Cabrillo Elementary School

3120 Talbot Street

School District

San Diego Unified
Grade

K-4
Teacher/Student Ratio

1:14
Type

public

School Map for San Diego 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 April 13, 2022

My daughter has studied at Cabrillo since TK and is now in third grade. They are all great professionals. I do not understand how such a low grade is applied, as the problem is not the school, but the children. My daughter is 79% at the national advanced level. Small school and we love it.
Submitted by parent on February 23, 2020

My daughter has been going to Cabrillo since she started TK. She’s now in kindergarten and we can’t rave enough about how much we love it. The new principal (Mrs. Vogel) is easily the nicest, sweetest lady you will ever meet. Over all, it’s a really wonderful school. It’s a small school, but that makes it so much for “homey”. All of the teachers and principals know every student by their names, no matter what grade they are in. My daughter has absolutely thrived going here
Submitted by parent on June 26, 2018

Worst of the worst in the entire district!
Submitted by parent on May 25, 2018

We LOVE this school. This school is small but mighty! The principal and staff know all the children by name. They take care of the children as if they were their own. There are many many times that I see the staff/teachers going out of their way to help a student. There is always communication that comes home in both English and Spanish (as 49% of the school is considered Hispanic) ,just turn the paper over. If there is another language that is needed there is no doubt in my mind that the staff would go above and beyond to communicate with you appropriately. The other schools that we toured in our neighborhood (including our neighborhood school) seemed to be overwhelmed with students and the staff's attitude reflected that. Average class size is 32. My child's class at Cabrillo has only 18 students! This was one of the main reasons we "choice- in" here! This helps with students that may have learning difficulties as the student to teacher ratio is low. I also try to keep in mind that a teacher has 17 plus students in their class (imagine 17+ of your kids running around) and they may make a mistake (they are human) writing a note to you to communicate, but they communicate! There is emails that are sent that let you know of different things going on in the neighborhood as well as after school activities. The principle has calls and emails that are sent out almost weekly for reminder of events and different things going on at the school. Based on my experiences at this school the kids are well taken care of and cared about.
Submitted by parent on December 03, 2017

Great school and staff. There is also after school activities and their education program is great (look into Prime time for working parents). Classes are small and the kids get a lot of attention similar to private school.
Submitted by parent on October 30, 2017

We are in our fourth year at Cabrillo, now with two children attending. Cabrillo staff are committed, caring, and talented people who have challenged our children in new ways each year. Each classroom has a unique atmosphere, yet overall a culture of excitement for learning and a nurturing community. Being the smallest population in the PL cluster, Cabrillo has a more intimate, caring, and frankly down-to-earth approach to school, and my children are thriving there.
Submitted by parent on March 19, 2015

I use to think tho school was great! But now not so much... They need to put a.c in the classrooms. Seriously teachers get all grumpy n kids are so tired of the heat. Cabrillo teachers need a makeover, they start yelling at the children telling them to shut up. Hello there kids.. I wish they put new teachers here. Points to be a good school #1 install a/c #2 new teachers ones who have patience #3 bring back all the fun activities #4 a class for teachers with attitude problem's like no joke these teachers are always crabby
Submitted by parent on June 16, 2014

Some of the teachers are unbalanced and the principal can be rude and disrespectful. Library employee and PTA are often involved in gossips.
Submitted by parent on June 14, 2014

Cabrillo Elementary is the worst school I've ever known, some of the staff have this culture of rudeness, apathetic, unreasonable, threatening and unhappiness. Parents bullying is prevalent there in several grades, some are very uneducated, cruel and cowards. If you don't like dramas or craziness, stay away!! The education system is fine. They have computer labs, also offer good activities and field trips.
Submitted by parent on May 21, 2014

Cabrillo Elementary is small and some of the teachers do care very much. The principal is oblivious to what is going on in the school. He tends to ignore that bullying is prevalent there. I am glad to see that German is being taught to the students. It is good for kids at that age to learn a second language outside of the local language. Some of the staff are not watchful of the kids and things go on on the playground that shouldn't. I believe that some kids are more protected from discipline than others. The school would be better if parents cared more about what goes on. It would also be better if the principal was more involved and concerned about what goes on. He is often not in the office and good luck on getting a call back. I will pull my kids out for the next school year.
Submitted by parent on October 23, 2012

My kids and I love this school. The staff are a wonderful! We always have fun doing all the school events
Submitted by parent on September 04, 2012

I have nothing but good things about the school.My child went through Kindergarten with Miss Carmen Barrett and was in 1st grade with Miss Elizabeth Carlos.It is an amazing school,we are a military family and is currently stationed all the way on the other side of the globe but my daughter still misses Cabrillo and talks about the school from time to time.Even the parents i am still keeping in touch with whose kids are no longer attending Cabrillo talks about how much we miss the school environment and the warmth and dedication of the Principal Suarez and the teachers there.Thank you Cabrillo for everything you have done for our child!
Submitted by parent on June 04, 2012

This school has been doing very well when compared to others in the district. The test scores rate Cabrillo at a 4 in 2010, but this will soon change. As of this year they have adopted their German foreign language program and taught the GATE curricula. Although we started school this year over here, I must admit that I am very surprised with the warmth and a sense of family-like environment at the school. My kids always feel welcomed and enjoy coming to school. My only complaint is that at times I have seen some teachers be abrasive towards the children. When they notice a parent is around they change their tone a bit- however, it was not anything derogatory or offensive it was more like a parent telling their child they need to do something when the child hasn't listened 3x before, LOL. Additionally, I feel that the principal could be more avilable to the students and parents. The students look towards any principal almost like a tangible president. Perhaps instilling Principal fun-day once a month as a reward for good attendance would allow the kids to establish a better relationship.
Submitted by parent on February 14, 2012

We have been at Cabrillo for five years. There is nothing but amazing things happening in this school. We are a small but mighty. My children call this school their home. My oldest now goes to Dana, and she loves it. But her heart will always be at Cabrillo. There is this warmth when my kids see their teachers and principle, I as a child never had that feeling. But I can see the joy my children have when they speak of our school. We have many new things, that we didn't have 5yrs ago. We have a computer lab, German sister school, and many more new things coming this spring. The only negative thing I can say, is there isn't enough parent participation.
Submitted by parent on October 29, 2011

Cabrillo is a GATE nurturing school, which means that all kids K-4 are taught GATE concepts and curriculum. The critical thinking skills that the kids are learning really help them to be successful throughout their academic careers.
Submitted by parent on October 09, 2010

Cabrillo is a great little school! We have a very diverse population, with almost half of our kids coming from military families. We are the oldest elementary school in San Diego, established in 1904 and celebrated our 106th birthday this year! Exciting news...we were honored by the School board in 10/2010 for exceeding our academic golas in the API & APY!