Gilroy Prep School in Gilroy | Military Town Advisor

Category	Rating	Details
Test Scores	9/10	The Test Score Rating examines how students at this school performed on standardized tests compared with other schools in the state. The Test Rating was created using 2025 California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (CAASPP) data from California Department of Education, and using 2025 California Science Test data from California Department of Education.
Student Growth	9/10	The Student Progress Rating measures whether students at this school are making academic progress over time based on student growth data provided by the Department of Education. Specifically, this rating looks at how much progress individual students have made on state assessments during the past year or more, how this performance aligns with expected progress based on a student growth model established by the state Department of Education, and how this school's growth data compares to other schools in the state. The Growth Rating was created using 2025 Student growth data from California Department of Education.

Posted: August 11, 2026

I have two children who have attended this school since kindergarten, so I have had many years to observe the school. Over the years, I have seen a significant amount of turnover among teachers and staff. The school puts a great deal of effort into improving test scores and supporting students who are struggling academically. However, one of my biggest concerns is that academically advanced students often seem to receive less attention, encouragement, and recognition.

I understand that teachers want to build confidence in students who are struggling, and I have seen awards given as a way to motivate and encourage them. While I support encouraging every student, I also believe that students who consistently work hard and perform at a high academic level deserve to have their achievements recognized. Unfortunately, it sometimes feels as though academically advanced students are overlooked simply because they are already doing well.

Overall, my impression is that much of the school's attention and resources are focused on students who are struggling academically, while higher-performing students are often expected to continue succeeding without the same level of support or recognition. I believe there should be a better balance so that every student, regardless of academic level, feels valued, challenged, and appreciated.

The main reason my children have remained at this school is safety. Because it is a small school, bullying during recess and lunch appears to be very limited. As a parent, I feel comfortable sending my children here without constantly worrying about them being bullied. The safe environment is one of the school's greatest strengths and is something I truly appreciate.

Posted: August 11, 2026

Posted: April 25, 2026

I had the pleasure of working at Gilroy Prep from 2015-2021. What brought me to Navigator was the mission to provide a phenomenal education to all students regardless of circumstances. What keeps me at navigator is the strong coaching model and support I receive each year. Gilroy Prep is the best school ever and has the best students in the world.

Posted: April 25, 2026

Posted: October 26, 2024

I previously worked at GPS and it was for lack of better words a hot mess. There is obvious nepotism in their D.O. None of the administration are qualified to be administration. The people in the D.O. care more about the image of navigator schools and pushing their model and agenda on other schools than actually working on their currently established schools. The turn over rate has always been high in teachers, paras, and small group instructors due to the fact that there are little to no consequences for students who act out. There is no discipline plan in place and students learn quickly that they can get away with abusing their teachers. I have witnessed students actually strike teachers and there be NO CONSEQUENCES. Navigator schools does not care about their employees.

Posted: August 18, 2024

The toxic environment here stems from administration and leeches down through to the students- its a sad thing. High marks on great schools come from state testing- they spend too much time on that. There is now a percussion program but it is very new and needs a lot of work. Clubs and extra curricular activities are not a priority here- testing for state tests is their main priority. It doesnt help students and they lose on many things. I read in a lot of reviews that everyone has issues with bullying. Its awful in middle school but not as bad in elementary grades. My biggest problem is with the lack of experience in leadership/administration. They are mostly promoted from within the navigator schools and dont have outside experience. Their experience is limited and narrow but they speak loudly about how wonderful everything is. They are delusional if they think the school is so perfect. The entire school needs an overhaul of their curriculum- too much iPad time, too much students teaching students, too little experienced teachers- especially in middle school. They introduced a new program in middle school called circles to help students learn more about each other but it is nothing more than a group therapy session where students are later made fun of for sharing their feelings. Its teacher lead and teachers were taught by administrators who went to a training course in Tennessee. Its the blind leading the blind- no one wins here. There are a few good teachers in elementary and Im not sure how they have lasted so long in this environment. I once saw a middle school teacher crying in the quad after getting yelled at by one of the vice principals. It was appalling. We were here for 3 years and saw 4 teachers/small group instructors quit- we asked one where he was going and he said hes going to work at the Beach Boardwalk since its better than trying to stay here. This is not a place where students can thrive- its toxic and even teachers are struggling. We took our kids out and have enrolled them elsewhere.

