Notre Dame Academy

Posted: February 17, 2024

Fantastic school with accountable administrators, caring teachers, and strong academics. Families are very supportive of each other. We are so happy to have switched from our old school to Notre Dake Academy.

Posted: February 17, 2024

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Posted: August 8, 2023

Excellent school, great teachers. Good faith system. Kids are happy and learning great things here.

Posted: August 8, 2023

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Posted: June 2, 2023

The best education, teachers, training, facilities, and care. This is what an experienced school looks like.

Posted: June 2, 2023

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Posted: June 17, 2019

Posted: June 17, 2019

Posted: June 17, 2019

NDA is a great school. The teachers and administration care deeply about the children and there is a strong focus on learning as well as developing well rounded and kind citizens of the world. It is truly a special place and a fantastic school.

Posted: June 17, 2019

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Posted: June 8, 2019

NDA is a wonderful school where our son has been for 7 years and he will continue through 8th grade. The teachers love what they do and the entire staff builds relationships with the students. Our son feels at home and enjoys visiting his past teachers who will always love him. He has been challenged academically and we have watched his character grow as he is taught virtues and how to live as a truly good human being. Academics are very important to us, but more than that our hope is that our child will become a good and kind person. I have watched some parents pull their children from our school and move them from school to school- these are the parents who are leaving disgruntled reviews. NDA values ALL students and knows that everyone has their unique gifts and challenges. At NDA ALL students are loved- not just some. NDA prepares children for the world in teaching them that we need to love everyone even if they are different from us and that our goal is to be the best version of ourselves and this is not achieved by thinking we are better than everyone else. Notre Dame Academy encourages children to problem solve instead of running away from their problems.

Posted: June 8, 2019

This school has some really great teachers who love the students, their job and are always learning so they can be the best they can be.

Posted: June 8, 2019

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Posted: November 1, 2018

We love the school and the communities of families.

Posted: November 1, 2018

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Posted: May 21, 2018

Often thrown together with no real connection to preparing for tests or other weighted work

Posted: May 21, 2018

While there are some good teachers, the school pays very low wages and demands a lot from the teachers. They can't keep the good ones, and there is a lot of teacher turnover.

Posted: May 21, 2018

Lots of lying and bullying behind the scenes. Some children have learned to mask their mean-spirited behavior. The administration was oblivious to it until it was brought to their attention.

Posted: May 21, 2018

Horrible administration. We had friends of ours share how they were treated so poorly by the Principles. It broke our hearts how they sided with wealthy and influential parents. Very cliquey and only a handful of families are well served. It is one of the main reasons we left last year.

Posted: May 21, 2018

They try to make accommodations. Some legacy kids and their parents know the routine so they have all the material and lessons to prep their children while those on the outside have to struggle. "Room Parents" were there mainly to facilitate for a handful of "in-crowd" kids.

Posted: May 21, 2018

Our friends had their child ridiculed when he was wrongly accused of having injured another boy. The administration accused the boy and many of the classmates berated and demeaned the child. We found out after the family left and it was revealed their child was not responsible. They pulled him after that. Sad!

Posted: May 21, 2018

We left last year. The parents were unpleasant and selfish. Our son was a threat as an athlete to some of the other boys and their dad-coaches harassed him for it. We are at a much better place and feel included and welcome.

Posted: March 10, 2018

We are going to be leaving this school this year. We saw a wonderful family drummed out when they stood up to a very self-serving administration. Last year we had another family pull their son due to a monopoly of well-connected families that didn't like them. Extreme teacher turnover, two-faced administrators, cliquey insiders promoting their own agendas. Dirty little secret that any families have to enroll their children into tutoring courses as the curriculum doesn't prepare them for HS.

Stay away from this school!!!

Posted: March 10, 2018

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Posted: August 15, 2017

I am not able to respond to this question since my child learns in a traditional manner.

Posted: August 15, 2017

The staff is exceptionally kind to all students. Younger children who experience and/or participate in bullying behavior are given tools to resolve problems in healthier ways. When bullying occurs in the upper grades, it is handled in a serious way.

