Cali Calmecac Language Academy

9491 Starr Road

School District

Windsor Unified
Grade

K-8
Teacher/Student Ratio

1:24
Type

charter

School Map for Windsor 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 November 18, 2024

This school by far is the worst educational experience I’ve ever hear of or experienced in my life. My son went to school here, for far too long. Every single teacher I met were rude, impatient, condescending, and didn’t care in the slightest about actually helping my son succeed. When my son was having trouble learning, rather than helping and encouraging. They battered and belittled him. If that wasn’t bad enough, they blamed my son’s learning disabilities on us the parents!!! When they are the teachers being paid to teach. The teachers were so awful to my son that I was forced to transfer him to a different school. And thank God I did. He is now going to a school with teachers who actually care about their students. I wouldn’t recommend this school to my worst enemy! I really hope these teachers turn things around, because no child deserves to be treated like this. Not now, not ever!
Submitted by student on November 05, 2022

This is not a good school, in my opinion. I am a current student of this school, and in all my years of attending here, it has been not good. The kids arent respectful and they bully you if you arent like them (like the same music, clothes, shoes). They think they are superior to everyone, make everyone feel bad and theyre always bringing other kids down. The administration doesnt do anything, most of the students have severe anxiety and depression because of this school. The administration pretend they care, when they really dont and they trigger other students into having severe panic attacks. There is no comfort in this school. The only people that I could say are actually caring, would be only half of the teachers. Half of them are actually nice, but the other half traumatizes you and makes you cry (saying from experience). This school has been a living hell for me, but I am grateful for the very few teachers that arent like everyone else. The Asst. Principals are not nice to anyone, they are rude and believe just one side of the story if there is a conflict between 2 students, the other student isnt listened. For the Special Education, I have a few friends who take those type of classes, and they do not learn anything or help them!! Nobody learns anything, not just the special classes, but some of the other normal classes too. Half of the teachers do not communicate with the students parents, or the student in general. They only pay attention to the "popular and cool" kids, and forget about the other kids.-coming from a current student at this school, everything i said was from experience.
Submitted by other on December 31, 2016

I attended this school from k-8th grade. This school has taught me so much and made me really appreciate what I have been given. I'm not going to speak badly about the other schools in Windsor because they cannot compare to Cali. The other schools do not teach consecutively two languages so to compare them would be unfair. This school allows children who come from a Latin decent to get in touch with their heritage and allows the rest of us (i am mixed race) to experience some of these traditions. This year I am a senior at Windsor High School. Without Cali i would not have a profound passion for learning new language and having gone there I passed the AP Spanish test with a 5. I know that there are stories of kids who are bullied, but in any school there is bulling. Overall the other students that are in the same grade as you or your child develop relationships that are more like family. The comment that states that this school is racist may have been true for that individual but from my observations as a minority (Asian-white) that's not the case. Yes some kids made fun of me but that's just kids. In regards to the teachers and administration. When I attended they were amazing. The principal and vice-principal are very involved in getting to know the student body and teachers can begin to feel like family. I hope that if you plan to send your child or attend yourself you really embrace the school and the fact that although you or your child may be behind in the beginning as the years progress Cali students come out on top of the students who attend the middle school.
Submitted by parent on September 12, 2015

Both of my children went to Cali-Calmeca, then to Windsor High School and then to college. One of them has finished, the other is in her last year. Cali was great for my children and my family. Half of the students are native Spanish speakers and Half are native English speakers. I don't know how it works, but my children (English speakers) became fluent in Spanish. They don't even have an accent! I do not understand the user's comment about racism since half of the student population is White (like my children) and the school is voluntary. No one has to stay there. It's not a good fit for everyone; but a parent should be able to see that right away. I was told my children would be behind in certain things until the sixth grade, which terrified me; but I was also assured that, after that time, they would catch up and excel. My children didn't seem to be behind their friends in other schools when in elementary school, but maybe they were. I do know they excelled at Windsor High School. Several WHS teachers told me that Cali students were great, so polite and industrious. My children have alson done quite well in college. Their educationat Cali was solid and my kids seem a bit more worldly or more sophisticated than other kids b/c they have a broader world view. Learning a second language does that. In addition, my kids had a chance to be with people who had a different background, and a somewhat different culture, than my husband and I have; they learned a lot from that. I am so proud of them as adults. They are bi-lingual, smart, empathetic, compassionate independent and capable. I owe a lot of that to the teachers and curriculum at Cali-Calmeca.
Submitted by parent on February 06, 2014

This is an amazing dual language immersion school. We have a 6th grader and a 4th grader there now, and will start our daughter in kinder next year. None of our children knew Spanish before starting at Cali. Not only are they bilingual, they are also bi-literate. The teachers are fantastic and truly care about the students and their academic success. Keeping students aware of long-term achievement is a priority. We love Cali! It's been around for over 20 years and its program and methods have proven so successful! We are thrilled our children are able to attend this great school.