Cabrillo Elementary School

Posted: February 24, 2026

My child attended UTK here two years ago, and she was always excited and eager to go to school every day.

Her teachers, Ms. Gedney and Ms. Razo, were incredibly supportive and helped both my child and me adapt. They paid special attention not only to the students but also to me as a parent, which I truly appreciated.

Safety was absolutely excellent — 10/10. Throughout the entire year, I never saw anyone able to freely enter the school or get close to the students. All doors were securely closed and well monitored.

A special thank you to the principal, Ms. Vogel, who seemed to know every student by name, which says a lot about her care and involvement. And a big thank you to Ms. Araico, who consistently supported and helped us throughout the year.

Posted: February 24, 2026

Posted: February 24, 2026

Posted: February 24, 2026

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Posted: July 12, 2025

Sending our child to Cabrillo Elementary, in Point Loma, is a decision our family will always REGRET. 

"Choice out" and apply to any of the other wonderful schools in the area. Both 'Silver Gate Elementary' and 'Sunset View Elementary' are amazing schools with incredible communities. 

The reality is, Cabrillo Elementary is critically understaffed and unsafe. San Diego Unified School District mandates a 22:1 student-teacher ratio, which is often not met or enforced at Cabrillo Elementary.

The lack of loving and supportive teachers, who quite frankly appear exhausted and stressed are rarely nurturing; essentially affecting every aspect of the school. The teachers are oblivious to the bullying, which is pervasive throughout the school. The teachers are either too tired, short-tempered, stressed or too disengaged to notice. They often rely on yelling, as they are too understaffed to function as a healthy, nurturing school should, which is obviously an ineffective and damaging form of communication. 

Do the right thing and send your child to a loving, healthy, nurturing school. Do not make the same mistake we and other parents have made. You can NEVER get these years back. Do your research. As well, check out, 'Transparent California' to see the salaries of the principal, counselor and others at Cabrillo, which most probably attributes to the continued dysfunction of this awful school. 

Posted: July 12, 2025

Posted: July 12, 2025

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Posted: July 12, 2025

Posted: April 18, 2025

They let my child cry in the corner for 30 minutes while the other bullied her and made her feel left out and the teachers did not create a safe enviroment for my child I will not let my child go back next school year.

Posted: April 18, 2025

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Posted: April 13, 2022

My daughter has studied at Cabrillo since TK and is now in third grade. They are all great professionals. I do not understand how such a low grade is applied, as the problem is not the school, but the children. My daughter is 79% at the national advanced level. Small school and we love it.

Posted: April 13, 2022

Posted: April 13, 2022

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Posted: February 23, 2020

Posted: February 23, 2020

Posted: February 23, 2020

Posted: February 23, 2020

Posted: February 23, 2020

Posted: February 23, 2020

My daughter has been going to Cabrillo since she started TK. She’s now in kindergarten and we can’t rave enough about how much we love it. The new principal (Mrs. Vogel) is easily the nicest, sweetest lady you will ever meet. Over all, it’s a really wonderful school. It’s a small school, but that makes it so much for “homey”. All of the teachers and principals know every student by their names, no matter what grade they are in. My daughter has absolutely thrived going here

Posted: February 23, 2020

Posted: June 26, 2018

Posted: June 26, 2018

Posted: June 26, 2018

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Posted: June 26, 2018

Posted: June 26, 2018

Worst of the worst in the entire district!

Posted: May 25, 2018

Principle and staff know most of the kids by name. They are involved in the students school day and lead by example of kindness and understanding.

Posted: May 25, 2018

The school goes ABOVE and BEYOND to support children with learning differences. Not only the special education staff but also the administrative staff. They are beyond willing to communicate with the parent(s) and offer solutions and resources available to improve the students performance. They are more then willing to work with student interventions to help them be successful and comfortable in school, not only academically but socially.

Posted: May 25, 2018

The school deals with bulling appropriately. If there is a problem from my experience the school handles it not only promptly but effectively. All parties parents are notified and students are counseled on the situation and ways to handle the behavior.

Posted: May 25, 2018

We LOVE this school. This school is small but mighty! The principal and staff know all the children by name. They take care of the children as if they were their own. There are many many times that I see the staff/teachers going out of their way to help a student. There is always communication that comes home in both English and Spanish (as 49% of the school is considered Hispanic) ,just turn the paper over. If there is another language that is needed there is no doubt in my mind that the staff would go above and beyond to communicate with you appropriately. The other schools that we toured in our neighborhood (including our neighborhood school) seemed to be overwhelmed with students and the staff's attitude reflected that. Average class size is 32. My child's class at Cabrillo has only 18 students! This was one of the main reasons we "choice- in" here! This helps with students that may have learning difficulties as the student to teacher ratio is low. I also try to keep in mind that a teacher has 17 plus students in their class (imagine 17+ of your kids running around) and they may make a mistake (they are human) writing a note to you to communicate, but they communicate! There is emails that are sent that let you know of different things going on in the neighborhood as well as after school activities. The principle has calls and emails that are sent out almost weekly for reminder of events and different things going on at the school. Based on my experiences at this school the kids are well taken care of and cared about.

Posted: May 25, 2018

With the ever changing academic expectations given from the board of education the school has given ample time to complete homework as well as other resources to continue learning at home (reading and math programs that are accessible online).

