Almond Acres Charter Academy in Paso Robles

Category	Rating	Details
Test Scores	4/10	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	3/10	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: September 7, 2023

Ten in a row 5 star ratings, all from June 2020. LOL /don't be fooled. big donors $$ School needs money a lot. Good location & safe campus but too much feel good stuff //not enough history, writing, math and my kid got behind. Focus NOT on learning but on doing things the aaca way//not recommended

Posted: March 24, 2023

Student has thrived here! Such an awesome, academic spot for students to accomplish responsibilities, meet new friends, and be held accountable through uniforms. Students teacher is very kind and we feel they really care about the students here. So happy our student attends and has just done absolutely amazing!!

Posted: August 3, 2020

We have been attending Aaca since 2015 and 2019. We chose to attend Aaca because our neighborhood school was not a good fit for my older son. He has specific needs and challenges that Aaca philosophy strengthens and builds his confidence and creates a positive learning environment for him. The staff are amazing. The teachers and support services are easily accessible. They are willing to communicate with me or my sons for any issues big or small. This makes a huge difference on how my kids feel about school. This inclusion makes them feel like an important part of our community.

Posted: July 7, 2020

Great school that focuses on the child as an individual with unique abilities and gifts. They educate both parent and child on how to be a productive and emotionally sound community member.

Posted: July 7, 2020

Posted: June 20, 2020

This is one of the best aspects of AACA!

Posted: June 20, 2020

We love Almond Acres Charter Academy (AACA) simply because providing an education for a child is just not sufficient enough - which is so very evident these days. AACA has wonderful family of dedicated administrators, staff & teachers. We've personally seen tremendous advancement in our child from K-2. When we see her her strengths & weakness affirmed, begin to notice an amazing little citizen being stretched & make personal growth achievements via Habits of the Week and daily programs like Shared Start, only then will you appreciate that educating the whole child (heart, mind, body, soul) is one of the most unique & successful education approaches. It truly is about "Growing Great Kids" and even "Growing Great Parents"! Yes, Mr. B has even provided meetings to help us. If practiced beyond the classroom by supportive families, these values can only make a school, business or community stronger. That's what also makes AACA unique, so special.

Posted: June 20, 2020

This was very evident as soon as distance learning took effect. It keep our 2nd grader focused & motivated enough to complete assignments!

Posted: June 20, 2020

From the student's own mouth, they make learning fun.

Posted: June 19, 2020

I work for Almond Acres Charter Academy as an Education Specialist. Every year, I enjoy getting to know all the new students. I feel privileged to be part of a school and a philosophy that promotes a mindset and service project based learning that will positively affect our students growth and readiness for their futures. Everyday, I am thankful for the administration's ability to guide the teachers and staff in educating students to be the best version of themselves and teaching students 21st century skills. Collaborating with teachers and staff to truly understand our students is a part of my job that I love. The teachers at Almond Acres Charter Academy are kind, dedicated, thoughtful, and understand their students' individual needs. I can't wait to see all the students next year from Kindergarten through Elementary and up to middle school!

Posted: June 19, 2020

In the 3 years weve been part of the Almond Acres family we have seen our girls not only thrive academically but also emotionally. The teachers and administration go out of their way to support each childs individual needs and learning style. In addition to academics, the school puts a lot of emphasis on encouraging the children to be good citizens in our community.
During the COVID crisis, our teachers and administration went above and beyond to make the transition smooth for the families. It is comforting to know that if we arent able to go back to normal school next year, our family will still be supported and our children will still be happy to learn.

Posted: June 19, 2020

Posted: June 18, 2020

We have been at Almond Acres since 2017. We have two kids attending there. We absolutely love the approach to learning and citizenship put forth by the school and staff. Not only are students cared for as unique individuals with different learning styles, but each student is also encouraged to be good citizens within their community. Parents aren't forgotten either! The tools and resources that are made available really help to make the learning environment compliment the home environment and vice versa. I am so thankful for this school and the foundation in education and humanity that I see developing in the young hearts and minds of the students.

Posted: June 18, 2020

I have two children, a 1st and 5th grader (2019/2020 school year). Both children, and all the children at AACA, are focused on uniquely. They are challenged and celebrated for their uniqueness. The faculty and staff go above and beyond to their motto of growing great kids. If youre looking for an alternative to traditional public school and still want a tuition free option, give AACA a look.

