Carden Hall Elementary & Junior High School

We were fortunate to find and send our two children to Carden in the 80’s — what i would consider «the Mr Jones years» — You build a foundation of education and character for your children by investing in their schooling. Carden and Mr Jones never let us down and proved to be the best investment we could have made for my son and daughter. I considered Mr Jones my friend and share many positive memories of our years at Carden. My son’s first Carden hoodie hangs in my apartment today with the little sticker they gave him when he tested to gain entrance. It took some planning and effort to get them to school from Laguna Bch — but i believe its the Carden foundation that allowed them to maintain a positive course through Laguna Bch Highschool during a time when the school was the subject of a reality show on TV. I feel you will not make a better investment into your child’s future than Carden Hall.

My daughter graduated from Carden Hall just two days ago. Best investment we ever made. Our three oldest children attended Newport Heights and then ensign middle school. After a few months of our youngest starting kindergarten at Newport Heights, we started looking at alternatives. Three children including our daughter from this initial class at the heights transferred to Carden and this was possibly the best decision I have ever made. Go visit Carden Hall so you can see for yourself. Meet the faculty and staff, take a tour. You too will be amazed!

I have three daughters who have all attended Carden Hall. We have been there for a total of 19 years between the 3 girls!!! It’s a wonderful school which takes pride in character building and fairness in treating students equally regardless of the wealth and status of the parents, a rare quality for a private school in such an affluent city. What I love the most about it, is the fact that they keep parents away. In most cases and especially in private school environment. Parent involvement can lead into favoritism and hypocrisy. Carden Hall operates with integrity and high morality, characteristics that are passed on to their students. I’m grateful to the Jones family for the excellent education that my children have received.

We love Carden! We enrolled our oldest daughter at Carden Hall in first grade (she will be an 8^th grader next year!) after we attended their open house. What really sold us was the students we talked to, not the teachers at the open house. These kids were bright, confident, and well spoken. They were anything but shy when speaking to us adults and loved sharing stories about their Carden years. After a rough start in another school, our daughter thrived at Carden. The small classroom sizes, Carden Method and exceptional staff are top notch. Our younger daughter started there in kinder and loves it too.
I could go on and on about the wonderful things at Carden, but my favorite thing is how equally treated I feel each student is… Without fundraising or having to compete with big school donators there is equality amongst everyone. We all pay the same amount, there are no buildings built because a family has donated this or that… it is the children’s school. It belongs to them.

Carden HAll is the best decision our family has ever made. The character building that happens daily within the classroom alone sets the tone for an incredible learning experience. Some people like to focus on «THE BOOTH». The Booth should be every parents favorite part of the Carden Method. The Booth is a place to think about your behavior. The kids that go there, usually do not have too many return trips. Its a learning experience.
Its a place that you reflect on the incident that occurred and then discuss with the Director.
When you drop your children off at Carden Hall, I guarantee you when you pick them up, their shoulders are rolled back, they have confidence, they are smiling. It is an atmosphere of LEARNING. Yes, it is strict. And yes it builds character. Is that not WONDERFUL. Please make an appointment to walk thru the halls of this amazing school. Whats happening in the Public schools in our neighborhood is not getting better. Some close friends would say, «wow, you guys can afford Carden?» we say
«WE CANNOT AFFORD NOT TO» Its our children, its their CHARACTER, its our most prized possession.
I could go on and on.

To begin with, I never attended this school but I am reviewing because I was a student of the 70s and 80s who attended a school that subscribed to the Carden Method. I can’t say enough good things about Mae Carden and what she created. Those lessons have been invaluable in my adulthood — I can spell better than anyone I know and I wasn’t even an A student. The fundamentals taught by this program — not just in spelling, but in Math, English and French — are tools that most kids today are not privileged to acquire. If you are a parent considering this school I can safely recommend it highly, simply based on the almost 100-​year-​old principles upon which they teach.

We have 2 boys who have attended here for the past 6 years. Prior to CH, they were in Montessori & we tried 1 yr in public school. Considering private school was never on our family’s radar until we experienced what public school has become. CH provides our kids with a safe, morally grounded & wonderful environment where they have absolutely excelled. We write 1 tuition check & there is no fundraising or hidden costs like so many of the other schools. Our family has more time together in part b/​c the kids don’t have homework until after 4^th grade & we get about 3 weeks more vacation time every year. Academically CH is very strong, principled, and purposeful in their approach. Our kids are happy & better people when we pick them up after school — we don’t know what more we could ever hope for. I’ve heard SO many positives about CH students in the community. CH students leave prepared for high school, college and to be successful adults. There is SO much more to CH than first meets the eye as it is truly understated and a beautiful diamond in the rough.
There is a rich history in the 50+ yrs of CH. It’s not the «flashy» Newport, it’s «Classy» timeless Newport Beach that is simple, clean, pure and rich in character and tradition. CH has made us a better parents and a better family. I encourage everyone to check out the other schools as we did b/​c CH isn’t necessarily the right fit for everyone.

Consistent, high quality, and reassuringly effective education! My son loves the school and my husband and I do too! They are strict and definitely have high standards. This keeps you on your toes through your children, but is what makes it a school worth paying for — they take the job of shaping and preparing your children seriously. I can’t thank them enough for the impact they are having on my son and hopefully for my daughter in the future!