Albert Einstein Academy Charter School

First of all to all the people nagging about how the school lacks diversity, it doesn’t! Quit whining about school diversity when you’ve never even been to the school during school hours, or during recess. I am a AEA parent. I am Hispanic, in my child’s class their are lots of Hispanics, Whites, African Americans, Germans, Japanese, and even a little girl who came from Switzerland! How much more diversity do you want? You don’t need to write negative reviews just because your child did not make it into the school. This school provides AMAZING activities. Teachers here go above and beyond. My child is never «bored» at school, my child is always coming home with a smile and a new story to tell. So stop NAGGING and apply again, if at first you don’t succeed, try again. There is no need for your lame negative reviews!

We live in Imperial Beach and have driven our three kids to this school the past three years despite the time and miles involved. The teachers care and there is a climate of respect, joy, and comfort here that our local school did not deliver. These people are top notch professionals. Homework is appropriate. Tons of enriching opportunities, I.e., camps and classes. Online presence is on point. Parents and teachers can communicate through email very quickly. I always get an immediate response. The classrooms are tidy and interesting. The equipment is state of the art. The kids seem happy! There is a ton of diversity. So many parents are volunteering, they have to turn them away! Eventually, you run out of room!
Science? Yes. Foreign languages for ALL? Yes we have that. Art? Yes. Yes. Yes. Field trips? The zoo, museums, mission trails, star of India overnight, and those are just a few. Gym equipment: how about a rock climbing wall… Indoor!
Our first year, only our eldest son got in. The other two had to attend different schools for an entire year… But the next year they had sibling priority– and since then, all three of our kids have been in. It was worth it to us to go through the process.
When you walk through a school and all the teachers smile at you, when you ask a question and they do whatever it takes to answer it, when you can trust the adults at the school to genuinely do the right thing by your children, don’t give it up without a fight!
And for those wondering, the middle school moved out of the elementary building and is just a few blocks away. You can Google it, Albert Einstein Academy middle school. It’s amazing! Futuristic! The principal rocks! My eldest son graduated last year. All kids coming from the middle school are eligible to attend San Diego High school International studies. I say if you are on the fence, give it a try.

Greta is an evil parent and child abuser. If the school is smart they would get rid of Greta right away or put her back as a teacher which she did OK. But as a principal all she does is turn people off and turn people away. It’s like she’s cold as ice and doesn’t care about anyone. School deserves five stars but Greta deserves –10 because she’s cold as ice

This is our story as it involves Einstein Academy. Last school year, we were trying to find a good school for our son who was entering the 2^nd grade. We had home schooled him for the previous two years. We searched, researched, did our homework. We found a new school that was opening up nearby in Huntington Beach called the Albert Einstein Endeavour Academy. We attended their orientation meeting and liked what we saw and heard. We figured it was a perfect fit. So, we enroll our son and he has a great year in 2^nd grade. Terrific teacher, nice staff. We enroll our Kindergarten age daughter for school year 2015 – 16.
Three weeks before the school year starts, we receive an email from the principal. The school is in danger of losing its charter. What? Parents and students are encouraged to attend a hearing at the Orange County Board of Education to show support for Albert Einstein Academy. We show up as do many other families as a show of unity. How can our great school be in danger of losing its charter? 250 kids attend Huntington Beach Einstein Academy.
The Reality. So, during the hearing many things come to light that I am sure very few, if any, parents knew about. How Einstein Academy never had the legal right to open a campus in HB. How Einstein Academy was being sued by several school districts, including San Diego, Santa Clarita. How courts had already ruled against Einstein Academy. How potentially the state of California could sue the school for tons of state monies given. I could go on and on. Needless to say, there were a lot of dropped jaws in the room. In the end, the school was closed.
Bottom line — Einstein Academy, you deceived 250 Huntington Beach families and the poor kids that thought they were finally in a school that cared and mattered. Not to mention the many teachers that were suddenly out of work. You deliberately deceived. Shame on you. i hope that as you enjoy whatever campuses you have left, that you think of this image — Our son wanted to go by the closed down HB campus. He walked to his now empty classroom and broke down in tears. Thank you Einstein Academy. Your absolute mismanagement and utter disregard for the families and kids that put their trust in you, has profoundly affected many. Many. Sad that I have to resort to Unilocal of all places to get the word out.

We are so fortunate we found this school. Several teachers send their own children to this school, which says a lot about the quality of the school’s education. there are a few negative reviews on here because people have accused the school of not choosing potential students randomly, but in reality, there are children from all over the county that enter into this lottery. This is the ONLY school in the county that offers German language immersion, so several German families (many who also live in North County), are applying for their children to attend. This suddenly makes the pool larger. We live in North County and choose to send our son to AEACS because of the quality of their overall education, the compassion of their teachers, and the effectiveness of their language immersion program.

