Harmony Magnet Academy

Posted: August 14, 2014

Harmony Magnet Academy is an outstanding school for both students and teachers. The school administrators, Jeff Brown, Principal and Millie Edsberg, Assistant Vice principal are proactive, effective, hardworking and caring leaders. They support the staff and students in providing the best possible resources in order to deliver an excellent education to the students. Additionally, all the teachers at the school are extremely dedicated professionals intent on providing students with the best education possible. Notable teacher standout, who I have worked with in the past, include but are not limited to Mr. Karjala, Mr. Velasquez, Mr. Froula, Mrs. Edwards, Mrs. Contreras, Mr. Wheeler and Dr. and Mrs Allard to name a few. As a former teacher at the school, it is my opinion that this school provides students with a rare opportunity for an education and teachers with a rare opportunity to work in a friendly professional environment that is extremely difficult to find in other school. It is no wonder, that under Mr. Brown's leadership, why US News and World Report ranks harmony Magnet Academy as one of the best high schools in the United States and California.

Posted: August 8, 2014

I currently attend this school and will graduate in 2016. As part of the engineering pathway, I have been able to learn about all disciplines of engineering. The teachers are very engaging in what they teach and make the classes enjoyable. During lunch, most - if not all - teachers are in their classroom ready to help a student with whatever they may need. If a student doesn't need help, the classrooms are still a nice place to be during lunch. The only possible downside I can see is the school's affiliation with Strathmore High. While it is also a good high school, it is difficult when a student has classes on both campuses with only a five minute class change time between classes. P.E., sports, choir, and band are all taken at Strathmore HIgh. That being said, it isn't a hard thing to get used to. They just have to time their schedules right according to the bell schedule :)

Posted: May 22, 2014

Harmony Magnet Academy (HMA) has been great for our two sons, one finishing his first year and one his second. It challenges them academically and also, with their partnership with Strathmore, allows them a valuable sports outlet. The teachers and administrators are extremely responsive to us and work hard. The teachers in general are superb with notable standouts to be Hately in engineering, Kharjala in engineering, and Duvet in foreign languages. Kudos as well to the varsity basketball coach for emphasizing character development, team work and conduct in the face of today's "win at all costs" mentality often found at other programs. HMA is a winner in every metric that exists.

Posted: May 19, 2014

Harmony Magnet Academy (HMA) has thus far been a satisfying experience for our sons. We chose HMA due to the academic culture, superior test scores as compared to other high schools in the county and its' claim that upon graduation students are college ready. We have found the teachers and administrators to be extremely responsive to questions and inquiries regarding our kids progress. Just like students, there are some teachers who seem to really excel and who hold their students to higher standards because they believe in the kid's abilities and the mission of the school. One such teacher has been the Engineering department's Mr. Robert Hately. He has been a great example of unwavering commitment to excellence in teaching and the concept that through hard work, success can be achieved.

Posted: February 13, 2014

I attended this school for three years before moving out. No; I did not move out because I didn't like it. On the contrary it is a great school that I would recommend to any students in the area who are interested in engineering. Their staff is wonderful and dedicated. I personally consider Mr. Velasquez, Mr. Karjala and Mr. Harriger some of the best instructors I have had. Great shool. Can't wait to go back and visit.

Posted: September 8, 2013

Two of my children are currently attending Harmony Magnet Academy and I love it. More importantly, they do. I have always been involved in my children's schooling and do what I can as a volunteer; this allows me to see teachers interact with kids. That said, I can say I really love this school. The teachers are all great and all seem dedicated to giving the children the very best education. My kids are in the engineering pathway, and I like that the school hires some engineering professionals to teach; I'm sure they do the same for the arts academy. One teacher in particular, Mr. Hateley (a "real life" engineer), brings a practical side to his classroom. He even calls in the first weeks of school to introduce himself. His classroom is always open. In fact, my kids and their friends chose to eat their lunches there everyday. Many teachers are in their classrooms at lunch and even stay after school to help students in need of a little extra help. This dedication is why the school's scores are so high. I can see how a new principal every year could be disheartening. However, this is our second year at Harmony and we've only had Mr. Brown. He has been very approachable and friendly.

Posted: November 21, 2012

I'm apart of the graduating class of 2012, the first graduating class. Harmony Magnet Academy provides many opportunities for students and an excellent staff that truly care. Juana Gray in particular is one of the best advisers for aiding students to be college ready. The pathway program allows students to choose between the Academy of Engineering and the Academy of Performing Arts. I definitely believe that the Academy of Performing Arts gets the shorter end of all the funding; the equipment they have for performing is lackluster compared to all the state of the art programs and machinery the Academy of Engineering uses. However, there are a few problems with the school. The AP program isn't very strong because many of the teachers have just started teaching AP and don't have the experience. Harmony also strongly emphasizes the importance of the yearly STAR tests when in fact they really are not that important to the students. There are ridiculous rallies every year to boast about the high API of the school.

Posted: April 26, 2012

We have had 3 principals in the past 4 years, and with principal Land leaving at the end of the year it will make 4. This has an effect on the culture and environment of the school. The fact that the school information on this site is at least two years old is saying something. We have a great staff, and even better students. The new principal will need to work hard to build trust and a consistent culture that is worthy of our overly touted API score. Way too many dog and pony shows at the school. The additional work we do because of our association with NAF, PLTW, etc, would be fine if the people asking for it talked to us, and not at us. The is a lot of local news lately about the district worth checking out.

Posted: September 2, 2009

Posted: August 29, 2009