Bonita Country Day School

Posted: September 16, 2025

Posted: September 16, 2025

Posted: September 16, 2025

Posted: September 16, 2025

Posted: September 16, 2025

Posted: September 16, 2025

Posted: September 16, 2025

Review of BCD School:
Both of my daughters attended BCD for a time, and based on our experience, I would not recommend this school. Although my children are no longer enrolled, the issues we faced were significant enough that I feel compelled to share our story.

Leadership Concerns:
If Mr. and Mrs. C are still leading the school, I urge families to proceed with caution. While they may present themselves as warm and professional, our experience revealed a lack of integrity and compassion in their leadership.

Incident of Racial Harassment:
One of the most disturbing moments occurred when a young boy told my daughters—while I was standing right there—that they “needed to stop being Black,” that he “didn’t like Black people,” and asked “who told them to be Black anyway.” Shockingly, neither the teachers nor the administration intervened. When I told the boy not to speak to my children that way and asked him to find his parents, I was reprimanded by the school for addressing the child directly. The lack of support and accountability in this situation was deeply troubling.

Potty Training Miscommunication:
Another issue arose during a summer enrollment call. The school contacted me to ask if my younger daughter would be joining. I explained that she wasn’t fully potty trained yet, but was making progress. They transferred me to a teacher who assured me it wouldn’t be a problem and that they would work with her. Based on that assurance, I disenrolled her from her daycare and enrolled her at BCD.
Two weeks into the school year, I was told she could no longer attend because she wasn’t fully potty trained. When I reminded them of our earlier conversation, they denied it ever happened. The teacher claimed she had never spoken to me, and Mrs. C said it was too much of a burden on the staff. When we expressed frustration and asked for time to find a new daycare, they responded by disenrolling our entire family. We received a letter stating that we were no longer welcome at the school.

Curriculum and Value:
After leaving BCD, we discovered that the curriculum they used could be purchased online for just $20—despite the high tuition we had been paying. We bought the curriculum ourselves, found a new school, and our children are now thriving.

Posted: September 26, 2013

Excellent school, with caring teachers and administrators. This is our second year at BCDS and we could not be happier. I encourage the parents of prospective students to see for themselves. Both the Headmaster and Principal are good listeners and responsive leaders. We'll be back next year.

Posted: February 20, 2013

My two daughters used to go to this school. We spent over $20,000 at this school in tuition alone, not to mention registration fees or after school care. Our children no longer go to this school. I received a letter in the mail from the school's attorney which stated that the school monitors sites like these and if I posted any negative comments about the school on this site or any other site, that it could be "actionable". . .I suppose, they mean in court. I interpreted that to mean that if I said anything they considered to be "negative", they could/may/would try to take me to court, I suppose. So, I'm not saying anything negative. Not sure if any other parents have received any similar letters from the school attorney, but as for me. . ..I can't say anything negative.

Posted: December 17, 2012

Bonita Country Day is a great school. My son has been attending since he was two and half years old. He loves the school and so do we. Mrs. C the principal is wonderful and she takes great care in keeping the school standards up to par and higher in regards to the curriculum that is taught in both the Montessori program as well as K-3rd grade. Mrs. C and her staff have created an environment which is both safe and caring for the children. They give the children a lot of attention and are always attentive to the parents concerns and needs in regards to their children. This a great school with awesome staff, and I recommend to all parents who are thinking in putting their children in school, to check out Bonita Country Day school. :)

Posted: December 12, 2012

XAC Part 2: My son is thriving. As a young 5 yr old, he comes home eager to do his HW,~10 min. a day. He s telling time (hour & half hour), adding & subtracting 2-digit numbers, decoding words, writing short guided sentences, drawing a painting a lot, and much more. He also eagerly participates in some of the fun after school programs (i.e., chess, mad science, & playball). When I pick him up, he doesn t want to leave. Principle Catanzaro, lets the kids play in the playground before/after school. She s also very receptive and listens parents ideas this doesn t mean that she ll implement them the next day, or even at all, but she s the expert; I get the sense that she ll always do what s best for our children as a whole and if she doesn t get it right at first, she s willing to make it right . During these hard economic times some parents have reconsidered public school and have reluctantly pulled their kids out. Unfortunately, I may have to do the same. But if you can afford it, consider BCD, your investment will pay off. One last thing, the school is not the most aesthetically appealing school, but it s very clean and the classrooms are spacious; see it for yourselves

Posted: December 1, 2012

We also attended this school for a few years, and during those few years watched the quality of the school deteriorate. Many parents voiced their concerns regarding academics, as well as issues concerning the student body, but little was realized in the way of meaningful change. It was a disappointing experience.

