Longfellow K-8

5055 July 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 January 30, 2025

My kids attended from TK through 8th grade and one is still attending, very happy and excelling in Middle School. We gave them the option to attend a different Middles School and they chose to stay at Longfellow. They are bilingual even though I don't speak Spanish and the child who has taken the AP exam aced it. Not to say there haven't been issues. There have been ups and downs with the pandemic closure, principal/vice principal turnover and issues with certain teachers, but overall it has been a very positive experience and everyone is there trying to make the school better and working to support the kids.
Submitted by parent on September 05, 2024

The staff is so unpleasant when you walk into the office every single time, it’s shocking. The nurse was extremely short when our kiddo wasn’t feeling good either. We’ve had 2 wonderful teachers out of 4. It’s also just a concrete jungle…. Fences and concrete, but I guess that’s normal for a city school.
Submitted by parent on December 14, 2023

I have a student with ADHD and I've been very happy with his support and education. Each year is a bit different and teachers have different styles, but we've always felt supported and he's excelled even in the language immersion environment
Submitted by parent on October 20, 2022

Overall, we have had a great experience at this school with our two kids who have attended since TK/K (last 9 years). There have been some issues with turnover of principals, but no school is perfect. Current principal seems great, she listens to parents, teachers, and students. Most the teachers are wonderful. Kids become biliterate by 8th grade (and >80% pass the Spanish AP test in 8th grade). Very involved parent community, lots of community events. It is true that the middle school is smaller (about 50-80 students per grade), but there are positive and negatives to that type of middle school. We are really glad we choose this school for both are children and feel the positives definitely outweigh any negatives.
Submitted by other on August 21, 2020

Great program For bilingual learning. High hopes for the new principle.
Submitted by parent on August 21, 2020

Fantastic, our daughter speech and language development has been wonderful. From not knowing anything to being able to hold a conversation and read and write two languages is amazing. Good job Longfellow!!!
Submitted by parent on January 27, 2019

Underwhelming. The students learn Spanish, but at the expense of everything else, especially in the middle school. That is why many families elect to leave either prior to sixth grade or after experiencing one year of the middle school. There is no higher level math offered. All the students take the same course with the same assignments. Students do not have any choice with respect to their elective. The paired teachers are teaching the elective. If you have two teachers then you could separate them and offer two electives. Some teachers provide timely feedback, others don't. Your student may be submitting asssignments but not receive feedback for months. By that time, it's too late. The class, teacher, and student have moved on to other topics. The principal is ineffective. With so many families leaving, you'd think that the District would conduct a study to determine the cause and use the results to make the necessary changes.
Submitted by parent on June 21, 2017

My experience with Longfellow has been very mixed. My son is going into 8th grade next school year and I have witnessed many great things and many not so great things. I love how he has the opportunity to earn a bilingual certificate. The events throughout the year have been well organized and relevant to a multi-cultural education. He has also had some stellar teachers. The problems I have encountered are concerning administration and some members of the staff and their approach to students with disabilities. Every year, I have to talk to the teachers about accommodations and receiving services listed on my son's IEP. You would think that after multiple conversations, the administration would change the way students students with disabilities are treated. I am made to feel like I am asking for too much or that what is listed is optional despite the IEP being a legal document. If you are not prepared to be involved and be an advocate for your child, this is definitely not the school for you.
Submitted by parent on January 22, 2017

The individual who commented about parents and personality flaws should take a long hard look in the mirror and realize it takes a personality flaw to insult concerned parents. Comments are the opinions of parents and even former students. Insulting their opinions only shows how ineffective of a teacher they are or must have been.
Submitted by parent on August 05, 2016

I'm astonished at the negative comments (which IMHO seem to reflect personality flaws of the complainers). I've taught school in Israel, USA, Japan and China, including Montessori school in the US. Very very impressed with this school, an amazing example of a public school that beats so many private schools. Our girl has really learned Spanish, spoken and written, and also Math, social studies, science. Excellent relations between different ethnicities. And may I mention the events, which are SPECTACULAR!
Submitted by parent on June 14, 2016