Posted: June 18, 2020

In my opinion there is a healthy balance between too much and too little homework. The work sent home is quite often not busy work. Its typically project work brought home or applying their skills at home. I have a 1st and 5th grader (2019/2020 school year).

Posted: June 18, 2020

Posted: June 15, 2020

have nothing but positive things to say about Almond Acres. My first-grader is flourishing there. Not just academically, but also socially. This is a school which treats every child as an individual, and celebrates and encourages each one accordingly. I would recommend any parent who is interested in the school to take a tour, speak to the faculty, and meet some of the awesome Almond Acres kids! My youngest child is enrolled for the 20/21 school year, and I'm incredibly excited for her to begin her educational journey there.

Posted: June 8, 2020

We have had such a positive experience at Almond Acres. Our family has been a part of the AACA
family since 2013 and we cannot imagine going to school anywhere else. I love how the school celebrates each childs learning style and makes it their mission to grow great kids. We look forward to continuing to work side-by-side with the amazing teachers and staff to help our children stretch and grow.

Posted: June 8, 2020

The students at Almond Acres are taught a variety of important character habits and traits. The school implemented Stephen Covey's 7 Habits of Highly Effective People a few years ago and it has been amazing! In addition, they focus on these habits and reflect upon them daily: Being a TeRRiFiC citizen (T-trustworthy, R-respectful, R-responsible, F-fair, C-caring). That is the motto of the school.... being a TeRRiFiC citizen!

Posted: June 8, 2020

Not only are the leaders of the school amazing, but they put a HUGE emphasis on student leadership! There is a leadership team, which includes kiddos from K-8, and they put on fun events quite frequently (every month, possibly). In addition, the older students from Leadership participate and lead the daily whole school meeting.

Posted: June 8, 2020

The school focuses on inclusion of all students, no matter their learning ability. The students are ALL in class together, as the school does not have any separate classrooms for students with special needs. If necessary, the students have extra support in the classroom, and are also give support one-on-one or in small groups, in a separate classroom for short amounts of time. The school truly wants every student to recognize their role as a member of the learning community in their own classroom.

Posted: June 8, 2020

The staff at Almond Acres focuses on restorative practices and understands that every student must feel heard, respected, and loved. They focus on the students affected by any situations, but also work with the student creating the situation. All students learn from these situations, including the offender.

Posted: June 8, 2020

Overall, Almond Acres is an amazing school and I would recommend it to any family! It is a fresh breath when I compare it to my local schools!

Posted: June 8, 2020

The teachers have a specific set of guidelines based on the grade level of the students that directs them on the amount of homework they can assign each week. I love that the guidelines are in place, because they help the parents know what to expect, and if it becomes too much, they can reach out to the teachers to help them figure out why it is taking longer (or shorter) than it should.

Posted: June 8, 2020

The community of teachers at Almond Acres is truly that... a community! They all really enjoy their students, families, school, and co-workers. They work together in teams and as a whole staff to improve the students' education.

Posted: June 7, 2020

Mr. B is incredible as is the rest of the leadership team. They listen to the students and parents to make meaningful change and provide the best education for our kids.

Posted: June 7, 2020

Small class sizes with a great support services staff.

Posted: June 7, 2020

Individualized approach to each student. Fantastic communication from teachers and staff.

Posted: June 7, 2020

Super dedicated. Being a charter school the teachers have more flexibility to tailor the curriculum and approach for each student.

Posted: June 7, 2020

The school motto is to grow great kids, not just academically but learning to be respectable and responsible kids.

Posted: June 7, 2020

We feel so lucky to have had both our kids at AACA since kinder. The staff feels like family, they know and support our children in amazing ways.

Posted: June 3, 2020

They are real strong as a team and they are also creating great leaders through their leadership program. The best thing is that all the kids are exposed to learning leadership whether or not they are actually in leadership.

Posted: June 3, 2020

They definitely do not take bullying lightly. I commend them on their efforts not to just sweep someone under the rug, but face it head on and follow up with those making those decision so they dont do it again. They teach them life lessons where actions have consequences. We have had first hand experience on both sides of this issue, so I know it well.

