Rating 2 out of 5
Samueli Academy had the potential to be a great school, unfortunately, after COVID-19, the school culture went to hell. There is a huge bullying problem and every student feels disconnected from the school. No one *wants* to be there and everyone complains about how much they hate it. It isn't a terrible school, it's just not what anyone thought they signed up for. We signed up for a school that promotes creative learning, acceptance, self-regulation, and a warm environment. In the end, all we really ended up with was just another mediocre public school that has no trust between its staff and students. Teacher's personal politics have also become an issue, which cause more distrust between the staff and students. I went to several teachers about my bullying experience and everyone just brushed it off. One teacher, who eventually left the school, laughed at me. I loved Samueli, I love what it could have been, but I have no interest in becoming involved with this school after I graduate.
- Senior
- 11 days ago
Rating 4 out of 5
Overall it has been a very inspiring and effective environment. It is an environment where student have multiple resources and opportunities and the school emphasizes connection and agency.
- Senior
- 2 months ago
Rating 5 out of 5
The curriculum is fantastic and the administration is supportive. They offer a great selection of classes and expose us to real-world situations that are not normally experienced until we are out of high school. We are encouraged to do internships. The school has relationships with established companies that mentor the students. What I would like to see change is that they allow the students to carry phones again.
- Senior
- 3 months ago
Rating 4 out of 5
I have been at Samueli since they opened up their middle school. After watching Samueli grow throughout the years, I see they excel at preparing their students for college. However, they only have a few sports or clubs. The worst part is that they let students off the hook quickly and need to be more credible about hiring staff members.
- Sophom*ore
- 4 months ago
Rating 3 out of 5
Samueli Academy provides a great introduction to the engineering and design career fields. However, the school could really use more resources in academics since it feels as though they are just passing students to just get them on with graduating.
Rating 3 out of 5
I'm in my 4th year at Samueli and it a wonderful school in terms of outside opportunities, like internships and programs. Despite this, the academics are extremely poor, there's not enough rigor for advanced students, 4 AP Classes, 5 active clubs, poor school mentality, and the academics overall cover way less than a public school. I've brought this up multiple times to school administrators, with providing solutions and I've yet to see any changes. The teachers are fantastic and stay extensive hours afterschool to help but, many of them are young and still learning how to teach so it can sometimes be at a disadvantage to the students. As for school culture, it is very minimal, there is a common mentality throughout the school where students are not eager to learn or participate -- it has affected my own motivation to go to this school. I really hope this school gets improved in the next coming years, but I doubt it will soon unless the administrators start implementing suggestions.
- Senior
- 8 months ago
Rating 5 out of 5
I love my school as I get to help plan out the events. The best experience always has to be our Halloween dance as it is the first event where all of ASB gets to really connect. The worst part is usually when we have our state testing as all of our classes are fun.
- Junior
- 8 months ago
Rating 4 out of 5
The best part of Samueli Academy is that we have a variety of opportunities. I believe that some improvements that we can see in our school is the guidance for all. Although there is guidance, in my personal experience I feel like there hasn't been many ways in which I have been helped personally. It almost feels like I am the one who has to make opportunities for myself and that's what I have been doing.
- Junior
- 9 months ago
Rating 4 out of 5
One of my biggest journeys toward self-discovery and improvement has been during my time at Samuel Academy. It was difficult for me to personally connect with teachers and staff during the height of COVID virtual learning during my freshman year, but the faculty members gave it their all, and everyone could sense that. Building positive relationships with students is their primary focus to this day. My only criticism would be the students themselves, because it is so disappointing to see the students blow away some of the best opportunities a school can provide for them. Making friends hasn't been the easiest thing for me. My advising teacher, to whom you are assigned from your freshman year until your senior year, was there to support me and offer me advice. My adviser teacher is like a second parent to me; they have supported me through the worst of times and the best. My parting message would be that Smueli Academy is really like no other school.
- Senior
- 10 months ago
Rating 4 out of 5
The best part of being at samueli is how small the school is which is great for getting to know people faster and not be overwhelmed with a ton of people!
Along with having such few students the classrooms are the perfect size sometimes you may have up to 10 students in a period and others it can be 26 but they’re all so small you really get to know your peers and collaborate more.
Interviewing or presentations are a BIG thing at samueli they really help us be more confident to speak in front of a bigger crowd and push our limits to prepare our selfs. With interviewing we have these practice interviews where we choose a company we’re interested in and pretend to do an interview they give us feedback for future real interviews.