Posted: August 18, 2024

Posted: July 30, 2024

We expected more from this school when we accepted for our children. With the higher rating on here we fully thought it would be the best place for our children to learn and grow. We were wrong and regret our time there. The staff minus the front office ladies and some yard duty, were rude, dismissive and constantly swept things under the rug. If you have an issue, they do their best to avoid it, avoid you, lie about it and then make you feel like an outcast. Our children were not prepared to go back into public school - it was a shock as they had a hard time adjusting to the standard expectations and amount of homework given. GPS made it super easy for the kids to excel on paper and state testing as they spent MONTHS focusing on it instead of teaching curriculum. Its a revolving door of teachers in their middle school and most have less than 3 years of teaching experience. Our children were bullied incessantly while the school did the bare minimum to protect them. Parent involvement is non existent - the school says they encourage it but they completely got rid of ANY parent club and replaced it with their own staff lead group that quickly dissolved to nothing. Homework was so minimal that our children finished it at school and it didnt supplement their learning in any way. They dreaded going to school and lost their love for learning. It was our fault for not pulling them out of this place sooner. This place was like a bad infomercial selling a faulty product and it proved to be the worst experience for our family. We strongly advise everyone to avoid this school. GUSD with all their faults, is a much better option.

Posted: July 30, 2024

Posted: May 30, 2024

This school is one that I would 100% NOT reccommend. The bullying and racism is a constant issue. Random students will use racial or other slurs as if it's ordinary language. In my two-year experience here, there have been over three accounts of physical bullying. One of which had a kid suffer serious injuries because of an "accident" in P.E. class. The educational system "squads" is not used in many other schools and for a good reason. In squads, students are placed in groups of three consisting of a Squad Leader to guide the squad, a Squad Presenter to present the educational material, and a Squad Quality Control to keep everyone focused. The students then teach each other the content while three Squad Leaders traverse the classroom to make sure everyone understands the lesson. What does the teacher do while all of this happens? I'll tell you, NOTHING! As if to add insult to injury, we then get GRADED by the teacher on something they didn't participate in teaching! The students here have no idea what's going on half the time, since they're too busy fooling around and making noise. As a result, most of them can't answer simple questions! The girls are all doing makeup in a corner while all the boys are making animal sounds and pounding on the table. It's no wonder why people hate this place so much!

Posted: May 30, 2024

Posted: January 29, 2024

I strongly recommend avoiding this school. The curriculum is heavily focused on testing, with students spending over a month taking the SBAC, answering five questions daily, compared to other schools where the test is completed in just three days. Bullying is a pervasive problem that is not addressed with the seriousness it deserves. Numerous incidents occur where children are seriously hurt, and parents are not even kept informed. The school excels at being deceptive and maintaining appearances.

Posted: January 29, 2024

Posted: January 12, 2024

I have 3 kids that go to this school, all started in Kindergarten. My eldest is now in 8th grade!! Love this school. Very innovative in the curriculum, using evidence based teaching techniques. What I love most is the goal of closing the achievement gap. Students from all groups and differing socioeconomic status are geared to succeed. That's exactly the environment that I want my kids to learn, that it shouldnt be just about the haves and have nots, but to give access to all kids in the community for a great education.

Posted: January 12, 2024

Posted: December 18, 2023

We try this school for 1 month coming from local Middle School. We transfer back after we try this school. My son did not like it there. He did not learn as much. He say kids there are mean. Teachers are nice but not same education as local school. Local school give more homework and project. Local school has more club, sport, music for students. This school supposed to be good since it has high score but we do not know why they have high score when education not strong. We will not go back and take away application for my young kid.

Posted: December 18, 2023

Posted: October 6, 2023

This school is horrible. The kids are expected to learn in a bullying environment. The teachers do nothing and the administration turns an eye. There is no control whatsoever at this school. The students are talking back to teachers.

Posted: October 6, 2023

Posted: September 23, 2023

Stay away from this school. This school offers absolutely nothing extra to children. Children in middle school are taught in a squad setting made out of 3 children, one of them being the leader. The squad leader is entrusted to lead the teaching and score students. All teachers do is walk around the class. While the squad format is a good idea, it should be used as something other than the primary teaching method. Children can not always pass their knowledge to other students; they are not certified teachers.

Admin staff is not inductive to developing relationships with parents, and parents' requests are not taken seriously. This school administration staff is unprofessional and rude.

The bullying problem is a real issue in this school. The standards are so low in what is tolerated. Some children are afraid of reporting who are victims of racial slurs, constant teasing, and harassment. When issues are brought up to the administration, they don't know what to do.
We are about to move out of this school and recommend that other parents not send their children to Gilroy Prep.