Posted: May 25, 2018

The teachers at this school are effective! My children have reached grade level expectations (they have IEP's) and the teachers pride themselves on this.

Posted: May 25, 2018

The leadership in the school have strong characters and treat ALL the children with integrity, compassion and respect.

Posted: December 3, 2017

Posted: December 3, 2017

Posted: December 3, 2017

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Posted: December 3, 2017

Posted: December 3, 2017

Posted: December 3, 2017

Great school and staff. There is also after school activities and their education program is great (look into Prime time for working parents). Classes are small and the kids get a lot of attention similar to private school.

Posted: October 30, 2017

Posted: October 30, 2017

Posted: October 30, 2017

Posted: October 30, 2017

Posted: October 30, 2017

Posted: October 30, 2017

Posted: October 30, 2017

We are in our fourth year at Cabrillo, now with two children attending. Cabrillo staff are committed, caring, and talented people who have challenged our children in new ways each year. Each classroom has a unique atmosphere, yet overall a culture of excitement for learning and a nurturing community. Being the smallest population in the PL cluster, Cabrillo has a more intimate, caring, and frankly down-to-earth approach to school, and my children are thriving there.

Posted: March 18, 2015

I use to think tho school was great! But now not so much... They need to put a.c in the classrooms. Seriously teachers get all grumpy n kids are so tired of the heat. Cabrillo teachers need a makeover, they start yelling at the children telling them to shut up. Hello there kids.. I wish they put new teachers here. Points to be a good school #1 install a/c #2 new teachers ones who have patience #3 bring back all the fun activities #4 a class for teachers with attitude problem's like no joke these teachers are always crabby

Posted: June 15, 2014

Some of the teachers are unbalanced and the principal can be rude and disrespectful. Library employee and PTA are often involved in gossips.

Posted: June 13, 2014

Cabrillo Elementary is the worst school I've ever known, some of the staff have this culture of rudeness, apathetic, unreasonable, threatening and unhappiness. Parents bullying is prevalent there in several grades, some are very uneducated, cruel and cowards. If you don't like dramas or craziness, stay away!! The education system is fine. They have computer labs, also offer good activities and field trips.

Posted: May 20, 2014

Cabrillo Elementary is small and some of the teachers do care very much. The principal is oblivious to what is going on in the school. He tends to ignore that bullying is prevalent there. I am glad to see that German is being taught to the students. It is good for kids at that age to learn a second language outside of the local language. Some of the staff are not watchful of the kids and things go on on the playground that shouldn't. I believe that some kids are more protected from discipline than others. The school would be better if parents cared more about what goes on. It would also be better if the principal was more involved and concerned about what goes on. He is often not in the office and good luck on getting a call back. I will pull my kids out for the next school year.

Posted: October 22, 2012

My kids and I love this school. The staff are a wonderful! We always have fun doing all the school events

Posted: September 3, 2012

I have nothing but good things about the school.My child went through Kindergarten with Miss Carmen Barrett and was in 1st grade with Miss Elizabeth Carlos.It is an amazing school,we are a military family and is currently stationed all the way on the other side of the globe but my daughter still misses Cabrillo and talks about the school from time to time.Even the parents i am still keeping in touch with whose kids are no longer attending Cabrillo talks about how much we miss the school environment and the warmth and dedication of the Principal Suarez and the teachers there.Thank you Cabrillo for everything you have done for our child!

Posted: June 3, 2012

This school has been doing very well when compared to others in the district. The test scores rate Cabrillo at a 4 in 2010, but this will soon change. As of this year they have adopted their German foreign language program and taught the GATE curricula. Although we started school this year over here, I must admit that I am very surprised with the warmth and a sense of family-like environment at the school. My kids always feel welcomed and enjoy coming to school. My only complaint is that at times I have seen some teachers be abrasive towards the children. When they notice a parent is around they change their tone a bit- however, it was not anything derogatory or offensive it was more like a parent telling their child they need to do something when the child hasn't listened 3x before, LOL. Additionally, I feel that the principal could be more avilable to the students and parents. The students look towards any principal almost like a tangible president. Perhaps instilling Principal fun-day once a month as a reward for good attendance would allow the kids to establish a better relationship.

Posted: February 13, 2012

We have been at Cabrillo for five years. There is nothing but amazing things happening in this school. We are a small but mighty. My children call this school their home. My oldest now goes to Dana, and she loves it. But her heart will always be at Cabrillo. There is this warmth when my kids see their teachers and principle, I as a child never had that feeling. But I can see the joy my children have when they speak of our school. We have many new things, that we didn't have 5yrs ago. We have a computer lab, German sister school, and many more new things coming this spring. The only negative thing I can say, is there isn't enough parent participation.

Posted: October 28, 2011

Cabrillo is a GATE nurturing school, which means that all kids K-4 are taught GATE concepts and curriculum. The critical thinking skills that the kids are learning really help them to be successful throughout their academic careers.

Posted: October 8, 2010

Cabrillo is a great little school! We have a very diverse population, with almost half of our kids coming from military families. We are the oldest elementary school in San Diego, established in 1904 and celebrated our 106th birthday this year! Exciting news...we were honored by the School board in 10/2010 for exceeding our academic golas in the API & APY!