Posted: June 3, 2020

The best I could ask for my children!

Posted: June 3, 2020

They dont make homework feel looks a chore. It is always fun and memorable.

Posted: June 3, 2020

The teachers are all working together as a whole school building the best community they can. It doesnt get better than that! The kids know what character is expected and everyone holds and is held to that high standard. You can feel the difference when you visit.

Posted: June 3, 2020

Whole heartedly agree! That is one of the main focuses. Because when you have a group with good character then the opportunities to succeed are endless!

Posted: June 3, 2020

Rules and Expectations are in every classroom so the students know what is ok and not tolerated. When my children had any issues, it was the teacher who would reach out to me and let me know of something going on and then I would be able to talk to my children and ask them about it. Most of the time when you ask your kids, how was school, you get "it was good" but when you can ask them specific questions or about a specific classmate, it really opens them up to talk.

Posted: June 3, 2020

There is a leadership program for students where they are able to create clubs, activities and ways to help other grades and the community. It is student ran so they get to challenge themselves on finding solutions and creating a community which all students can be part of. The teachers take the lead by working with the students and most times offering their classrooms during their lunch breaks so the kids have a place to meet and come up with ideas.

Posted: June 3, 2020

This school offers inclusion. There is no special education day class they send students because of their disabilities, rather they have a support service team that goes into the classsrooms to offer support for students who struggle or have disabilities. If your child needs to pulled out of the classroom, they get the support they need and then are able to go back and join the rest of their class. Many students with Special Ed needs have been successful here, especially when parents are involved. It is a community here you become a part of and the children are taught they everyone has a different learning style and it helps the children show compassion.

Posted: June 3, 2020

Great! My daughter started here in Kinder and now is going to 4th grade. My son also started here and going to 2nd. Each teacher, each grade has been amazing! I have never felt that I could not talk to them about something specific, rather each year I get sad when they year finishes and they are moving up a grade because both them and I have enjoyed that year. But each year, we go over those feelings again and again and it's truly because of their teachers, the staff and the programs they have available. They have offered so many enrichment after school like Destination Imagination, sports starting in Elementary through middle school. This school has jumped leaps and bounds and is only 7 years established, I can't wait to see what they keep improving for their future!

Posted: June 3, 2020

There is the standard homework for reading 20 mins per day but also depending on where your child is at, the teachers will find projects for them to present and offers them a variety of ways to turn in homework projects. For instance if they are strong in writting they can do a essay, if they are good with tech they can use slide shows or computer presentations, poster boards, time lines a wide array for them to choose. The teachers do a great job communicating with parents and letting them know expectations.

Posted: June 3, 2020

Regular communication is sent out by teachers to parents via parent square weekly. Deadlines are given when assignments are sent out so you know what needs to get done and will even give you a guideline of how scoring will be so students know what's expected.

Posted: June 3, 2020

These students are TRRFC students! Trustworthy, Respectful, Responsible, Fair and Caring. They all meet together every morning for Shared Start in the gym where they are all hearing the same message to each student. The faculty recognize students who show these traits they are teaching and it really build the students confidence.

Posted: June 3, 2020

Leadership has always communicated effectively, listened to our concerns and responded. Weve had nothing but positive experiences with leadership.

Posted: June 3, 2020

Definitely! We were nervous for our child with ASD to start kindergarten. We didnt know what the year would hold. But he has excelled academically and socially. We couldnt be happier. His teachers and support staff were all ready to support him in any way they could.

Posted: June 3, 2020

Weve had only a couple of experiences with bad words being said to our kid or another kid getting physical with ours. Not huge deals but both we heard about right away and staff addressed these issues with the other families as well and we didnt have any issues after each experience.

Posted: June 3, 2020

A 10 out of 10. Weve had such a great experience at AACA. Our kids are soaring and they love their teachers, friends, this school. Weve found that when we use the same character building, positive language they use at school the kids really respond to it at home too. My children have both been doing great academically they are both at the top of their classes so I cant speak to the reviews that the school isnt keeping kids up to speed. Thats the exact opposite experience weve had. We as parents are engaged and involved and make sure we support our kids and are quick to react when they are having any struggles. Any time Ive had a question or concern about our kids the teachers and staff have been easily accessible and quick to respond. We love this school.

