Halstrom Academy - Walnut Creek

I have a son in six grade at Holstrom Academy and he is thriving. He was too anxious being bulled in the public school to learn and progress. We love the principle and Rupp and the office manager Cynthia is wonderful.

I can not recommend Halstrom WC highly enough. They excel at discerning the student’s learning style and make school low stress and interesting. I have public school kids who have taken summer classes and tutoring at Halstrom and they all love it. They learned more and performed better than ever before, with less anxiety.

Halstrom Academy is a great alternative, if your child learns better in non-standard school system. It provides an opportunity for your child to gain more confidence and work towards their full potential.

Our son has ADD and recently switched to Halstrom after a frustrated first semester in Public high school. What I love most about Halstrom is the individual attention your child gets. The public school system is just too resourced strained to be able to give this level of care. Previously, my son would accumulate weeks of late or missing assignments before the school's online grade book was updated. Often by the time we found out, he would be too late to turn things in for credit which only discouraged him more. Now, as soon as an assignment is missing or incomplete, I get an immediate email from his teacher. The teachers all work with him one on one and sincerely seem vested in his success. I also appreciate how responsive the school principal Carol is. She often answers emails evenings and weekends in real time! This is basically unheard of elsewhere. I was initially worried about his social interaction, but on day one it became clear he was finally with "his people". Other kids who'd had similar struggles getting organized, staying focused and keeping engaged in school. He hit it off with two boys his age right away and was even invited over someone's house the first day of school! This NEVER happened before. In fact, although he made friends at his previous school, he was never invited to anyone's house. They are a small group but they have a lot in common and treat each other with respect and understanding. I also appreciate how the school celebrates cultural holidays and has fun events for the kids. A parent organized a Chinese NY celebration complete with decorations and food. This would never have been possible at a larger school. Lastly, I'll say the stress level in our home has gone WAY down since he started at Halstrom. Before, we were always yelling at him and conveying disappointment over his grades and missing assignments. The only feedback we got about our son was negative. Now, he is thriving, and our home feels peaceful, and I believe he feels proud of himself.

My daughter attended Halstrom for two years of her High School math requirements. She struggled learning math in the large class sizes at her public school. With the individualized instruction available at Halstrom, she has been successful in her math classes. I am a satisfied parent.