Ohlone Elementary School

950 Amarillo Avenue

School District

Palo Alto Unified
Grade

K-5
Teacher/Student Ratio

1:15
Type

public

School Map for Palo Alto 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 November 12, 2024

Ohlone is a wonderful school with a very strong community of families. Social emotional learning is a big part of the curriculum and the teachers are fantastic role models for the kids. We are happy with the academical program and the way it is incorporated into the project based learning, we see our child developing the love of learning which we believe is the ultimate goal of elementary education.
Submitted by parent on August 13, 2015

BEST. SCHOOL. EVER. When checking out the schools in PA, I was told whatever school you got, your kid would get a solid educational experience. I did not find that to be true - huge differences between our neighborhood school and Ohlone. It was night and day. After starting at El Carmelo where there was serious bullying that was often ignored and difficulties getting an IEP despite having teacher support, Ohlone was an absolute breath of fresh air. It was immediately noticeable upon meeting the students. They go out of their way to hold doors open for you not out of respect for elders, but to be nice. The popular kids tended to be popular not because they were rich, flashy, or political... They were just nice kids that others simply wanted to be around more. The way life should be! Cliques were not an issue making it easy to be friendly with multiple groups of friends. Previously my dd had great difficulty making friends, at times asked to betray one friend to gain another. At Ohlone it was easy and she found many good friends. In the past my dd strongly protected her individuality and right to act differently (why conform to be like people who treated her meanly) and had her self esteem pummeled for it. She blossomed and had her wounds healed at Ohlone. Special education was quickly offered and carried out generously. The providers were very good and effective. Having a single teacher for 2 grades only helps with that. Previously, teachers were just getting to know my dd well when it was time to move on to the next one. Having been bullied, my dd was very sensitive to detecting it. She didn't see any. One parent told me that when it happened in a class, the teacher took the time to write a play in which the bullies got the roles of bullied kids to understand how it might feel. That took care of it. Where my dd used to think that the world was full of mean, unempathetic people, she now has a lot of hope and the self esteem to believe she can help the world be better. I credit that 100% to Ohlone. It actually brings a tear to my eye that somewhere there is a school producing the next generation of assets to communities. It's now being realized that soft skills are key indicators to future success. This school really excels, all the while getting top test scores and not teaching to the tests so much. Truly the best school I've ever seen and may ever see.
Submitted by other on May 22, 2015

Wonderful school, great staff, great community and environment, but the children are not academically challenged. Many of the fifth graders are not fully ready to enter middle school. I guess the middle school teachers are the ones that work hard with our kids to bring them up to middle school standards.
Submitted by parent on May 17, 2011

Ohlone is truly unique, I can't say enough good things about it. It has brought out the best in our children, educating them towards self-confident curious learners and creative problem-solvers. The teachers' dedication is second to none, they understand the children, and every child is given the opportunity to reach his or her full potential. As an aside: Even though they don't 'teach to the test', my children's test scores went up after switching to Ohlone from a different (comparable) school.
Submitted by parent on April 18, 2011

This "choice" school is truly a gem. We have had 2 of our children attend Ohlone. We have been able to compare this school with another private school where we sent our oldest child. Ohlone instills a love of learning, independence, and initiative that the private school was unable to provide. They adhere to their philosophy and project based learning is taken very seriously. There is also an emphasis on whole child development.
Submitted by parent on April 19, 2010

This school is fantastic. With mixed grade levels, students are able to work at different levels of work and be supported by older kids and help younger students. It is a public comprehensive program encompassing the humanities, sciences and arts. Best of all - the school has a farm where students learn about growing and eating healthy food and taking care of small farm animals. It's the best!
Submitted by parent on March 19, 2009

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