Sports are really fun since you can obviously do it with your friends and we all have a really close bond in sports which has helped us go really far into sports and have fun at the same time.
- Senior
- 10 months ago
Rating 5 out of 5
Samueli Academy is a very unique school that teaches students the fundamentals of either design or engineering and gives them unique experiences, such as collaborations with companies such as the Anaheim Ducks and Vans. The staff knows every student and does not hesitate to connect with each and every one of them. This school thoroughly prepares students for college and life after high school. In fact, having an internship is a graduation requirement. Even after graduation, the school stays in contact with alumni, and provides events and support for them. Even though I was only at the school for a few years, I can say I truly found my family and faith in my own ability at this school.
- Senior
- Feb 8 2023
Rating 4 out of 5
Samueli Academy is wonderful for gaining college credits, an associate of arts, networking, financial aid, extracurriculars, internships, and support for post-secondary decisions. However, school discipline, school lunch, and student concerns are not taken as seriously as they should be, which has caused many students to feel unsafe, threatened, and ignored for longer than they should have to deal.
- Senior
- Sept 21 2022
Rating 4 out of 5
Samueli Academy is a pretty small schools. With about average 22 people in a class. Sometimes a bit more. But the people there can be really nice and since it is small, you really get to know everyone from your grade, even other grades. A lot of collaboration and group projects. And it is work based learning so we do presentations and have a different “mindset” than public schools. It’s pretty cool if you ask me.
- Junior
- Sept 17 2022
Rating 4 out of 5
The sports programs are not very good if you’re looking for a sports orientated school. It’s better for academics and college help.
- Sophom*ore
- Aug 22 2022
Rating 5 out of 5
Samueli Academy is an excellent school for students looking for opportunities to succeed. They provide us with work-based and project-based learning helping us with college readiness. Furthermore, students get to choose a design or engineering pathway to explore different careers and gain skills within these fields. Overall, Samueli Academy gives us a jumpstart to our future. The downside is that APs aren't available to students until their junior year and classes are only challenging to students who do haven't had previous experiences with the material.
- Sophom*ore
- June 3 2022
Rating 5 out of 5
It's a very open school. Most students who come here from other schools will say how much trust there is in teachers. At other schools they couldn't open up to anyone, while here they could. The students tend to also trust each other a lot, with no bullying or judging. There are very few fights but besides that the place is very respectful, allowing us our own dress code and our own ways to express ourselves. Overall the school has been great for the 3 years I've been here.
- Junior
- June 2 2022
Rating 5 out of 5
like the school, but the sports team is bad.like the school, but the sports team is bad.like the school, but the sports team is bad.like the school, but the sports team is bad.like the school, but the sports team is bad.
- Niche User
- Mar 25 2022
Rating 3 out of 5
In Samueli Academy my first year there was much involvement and had a high school approach to it. While overtime it started to lose that. The sports became unknown, and we don't have a wide selection of clubs or activities to do. The enthusiasm of school went down and the staff has changed. We also don't have a wide selection of classes to take, which makes it harder to stand out when it comes to colleges. There is poor lack of spirit with the school, while they do try to change that there isn't much improvement. I would like to see a range of clubs and classes to take to further my knowledge about the world and join my community.
- Junior
- Mar 23 2022
Rating 1 out of 5
Samueli academy acts like they are there to help foster kids but in fact all of the foster kids I was going to school with dropped out they have strange class set ups for math unlike normal high schools they only call it common core math 1 unlike other schools that do it like algebra 1, 2 ect, which is a mix of algebra to geometry to trigonometry it is difficult to keep with the classes sometimes because of this they also have projects in your classes going at all times so you will have 3 out of your 6 or 7 classes having projects at the same time while doing tests in the others then flip back making it feel like you have to be running around then they made us make a "portfolio" they said to help get jobs which would be our best projects put in it to look good but no job cared about this at all of course but they made us do this then we had to show it to them and write a letter saying why we should pass just adding extra things to be elates and leaving foster kids in the dust
- Alum
- Aug 13 2021
Rating 4 out of 5
Samueli Academy is a great school to attend. It offers many opportunities like, sports, a variety of clubs and college-ready activities. With its small class size, I feel more connected to my school. My teachers are always available when I need them. Most importantly, I feel heard at my school.
- Junior
- Apr 20 2021
