Saint Monica Preparatory - Upper School Reviews

173 reviews

Saint Monica offers a great community, in a small, safe space.
From academics to sports, they keep students involved.

My time started out strong at SMPrep but has since gone downhill. Teachers are constantly being cycled in and out, preventing students from making strong, lasting relationships inside the classroom. Also, many of the facilities aren't open to the students. For example, the majority of the east wing has been shut down all school year because of a flood, revealing a lack of building maintenance. The girl's bathrooms are constantly locked, leaving maybe 1 sometimes 0 bathrooms open on campus. There is also an imbalance in attention, funds, and treatment between the boy's and girl's sports. This doesn't overshadow some great aspects though, such as readily available college counselors that have been crucial to seniors and their college applications. The food is also pretty good with lots of variation. Overall, my time has exposed many of the weaknesses of the school, though some of the strengths have still been prevalent.

Truthfully, some of my best memories have come from my school, but over time I have seen a lack of commitment from the administration to support the student body. Since the pandemic, the school culture and tradition have shifted, and my original appeal towards the school is completely gone as the student body has no sense of enthusiasm or pride in their school. For a few years, the teachers at St. Monica Preparatory seemed to lack interest in their jobs. There was an obvious separation between the teachers accustomed to the school and the consistent new batch of teachers who made their frustration with the lack of communication obvious to the students. Athletically, the school has progressively gotten better with the majority of its programs. Coaches and staff have done an excellent job improving their teams. Lastly, the VPA department is phenomenal as they have created excellent shows and have proven to care about their activities.

Review Saint Monica Preparatory - Upper School

Black parents, please stop sending your kids here. The Black people who work here do not care about your kids. THERE KIDS DON'T EVEN GO HERE HA! And the white ones won't let your kids succeed. My kids hate it here but they only have a few more weeks. If I didn't work I would have to be up there all the time because no one will ever call you back. The cost is going up too and who knows why? I do. They want all the black people to leave and they are. No one wants to deal with people smiling in your face and passing your kids just so they can look like kids get good grades. The UC system laughed at my son when he left and he had a 3.4 but they never let him take honors classes. Go someplace else $18K is not bad for a private school in Los Angeles, but this school along with their unresponsive and dismissive administration is not worth it. The pamphlets are all lies and they don't have enough teachers. The ones they do have have no idea what they are doing and are never there.

They will NOT prepare you child academically for the real world. A friend of mine sent her son here and told me it was bad but their presentations were so good and I thought it had gotten better. But they seriously asked us to review and make it sound good.

If you are a Black student or a parent of a Black student, you need to stay away from this school. If you are not Black and are ok with us being treated like sub-par humans please enroll your child here. You will fit right in. The staff does not treat everyone the same. Don't let the other Black people on staff there fool you. They are trying to keep their jobs and will tell you anything to get your child to attend and then treat you and your child like inmates. My child just started and will not be back. The majority of Black kids are in "college-prep" classes and the kids that came from their feeder schools are in honors classes. I've heard of cyber-bullying, sexual misconduct, and teachers making fun of parents who can't pay.

i have really enjoyed this school. it has a great community and I have learned so much and gained so many skills.

I love Saint Monica Prep. It has given me the best high school life. There is so much to do, everyone is friendly and it feels like my home away from home. If I could start all over, I would have even more fun. Saint Monica Prep prepares you for life and you get a little bit of life every time you go to school. This school is full of adventures and is very creative. I love this school and I would recommend it to anyone.

I have met some incredible people at Saint Monica. Every person I have met is kind and cares for one another. However, it's a hit or miss with teachers. Some teachers host office hours and you can tell that they care for their students, while others don't.

Saint Monica has a rigorous curriculum and engaging classes. Most teachers know what they are doing and bring college insight into the equation. There are many classes to choose from, supporting different career paths (engineering, marine biology, acting, VPA, etc.) St. Monica has constructive rules and the classroom experience is based on teacher, but not very harsh despite the differing teachers. Alright uniforms, ok policies, nice sports and extracurriculars, pretty ok events.

