Challenger - Berryessa

711 E Gish Rd

San Jose, CA 95112

22 Reviews

School District
Grade

PK, K-8
Type

private

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Reviews

Submitted by parent on February 18, 2025

If your child is energetic , stay away from this school . My son started kindergarten at this school, and the experience has been frustrating. His teacher called me 1-2 times per week to complain about his focus, instead of working with him to improve. Rather than addressing the issue in the classroom, they pushed everything onto the parents, which felt overwhelming and unhelpful.Academically, my child excels—he consistently scores 100/100 on spelling and math tests. However, the school still gave him 40 out of 100 for "not engaging in learning" and another 30 out of 100 for "not focusing." He’s only five years old! Instead of supporting him, they penalized him for being an active child.This school lacks effective strategies to help energetic kids thrive and seems more focused on strict discipline than fostering a positive learning environment. If your child is naturally active, you may want to consider other options.
Submitted by other on January 30, 2023

What is it with the wait line drop off policy? It seems like such a waste of time. The school starts at 8:00, and even if you get there by 7:540, you might not even make it in on time! The teachers don't really care what they are doing. My child went from public to almaden for 6th, and the teachers did everything they could to help her catch up. The grammar teacher even did private 1 on 1 grammar sessions to help her catch up. Everyone was so amazing, but we had to transfer to Berryessa because of the distance. In September, my child decided that this just wasn't the school for her, and transferred back to Almaden. Would do it again in a heartbeat. One of the best decisions ever made to leave this school. If you want high quality education, go to Almaden instead. The teachers actually care, and are 10 times better
Submitted by parent on May 15, 2018

We have 2 kids at this school and love the structured atmosphere. They learn a lot during the school year and know the subjects well. They have various challenging competitions for art, speech, young author, science fair and the kids efforts are always rewarded. This makes it a challenging school as its name is. Sports is one thing that it lacking and needs to be compensated outside. Otherwise we love everything about the school.
Submitted by parent on December 31, 2017

In simple words - I won't refer my friends or family.Do not waste your money with this school. Many parents are taking their kids off from school because of poor management and quality. That's the main reason for them starting commercial on radio.
Submitted by parent on April 23, 2017

Grades are not communicated. The responsibility falls on the parent to keep a complete log of all homework and test scores. Imagine trying to calculate on your child's gpa with no data.You may have an A midterm time, but that was based on only 1 test score! Then your grade could drop to a B- and you will not know until report cards have been mailed.Many teachers do not return phone calls or they wait until it is too late in the term to communicate. We tried to reach a teacher for a week. Then the conference was scheduled out another week. When we arrive for the conference we are told that there is a major assignment due that very day! We were left speechless.For $17,000 a year, I'm disappointed that the children are not allowed to play with a ball a recess. So petty.
Submitted by other on April 05, 2017

Like the previous poster, I don't understand why kids can't play with a ball in the recess. Challenger school, Berryessa does not have enough of them to provide to kids. This is particularly true when PE teacher has a class at the same time as the recess. And kids are not allowed to bring a ball from home. This does not make any sense. I think Challenger is a great school but it should seriously change this policy.
Submitted by parent on April 01, 2015

I have had two kids in this school since 2007. There is not much change in the school curriculum to meet the demanding needs of the colleges these days. Most private schools teach kids Spanish this is the only school that has not changed. After school program is useless. No school band in Middle school, No inter-school competitions, parents on their own to organize the event and are not supported. The yearly school performance is very boring with a lots of singing. One year they hired a good teacher and had a great performance, the same year after summer she was gone. We are back to a lot of singing. My kids tell me not to bother to come for the show. They have so much business that they do not work to improve. Only change I have noticed is they brought Latin. School does not care how parents feel or for their feedback. You enroll and have no control over anything. Teachers feel their hands are tied with the rules. I would give them stars for vocabulary, PE, Math, English, and grammar. Kids are good at this and discipline. But the difference is between good and great. I can say this as a parent who is there every single day for last 9 years.
Submitted by parent on February 25, 2015

(This is the second review I draft; Challenger had the first removed; so petty!) Challenger Berryessa deceive their students and parents claiming their education is "superior" (2 years ahead of public/private/charter area schools). Other schools teach a foreign language (Spanish, French, or Mandarin), have lower teacher to student ratios, introduce works of Artists and Composers starting in Pre-K, and have modern curricula in history, language arts, math, and science. Children turn assignments online (e.g. Google Docs), get to use school provided computers (e.g. Chromebooks), and parents access online progress and grade reporting systems. None of that in Challenger. Communication and feedback is basically hand written notes passed through the child. The administration has been steadily deteriorating since the prior team left: Ms. Dee, Mr. Britt, and Mr. Morrison. (See yelp reviews on Vijay, Gengeva, and Sen). You will see a recurring theme in other Challenger campuses as well. Ask why they are so desperate in giving out 15% referral discounts up to the full tuition. They are too arrogant to admit they have fundamental structural flaws and are stuck in the seventies.
Submitted by parent on February 23, 2015

Terrible school( zero stars if possible)- third world education and third world administrators and teachers with absolutely no background in education. All they care about is the business, not educating individual thinkers. Education is a lot more than just drilling early reading and math skills. This school actively discourages individual thinkers- shuts them up and harasses them- everybody has to follow the herd or be shunned. I am a parent of a straight A student who spent more time than he should have at this backward place. The advanced academics are their greatest myth: check out Sierra school or Stratford where the academics are the same or higher but where the whole individual is actually nourished. No wonder all the good teachers keep leaving.
Submitted by parent on June 12, 2014