Parents university AEA night after school offers a 100% interactive experience for parents and teachers communication .
(The entire school year) teachers are helpful willing to work with students extra math help after school and the facilities are amazing, luckily more friends are now part of this AEA institution and am very happy to Say, it wasn’t a difficult choice for a charter school… A great place to visit if your considering to send your kids to a better middle school, see it with your own eyes ‚
Don’t let a mad review give you the wrong idea.

Not even worth a star. My daughter is a by product of aea. She is behind in every subject going into highschool. She has been there since kinder. Elementary was great but middle school was a nightmare. Many of the teachers are not creditialed, sciretta had class sizes up to 45. The district cap is 35. he was forced to hire yet another long term sub. They have taken my daughter o ff campus without my knowlegd nor co sent

I have been going to aeacs since kindergarten, Elementry was wonderful and I got a great education until middle school. If you are thinking about having your kid go to the middle school, DONT! I was discriminated against, graded harder, and my teachers bullied me. They called me lazy and a liar, all because I wanted extra help. Most of my «teachers» are not credentialed, and I know for a fact that some of the elementary «teachers» aren’t credentialed either. Last year in 8^th grade I learned NOTHING in English OR science. I am definatly not ready for highschool and will probably fail because I went to Albert Einstein academies.

Love working here! The teachers are easy to talk to and are very helpful when it comes to helping and connecting with the kids. The front desk ladies, I love as well! Always getting a greeting and a smile from them as I walk into work.

If I could give negative stars I would. We moved into the neighborhood about a year ago. We signed up our child to attend. They said that children would be picked at random. Funny how most of the kids that attend are white even though its a mixed community. We are Hispanic. I didn’t even receive a phone call from them to tell us we were rejected.
Good job Einstein Academy.

@ Jessica, thanks! I was doing some research myself for our two kids. I actually did a tour of the school and the «abundance» of a diverse student population is, well an exaggerated truth at best. I also checked out their website and you are right, the enrollment priorities do favor a specific group. If you give top priority to german background kids, this automatically excludes others. Private schools do this type of filtering process all the time. .. .but they can, they are private institutions with their own policies. Einstein is a public charter school, last time I checked.

@Jessica
Yes, Jessica, Really! They really do have a fair lottery system that does not include an interview. The interview is used only for German speaking children to verify that they can really speak German… so I guess that actually goes to prove that you don’t know what you are talking about. Do you have a child that goes to this school or know someone who does? No, or you would know how completely inclusive this school is. And the idea that the area they are in should give preference or accommodation to certain individuals based on ethnicity or language is completely misguided. Residents of the area do not get preference at all… so if you live across the street you must apply under the same conditions as anyone else from any part of the district. You probably also didn’t know that they have a Spanish language portion of the program either. Yes, their middle school has either a Spanish or German track. The Spanish track is predominantly filled with Hispanic students who entered at a later grade and do not have the German skills to enter the other track, who excel under the Einstein protocol. Both the middle and elementary school have the highest scores in the district.
Sheesh, there are just some people who are so wrapped up in their politically-​correct nit picking that they are determined to find racism and prejudice where it doesn’t exist. I’ve heard a few criticisms by over-​achiever parents about this school, but diversity and racial bias is not one of them. The abundant population of Hispanic and Black students and their families are very happy with the program and diversity there.

Our daughter was enrolled this year, and we were really worried about whether she would be or not. We are a bi-​lingual family (German/​English), but — despite what other reviewers here mistakenly think — AEA does NOT give priority to kids of German background. Instead they test their German speaking abilities. As a charter school, AEA focuses on languages (English, German, and later Spanish). Further, the FIRST priority in enrollment is given to employees’ children and siblings of current students. Secondly, German speakers are given priority based on two categories (determined by a in-​person evaluation): (1) native or (2) fluent speakers. Our daughter was tested as fluent, which has less priority than native.
Also, other reviewers don’t seem to understand what a charter school is. Charters are specifically different from public schools. Charters are not targeted towards their community, but students from all over the county can — and do – enroll in the school. Because the teaching and overall experience is really well respected, students come from all over the county to enroll here.
This page (url below) gives a very useful overview of what a Charter school is, what it can and can’t do, and how it’s different than a normal public school. After reading this page you’ll see how perfectly AEA fits it’s charter and is clearly defined well as a charter school, worthy of public funding.
Overall, our daughter loves school in general, and specifically loves her teachers and is learning more everyday. We couldn’t ask for more than that!

My nephew goes to school here and I am so impressed with the education he is receiving. He is seven years old and has been a student here for about two years. In addition to their regular education they also learn German. In general I think that all children should be learning a foreign language in addition to English beginning at an early age.
I am very proud of my nephew and would be proud to send my kid here is I ever have one.