Sierra School

Here's what you get, or don't get, if you send your kids to Sierra. For approximately ten thousand dollars/year (more, for the esl students), you get: No school library, no computer lab, no lockers, no gym, no auditorium, no cafeteria, no sports teams, no afterschool clubs, no instruments in music class, very few electives (all of which are held just once a week), no student newspaper, no athletic field (a city park is used for PE), one foreign language option (only Spanish), and field trip transportation either by parent volunteers or by city bus. The buildings are old and dilapidated, some classrooms are tiny, and many of the chairs and desks are worn down and should have been replaced years ago. Students either bring their lunches or buy them from a truck which pulls up every day. The teachers must hate working there, since every summer Sierra seems to lose about half (or more) of its faculty. The "mainstream" student population consists mostly of kids who have special needs, which would be fine except that most if not all of Sierra's teachers have no prior experience or training in Special Ed. Is this worth ten thousand or more? more

Sierra School looked like an ideal school for our oldest who thrives in smaller group environments. Basically, that was the only thing going for them. There isn't much structure and in order for a student to excel, they will have to provide their own discipline and structure. The teachers are there to help and are supportive, but don't provide the structured enviroment of a standard classroom. Tuition is about average at about $10k per year for high school. more