Oxford Preparatory Academy

no thanks. I supported this school for 3 years. My child liked her OXFORD school experience last year. We adored our teacher for 5^th grade and the principal who took over in December.
Although communication was sketchy and the school was disorganized, we worked through it and she met some great friends and caring parents. We were lucky to have had a good teacher, who really pushed her class. We were going to enroll again this year, IF she got a good teacher and IF the administration continued to improve
IN July 2015 the Administration turned over, and last week Oxford NSD site based school closed. 300 kids dumped with just 2 days before Vista and Oside schools were to start. If that wasn’t enough, the ADMIN offered no physical school solutions for Families at that late notice. At the same meeting they delivered the «school is closed» speech, Admin began soliciting parental support for their potential school petitions in Saddleback and Oceanside. It was really appalling. Who is advising these people? What happened to taking care of your own?
SADDER STILL– The parents that are «holding on to the OPA dream» are so desperate for OPA that they tell others not to tell anyone about what happened. I for one, am grateful for the truth… especially when it comes to the most important thing in most moms lives, their children.

This school is no longer at the address, but I’m sure they are planning another place to lure innocent families in to listen to their lies. For all the 5 star reviewers… Sorry you believed in them because they could care less about you and they proved it by not giving you fair notice to find a place for your childrens education. Please stay away from Oxford Prep! This school is a business with no business ethics. They get signatures at their parent meetings and use those signatures to open up a circus. Jared Mcleod is an actor and a salesman. It’s all a show.

Unreal. The day before school, these buffoons pulled the plug on families that OPA will not continue with the 2015 – 2016. Find it interesting how Sue Roche — the Executive Director — «RETIRED» moments after the last day of school. Who runs an organization like this? For an administrator who has been in business for over 37 years, they ALL should have known better. Instead, Roche runs. She removes Jared — another liar.
My biggest mistake is that I forgot to bring eggs to the meeting last night to chuck at these liars.
We were sold a bad deal and our kids are the ones who are paying for it. Shame on you OPA — aka — SUE ROCHE AND JARED MC CLOUD. May your next steps in education be for yourself to learn how to improve your skills of lying.

I went to public schools all my life, I also hated going to school 90% of the time. I have kids now who have been enrolled in traditional public schools and would come home and tell me how bored they were. So my wife told me about a new school in Oceanside where the kids were taught in different ways.
We went to the school on a Tuesday afternoon, Alice was very friendly, Chancellor Mcleod spent almost an hour with us and explaining to us why they do what they do. He explained the uniforms and their thoughts behind them and really made us feel comfortable.
We took a chance and immediately enrolled both kids (3^rd and kinder) they started the following monday.
Yes, the uniforms are $ 200+ Like a previous post mentioned. but that was it, school clothes shopping was done. I mean, that was awesome and the uniforms are built really well. We have a kinder boy who is not easy on clothing by any means and his uniforms all lasted the full year, no tears, stains lifted. i cant like uniforms more after the first hand experience.
We immediately saw our kids get accepted into friend groups and begin to love learning. Homework was tough and took some parent involvement some nights, but it was awesome to help and watch my daughter progress in her math to the point of getting 100% on her tests, helping with home work a few nights a week was a small thing in comparison to seeing our kids loving to learn and share with us the new things they learned.
I have a kindergartner running around singing songs in Chinese, I have zero clue if he is singing it correctly, but he loves foreign language and knows he can learn it. Something I am very grateful for.
The Uniforms. Truth is, the kids love them, we get zero push back from our kids. They know what they were wearing the next day and that is really making mornings a lot less hectic. They would come home from work and change into play clothes and go about the day. Very similar to what most adults do. Get home, change and relax.
After one complete year at Oxford prep, I am all the way in. Was the first year at a new campus rough, at times, but man do our kids love that place. The staff has been very upfront with us and I really appreciate all they do for our kids.
Also, the way its set up as an Independent Study program is incredible. So when we go on trips, or want to sleep in more because it is rainy and sounds nice, we can. and still get attendance for that day by just doing our work packet at home. No one from the office calls to ask why you’re not there. it is THE BEST.
I LOVE what OPA and other Charter Schools are giving to our children, options. Options to try things different, to go against the machine of standard public schools, to our kids to learn at their pace and in a way that they thrive at.
I wish OPA was around when I was in school.

