Notre Dame School

1781 Marshall Road

Vacaville, CA 95687

13 Reviews

School District
Grade

K-8
Type

private

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Reviews

Submitted by parent on December 22, 2024

Left a year ago after experiencing and witnessing years of drama, unfair discipline, teacher turnover, disruptive classrooms and emotional bullying. The staff is more concerned about dress codes and enforcing extreme rules than understanding what the kids are going through. My kid was always a hard worker but was so stressed out about what would happen in school or who would get in trouble. Now my kid can focus, is drama free and is in a much more supportive, positive environment.
Submitted by parent on November 21, 2024

Notre Dame has helped establish a strong academic and spiritual foundation in all three of my children. As active members in our children's lives, having teachers and a community that believes in creating meaningful lessons to deepen their understanding of curriculum is imperative to my children's success; this is just what Notre Dame offers. The teachers are dedicated, often taking on multiple roles outside their scheduled day, to ensure that each child feels connected to their school. The Parent Guild works hand in hand with the teachers and the parents to ensure that there are incredible opportunities to feel connected through activities throughout the year. The spiritual, academic, and social-emotional guidance offered by their administration and teachers has helped my children grow to be strong, emotionally sound, and advocates for their needs. Notre Dame has been a beacon of light in this ever-changing world, challenging the traditional family model! We love our school!
Submitted by other on June 04, 2023

As a current middle school student at this school, I have to say the experience at this school has been amazing. I always look forward for Math class, the math teacher really makes all of his students feel included and makes sure the class is not boring. The teachers put much effort into they're work and all have years worth of experience. Notre Dame has helped me make many friends and I get along with every kid in my class. I have seen the the teachers help people with disabilities or broken bones from time to time, but in between a class when my friend with a broken bone had trouble picking up his books, the teachers seemed to ignore it. I have never seen too harsh of punishment and there has been no discrimination or violence at all. There are many social events at the school including Fantasy, Festivals, Fundraisers, and Science Fairs. I would highly recommend this school to anyone whos looking for friendly people anda great education
Submitted by parent on December 09, 2022

Notre Dame School has been an absolute blessing! Full of love and compassion, the faculty and staff work hard to educate our children academically, socially and emotionally as well!
Submitted by other on August 13, 2022

I went here as a student to Notre Dame. It was a decent school. It actually helped my grades up a lot. However, as a person who had socializing problems I wouldn’t recommend this school. The students actions were so ignorant and the teachers didn’t really focus on our education as much as the dress code. I almost got detention for not tucking in my shirt. One of the teachers were so rude to the students that she said multiple offensive things and called my entire class “stupid” for talking during class. I find it absolutely ridiculous. Please don’t come here if you are sensitive or have socializing problems.
Submitted by parent on June 26, 2022

As a parent of a Notre Dame Alumni, I do not in any way, shape, or form recommend this school. My daughter went to this school for all of middle school and she was put in a horrible state of mind due to the staff. She had absolutely no more issues than the average middle schooler with her classmates, but the would come home almost every day and tell me that the staff was giving them extreme threats almost every class period. This went from staff threatening to take away their lunch break (which is against the law), threatening to give detentions over the most ridiculous things such as not asking to go to the library when they had already asked, and one of her eighth grade teachers left a bruise on a student's arm and forcefully moved a female student a few steps away. Neither of these students were in trouble, they were both standing somewhere where she didn't want them. On multiple occasions, my daughter had to stay after school to find "missing work" that ended up being lost by the teacher. She endured multiple forms of harassment from male students, both sexually and verbally. On one occasion, she was groped while being at her locker. She also told me that there was a teacher making crude remarks only towards female students, but he thankfully no longer works for the school. I am fully Catholic, therefore I thought that sending her to this school would be a good choice, but she ended up only having the Lord used against her. It is unfortunate that at a Catholic school, the staff only uses God to make their students listen to them. While students should always be obedient, using the Lord to get them to pay attention is not what He is there for.
Submitted by parent on April 12, 2020

