Language Academy

4961 64th Street

School District

San Diego Unified
Grade

K-8
Teacher/Student Ratio

1:20
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 February 11, 2025

I’m saddened to write this review. I sent my daughter there for kindergarten and 1st grade. Unfortunately, kinder is different than 1st. 1st grade French vs. kinder French is completely different. I wish we would have been placed in Madame Bastien we hear she is amazing. We are stuck and will finish out the year, but our class is lead by a sub. Our teacher is on leave, but to be honest the sub is better than the original teacher. If you have a problem and need to reach out to admin. There is none. Both men in charge now have no tact. I miss the previous principal she was on it. You can feel the lack of leadership. I am looking at French American school, I may stay and attempt 2nd grade but my daughter is unhappy and so am I. The experience this year is completely different than last year.
Submitted by parent on December 16, 2024

Ahhh, after just three weeks of starting kindergarten, my 5yo was able to understand what their teacher and I thought would be a discreet conversation. But no, they understood most of what we were saying. I had taught them the basics (salut, s'il te plait, merci, au revoir, un-deux-trois-etc.) but there they were, listening in with a mischievous look on their face. I was shocked in the best possible way. Wow!There's a very strong sense of community. I feel it's true what parents of older kids say, that it really is a big family. Definitely nicer than our neighborhood school. Way more diverse. And I love that my kid will make friendships that will last through middle school. And I also recently learned that most of the teachers at the school have been working together for 20 years. (Lots of CA schools' teachers haven't worked together for more than three years, according to Great Schools!)I feel like this is a hidden gem that not many people know about! Def choice in. And ask about spaces, because sometimes a place opens up, even as late as the day before school starts.
Submitted by parent on November 06, 2023

Our six year old absolutely loves Language Academy and so do we. She loves learning in Spanish and she’s excited to go to school every day. The school fosters a great community and we feel at home there.
Submitted by parent on November 03, 2023

Since becoming a part of the Language Academy family 4 years ago, I’m still in disbelief that my kids are in a public (aka FREE) language immersion school. It is the district’s best kept secret. The highly skilled teachers are compassionate, caring, and creative in the way they engage their students to be and do their best in English and their target language. Never once have my 1st and 3rd grader ever whined or complained that they didn’t want to go to school. This is a pretty big endorsement.
Submitted by parent on November 01, 2023

Language Academy is the ONLY school in San Diego to offer a French language immersion program in addition to Spanish Immersion. The school is also K-8 so our students grow up in a very tight know community with devoted parents and staff. Our experience with the school has been wonderful and what a gift to give your child to learn a second language.
Submitted by parent on October 23, 2023

Our 2nd grader is happy in the Spanish program, and we are pleased with the choice to send her here.
Submitted by parent on October 23, 2023

Such a great dual immersion school!! Great staff and great teachers!
Submitted by parent on October 23, 2023

We love Language Academy! My daughter, she is in 2nd grade and is really happy with her teachers and all thr program. Principal and all administrative personal are really helpful and take the time to get to know the kids. More than a school is a community.
Submitted by parent on October 23, 2023

I transferred my daughter into this district specifically because of all of the amazing things I heard from families. It is one of the only public magnet Immersion schools to offer both Spanish and French in the state. We could not be happier. The teachers are excellent, admin is super supportive and they provide a lot of enrichment programs and extracurricular opportunities. Not to mention my daughter is reading and speaking Spanish fluently after just 2 years. Bravo Language Academy!
Submitted by parent on October 23, 2023