Wow I am shocked at some of the negative reviews. They seem kinda spiteful and over reactionary. This school just started and has had some hiccups but the staff really does care.
Let me start my staying I was not an active parent. As a widow working full time the school was very accommodating. My son’s teacher was very nice and really cares. Champion Village staff was great although there seemed to be some drama there.
Pros– nice staff including Chancellor (all of them) office staff, and teachers. They really do care about your kids.
Champion village has great staff!
They are trying! This is a new school.
Cons– while nice staff, there is a lack of unprofessional behavior exhibited from Sue Roche on down.
I was happy to see Sue Roche is gone. I attended a mandatory meeting (went over 2 hours) where half of her talking was to promote themselves and tell personal stories. I finally walked out as I had a kid that needed to be fed.
I purchased one of the Chrome books they kept pushing. The parental controls were not in place as stated and proudly talked about and it was a big waste of money. I complained. My son spent 3 weeks without computer due to defect and IT issues.
I asked for Section 504 tested and still have not been given a full copy of the results. The behavior section was not completed and I was told it would be sent to me… It never was and now I have read this man is the new Chancellor. I also offer for it to be sent to our family counselor, it was never sent to her either.
Towards the end of the year my son was decked in the eye by a girl and she was not even reprimanded for this. I still have a picture of the shiner it left, but because my son was normally the problem they let this slide.

Don’t expose your young minds to this nightmare. Arrogant/​dictatorial staff with a total lack of intellectual integrity.

I transferred my unmotivated 6^th grader to Oxford and was simply amazed by his transformation. Previous teachers from other schools commented how my son might have a learning disability, but they were all proven wrong when he came home with straight A’s after starting Oxford. He developed into this hard working and self motivated student with strong leadership skills. His self confidence increased mostly because he is in an environment where teachers focus on the student’s strength instead of their weakness. We were so impressed that my 2^nd grader, who was getting tired of being homeschooled, transferred there shortly. We love the teachers! Our kids enjoy being friends with other students from different grades! We love the support! And most importantly they are advancing academically and having a blast!
I’ve read other reviews and I’m sorry some families felt like they didn’t get the support they hoped for. Sure it’s easier to complain, valid or not, hence the more negative reviews. There is a long waiting list to get in, so I can assure you Oxford is not a terrible school. No school/​program is perfect and Oxford is not for every child/​family. It is new and still improving some kinks! Overall, our family is happy, our children are learning/​growing and Oxford has our support as they are growing and improving as well. We are just bummed that Mr. Crowe will not be there next year.

We came into this school thinking my granddaughter would get a better education than a regular public school. When they were small everything seemed great. I think this school was thinking quantity over quality. Within the first year my daughter was told by another staff that the staff gossiped about parents and that they gossiped about my daughter being on welfare. My daughter thought she could confide in the principal and my granddaughters teacher. I am so upset with the staff at this school I don’t even know where I should begin. My granddaughter was always given large packets of homework and things were just so scattered. My granddaughter is an IEP student and her educational needs were put on the back burner. If you intend on sending your child here be prepared to be your child’s teacher. I really do feel that my daughter and granddaughter were treated bad because of my daughters financial status. I would never recommend this school to anyone.

My daughter began to carpool with a parent/​STAFF and my daughter and her daughter had a typical kindergarten disagreement and the mother «marianne» (who is also a staff in the front office) began to treat me and my daughter very badly. She was very rude, was not compliant with sending me paper work home and would hang up on or give me attitude when I had to call the school for my child. I again brought this to the attention of the Dean «mr. Mcleod» and again nothing was done. After that I has dropped my daughter off late one day and the staff «marianne» came outside screaming at me like I was a child, in front of the school. very unprofessional!!!
my daughter had been falling behind due to her learning disabilities. I had brought this to the schools attention so that they would help her and their only solution was to continue to hold her back. It took months of me going back n forth with the schools to get them to set up testing for her. The school does not care about children who need special help. My daughter’s first grade teacher «Danielle Hood» is also very rude and uncooperative. I had a meeting with her and the principal of the school about my daughter going on to the second grade and she was not willing to come up with any solutions for my daughter and just insisted on holding her back. I was finally fed up and gave her a piece of my mind. My daughter then Told me after that day that her teacher was starting to treat her «differently». Smh. Danielle hood is not a good teacher at all. On teacher appreciation week there was a paper sent home with the students of a list of items that the teacher wanted/​liked. The paper consist of many specific gift cards and LOTS OF WINE! YES! Alcohol! This was sooo tacky! I still have the paper as proof.
Basically, you should not attend this school unless you have money and are into the whole «high school click» thing. Lol seriously. These parents are a trip and a half NOT ALL but most. The school uniforms are very expensive and your child HAS to wear the schools uniforms. The field trips are ridiculous and expensive. The school is very unorganized and constantly mess up on the school calendars. Don’t put your child in tutoring with mrs. Hood! She won’t show up half the time and does not give any notice either. This was the biggest waste of time. The only thing good about this school is Mr. Crowe! My daughter will miss him dearly. He was such a huge help and was a great guy

I just called to get information about sending my child to this school and a guy answered the phone, I was asking questions about the school and I guess I asked too many and he clearly hung up on me! How rude and unprofessional !!! Now I understand why all the NEGATIVE REVIEWS !!! As soon as I find out his name I will post it.
Ok, I just found out that is was Adam, Joseph, or ED. I will be visiting the school in a little bit and I’ll pin him down.

