The O’Farrell Charter School

Wow, most of these reviews are really old, written in 2008 by former students who attended O’Farrell in the mid to late 1990’s? Times have changed, you should go visit your former school. First off, scores don’t lie. Do your research. O’Farrell has made HUGE academic strides. I have quite a few friends who have kids at O’Farrell and they love it, say it’s wonderful. Their kids are academically challenged and the school will not tolerate nonsense. Students who are trouble makers, fighting, not following rules or bullying… they are kicked out. So, no, the school is not ‘ghetto’ at all. In fact, quite the contrary. It’s a very disciplined school with a rigorous academic curriculum. I don’t know what the issue is about the uniforms, why people harp about that. Tan pants/​shorts and varying color polo shirts, even a few days when they can wear jeans… O’Farrell’s dress code is far from unreasonable. It’s actually good in my opinion, no gang attire is allowed and that’s always a huge plus.
Anyway, for anyone seriously considering enrolling your kids at this school, read more reviews at greatschools dot com (way more recent than the ones here).

I had really high hopes for this school since i attended this school when i was younger. when my oldest son attended this school i was very excited for him but after two years i became very disappointed and angry with this school. my son was having a hard time with this school. the teachers do not keep in touch with parents if the student is having problem with school work. they only keep in touch if the student has done something bad. for two years i worked with my son to keep his grades up but there is only so much a parent can do if they dint understand some of the stuff they are passing out. none of the teachers stay after to help the kids and that is something i found out after talking with one of the after school program teachers. the after school programs have a hard time helping the kids and what are they to do if no teachers are around. since then i have transferred my son to a different School where he is progressing as he should. when we first transferred my son the staff at Ofarrell was not happy, they kept asking for us to leave him and things would get better, and after speaking with a family friend who is a staff member there i learned that they lose on the budget and that’s why the were so adamant to let me transfer my son.

I’m had some good times here. a lot of people hella dis this school but w/​e. thats just cause they weren’t in family 4! we were the family that went on like 20 field trips a year and had the best teachers. but sadly they don’t have families any more and the uniforms are super ugly now. navy blue and khaki? ofarrell isn’t best buy people. it deserves 5 stars for how it used to be but it gets 3 for how it is now.

Gosh! Up until this day, I am not so proud to be an alumnus of O’Farrell! While attending O’Farrell, I would randomly dream of transferring to Bell Junior High, even if that meant leaving my friends. Sure, Bell was and is still as ghetto as O’Farrell, but that school had quality teachers and programs. O’Farrell? Not really.
One redeeming quality of O’Farrell is Mrs. Hills, who is an O’Farrell alumnus, as well as «teacher of the year» the year after I graduated from O’Farrell. Now, she is the principal of Freese Elementary.
Since O’Farrell has been a charter school, the school abides by an invented set of rules titled «The O’Farrell Way.» The school’s mission can be summarized in four sections which are collectively named «Learning Outcomes.» And what was the deal with those so-​called «educational families?» Sure, close bonds with classmates were possible since we were stuck with the same classmates for three years, but I wanted more of a middle school environment.
Gosh, I felt like middle school was an extension of elementary school with all that mumbo jumbo, plus the lack of homework for students. Sure, that was great for me back then, but that meant high school was more of a shocker. I still adjusted to high school smoothly, but I hate to admit that the Bell kids were always be ahead in the game. I wish O’Farrell was more straight-​forward altogether in instructing students, without focusing on that extra stuff which are common sense anyway.
When my sister started attending O’Farrell four years ago, I was pleasantly surprised to find out that she was learning more than I did in 6^th grade. Still, when she transferred to Eastlake Middle, she thought that school was more challenging.
When I become a mother of a preteen, and if I somehow live in the O’Farrell area, I will not send my child to O’Farrell. I’m giving this school 3 stars rather than 2 because I’m still grateful that this school paved the way to high school for me.