This school doesn't have any funding for tutors. So if you have a low performing child, be prepared for the school to place all blame on the parents. I wish this school would use funding to help the children instead of a multitude of field trips. I'm glad we are taking our children out! Not so many years ago, we received notice that Longfellow was a failing school and we had the option to transfer. We should have seen the writing on the walls.
Submitted by parent on September 08, 2015

We have a First and Third grader. We are super happy with all of our teachers thus far. The community is also fantastic. We feel that the education is amazing and that our children and very successful in their Spanish learning. They have far surpassed what my husband and I learned in H.S and college! The environment is very healthy and we have had nothing but amazing relationships with the teachers that we have had. The school is also well funded with PTO fundraising, which allows our kids to have great field trips and other opportunities. We also are amazing with the Running Club. Come on campus if you are considering Longfellow at 8:45 am any week morning and see what a great community and volunteer base we have!
Submitted by parent on October 25, 2013

My son is currently in first grade at Longfellow. So far he has had two amazing teachers and we are so impressed with how much he's learned. We frequently travel to Mexico and he now orders all of our food when we go to the local restaurant on our property. I am particularly impressed with the PTO and all the great events that they plan and for the students. We feel so lucky that our child is being educated in such an enriching environment.
Submitted by parent on October 24, 2013

Spanish Immersion Magnet School. Both my kids are reading, writing, and speaking in both English and Spanish. Since its a k-8 school, my 5th grader will continue 6-8 at the school which is the best option for middle school - small, safe, and great teachers! My kids love the school and they are bi-lingual which is something I can't give them at home.
Submitted by parent on October 24, 2013

I am amazed by the school atmosphere, parent involvement and open communication with the administration. I have been impressed with so many areas of Longfellow. This is our second year attending Longfellow and with more kids coming in next year, we are pleased to say that we are a proud Longfellow family. The PTO is also super active and supportive and I have been blown away with the extra enrichment and activities brought in for our children. A+ in our book! It's exceeded our expectations!
Submitted by other on September 16, 2013

I attended this school from K-5th grade, and everything was fine until I got into 3rd grade. I was bullied, and because of the fear of the bullies, I couldn't keep my grades up. The teachers saw, and did nothing while the other students verbally berated me and destroyed my self-confidence. I now have a very large problem with my self-image and insecurity issues. If possible, I would give this school a negative rating. Thanks Longfellow. -Submitted by a FORMER student
Submitted by parent on September 02, 2013

We are starting our fifth year at Longfellow with my third child starting this year. My first two children are fluent in Spanish now. I've been very pleased with the dedication to Spanish learning. Being a magnet school, many parents don't get involved, but the core-group of parents has a huge impact on the school. The school has a diverse make-up which I appreciate for its ups-and-downs as that is how one learns about oneself and others in preparation for life. I would enjoy more structure/discipline for the students, but I've never felt the school to be unsafe. Any prior negative reviews about the school's academic requirements are from parents who have low/no standards for their child/ren. My children have been extremely successful because I give support to my children, the staff, and the administration every day. The parents who complain about too much work are selfish and doing their children a disservice.
Submitted by parent on January 07, 2013

worst school ever okay first of all the teachers there are very lame. they do teach good spanish but it is torture for our kids. i couldnt belive the amount of homework my kid got for break. because of that we couldnt do any thing this schools teacher are very unreasonable.
Submitted by parent on May 22, 2012

I love this school - the teachers/staff are great and parents are really involved when it comes to a lot of the extra activities such as art and exercise that have been taken away due to budget cuts. Also, there aren't many schools where your child graduates middle school with their high school and college language credits already completed. And this year the 8th graders all took the college level AP exam!! I definitely recommend the school. A far better education than most public schools provide.
Submitted by parent on March 15, 2012

I absolutely love this school. My child is in his 3rd year at Longfellow. I can t believe how much my child has learned in a second language. The school does such a wonderful when coming together for a child. The school works as a team and that is so amazing for the children.