Posted: August 15, 2017

We have been very happy with the high level of education, spiritual development and welcoming families at Notre Dame Academy. Our 4th Grade son could attend the highest ranked public school in the county, but NDA is better! We know the school is educating the whole person, plus smaller class sizes. Our son scores very high on Star testing and we know NDA is a major part of his success.

Posted: August 15, 2017

NDA has taught my 4th Grader to not be intimidated by homework. He knows what his responsibilities are and gets things done in a timely manner. I think this is because his teachers at NDA have found a good balance between too much homework and not enough!

Posted: August 15, 2017

In the last five years, we have been very pleased with NDA's teachers. The 2nd Grade Team was exceptional last year. Also, love the support staff! Music, Art, Technology, French and Spanish have all wonderful people who truly care about the kids.

Posted: August 15, 2017

Developing a child's character is an ongoing process. NDA offers daily opportunities for our children to grow in God's love, to be the best person they can be. I personally know at least 20 recent graduates of NDA who are remarkable young adults, living Christian lives of leadership.

Posted: August 15, 2017

I think the Admin staff works diligently for the success of all students. It is a very difficult job, with lots of balls in the air.

Posted: May 3, 2017

Great school! Small class sizes and wonderful teachers encourage development of students.

Posted: May 2, 2017

I haven't seen nor heard of any bullying, therefore I have no opinion.

Posted: May 2, 2017

As a parent who volunteers at the school, I see special attention being paid to those that may need it. Again, it goes back to the parents, and a teacher can only do so much without sacrificing time spent with the other kids. If your child needs help, I would recommend outside tutoring.

Posted: May 2, 2017

Leadership could be better, but it's balanced out by the strong support structure and participation by parents.

Posted: May 2, 2017

Beyond faith, NDA students exhibit the right character and attitude.

Posted: May 2, 2017

The teachers are extremely caring and nurturing!

Posted: May 2, 2017

I think homework is important in order to reinforce lessons covered in the classroom, but I don't think it needs to be overwhelming. I'm sure homework will increase in proportion to the grade level, but as a 3rd grader, I think the amount of homework is appropriate.

Posted: May 2, 2017

My 3rd grade daughter has been attending NDA since Kindergarten, and we've had a great experience at the school. Academically, my daughter has done extremely well, and has scored well above average on the standardized (Renaissance STAR) exams. While teachers play a strong role, one has to remember that parent involvement plays an intricate role in the academic success of a child as well. We enjoy the social environment immensely, and have vacationed with other families on multiple occasions. The one area that needs improvement is the athletic program, but strong efforts are being made to help better the sports program.

Overall, NDA is a great place to be!

Posted: May 1, 2017

Notre Dame Academy makes the mission of providing a strong Catholic education a reality. The children get a solid academic education in an active Catholic Christian culture for the students, the school community, and the parish. The daily school-wide convocation with prayers, hymns, and pledge of allegiance is a wholesome way to start the day. The weekly Friday Mass with the whole school in formal uniform and on their best behavior, led by the students, gives the school a tangible sense of being a close, supportive faith community. The monthly Eucharistic Adoration (even if only for a minute) after the Friday Mass for the whole school (amazingly even kindergarteners do participate in Eucharistic adoration) is a singular experience and practice of solemnity and reverence in a world that often does not understand the value of prayer and quiet presence. The leadership, active engagement in teaching, and spiritual presence of religious sisters in habits, is a special witness and blessing to students, who otherwise may never meet a religious sister in their lives outside of this school. Many of the students, religious sisters, teachers, priests and even the canine mascots of the school are also often seen at the parish's Sunday Mass, creating a vibrant continuous experience between the school and the church. These details are a window into what make NDA a uniquely faith-building Catholic Christian educational experience. My children receive a strong "regular education"; but furthermore, here at NDA, my children's growth in the Catholic faith is fostered in a blessed and effective way.