Nightmare. Bullying exist in this school and is not dealt with.
Submitted by parent on December 16, 2019

Excellent environment for students and great expectations for graduates. So proud my children can attend this school.
Submitted by parent on September 20, 2013

We have been at Notre Dame for 7 years and are very happy with the new principal as well as the academics. The principal has clear expectations of the students and is very involved and present in all activities at the school. He connects well with the students and is outside with them during recess as well as visiting the classrooms. We have bad no problem with bullying or curriculum standards. Our son completed 5th grade and did do a state project, actually a very in depth state project. Class sizes are larger than most of the other private schools, however, it has never been an issue. The kids are taught respect and there is discipline, however, it is not extreme. There are uniform standards and the kids can get in trouble for being out of uniform. We've never had an issue with it and if there are guidelines and rules than they should be followed. There is a drama program, sports, choir, Spanish, art, and computers. The tuition is lower compared to the other private schools. Parents are required to be involved and volunteer time and there are fundraisers throughout the year, as with many public schools and other private schools.
Submitted by parent on September 04, 2013

We attended Notre Dame for all grades. Recently with the change in principal, the school culture has gone downhill. Some teachers are good- the math teacher is phenomenal, but all others are not equipped enough to provide a private education. The art program is a nice touch and my kids enjoyed that. The music and spanish program is a joke-- nothing is really taught. Some teachers do not follow CA standards and my child who was in 5th grade, never did a state report which is a requirement in other schools. After years of trying to hope for better academics, we decided to make the move out of ND. Our child is now at Jepson in 8th and is doing really well. It is a nice school. My other one is at Cooper and is actually challenged by academics now. Its sad to see this school not strive to exceed what public schools in the area offer for free, especially at the high cost of tuition. If you want your child to be ready for high school, stick with the public schools.
Submitted by parent on July 17, 2013

I really like the small school feel. The children learn respect for one another. However I question the academics. I do not belive they are better then the public schools. I belive just like public school we are fighting for money. We are an average earning family who want to make our childs education a priority. However tuition is increasing and all year long they are asking for money for diffrent fundraising events. I feel we are being sandwiched out of being able to afford the school. My son also needs tutoring due to not understanding math this past school year (third grade). Math is not a subject my son has every had problem in the past. My husband asked why are we paying for school and tutoring. If we put him in public school then tutoring will not seem like such a big expence. This is something to think about. I want my son to recive the solid morals and values this school offers, but if he is going to be falling behind in math it my not make finacial sence to send him to NDS. My son has had difficulties in reading and the school offers a great reading specialist wich teaches well and my son really loves her. However he is at the age were he is embaressed to leave class.
Submitted by parent on June 09, 2013

Teacher and principal is not responsive/lack empathy to my child's level of learning need of a higher curriculum. False assessments by the teacher on the progress reports and inability to differentiate made my child lose interest in school. Lack of sanitation in the classroom. My child came home sick from school almost weekly since the teacher confiscated and threw away her hand sanitizer spray. Her reason? People could be allergic to plain old alcohol used in many hospitals. No soaps in the bathroom. I agree with the comment below. Bullying does take place.
Submitted by parent on May 02, 2013

I am a parent of two boys that attended Notre Dame School (NDS). Below is my review. Academics are questionable. A "side by side" comparison of CA State Grade Level Standards reveals that NDS is not up to par--especially in middle school English levels. Spanish is very lightweight. The math teacher is outstanding--he truly has a passion for mathematics and teaching. Athletics are a complete joke. Technology is not embraced. In my opinion, the school principal is very fast acting on discipline and does not listen to, or reason with, parents. He is quick to send out communication that chastises students and parents over minor uniform violations but does not send out communications praising individual student achievement. Bullying does take place--both by students and in some cases school staff. For example, the yard duty at the school will humiliate middle school age students by putting them on an extended "time out" in front of peers during recess which is embarrassing for the student. In sum, NDS is an excellent mediocrity. Parents who wish to have their K-8 children academically challenged to later compete in our global business society should look elsewhere. We have left NDS.