Carden Academy of Santa Clara has small classes that gives individualized student attention. All three of my children attended Carden and they received a very solid foundation in the academics as well as music, art, foreign languages, p.e. and computer technology as part of the curriculum! The environment is great! It is a small school setting that is safe and well-protected and it was a great opportunity for them to grow up in a multi-cultural community. I whole-heartedly recommend Carden Academy of Santa Clara!

As a parent of two children who attended Carden, I feel that school gave them a good foundation in the academics, encouraged analytical thinking and comprehension, nurtured their talents in the fine arts, developed their social conscience and citizenship through community service, and gave them life long friendships. Carden is more than just a school, it is an environment where the administration, teachers, staff and parents care about each student. It is like an educational "family".

Great Core academics with a nice variety of other classes such as: Languages, Physical Education, Music, Art, Computer and Science Lab. And this is just during the academic day!!
There are many after school activity options as well.
The campus is secure and well kept. Must be why it has been here for decades!!!!

The children are worked with in small groups for core subjects.
The student-teacher ratio is perfect.
The children are nurtured and challenged yet not unduly pressured.
Many of the teachers have been with the school for a good number of years.
The curriculum is nicely varied and there is emphasis on values and fitness as well.
I like the fact that Carden really emphasizes analytical and critical thinking while providing a strong foundation!

I worked at this school as a Teacher's Aide in a kindergarten class a year ago. I barely lasted 2 months. The teacher I worked with was a total burn out! A number of teachers had warned me about her! She constantly yelled at the children and at me. To give you some examples; One child was yelled at everyday for saying ok after he was given instructions. She would yell "DON'T SAY OK, JUST DO IT!" I don't think a child should be yelled at for this. He was probably trained by his parents to say that. During the first month of school a little girl was yelled at for crying for her mother during class. "YOU WILL NOT DISTURB MY CLASS!" the teacher yelled. If a child talked out of turn, even to let another child know that they dropped something, or to say, you stepped on my toe, they were yelled at. I was yelled at in front of 2 other teachers and about 30 children because I lined the children up at 11:58 instead of 11:57. I am not exaggerating! Another time I was yelled at in front of the class because my paperwork was one day late. She knew my grandmother had died the day before, but there could be no exceptions. I spoke with the principal about these things and his reply was, "Its her classroom and she can run it the way she wants, if you don't like it you should consider leaving." There was a total lack of compassion for the children, except of course when the parents came around. If your child has lots of personality, BEWARE! This school is like a military for young children. I was told not to allow the children to raise their voices or run during recess. "They must maintain the Carden discipline", is what I was told. I personally think children should be allowed to play hard at such a young age. The books are very old and literally falling apart. There is terrible communication between teachers, which makes for a stressful environment for everyone, including the children. If the principal allowed this in one classroom who's to say its not happening in others