This is our 4th year at The Language Academy and I'm still so very thankful that there is a FREE French immersion program close to home! Learning French is very important to me as it is a heritage language. Both of my daughters are currently attending The Language Academy and they are in 3rd grade and Kindergarten. I took French for 3 years in high school and lived in France for a year, and my 3rd grader probably has a more robust vocabulary than I do at this point. What an opportunity to be able to learn a second language, fully immersed, and at such a young age.The school has separate programs for French OR Spanish. Students don't take both; they pick one. Many people think they only want to Spanish; that program is a harder to get into with the Choice lottery system (Although not impossible!), partially because a certain number of the openings are set aside for students who solely speak Spanish (English learners). If your child studies French in K-8, they will be totally set up to learn Spanish in high school (classes are easier to find and they will already have a leg up on their knowledge with French!).This is a great school community because parents CARE about the immersion. There are many opportunities to volunteer to improve the school experience, but it is absolutely incorrect to assume that the school expects people to be SAHM. Most aren't. There was a teacher who was moved to another school this year due to enrollment, but this is a very common practice on behalf of the San Diego Unified School District. Nobody is trying to close this school. If anything, our school has parents who are so devoted and educated that we are willing to challenge the district on their controversial and outdated staffing policies!It is a K-8 school, which is great. It's a big school, though. Parking at the school is challenging since it's location near San Diego State means that a lot of the streets nearby require a "B permit." However, once you get integrated into the school life, you soon figure out where you can and cannot park and you work your way around it.Families are not required to have any knowledge of the target language. They learn everything at school. Communication from the school can be challenging, but that doesn't mean that your child is falling behind. I think some parents' expectations are set a certain way in preschool with daily updates, but that isn't a usual or sustainable practice for a public elementary school. We love this school!
Submitted by parent on October 23, 2023

My child started Kindergarten here and before Thanksgiving break I was ready to pull my hair out. The school offers no support to the parents they expect you are a SAHM. They stress the parent out on purpose to make you take your child out of school. I went to this school for the Language aspect but left for every other reason. They taught my child about feelings. Thats it. Never fully read me in on his academics when I asked for specifics I still got a generalization of my child. If you think your child needs additional support, in any way, do not send your child here. They are looking for ideal children. The school is always losing fundung and teachers so it is very possible the school may shut down soon.
Submitted by parent on April 03, 2023

We fell in love with this school during our child's first year here in kindergarten. (Side note: The entire French kindergarten team is incredible. They are all so much fun, very invested, and deeply care for their students. No matter who your child gets, they’ll hit the jackpot with their teacher!) Our son is now finishing up 2nd grade and did not speak ANY French going into kinder—he is now speaking, presenting, reading, writing and understanding the language at an amazing level. If you are hesitant about immersion, we have seen firsthand how well this works. Truly!Before starting the French program, we feared his understanding of grade level concepts might suffer due to the added language challenge, because, while language acquisition is wonderful, we obviously want to be sure he succeeds in all areas academically. We’ve been blown away at his mastery of age appropriate concepts and we feel the language learning has only increased his ability to learn and grow in other areas.Another aspect of the Language Academy we love is the beautifully diverse community in terms of language, race, socioeconomic backgrounds and culture. We value this for our kids and are so grateful it is a part of this school. It feels like we've discovered a hidden gem of a community here!We've enjoyed field trips, jogathons, fall carnivals, holiday and multicultural performances, recent classroom parties and we have a k-3 school dance this month. Specials during school have included gardening, P.E., and art, and after school there is a variety of programs conveniently hosted on campus for those interested. (Our son has loved after school chess and soccer.) We still cannot believe this language immersion school is public and free of charge, it feels too good to be true! Our first son has loved it, and our second child will enroll in the fall. The teachers, the curriculum, so much about this school has won our hearts! If you’re on the fence about language immersion, consider this the little extra nudge you needed and come join the Language Academy fam! :)
Submitted by parent on February 13, 2023

The BEST school ever! I wish I had known of this school when my teenager was in elementary. My daughter is 6 and can have full conversations in French. The teachers have been absolutely amazing too. People sometimes have a hard time believing it’s a public school. I also love the diversity!
Submitted by parent on February 11, 2023

My daughter is in 2nd grade and I intend to enroll my other daughter soon. I am obsessed with the Language Academy. I appreciate the diversity and the recognition of different cultures. Teachers have been awesome and supportive. There is a strong parent support network. I especially love that you join a family as you get to know the kids and their parents. I am sure as we all mature together, we will avoid the dramas that many other schools encounter as a result of the supportive environment.
Submitted by parent on February 11, 2023

