Research Dr. Theodore T. Alexander Science Center charter Schools in Los Angeles, California

“Great School, Wonderful PTA!!!!”

“Great School! Child Safety is Strickly enforced, Have a Kinder and First grader, I am VERY HAPPY with the staff at this school.”

“This is a great school with an awesome staff. My son's 4th & 5th grade teacher, Ms. Shuler, has exhibited her commitment for the success of her students. Principal Denen's has great leadership qualities and maintains parents informed of constant changes. I highly appreciate both of these amazing women.”

“I totally agree with the parent who posted that Fong and Simon are the best!!! I love Ms Simon!!! My daughter is doing fantastic in her class! Mrs. Simon is very creative and teaches her children to think 'out of the box'. She is very nurturing and totally committed to the students. The school is doing much better under Principal Denham's direction and the security is enforced much better. I am very happy with the school's growth!”

“Very commmitted to the welfare and success of the students; Fong and Simon are excellent educators.”

“I have been very pleased with this school. I have two children attending ACS since the school first day it opened and I have not heard of anything bad happening, hopefully it stays that way. As a parent, I know that the gate is not opened until 7:30 and the state police officers don't get there until 7:15am I know better not too leave my kids there unattended. I have had the pleasure to know Mr. Peterson he is a great teacher and another great teacher I have to give credit too is Mrs. Dongon she is a fantastic teacher. I feel that teachers like them would help our kids learn and be better prepared for the years to come.”

“This has been an amazing year at the school. Filled with various field trips, events, and recognition for teachers! The dual language program is wonderful!”

“The culture of the school is based on inclusion and working together. This is a great fit for our family. Our child's attitude towards learning is so much better than before.”

“My dauther has beind in this school from opening day to currently in 5th grade. This school is great all of my dauther teachers have beeen outstanding . Ms lemle , mrs gomez and ms. Letterie . My dauther is in the gate program and has learn so much from this wonderful teacher their the best.”

“This school is great! I was there for two years I had a great experiance with all the learning activities! This year I think the teachersshould do a better job ecxiting the kids about mat and science.”

“I am the parent of a 4th grader, I think overall the school is great academically, but the discipline needs to get better, my daughter has been there since 2nd grade and thankfully all her teachers have been wonderful, especially her third grade teacher (Mr. Peterson). She has learned so many new skills both academically as well as life changing. I have to say that, 'without a doubt he is the best teacher at ASC.' If there were more teachers like Mr. Peterson, then there would be more students interested in learning.”

“The PTA has really helped to turn the school into something special for the school children and their families. This coupled with the newly hired Principal, Paula Denen, has brought new energy and determination to the entire school community to truly make this a national model. We are very excited to be a part of thsi school.”

“There's a new principal at ASC and she seems great! She is experienced, motivated and excited to take the school in a positive direction. This school needed good leadership and I think we now have it.”

“I took my children out of private school to place them in the Science Center with very high expectations. Unfortunately they were not meet. The majority of the teachers are new and are still strugling themselves to fiqure out what works in the classroom. They don't know how to control the classroom or the students.”

“The School does not open its doors until 7:30, that is true, however I do not know of many schools who open their doors any earlier. Breakfast is served from 7:30 until 8:20, when the bell rings for the children to line up. Also the school keeps its doors open and provides many after school chioces that are either free of charge of for a fee. If for any reason you cannot get to your child by 6:30, someone will stay with them until you arrive.”

“I happen to take the bus across the street from the school and just this morning about 7am there was a little girl crying walking back and forth from the bus stop to the school ...she was afraid, she was there for breakfast at 7am no staff members were on campus, no security, no one. One staff member happened to drive into the underground parking lot without even checking to see if the young girl was ok. A man passed by the girl and kept looking at her and I made the choice to cross the street to make sure the girl would be ok, she said she was scared..where are the staff members? who should be there to supervise...by the time other students started to arrive around 7:09 am there were still no staff members on the premises...Safety is a major problem and it needs to be addressed.”