Posted: June 3, 2020

I have two in younger grades and we find the homework to be grade level appropriate and engaging. I am not a big believer in homework however and wish there were less although the load isnt any different than the next school.

Posted: June 3, 2020

The teachers are wonderful at Almond Acres. They are so invested in each child and seeing them succeed. Watching them all innovate through distance learning through this COVID shutdown has really shined a light on how amazing they are. Our home-school day had fun videos the teachers made each day for each subject, live lessons, projects, Flipgrid videos so the kids could share their work etc. my sister told me her kids were sent home with a giant stack of papers to do each week. Thats not learning. Thats busy work. We are so blessed to have the teachers of AACA.

Posted: June 3, 2020

This is huge. Ive not heard of a school that interweaves character development and citizenship into each lesson as much as this school. They will take seemingly unrelated subjects and tie it back to positive character attributes and how they can help build them. Each grade, even the kindergarten classes, do service projects in the community each year. Its great!

Posted: October 8, 2019

This school focuses on character building-heart, body, mind, and soul. Unfortunately, it's at the expense of learning ELA, science, math, and history. Students who transfer out or move on to 9th grade are very behind and not on track with other schools despite getting decent marks at AACA. The standard is very low. There is no real curriculum. Teacher and staff turnaround is off the chart. If a teacher quits mid year, they just combine classes or have a random staff member "teach." They didn't even have enough kids attending this year to have an 8th grade.

Poor behavior is rarely dealt with and there are a lot of issues as many students with severe behavior issues end up here after not thriving at a traditional school. This school has some good ideas, but poor execution and lack of transparency. Admin does not reply to or follow through about concerns parents have. The school seems to only care about appearance and enrollement making promises it can't keep. I wouldn't believe anything that admin says as they have proven to be dishonest, even towards their staff-hence the vast turnaround.

Posted: May 20, 2019

This is a TINY school that is ill prepared to handle anything outside of the norm.

Posted: May 20, 2019

We didn't have any experience with this one way or the other, so I can't say.

Posted: May 20, 2019

Remember when your child was little and dressed up in Mom's or Dad's clothes? They were "playing adult". That is exactly what this school does. They're "playing school". They want to be a real school, but they can't seem to retain teachers and students. I am so thankful we escaped. To be fair, the lower grade teachers are adequate (and have some tenure) but the older grades are a joke.

Posted: May 20, 2019

Homework was hit or miss and there were no consequences for not participating.

Posted: May 20, 2019

The problem is that they are SO focused on character that they fail to focus on things like...reading, writing, mathematics.

Posted: April 12, 2019

When presented with our concerns they were never addressed. I'm not sure if the leadership team at this school is severely overwhelmed or just doesn't care.

Posted: April 12, 2019

My child missed several months of services because her resource teacher left and we were not informed.

Posted: April 12, 2019

My child was bullied on a regular basis the administration did nothing.

Posted: April 12, 2019

There was not much homework except for a reading log.

Posted: April 12, 2019

The lower grade teachers are great for us it completely fell apart in 3rd grade.

Posted: April 12, 2019

I love that they taught manners and compassion.

Posted: April 12, 2019

We had a very bad experience for 3rd & 4th grade. Some of the teachers that contributed to this have moved positions and 3rd seems to have better teachers now but my child learned nothing in 3rd, in fact they lost a large chunk of progress in that year. The Special Education department is a joke, they have no idea what they are doing. I'm sad we wasted as much time here as we did

Posted: March 27, 2019

Great school! We love that they incorporate life social emotional skills in addition to academics. The service based learning is also awesome.

Posted: March 27, 2019

Posted: March 14, 2019

This school wants to be great, but falls short. It's fine for younger kids (K-3) only. The 6-8 classrooms have the feel of a kinder classroom. Test scores are low. There is never any steady homework. Bullying is ignored. The administration focuses on punishing kids unjustly.

Posted: March 14, 2019

Posted: January 14, 2019

It amazes me to watch these teachers in action and how they can teach to each childs strengths. They are very effective in teaching things multiple ways for all to learn.

Posted: August 22, 2018

Excellent great wonderful exciting happy safe and caring