West Valley Elementary School

1635 Belleville Way

School District

Cupertino Union
Grade

K-5
Teacher/Student Ratio

1:24
Type

public

School Map for Cupertino Union 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 November 09, 2023

Very nice well-located campus and spacious classrooms. Good at both academics and social emotional learning. Great community feeling, active PTO. Teachers provide regular classroom updates and very approachable.
Submitted by parent on August 13, 2023

The school is in a good location. However, the other aspects of the school is average when compared to other CUSD schools like Montclaire & Murdock Portal etc. The test scores are great because of the active involvement of the parents in motivating their kids to do better and all the extra coaching classes that the kids get sent to like Best brains, Kumon and RSM. I haven't seen the school make any extra effort to motivate kids to excel academically. The staff and principal act friendly and involved when they are pushing for donations or seeking volunteers. Its hard to get hold of them to discuss any other issues outside of these 2 areas. Coffee with principal is once a year only. One of the Kinder classrooms is so poorly managed by the teacher year after year and in spite of several complaints the principal has decided to do nothing about it. The teacher shows zero patience/tolerance, which is the top most requirement when working with 5 and 6 year olds. Also, lacks empathy and exhibits poor communication skills. It is unfair that one of the classrooms get a nurturing environment and the other has to face a hostile environment. Whenever a parent tries to talk this through with the teacher, she gets very defensive and then starts picking on the child for the rest of the year. Her consequences are very harsh and so are her lengthy emails to the parents. The kids in her classroom are so frightened of her warnings and consequences that they start lying and hurting each other to get away from being warned. I believe she keeps a warning book in her pocket at all times and a warning count for each child every single day. I am sure this is not a protocol given by the school or the board as it does not happen in any other classroom across grades. Shouldn't there be an approved protocol that the teachers need to adhere to? Isn't someone supposed to monitor the emails that get sent out to parents by the teachers? That way CUSD can intervene when a teacher is seen misusing the power. I will be moving my child to a different school because of the awful experience we had and what my child had to go through. I am not surprised that the school's enrollment has been consistently dropping.If only I had talked to the parents that had graduated from Kinder at this school, there is no way I would have made my child go through Kinder here. I am going to be writing to CUSD to bring all of this to their attention.
Submitted by parent on December 28, 2022

Very disappointed. This year there are 2 KG classrooms. There is an alarming difference in how different both these room teachers are. One is very caring and kids are happy during the morning drop offs. Also very respectful towards parents. She seems to understand the dynamics with little childrens and knows how to handle them by being patient & loving. Unfortunately, our kid got the other teacher who is exact opposite. She only prefers quiet kids who just sit still & listen to her all day. There are only 3 such kids out of 24 because its KG. She also treats parents of these kids very well compared to the parents of kids that are a little mischievous, which is the majority. She keeps a warning book in her pocket and gives warnings to them all day. After 3 warnings, kids are given ‘only time’ and their recess is cut short. She also says things like ‘I don’t trust what you are saying’ to kids and checks everything by her 3 or 4 favorite non-mischievous kids (the bullies) about who did what etc & only trusts what they say. The 3 favorite kids have turned into bullies off late because of the favoritism thats been showered at them. This approach has not worked for any kids even months since school started and even the kids that are happy to come to school start crying or clinging to their parents as soon as they see her. A majority of parents cannot stand her. Its a circus really. The principal & office staff act like they are at the “White House”. Extremely rude. Even the parents of kids who graduated KG from her classroom last year are still so furious with this teacher. She expects kids to already know how to speak, listen, read, write, do math, behave, clean up, handle their things etc even before entering the classroom. Kids cannot even blink without her giving them a warning slip. My heart really goes out to my kid and several other kids & parents that belong to this room. She has damaged these kids & their self esteem. I have heard great things about 1st & 2nd grade teachers and thats the only reason why I have not pulled my child out yet.
Submitted by parent on November 07, 2019