Posted: September 23, 2023

Posted: September 19, 2022

This schools test rating on this site is not reflective of accurate numbers.
They have a very high turn over rate for teachers and students. Very weak parent club and events.
A lot of bullying and inappropriate behavior from children that is reported and does unsolved. No resolution consistently for years.
This school is very young and they require long hours of their teachers and I believe that affects the children negatively.

Posted: September 19, 2022

Posted: July 22, 2022

I this school loves to broadcast their great test scores. However to get those scores, the main focus for the students is test prep. I feel like all they care about are test scores, not fostering independent thinking, project based learning, advanced concepts. We have asked multiple times for more challenging work and they cannot accommodate this. There are no advanced classes. Most of the day is spent learning on an Ipad. I have sat in class many times and seen this. What we experienced transitioning from a high score driven school to a traditional school is they don't know how to learn, all they do is memorize. My daughter struggled going to a traditional school after this school, where she was supposedly well beyond her grade level at this school.

Bullying is also a problem at this school and they do not know how to handle it. My child was bullied at this school and despite asking time and time again for the school to do something about it, nothing was done. I have heard from many other parents they have the same experience. School safety has been brought up many times, they have a large unhoused population on school boarders since this school is right on the train tracks. Last year a fire was started by the unhoused on campus.

Teacher and staff turnover is also an issue. Every year they have many new teachers. I suspect they are teaching in an underserved school to qualify to get their student loans paid off and then they leave.

Posted: July 22, 2022

Posted: October 17, 2019

Overall a great school, well intended people, and effective approach at education. The campus is not as nice as surrounding public schools, but they are producing results.

Posted: October 17, 2019

Posted: March 26, 2018

Homeworks are given according to students' academic level. Not all students in the same grade get the same homeworks

Posted: March 26, 2018

I am very happy with the way the school teaches students. My children are very blessed to be able to attend this school.

Posted: June 2, 2017

My child is very happy at GPS. It is evident that the teachers are passionate about their jobs. The school profile says the teacher/student ratio is 1:30 but each class has a small group instructor so it's really 2:30. There is a designated PE, art and music teacher. Lego robotics has been my child's favorite enrichment class. The middle school's competitive sports program is growing. If as student is struggling academically, it is immediately addressed - no student will slip through the cracks. The students definitely work hard in academics but they also have a lot of fun activities (student reward system, spirit days, Halloween and Christmas carnivals, student talent show etc). Communication could use some improvement as there is often last minute communication but overall Gilroy Prep is a great community.

Posted: June 2, 2017

Posted: February 28, 2017

I'm a first year parent for 1st grade and I love my child's teacher. The school has introduced more extracurricular activities, but more is needed. I know my child is getting a good education .

Posted: February 28, 2017

Posted: July 26, 2014

Poor communication No arts, history, language or science Too focused on tests No extracurriculars Poor student behavior Low parent involvement Great academic program, but that's about it

Posted: November 3, 2013

The structure of this school allows teachers and administration to innovate in ways traditional public schools can't. Student progress is monitored using technology on a daily basis so no one falls through the cracks. My children love knowing about their progress in each subject and are motivated to do their best. It's cool to be smart at Gilroy Prep School.

Posted: September 16, 2013

First school I've seen successfully blend applications and lessons in a seamless and effective way the kids enjoy and learn with

#	Name	Type	City	State	Distance
1	Fitch Park at Ord Military Community	Neighborhood/Subdivision	Seaside	CA	29.5 mi
2	Seaside Highlands	Neighborhood/Subdivision	Seaside	CA	30.5 mi
3	Monterey	Neighborhood/Subdivision	Monterey	CA	33.3 mi
4	Pebble Beach	Area of Town	Del Monte Forest	CA	35.6 mi

#	Name	City	State	Distance
1	Seaside Highlands	Seaside	CA	30.6 mi
2	Cannery Row	Monterey	CA	33 mi
3	Pacific Grove	Pacific Grove	CA	33.4 mi
4	Monterey Bay	Monterey	CA	33.7 mi
5	Monterey	Monterey	CA	33.8 mi
6	17-Mile Drive	Pebble Beach	CA	34.6 mi
7	Carmel	Carmel-By-The-Sea	CA	37.2 mi

Base	Distance
Monterey Naval Postgraduate School	33.3 mi.
DLI - Presidio of Monterey	33.5 mi.
Moffett Field	38.4 mi.

Gilroy Prep School

Gilroy, CA 95020

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