I switched my daughters from a public school to Challenger Berryessa in their seventh grade. Thanks to the wonderful support of the Principal and the teachers, their transition was very smooth. My kids made new friends in no time, and settled in very quickly. Challenger prepared them well academically. My older one is now placed in a very good college preparatory high school.
Submitted by other on June 05, 2014

Challenger is the best school I have been to.Challenger helps you be independent and honest. I am in elementary school and none of the teachers treated my friends or me badly. Parents,if you want to enroll your children in Challenger, go for it.
Submitted by parent on February 09, 2014

If I could put zero stars as a rating, I would. My son used to go here when he was little but then I pulled him out because they were giving the kids MASSIVE amounts of homework. I have a friend that also has a son that used to go here but pulled him out last year because her son had a horrible experience. The people that run this school are tyrannical monsters who want to ruin children's lives. All Challenger schools should be shut down by the government.
Submitted by parent on January 16, 2014

I have my kids at different levels at Challenger - one in middle school and another in elementary school. You will be getting your FULL money's worth of academic education at CBS - no doubt about that. For that focus, while they will get PE, they are not going to get team sports like at other middle schools. Actually CBS makes the GATE program at public school look weak. I have known some school systems mix their GATE and regular students due to budget. I'm not sure which kids get the better end of that combination. The drop off and pick up looks intense at first, but it is quite organized and it moves hundreds of cars each morning and afternoon - it works and it works relatively well. I don't understand the other bad reviews about this method. Put away your PTA hat - I have not seen much say from PTA or since it's private, they don't do any solicitation for donations. I see Apple equipment and modern desks, so much it's like a 1st world class rooms (vs public schools). There are tests in each subject WEEKLY so the kids know where they stand weekly (and not wait 4 weeks or 6 weeks ). If you are a mindful parent who believes in excellence, the CBS is the place.
Submitted by parent on May 22, 2013

It has been a worst experience for my Kindergartner ever since we switched from Stratford because this was closer to base. The teachers have been bullying my kid. She loves going to school and after challenger berryessa, she dreads going to school. The teachers actually criticized her using personal remarks and tried bullying her again after we spoke to them and tried brainwashing her to take back what she said. I would never recommend Challenger to any parent or child. You can always pitch in and make sure your kid grows academically but never compromise in the way they are treated especially when you're paying top dollar for that. I would give no stars for the teachers.
Submitted by other on March 30, 2013

I have attended Challenger Berryessa since Kindergarten, and it has been going downhill each year. The academics are great, but the students aren't encouraged to participate in contests outside of school like Math Counts, Quiz Bowl, etc. In fact, the teachers are prohibited from organizing any teams for these contests. Students will still go out and compete in these events. Unfortunately, the school decides to take credit for the glory. Once they hear about a win, they write an article about the win and give themselves credit for helping the children. It's hypocritical. Also, the heads of Challenger have recently decided to take control of the 8th grade math tests. Our math teacher is a great teacher, but the tests the Corporate throws at us are ridiculous. It takes over an hour to finish each test. The last test we had took 2 hours, and with that amount of time, some students didn't even finish. The departure system is also ridiculous. It wastes a lot of the parents', students', and teachers' time. Although CBA has many bad points, it has a few good ones as well. The students and most of the teachers here are very nice people.
Submitted by parent on October 19, 2012

If you think the GATE program is the tops at public school, you have not seen anything yet. Your child will get a new level of REAL learning at Challenger. I have kids in both sections - elementary and middle school. They are primarily academic focus - teaching my kids not just facts, but how to think and take personal responsibility for themselves. If you want music, sports etc, then they leave you to find your own afterschool activities. I do not mind this, as we can find Olympic-quality programs in swimming, soccer, TT and other sports in the Bay Area. Campus continues to grow each year with new facilities - parents you can be proud of this. The pickup and dropoff is a synchronized exercise in organization. Overall, you definitely get your money's worth here.
Submitted by other on June 25, 2011

As a Challenger Berryessa graduate who has attended the school since Preschool, I believe that the whole Challenger system has a bad reputation for being an unbearable and strict school. Parents constantly criticize Challenger for pushing their children too hard with absolutely no time for fun. Although Challenger does indeed have a very accelerated curriculum, it (at least the Berryessa campus) is definitely not a "jail" that some describe it as. Although it is much less lenient than other public schools, or even some private schools, we students developed strong friendships with one another and were not socially awkward at all. And all those essays and book reports have, at the end, made us competitive in the eyes of private high schools in the area, which is why nearly all of us are attending top high schools after we finish Challenger. Sure, Challenger could improve on some things, such as reintroducing intramural sports days between campuses and being a little looser in its regulations, but all in all, I believe that the pros still outweigh the cons, and Berryessa is still a pretty awesome campus.
Submitted by parent on February 07, 2011

As a parent of a lifer Challenger student that just graduated college, what the students learn at Challenger will help them through all aspects of life. My child is a confident, logical thinker and I thank Challenger in helping her to develop to her fullest potential. Yes, they have very high standards but there were no struggles with high school or college curriculum. She was offered four different position upon graduating college. I can't thank the Challenger program enough for all they provided for my child!
Submitted by parent on August 17, 2010

This is great school. I have not had any negative experiences so far. My 4 year old son has learnt how to read upto 5 letter words and is writing well. The school has very high standards which is very good in my opinion. The only very minor issue I have is that they donot offer half day classes. The teachers have been awesome. They are fun and energetic.
Submitted by student on February 25, 2010

This school may be challenging, but the teachers in our middle school are really fun and the company you get is fantastic. Having a challenge is what life is; challenger prepares you for other difficulties you can come up with in the future. I have been a lifer in BA challenger and I may have disliked this school because of its hardships but then I realized that it is really going to be much harder in college and as an adult so I should be happy that I get an advanced education that would make my future much easier.