Posted: May 1, 2017

The active Catholic culture of the school provides a healthy context for students' standards of behavior. Of course, the students are real children with normal behavior patterns, but at least at NDA there are high standards of behavior to which the students know they are called to aspire to even when they don't want to.

Posted: May 1, 2017

The administration and teachers respond well to situations of bullying as bullying is clearly against the ethos of the school. I have seen incidents of bullying dealt with effectively.

Posted: May 1, 2017

The teachers have been caring and are willing to meet with the parents to discuss the students needs and issues. From personal experience, Mrs. Lindsey (Kindergarten) and Ms. Comey (first grade) are particular gems of humans and teachers.

Posted: April 26, 2017

The school has resource room for students who need more assistance. The elementary school's differentiated teaching is teacher dependent. Some teachers are great at working with individual students at their levels, others tend to teach towards the group. The middle school (6-8) grade has more opportunities for differentiated instruction due to its rotational class structure.

Posted: April 26, 2017

Posted: April 26, 2017

There have been positive changes at the school over the past few years for self-improvement. There are efforts to revamp the curriculum to meet the higher standards the parents desire for the students.

Posted: April 26, 2017

Bullying is not tolerated and some children have been asked to leave the school for repeated bullying.

Posted: April 26, 2017

This school has made great strides at including students with learning needs.

Posted: April 26, 2017

There is a great balance of a loving and caring principal who happens to be a Sister, a business type Vice Principal of Campus Culture and a knowledgable Vice Principal of Curriculum.

Posted: April 26, 2017

Catholic schools do this best! Because of the daily religion classes and school's social skills program, striving to live like Christ is central at NDA

Posted: April 26, 2017

Our children's teachers have been super at listening to what we expect as parents from a school. The students at the school all seem to test really high on the Catholic high school entrance exams and my own children have done very well on the standardized tests.

Posted: April 26, 2017

There is a good amount of homework. I'm the kind of parent that wishes there was no homework, but I am aware that my children attend a school where academics are super important to the other parents. I also see the value of having my children learn the routine of work and then play after school.

Posted: April 26, 2017

Notre Dame Academy is the cream of the crop of Catholic Schools in San Diego. Why choose a Catholic School? My faith is the central part of my life. Having my children attend a Catholic School supports the idea that our faith should be integrated throughout all aspects of our lives. NDA incorporates Christ's teachings into all lessons over all subjects, prayer throughout the day, attending Mass together as a school on Fridays, celebrating holy days and feast days, and teaching social skills so that the children become aware that they should be striving to live out the gospel everyday. Another added bonus is that because many of the families are Catholic, we share similar moral values and because it is a preschool-8th campus, you are able to get to know the families so that when the time comes for sleep over parties, you know the parents! NDA also has such generous and supportive parents that the there are many luxuries that you don't find in public schools or other private schools. The children each have an ipad to use, the school has air conditioning and heating (sounds silly to list this, but I have many friends whose children don't have this at their schools), a well equipped science lab and music room, document cameras and sound systems in every classroom, and overall the campus is kept up with new everything from furniture to books. There are also many special area classes that the students have weekly, biweekly or everyday: music, technology, STEAM classes, PE, spanish, french and library. We have also been happy with this school academically. The teachers build relationships with the students and take the time to find out how they learn best. There is a Learning Resource Center where the director makes sure that the learning needs of the students are met and also offers in class support or pull out support. This is not something you usually find in a Catholic School because there is usually not enough funding, but as I wrote above, NDA is well funded. The teachers seem to realize that education is very important to the families- we wouldn't be investing so much if we didn't. The teachers go the extra mile to help the students who are struggling and also challenge the many students who are above grade level. Overall, we have been very happy at NDA and look forward to being a part of this school family for many years to come. The plan next is to follow many of the NDA graduates down the street to Cathedral Catholic for high school.

Posted: December 13, 2016

This school appears to be on par with public schools in the state. They take bullying to far and infringe on children's rights to free speech. Children are prevented from expressing themselves and if they do, they are written up for bullying.

Posted: December 13, 2016

In my opinion, this school lacks integrity and respect for children in examples where teachers make mistakes. This is quite surprising considering the school's religious views.

