachers in closer time zones.2. The software is buggy with students sometimes needing to submit same twice 2/3 times with even save and exit not working. Student will get demotivated from maths .3. They will ask you for extension even with above issues.In summary , recommend not to waste money for Laurel Springs as they are only interested in your money and there is nothing which can be done. Will be staying away from this nasty experience in future.
Submitted by parent on May 04, 2024

Professional and supportive teachers. My son adores the school. I would totally recommend it to anyone.
Submitted by other on June 01, 2023

My daughter thrives at Laurel Springs School. It’s life-changing for her after switching from a public high school. My daughter has visual impairment. Attending LSS allows her to focus on the subjects. The academic curriculum is challenging yet manageable since students set their own paces. The staff and teachers are professional and caring. My daughter is accepted by the UC of her dream.
Submitted by parent on November 03, 2022

My two children have attended Laurel Springs since 2016, and it has been a wonderful experience for both!
Submitted by other on August 10, 2022

I am a tutor/education manager for a high student at Laurel Springs. The curriculum is impressive, and the responsiveness from teachers has been excellent. I have found all teachers and counselors very supportive and helpful, as has my student. The workload is not excessive; it is carefully presented to ensure learning and creative thinking. I highly recommend this school to anyone seeking an individualized, flexible virtual education with very high standards.
Submitted by other on March 26, 2022

After reading reviews of this and other online schools, I'm finding a lot of the negative reviews are the result of a lack of parental support in advocating for their child. Some parents seem to think they can enroll their child in an online school and then walk away leaving it to the child and teachers to manage. Laurel Springs expects parents to be their child's Learning Coach. There is an Observers Module for this purpose where you can see your child's daily assignments, grades, progress and feedback. It is also easy for a parent/Learning Coach to use the module to communicate with teachers, their supervisors, counselors, school reps and administration. Most of my son's teachers have been fantastic, providing detailed specific feedback on assignments on a weekly, or even daily basis. On the rare occasion we had a question or issue with a teacher, we were able to get a response within one business day. When we had an issue with my son's class recommendations (he's an accelerated learner), we had a long and very positive phone call with the Dean of Students. When we had an issue with one of his teachers, I had numerous emails and a very constructive phone call with the Department Chair. In both cases the Admin's responses were very prompt, professional, and I truly felt they cared and wanted a win-win resolution. My son is involved in several of the clubs, regularly takes the optional iclasses, and chats on LS Connect where he interacts with other LS students all over the world. However, I had to bring these opportunities to his attention and encourage him to attend. So, as with most things - you get out of it what you put into it. If you are willing and able to continue to guide, support, and advocate for your child's education this school is excellent. It's a perfect fit for us because it enables my son to complete school work at the level and pace that is best for him vs the public and private system of everyone learning (or not) at the same pace. However, if you do not have the time or interest to focus on your child's school work and want someone else to handle your child's education, then save your money and enroll them in traditional public school.
Submitted by parent on July 01, 2021

We were told that French 1a and 1b was equivalent to French 1 and that our daughter would be able to enter French 2 in high school (just like it would be in the CA public school system). Unfortunately, this was not true. My daughter will now still need to take French 1 - again. She has now wasted an entire year and we've wasted money. While the teacher was great, we were greatly deceived by the admissions department.
Submitted by parent on January 27, 2020

I would give it the highest rating with three of my children going here. I never thought I would be learning from home. However, seeing my children improve and have time to do other activities has been a good choice for our family.
Submitted by parent on December 02, 2019

This school has been life-changing for my two daughters. Attending school at LSS has allowed them both to pursue their dreams while still getting an excellent academic education. My older daughter now attends Harvard and was completely prepared for an Ivy education thanks to the curriculum approach at LSS. Excellent, excellent school filled with staff and teachers who care. #ForeverGrateful
Submitted by parent on April 11, 2019