“The school has made many improvements recently. The interim principal has been very proactive and the office staff is very receptive. My son is in the dual language program and has achieved so much. Teachers that I have worked with are Ms. Pipin, Mr. Delatorre, Ms. Vasquez and Ms. Kapp. They work hard to put together parent meetings on their own time and keep us informed. They teach me to help my son at home. When I compare how he is doing to my older son I can see a difference in the quality of early elementary education. They take the time to be everything they can to my son and his classmates. Truly outstanding. Their enthusiasm and dedication is what I admire, and even they admit they are always getting better but always so whats best for kids.”

“This school has made tremendous academic gains in the past year under the dedicated leadership of the interim principal. My three children are finally showing progress since they were taken out of the Dual Language program. The teachers in the regular school program have a higher level of expertise, higher expectations for their students, and higher student proficiency. I love this school! My only regret is that my children did not have quality instruction the past two years in the Dual Language Program. This program needs restructuring out of this school.”

“Over all I say this school is 'okay' although they can or should work on strenghening their security and safety at the school. They need to also empower more decipline to some of these teachers. There are a few good and a few bad that I have seen just standing there as I walk my child to his class. I see some of them have no patience and that I think is no good!Some of these teachers need to be educated on learning how to deal with children and behavioral issues instead of just taking them out of class or sending them to the office!”

“My son is in the first grade. He had a wonderful Kinder teacher and 3 months into his Kinder year was already reading. His first grade teacher is great. The school is still undergoing leadership challenges, but I've been thrilled with it and appreciate the numerous after-school programs available including a new program operated by the Science Center Museum. I hope that these partnerships will strengthen to allow the school to rise to its full potential.”

“The dual language program is the best part of the school. I have two kids in the program. The teachers work with eachother and really care about the kids. The lausd has stop caring about the school the last two years. The administration has changed so hopefully things will get better. Maybe with teh changes in the district the children will be taken care of. Some very good teachers. But many have left. Luckly more bad then good have left. New school and things seem to be getting better.”

“The science center has reclaimed the school and the thanks to experienced teachers like Ms .Fung, Ms. Simon, Ms. Woods, Ms. Lemle, and Ms. Kosla the school is thriving.”

“I'm happy with the highly gifted programs. There is a handfull of great teachers at the school. I believe they could do better in all academic programs. Not too many extracurricular activities. Parents involvement is poor. Mrs. Lemle 4grd. teacher is one of the best teachers there. She cares and motivates children to do their best. She works with them side by side. Ms. Dekraker 3rd grade teacher is very dedicated, she help my son with his self stem and she promotes respect in her class and motivates kids to do their very best. Children in playground play rough, not enough supervision.”

“The school has a lot of potential. It has great teachers. I feel some teachers can do better. The discipline is poor. Some children have no respect for others.”

“I feel this school has a lot of potential. It is brand new and trying to find it's place in both the school district and charter world. There are some very dedicated teachers that are working hard to make the school what it can be. The school is just beginning to build community.”

“The dual language program at this school has not supported the needs of my children in kindergarten or first grade whose primary language is English. The teachers are in their first or second year of teaching and lack skills and continuity in their instruction. In addition, this school does not have a specific Language Arts, Math, Science, or Social Studies Program. The few veteran teachers, the Arts Prototype Program, and the relationship with the California Science Center are the strongest assets of this school. The new leadership at the school is raising the quality of education.”

“My experience with school is in the dual language classroom (k and 1st) and this has been great. The teachers in these classes are not only dedicated but highly trained in classroom technique but also share theoretical research. I would highly recommend the dual language classes at this school. They are great for the English and Spanish speakers.”

“The Science Center school has a lot of potential but has not quite reached it yet. Although there are many excellent teachers and resources, there still exist issues with the school's leadership. With the right direction, this school could achieve great things.”

“This is my kids first year. So far it is going good for them. I have one in the 4th grade, and my boys are in the 2nd grade.”