Alta Vista Elementary School

815 Knob Hill Avenue

School District

Redondo Beach Unified
Grade

K-5
Teacher/Student Ratio

1:17
Type

public

School Map for Redondo Beach 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 October 21, 2024

As a mother of a special-needs child, I’m extremely disappointed with the experience we’ve had with Leah G. It’s clear that she has no real passion for working with these kids and is only there to collect a paycheck. There is no heart or soul in her approach—she doesn’t take the time to truly understand the needs of the children, and her lack of care is obvious. She’s completely disengaged, and it shows in her interactions with both the students and the parents.There have been multiple occasions where I’ve felt she was dismissive of my concerns, and it’s clear that she doesn’t have the patience or the empathy needed to support these kids properly. She doesn’t offer the encouragement or guidance that special-needs children require, and instead, she seems more focused on just getting through the day. It’s heartbreaking to see someone in this position who is supposed to be helping children grow but instead treats it as just another job.
Submitted by parent on January 20, 2023

The teachers need more diversity training. The kids are performing well on state tests but they're not being challenged in class. The school appears to be underfunded from the lack of art and electives and constant fundraising and reliance on parent volunteers, but maybe that's just the norm in Southern California.
Submitted by parent on April 06, 2019

Alta Vista is more than a great school, it is a tightly knit and supportive community. Teachers know kids from other class rooms. Everyone is ready to help however they can. Parents are engaged and connected. Kids seem happy and warm. The school is also connected to the local little league and AYSO fields, which is pretty awesome. Hard to think of anything negative.
Submitted by parent on March 08, 2017

Alta Vista is a great school! The curriculum is phenomenal! We chose to live in Redondo Beach all for our Son to attend this 10 rating school. We were treated horrible from the first day of our Son enrollment. We strongly believe it was because we are a African American family. Romey was very rude and disrespectful to us since day 1. Horrible experience for our child's first year of elementary school!
Submitted by parent on May 31, 2015

I rate this school a 4.5 star because both of my children were on an IEP. My kids have attended since they were 4 years old. With the lift program and the low ratio of student to teacher both of my kids attended general education class and are now graduated off their IEP. Ms. Wildes and the staff and teachers really do care. The CHild development center dept is well run by The director Lila. She is also very attentive and caring to our children. The -.5 has to do with the PTA. Many of the active members and leaders are clickish and not very welcoming to new mothers trying to be active in school volunteerism. To end on a positive note, I recommend this school and we are grateful to the staff, teachers and helpers of alta vista. It truly takes a community to raise children.
Submitted by parent on April 27, 2014

Alta Vista Elementary is a great school if your child needs to start in the LIFT program for special needs. The transition to grades K-5 is supportive and the teachers do care! The principal Ms. Wildes is on top of it. The front office staff is improving and more welcoming to visitors.
Submitted by parent on January 12, 2014

The school is well run, but my concern is the academic rigor. My child is not being challenged enough and I am concerned that she will regress. The work that my child brings home is equivalent to kindergarten lessons in LAUSD. I see a lot of worksheets that are not graded and look like busy work. I do not see any growth other than what I teach my child. I am very disappointed because we moved here so my child could attend a topnotch school. Too much emphasis is being put on test scores and where each school ranks. The school has high test scores, but the children aren't being challenged. I wish the teachers in 1st grade would vary their instruction to meet the needs of high performing students.
Submitted by parent on January 06, 2014

the district should consider beginning the gate program in first grade for students Obviously advanced. office receptionists could work on their communication and welcoming skills. principal wildes does a great job in recognizing students and gets an A effort..it's too bad all the teachers aren't as enthusiastic.
Submitted by parent on March 21, 2013

My son has been aprticipating in the LIFT program and they have been absolutely terrible. He has been in the program for speech defficiency since the age of 3 1/2. Now at 6 years old, he remains in the bottom 1 persecentile ins several of the speech and language catagories. During the IPE meeting, I raised concerns about other behavior patterns that were consistant with those of autism, but they were so busy praising themselves for his "progress", they were annoyed that I voiced these concerns. Despite allerting them to several behavioral patterns, some of which they acknowledged, they did not test him for autism spectrum disorders.
Submitted by parent on June 13, 2012

Our kids have been attending this school for four year and it has always been a great school, with wonderful teachers and innovative programs. Under the leadership of the new Principal Mrs Wilde it is now an outstandingly great school! She is innovating and refining existing programs and bringing out the best in the very experienced teachers who also seem to love the school. Many of the teachers have their children attend the school and some of them their parents taught there! It is a nurturing community and I am so grateful that my children have to opportunity to grow there. Mrs Wilde is very hands on; a real problem solver and deals with conflict in a very thoughtful way.
Submitted by parent on November 09, 2011

This school is great but has had problems keeping the same principal for more than a few years at a time. Apparent rifts between teachers and administrators have been apparent as it spilled out to the parent population. And, while some teachers have taught in this environment for a few years, they cannot be called seasoned. However, the new principal this year appears to be a much needed positive change to the environment and exceptional teachers do exist at this school.
Submitted by parent on March 31, 2011

Awesome School!!! Teachers are meant to be teachers guiding kids with respect and care. Principal so approachable and polite and of course with a great mind set on school and students success. The academic part is very good because you can see the extra effort and the personal touch this school has thanks to parents also, which is very important to impact in a positive way all those little ones that one day will be our future. Overall EXCELLENT!!!