The school is fine academic wise. To me, building character is as important or not even more important. The office is definitely not run by individuals who exhibit the values of integrity, respect and compassion. I doubt this school is strong in character building
Submitted by parent on November 02, 2018

very very bad, I believe the teacher here has a strong discrimination to the students from other countries
Submitted by parent on July 21, 2017

Teachers are new and they do not communicate well with parents, although the secretaries are very good. The principal does not have a good understanding of community building. There is no community, period.
Submitted by parent on May 13, 2016

The staff is all brand new, the community is fractured and divided. ....the parents who pushed for the removal of an entire staff of teachers at a top rated school, continue to infest the school with negativity. Volunteers are not stepping up with this culture ....
Submitted by other on April 24, 2016

The teaching staff at west valley elementary is new, and I feel this has been a breath of fresh air, with no complacency and renewed ideas and drive. We love the new teacher taking our child's class, who takes a lot of interest in student development. The student community is diverse and the kids are sharp ... which further contributes to West Valley being a great school.
Submitted by other on November 04, 2015

I am surprised to see how of date these reviews are. There has been so much change at West Valley, that has not benefited the children. The entire Cupertino Union School District was shocked when the entire West Valley staff was reconstituted. Google West Valley to find out more . What a shame for children in their formative years!
Submitted by other on September 15, 2013

This is an outstanding school with excellent teachers that go above and beyond! 5 stars!
Submitted by parent on August 30, 2013

This is truly a fantastic school. The teachers really go the extra effort to make our kids enjoy learning. I have had 3 kids at this school through the years. Our favorite teacher was Yates in the 4/5 combination class. We had him twice and he really made our children enjoy going to school each day. West Valley really is amazing because of teachers like him. The API is high and this is great, but the parents aren't overly concerned about it. We just want our kids to have a well rounded experience and they get it.
Submitted by parent on February 11, 2013

I am mostly pleased with this school. This is our 5th year and we'll be here for another 4 years. There are some teachers in each grade who are phenomenal and there are some in each grade who should either retire or rethink being a classroom teacher. I wish the teacher quality was a bit more even in the upper grades so that I didn't have to hold my breath when the classroom assignments come out. We have a new principal this year and she's gotten mixed reviews. The principal who left (went to a school closer to her home w/ later start time) was mostly well liked. Our new principal seems very concerned with following the rules and she pays close attention to management and the district office. Doesn't seem as flexible as the last principal. I haven't noticed a change in the amount of parent involvement since the new principal came, but I think her decreased flexibility and stiffness has put some parents off. I think the principal is trying to make things better, but I'm not sure all the parents agree that what she's doing is making the school better.
Submitted by other on October 12, 2012

West valley is a great elementary school it has a great API score. Well I know about the new principal but still this school is great school.
Submitted by parent on August 24, 2012

The new principal has absolutely wrecked this school! She knows how to manipulate and play the school system. Can't wait til my kids start Middle school. The teachers are split between those that are awesome and those that want to be the Principal's best friend. Everything is focused on the API at the cost of everything else.
Submitted by parent on September 23, 2011

West Vallety is an amazing school with high star testing scores and wonderful teachers like Ms. Suh Mrs Jarrar ASnd Mrs Freiberg! five stars for west valley and tren out of ten ! my child got a six hundred on her star test in third grade! she is now in sixth at Cupertino Middle! She loves West Valley and could not be happier in any other school! "West valley takes a stride in being full with pride!"
Submitted by parent on May 18, 2011

Since the new principal came to the school, it is apparent that she is only concerned about the teachers' welfare, not the students. It's a shame. It was such a good school. Result? Parents feel unappreciated and parental involvement has dropped dramatically. This has had a negative effect on every school program because (no surprise) they are all parent-run. Teachers just aren't interested. Also, a handful of the teachers are so apathetic that they are leaving the parking lot before parents have even picked up their kids - same teachers every day. PTA has had only ONE (wonderful) teacher interested enough to come to any meetings in at least seven years. Where is the teacher involvement in PTA? They just don't care. On the positive side, there ARE about 8-10 teachers who ARE loving, dedicated and just plain wonderful. I was honored to get to know them. Hope you get them, too.