Posted: November 16, 2012

I beg to differ with the parent who thinks the school is terrible. The principal Mrs. C. is different. She is caring with the kids and has her own way of doing things. My 9 year old child has been attending since preschool thru 4th. I have two kids there. Principal goes out of her way to assist reasonable parent requests with curriculum and suggestions in programs. The school already committed to having up to 5th grade even if it means there will only be one child in the grade Low student /teacher ratio (<20) makes it feel like we are getting private lessons. Don't be fazed by the combined grades, you will get that at a lot of the smaller private schools. The lessons are catered to the child s individual level of learning when needed to help them grow academically. It's not high tech, but strong on teaching fundamentals. I hand selected this good school many years ago for my child over other popular status private schools. Each year I review and compare other schools curriculum to what we have and I still decide to remain at BCDS. My child's annual 3rd grade test results are at high school level. Some parents had to remove their kids due to effect of economic slump.

Posted: November 15, 2012

The demeanor of kids at this school is good. They learn to respect each other as they grow especially if they started strong from Montessori. Ms. Abril, superb! Spanish teacher, Mrs. Reyes, fantastic! Kids are enthusiastic and look forward to her class always. The curriculum here is ahead of other schools especially in math (by 2 years). Kids transferring in usually needs assistance catching us to curriculum at BCDS. Yearly test results reflect if the kids are actually learning. They are all learning. As parent, I also supplement to help my kids learn or develop better at BCDS. The school is not fancy. It is simple, strong in academics and for sure is clean. Anyone who has their kids going to BCDS for 3 years will not do that if they think the school is really bad. I think it is just difference of opinion or parenting style and such parent may be in denial of the child s social/ behavorial needs. Few kids were dismissed from school by our headmaster recently to not disturb & retain the respectable academic learning environment for others at BCDS. Competitive learning amongst driven students have been healthy and motivational.

Posted: July 1, 2012

My daughter just finished her 2nd year at BCDS. There are excellent teachers and an awesome curriculum. Until now I thought this school was one of the "great" left in San Diego County. Recently, my daughter (5 yrs old) was the victim of nasty racial remarks made to her by another 5 yr old that my wife witnessed. This was brought to the attention of the school (the headmaster) and instead of immediately taking action to handle the problem ie. disciplinary action, etc; the headmaster started making excuses as to why this could not have happened. I am very disapointed and upset at the way this situation was handled. My daughter is one of only about five black students at the school. But, she doesn't notice because my wife and I have always taught her to love everyone. When a child brings it to her attention by telling her to "take her black skin off, and go back to white" I have a HUGE problem with that. BCDS has not assured us or shown proof that they will be holding diversity training, etc going forward. Overall great education, but they don't seem to be as open to diversity involving all races of people as is stated in their mission statement.

Posted: May 13, 2012

My son is currently finishing his second year (K) and he has enjoyed every moment! He continues to thrive with the wonderful staff and curriculum. I must say that I did consider sending him to a public school due to financial issues, however, I realized that I will never find a school that encourages my son to exceed all expectations and be so proud of who he is! I also love the fact that I know all the staff and they know me and my son. I am comfortable addressing any questions and issues I have and am met with immediate results! I feel like I am part of the BCDS family because they encourage parents to be part of the experience! If you are considering this school I highly recommend taking a tour to see for yourself what an amazing group of children are here and the incredibly open and caring staff!

Posted: April 4, 2011

I'm unfortunately not as impressed with the grade school as other parents lead me to believe, although I m amazed with the Montessori program, teachers, and especially the curriculum. In my opinion, spend the money on the preschool, instead of daycare; my child has definitely excelled here and is worth every penny to give your child that boost before the other grade school. Nevertheless, I wouldn t spend the money, again, on schooling through grade school at BCDS. I have come to realize that most of the students in my child s class are there because they or their parents have a special need and/or request, so they pay a high tuition to get what they want, at the expense of others. For example, one of the kids is ALWAYS late to school, and I don t mean just 10 or 15 minutes, it is very disruptive to my child s learning, the teacher, and fellow classmates. When one of the other parents asked the school for assistance in this matter, the school said they would, but admitted that they did not want to upset that child s parent and cause them to leave the school