Posted: December 13, 2016

In my opinion some of the teachers are great but others follow the typical stereotype of I know everything but have never done anything.

Posted: December 13, 2016

I have a child at this school and it became very apparent to me during the first year that the school lacks integrity. We experienced a situation where two teachers provided our child with conflicting information and our child acted based on the direction of one of them. Rather than take responsibility for their mistake, they punished our child for a policy violation. To top this situation off, rather than punish the child for the initial thing they were blamed the school had to make an example of him and and accused him of something else. No apologies, just accuse him of something else. As a veteran who served many years and is now a successful business owner, I find this school's behaviour disrespectful and shameful and definitely not an example I want my child to follow.

I personally have serious concerns about a Catholic school where integrity (doing the right thing) is not a pillar of child development.

Posted: December 13, 2016

In my opinion, the schools foundation is really no different than most public schools. Even though you would think the curriculum would be better as a private school, it's appears to still be managed/regulated by federal/state standards which is evident in their teachings. I have seen a number or teachers providing reviews on about employment here stating the same thing. They bicker, complain and make a bid deal out of trivial life issues and don't provide solutions or remedies. I love the idea of a religious foundation for ethics and morals but this is not the case here. I feel this is the perfect place for children that are into education and need to be sheltered from life's realities. The foundation for this schools appears to be driven other things. Its surely not the place for those who have stronger personalities or those who are competitive.

Posted: December 13, 2016

Posted: December 13, 2016

Leadership is what makes something successful. If parents are bringing up problems and they are not being adequately addressed then leadership is lacking.....

Posted: August 20, 2015

Our sons have attended Notre Dame Academy for 7 years. It is difficult for me to assess NDA as a "school" because it is much more than an educational facility. Academically there are many things that I love about the school. It emphasizes international languages with instruction beginning in Preschool (French or Spanish). Music and Art, Physical education, etc. are at the forefront of the curriculum. The whole child is what they strive for at NDA and character development is the most important. This involves praying, religious education...and forming a solid moral foundation in a healthy, loving environment. Not Catholic? No problem. They are respectful and sensitive to each child. Furthermore, the Sisters practice what they preach. They are caring, hard working and dedicated people. They put the child first, period. We are a military family and Dad has deployed a few times over the years. The NDA family truly looked out for us. Father Nick and the Sisters checked in on my little one who was in Kindergarten and had a rough time without Dad. More than that they gave him love and understanding...they know him. They know us. Other families at the school made us homecooked meals WEEKLY for the entire 7 1/2 months my husband was gone. I'm a working Mom...Moms schedule playdates with my kids on half days or when I needed coverage. I had caring, helpful people lend a willing hand time and time again. Does this mean I haven't liked things or been happy with certain things? Of course not but at NDA I have a voice. They are always striving to improve the school. Their work is never done. Sister has an open door policy and will hear your concerns...she may not agree with you but she will treat you with respect and communicate with you...like in a family. One Family, Always United!!!!

Posted: August 20, 2015

Posted: August 20, 2015

Posted: August 20, 2015

Our sons have attended Notre Dame Academy for 7 years. It is difficult for me to assess NDA as a "school" because it is much more than an educational facility. Academically there are many things that I love about the school. It emphasizes international languages with instruction beginning in Preschool (French or Spanish). Music and Art, Physical education, etc. are at the forefront of the curriculum. The whole child is what they strive for at NDA and character development is the most important. This involves praying, religious education...and forming a solid moral foundation in a healthy, loving environment. Not Catholic? No problem. They are respectful and sensitive to each child. Furthermore, the Sisters practice what they preach. They are caring, hard working and dedicated people. They put the child first, period. We are a military family and Dad has deployed a few times over the years. The NDA family truly looked out for us. Father Nick and the Sisters checked in on my little one who was in Kindergarten and had a rough time without Dad. More than that they gave him love and understanding...they know him. They know us. Other families at the school made us homecooked meals WEEKLY for the entire 7 1/2 months my husband was gone. I'm a working Mom...Moms schedule playdates with my kids on half days or when I needed coverage. I had caring, helpful people lend a willing hand time and time again. Does this mean I haven't liked things or been happy with certain things? Of course not but at NDA I have a voice. They are always striving to improve the school. Their work is never done. Sister has an open door policy and will hear your concerns...she may not agree with you but she will treat you with respect and communicate with you...like in a family. One Family, Always United!!!!