Loud music interferes in the quiet enjoyment of our homes. Perhaps the school can find other less noisy ways to rally the children. The noises of children playing is fine, but the loud music every day is too much! Please turn down the volume!

I have read the commentary and I thought it was time to share our positive insight Oxford Prepatory Academy. Our kindergartner is thriving and loves going to school. He is encouraged daily to continue to raise his personal bar on so many levels — his behavior, his desire to perservere through challenges, taking care of others, taking care of his school and being the best version of himself. Pretty big stuff for a 6 year old! We could not be more thrilled to see him be so happy and encouraged to be a student at OPA. I’m not sure if all schools stress the «non academic» lessons and expectations that OPA does, but I know that there is much more to growing and developing beyond just the books themselves.
Charter seems to be the way of the future. It really is not an apples to apples comparison when comparing traditional public school and charter. Charter is able to express the things perhaps not all parents want to hear and have you sign at the «x» to commit to their principles, understand their intentions, dedicate your time and energy towards your child and their success at school and the success of the school. There is also a lot less red tape. You can offer ideas, suggestions, perhaps create a club or help at school in an area where you are skilled and they will likely try to find a way to implement. Not all schools are like that. Many are more in tune with «if it’s not broke, why fix it» That doesn’t seem to benefit our children nor the way of the future — as we all know it’s gaining on us!
The #1 thing I love about our school is that the staff listens. You just have to deliver the message in a constructive, insightful and postive way. You have to be willing to put forth the work and effort to influence the change. True, the school is new and there will be bumps and bruises along the way. I think we all expect that. But, being in the intergral years of the school is actually a great thing — we get to influence the curriculum, comment on what’s working and what is not, offer our ideas and offer our help. No one can expect that to all take place immediately. But if you believe in the concepts behind why OPA is such a remarkable place… you will get to see it through, enjoy the ride and be part of a wonderful thing in the works. In the end, the right families will remain at OPA. I know there is a long wait list for the lottery right now in fact. It’s ok if it’s not for everyone… but remember there are two sides to every story.
Thank you for the reminder Taylor Swift, «haters gonna hate — just shake it off» :) Hope this helps shed some light on why so many people genuinely love OPA for a plethora of reasons. We are all works in progress! Thanks!

In response to the anonymous cyber bully:
In my defense, I did spend more than 20 hrs per week in my younger children’s classrooms and if I was not in the classroom I was home preparing an art lesson to teach in 2^nd or paper checking for the teacher in 1^st. I also spent many hours cleaning out supply closets and devoting time to the Honour Society (like a PTA). I am not angry at this school, my children loved the school environment and their teachers (I also loved the teachers, if it weren’t for them, we would have left a long time ago!)…my frustrations are with the founder, administration, and the program itself (AND now the parent who decided it was ok to threaten me and my daughter). Nobody from the school talked rudely directly towards me so I’m not sure where this person comes off saying I got my feelings hurt… In my Unilocal review, I posted that the founder was arrogant and rude because of the way she handled herself and spoke to other parents (as I witnessed, none was directed towards me, but I did not agree nor like the way other parents were spoken to). Many extracurricular programs boasted by this school (the very programs that has drawn many families in with their «sales pitch») are being lessened or cut altogether. The «Program» was what my family bought into, however the «program» is merely a ruse. Once you get into the school, you will understand. I am among at least 6 families that I know of that have pulled our children in the last 3 months due to the admin and changes (or lack thereof), so there were more than 3 families that have left since the changes started in December 2014. This person is a coward and has no idea what they’re talking about.

Oxford Preparatory Academy was the best decision I have ever made for my kids!!! The school has done so much in a very short time. We left a «California Distinguished School». The quality education and extras (Mandarin, Science etc) has been so great for my kids. The cost of OPA uniforms, computers and field trips are pennies for what I would have to pay for in a private school. The school is growing and new (not the model) but what they have done in four months is amazing. As a parent I could not be more happy! The teachers at OPA are amazing and work so hard! My kids LOVE school at OPA!!!