It has been a wonderful school for my child. My daughter came from all girls school in Lakewood California, which she completed 1 semester and regret. Staff is rude and pass over this vibe to the students. Daughter spend all semester alone, she spend time time alone cried at school and before bed time just about every day crushing me in pieces. We are very happy and pleased with the staff at Laurel Springs which we would of gone to Laurel First. Thank you Laurel Springs!
Submitted by parent on February 16, 2018

Excellent. We are very happy with the curriculum and the level of teacher support given.
Submitted by student on February 01, 2018

My overall experience with Laurel Springs school is horrible. I am in the middle of taking 9th grade Honors Classes. First, they start you off with a useless orientation course THAT IS REQUIRED to take for 6 weeks! I started at Labor Day, to find I was already behind in my course! With the other classes, you have to submit a signed Honor code, which they should have done before when you first enrolled. The classes are gated, but the deadlines still say you're behind, even though you can't do the class! The ''teachers'' are supposed to submit a monthly ''academy update'' but they send maybe one every, like, 6 months. The teachers never respond, either. I have sent numerous emails, and only ONE teacher responds. The teachers NEVER respond to anything (except one), the ''Honors English Fundamentals'' class takes a political approach in modules 2 and 3, AND on top of that, most of the school's curriculum (except math) isn't even at the correct grade level, and can be found online FOR FREE! The English class also has a ''plagarism'' proof system called Turnitin, which you have to get another separate account for, AND it tacks on extra assignments to your schedule because you have to submit a note to your teacher that it was turned in. No customer service, no teacher communication, nothing. They couldn't even take the time to come up with a different curriculum, one that can't be accessed for FREE literally anywhere on the internet. The school is very political, and often some ''discussions'' can turn into political riots. There are NO HOLIDAYS, AND NO SUMMER, so get ready to work FOREVER all year! The math is incredibly hard to learn, and they practice problems they give you are COMPLETELY different from the quizzes and tests. They also only have about 5 problems per quiz, so if you get 1 wrong your grades sink like the Titanic. The English teacher also has horrendous English when she types emails, and more often than not she will copy and paste what she sends. Overall waste of $10,000 and you WILL NOT learn or ''succeed'' as they say you will.
Submitted by parent on January 18, 2018

My son is thriving at Laurel Springs. He is a senior. The majority of his teachers have their PhD. There are so many classes (Honors & AP included) to choose from! The counselors are amazing and really prepare the kids for the college process. My son got into all the colleges he applied to! We couldn’t be happier with our three years experience with Laurel Springs! It’s a great school!
Submitted by parent on November 17, 2017

Terrible communication. Expensive with no customer service. Teachers and admin non responsive. Do not sign your child up with them-your student will be very frustrated with lack of help for course content, as well as lack of help from the administration.
Submitted by parent on August 06, 2017

The curriculum at Laurel Springs is very straightforward and at all times both the parent and student know how progress is being made. There is tremendous flexibility for scheduling and the teachers have all been excellent in helping out if my daughter had difficulty with a subject. I have older children who attended fancy prep schools and wanted to make sure that Laurel Springs would be competitive. Very happy with the challenge level and what this school has taught my daughter. She picked up on the program and is extremely self directed, so grown up about her work. Very happy with this school. In 7th grade she is able to self direct, assume responsibility and complete assignments with a sense of accomplishment and progress in her work that students her age don't usually achieve until high school or college level.
Submitted by parent on October 17, 2016

Our 17 year old son attended Laurel Spring School in 2016. We chose Laurel Springs because it allowed our son to take classes at his own speed as his academic ability allowed (he’s academically gifted, most classes go too slow for him). We found the Academic Advisor to be very helpful, and the teachers communicated often with our son, Pre-Calc and Chemistry in particular. Also, the Laurel Springs administration was most accommodating, and even helped us with a medical leave of absence when we needed it. Overall it was a very positive experience.
Submitted by parent on October 06, 2016

I am on my forth year, and second child, with LaurelSprings. I am very happy with the program and how it is tailored to my kids needs. My oldest skipped 7th grade math and English and went straight to 8. So in 8th grade he took and got credit for High school courses. The teachers are great, the LIve support feature is great. Yes as a parents you have to be involved but that's pretty understandable as it is an online school.