Posted: September 1, 2014

It is a great school for elementary years, however some spoilt children and families. A high teacher turnover rate. Academically ok. Not liberal

Posted: July 24, 2014

This school's academic standards are far below the public schools in the area. The administrative staff is unqualified and unprofessional, and don't seem to care about the many wonderful families who have left the school due to the low academic standards and old-fashioned teaching techniques employed at the school. While there are some decent teachers, they don't tend to stay. The families are nice enough, and if you want a "sorority" type atmosphere this school is for you. If you are looking for religious instruction, faith formation classes through St. Therese of Carmel would be more productive. Father Nick and his staff are the one bright spot at this school, but unfortunately they don't control the school. You would be better off saving your money and sending your child elsewhere! Check out St. Michael's if you want a quality Catholic education.

Posted: April 6, 2014

We recently transferred out !st Grade and Kinder child here from another Catholic school and are very happy. Socially the students and parents are welcoming and the teachers relay go a step beyond to work with students and see they to their individual needs. The Sisters run a good ship here and the office staff is equally as loving. Academically, we are very happy as our children are doing well in all subjects, given accelerated math when needed, studying and speaking Spanish, French etc. Compared to other children his age is private and public schools our son reads at a far superior level and our daughter is as well. The children are studying technology, computers, social studies, current events etc in 1st Grade! They have a parent mentoring program in K which tasks children to have a parent reading partner in school so they are reading aloud every day. The school is strong in faith values as well. Homerun!

Posted: March 18, 2014

The education system at this school is sorely lacking, my son who transferred In from a public school has not had to study for one year. The teachers are insane and they waste 4 hours a week on useless classes. The only good teacher here left after one year.

Posted: January 30, 2014

I am very proud to say here why we value our school. We've seen meaningful changes occur over a period of 3+ years. Some changes benefit students & student life: consistently upgraded technology, enhanced campus facilities & most importantly an uplifting of school spirit (increased participation in intramural sports & after-school activities, for example). Some changes benefit staff & teachers to help them grow in their vocations & community. Most of these changes, at any given private school, are successful when there are enough resources: planning, financial support and time. We have seen these resources at work to grow our school. This growth is something that tuition alone does not cover! An important fact to consider when evaluating private schools. Whether or not a person is a Catholic, a student, parent, teacher or staff (or all of the above or none) our school represents an engaging campus, making consistent changes to benefit all of our children and also the broader community surrounding them with patience and talent.

Posted: June 3, 2013

AMAZING SCHOOL my daughter loves it here and I highly recommend it. Send your kid here because its worth every penny

Posted: January 26, 2013

My son is currently attending his first year at NDA as a middle school student. Overall we are very happy with the school. The curriculum is strong, the teachers are willing to work with students to help them succeed, the administration has been approachable, and the students are friendly. Although it was a transition for my son coming from another school, we are happy with NDA and love the religious education that is being provided. There are also ways for students to get involved, either through sports, choir, academic competitions, and student government. The parents are welcoming and offer support to new families.

Posted: December 12, 2012

We were not happy here, and are happy to be at another nearby Catholic School.

Posted: October 3, 2011

Notre Dame Academy provides children a caring, challenging environment that can transform them as students. The Sisters who lead the school (and they are in charge) have a nuanced, sophisticated understanding of how children learn and interact year by year. The result we have seen is that Instead of simply pounding children with homework as so many of the area schools do, this school builds them into individuals and motivated learners over time. I have read reviews and heard parents say the school isn't "hard enough" but for those with the patience to let their children develop, this school offers a wonderful learning environment.