I am obsessed with this school! My kids are in 2nd and 1st grades and they LOVE it. I love the staff, from the office to the teachers and administrators.., it is a passionate caring team and I am so grateful to them. I feel like I won the lottery by finding this school. Language immersion is the way to go! These kids leave 8th grade with a 2nd language under their belt, a solid education, and a strong loving community of lifelong friends. Don’t think twice if considering choicing in Language Academy. The French program is easier to get into. It’s worth it! It’s an incredible program with dedicated teachers.
Submitted by parent on February 10, 2023

This is a great dual language immersion school!! Children’s brains are designed to learn language, and this school is SDUSD’s way of helping your kids learn a new language while they are still able to do so easily!The Language Academy has both a French and a Spanish program, but my child is learning French and she loves it! The community of students and parents at this school is wonderful, too! Each program is small, and the school runs from Kindergarten to 8th grade, so a great community is formed and these kids all become lifelong friends from the get go! Most families who apply get accepted when the child is going into Kindergarten/First grade, but you have to sort of know the target language if you want to get in later on, so if you are interested in a really great free language learning program for your kids, then you should apply through School Choice to go to The Language Academy! Younger siblings are guaranteed admission after an older sibling is admitted, but you have to apply to go here through School Choice and the window for the Fall 2023 school year is open! The French program does not require any knowledge of French for admission (most of the parents don’t speak French, either, so don’t worry!), but the Spanish program is a mixture of native Spanish and native English speakers, so their enrollment works a little differently. If you definitely want to get enrolled, apply for the French program! It’s really wonderful and has opened my child’s eyes to a beautiful multi-cultural world where she is part of a really great group of kids all learning and speaking French together through this immersion program. She absolutely loves it, and the challenge of learning a language on top of normal school work is helping her become a really great thinker and problem solver. But it’s also not really a challenge, because her brain has just soaked up the learning and she is thriving! I couldn’t recommend this school more!
Submitted by parent on February 10, 2023

Is this school SDUSD’s best kept secret??Absolutely love this school. It has a real sense of community. It’s also incredibly diverse, not just racially but socioeconomically. My kid is being exposed to other kids from all walks of life, which is very important to our family. My kid started kindergarten in 2020, back when schools were closed due to the pandemic. Despite starting school through Zoom, her incredible teacher, Mme. Clifford, had her speaking French by the end of Kinder. Kiddo is now in 2nd grade and has continued to flourish academically. It’s really neat to see her writing out her math reasoning in French!Any time I’ve had a question or issue that I’ve emailed the principal, I’ve heard back from her within a day or two. The support staff are friendly and efficient. Even the substitute teachers are beloved partners in my kid’s education. In addition to the PTSA, there’s also a parent-led non-profit that raises funds to support arts, music, science, and other departments. Our neighborhood school is Marvin (9/10 on Great Schools) but I’ll be sending my twins to Language Academy for kindergarten. I can’t wait!
Submitted by parent on February 09, 2023

Language Academy is a great school! It’s language immersion…for free! Anyone considering where their child is going to go to elementary (and middle) school, I would recommend Language Academy:-you get to join a great community of staff, parents and kids-your child will be bilingual and biliterate - what a gift to them!-the course work is challenging and engaging-your kids will be with the same group of children through 8th grade! -there are many activities and experiences your child will get to take part in (some for the parents too!) including class outings, sports, and art - to name a few
Submitted by parent on June 08, 2021

I sent my two children to the school because of the dual immersion program. We just moved away and they transferred to a new public school and I found that one of them was quite behind and I had not been made aware. My child had a very difficult first grade year at language academy, with the teacher being out half the year and then coming back and being very cold to the students, or at least to my child, who still talks about the experience. And she is a very sweet well behaved child. On a positive note, the third-grade teachers were awesome.
Submitted by parent on May 19, 2021

I’m so happy that my children are no longer at this school. I was shocked to see how far behind they were when we transferred to another public school. There are some amazing teachers here, the third grade teachers in particular. However, this was overshadowed by the first grade teacher that my child had. My child still talks about how the teacher guilted the children into submission with one of those archaic color charts for behavior. On top of that the teacher wasn’t even there half of the year, and my child had a series of substitutes, each one worse than the other. Administration never presented viable solutions. The type of behavior they would report seeing other students engaging was shocking. I had no idea what a gamble we were taking on our children’s’ education when we sent them to this school.