Saint Monica Preparatory is generally a very good school. The teachers are good, the general school environment is welcoming, and you have many resources at your disposal. The only downsides are the transition period from SMCHS to SMP and the general disorganization. Things have changed incredibly quickly since they started implementing the re-branding of the school, and many students are confused about rules and regulations with the new name and branding. Also, the school is generally a bit disorganized, with timing, reliability, and consistency not being their strong suits. Classes change from year to year with little warning to the students, and they're always trying to implement or start something new, not always successfully. The administration makes efforts to help students and parents understand changes, but clarity can become lost in the shuffle. However, Saint Monica's has many positive aspects, including school spirit and a great campus.

I've been at this school since my freshman year. At first, I really enjoyed my classes and campus activities. The teachers were great (qualified and kind) and understanding of issues. However, as time went on, the school began to go downhill, very fast.

Our school was not the best with COVID. Teachers were not understanding of internet issues or our mental health. Many students, including myself, struggled as we were not treated well by our teachers (snarky/rude comments). This even continued as we transitioned back into in-person school.

This school would be lucky if it had teachers that stayed here for over a year. So many of our last good teachers left during my freshman year and more continued to leave as time went on. As a result, new teachers that they hire aren't exactly qualified to teach (or good at it) and are very rude to students. Admin also does not deal with harassment/racism on campus well. The most I got from both of these issues was an apology from said person.

- Community atmosphere
- Smaller classes (allows for more individual attention on each student)
- some really cool teachers and staff
- girl sports don't get enough recognition and support compared to football or basketball and baseball (even though the girl sports do better generally)
- can be improved with some administration
- really nice weight room
- lunch could be way better and way cheaper (lacks options for different people and food is too expensive)

My few years at St. Monica Catholic High School were really special. I transferred halfway through my junior year and I am very glad that I did. The connections that I made with students and faculty were significantly better than the ones I had at my old school. St Monica is very community-oriented and this allowed for deeper relationships with everyone. Even though I was new I felt very taken care of and supported. Teachers taught with passion and the students welcomed me with open arms. Overall it was a great experience and I wish I would have transferred sooner.

St. Monica Catholic High School is a very great school the teacher are excellent and listen to your concerns if you have them as a student. The students are also nice there as well. There is a strict no-bullying policy there; therefore, you would not have to worry about that if you have experienced that before. The school prides itself on community and giving back. I gave the school four stars because it is not perfect, I believe they need to do a better job with acclimating their transfer students to social life. However, over time you'll have a balance in both the academic and social life there. Therefore, if you are considering this school please apply because it is an amazing school. I hope this helps!

Being online that last year and a half was a difficult change but even at home, I felt SMCHS was able to continue to provide the resources and high quality education I needed. I love being a Mariner.

This school is truly a hidden gem right in the heart of the west side. Great education, great vibes and grads get into great schools. The athletics are also on the rise. St Monica is offering great value in many ways and I believe it won't be long until this school had a wait list every year.

St. Monica is awesome because of the teachers, students and the personalized classes. Friendly vibes, supportive teachers and counselors and an overall very positive experience. I think it’s unique to get a great education, get into great colleges in an environment that doesn’t feel overly stressful or mean.

Review Saint Monica Preparatory - Upper School

We've been incredibly happy with our experience at SMCHS. All of our children will be there this year. The administration is responsive and engaged. The college counseling department is top-notch!!

We have had a great experience both joining the St. Monica congregation led by Monsignor Lloyd Torgerson (@msgrlloyd), St. Monica Grade School, and High School (@stmonicachs).

An outstanding community that is welcoming, complemented by a great school administration, a college-prep curriculum, and great kids makes it easy to give a five-star review...

Go Mariners!

We sent both our boys through SMCHS (our youngest is a senior for the upcoming 2021/2022 school year). The Principal is fantastic, the faculty responsive, the Counselors excellent, and the sports programs encouraging and team-minded. Although not Parish members nor even Catholic ourselves, we have truly appreciated the "all faiths welcome," inclusive mentality. We love the diversity and strong commitment to education and extracurriculars, which allows for a very well-rounded approach. We love being Mariners!

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