Parent Review |
Rating:
Posted 2012-05-20
"When a school is run by a pedagogical explorer, it is difficult to find a place for its identity and methodologies to settle in to a predictable and solid base. LILA is ever-evolving, which means it is a culture in flux. From an academic perspective this is largely a positive trait, as our kids are beneficiaries of extremely well-thought out teaching systems, and the curriculum is always improving. From a functional and administrative perspective, this can prove a little challenging: the staff are so busy researching and applying their discoveries, that they have little to no time for effective communication and relations with the parents. As such, a few aggressive parents are allowed to take over as liaisons, and the rest are left to suck it up. That above notwithstanding, this is a superior institution, undeniably devoted to providing the best possible dual-language immersion education. I am never in doubt that my child's teachers are fully committed to providing the tools necessary for my child's growth, academically, socially, and culturally."
Parent Review |
Rating:
Posted 2012-04-20
"This is a wonderful school that has helped our child grow into a confident, academically and socially well-rounded, responsible citizen of the world. I agree with the last reviewer that there is a small group of parents who complain endlessly. The majority of us know the value we are getting and it is an excellent value indeed! The students have a better understanding of the world than many adults, they are happy, well-adjusted, capable of carrying on intelligent conversations and gaining a solid education in the sciences as well as the arts."
Parent Review |
Rating:
Posted 2012-04-13
"An EXCELLENT school! Students have to work hard here, but the results are well worth it. Many graduates over the past years have been accepted to the nation's top schools -- including Princeton, NYU, Georgetown, UC Berkeley, & UCLA to name just a few. The occasional negative review here comes from a small group of disaffected parents who have raised complaining to an art form & would never be satisfied anywhere. All of the positive parents roll their eyes when they see these folks coming! As for attrition rates, students leave schools everywhere each year for a variety of reaons, including job transfers, changes in academic interests, finances, etc. Add to this that the school is academically quite rigorous -- with many classes taught exclusively in French --and some of the students who choose to leave do so, rightly and understandably, because they will fare better elsewhere in a less demanding environment. In summary, I HIGHLY recommend LILA! The school has a proven track record in providing consistent results in preparing its students for academic success!"
Parent Review |
Rating:
Posted 2012-04-13
"We consider LILA to be an extraordinarily fine school! Our daughter attended LILA from kindergarten through 12th grade where she received an excellent bilingual French/English education in a diverse international environment. Upon graduation she was accepted to a number of very fine schools and she currently attends one of the best universities in the nation where she is earning top grades and has been admitted to a very selective study abroad program. The faculty, staff, and administrators are hard-working and were always very responsive and supportive. LILA offers both the International Baccalaureate and French Baccalaureate degrees, which is quite an edge vis-a-vis the typical American public or private school And the tuition rates are very reasonable in comparison to private schools throughout Los Angeles. Choosing LILA was the best decision we could have made for our daughter's education! We have made some lifelong friends here who we will treasure forever."
Parent Review |
Rating:
Posted 2012-04-10
"I disagree with the reviewer who stated that "there are far better bilingual schools out there". Here's a fact: Last year, LILA students had a 100% pass rate on the International Baccalaureate, 100% pass rate on the French Baccalaureate and a 100% pass rate for the French Brevet exam given to 9th graders. Tell what other bilingual schools can boast those results? My child is a LILA "lifer" and after 8 years at the school, loves it even more than when she started. There is a big international presence with families from all over the world who speak several languages, the class sizes all small (from 8-18 children) and the program is broad and global in scope which prepares the children for the future here in the states or around the world. In fact, LILA graduates are routinely accepted to top universities in the U.S., Canada and abroad (Princeton, UC Berkeley, UCLA, McGill, Oxford to name a few). The most important thing is our child has blossomed into a civic-minded, well-rounded and caring individual during her time at LILA and, as a parent, that is the biggest gift we could've ever asked for!"