Best Mommy & Me Class
My Gym
A four-year winner, My Gym in Yorba Linda is the perfect place to get kids and babies moving. Arts and crafts, music and games help keep kids engaged and active. From tumbling to handstands, classes grow with your kids and drop-off programs and pay-by-day options make choosing My Gym easy. Birthday party packages are available too, with so many themes to choose from like Hello Kitty and Star Wars.
mygym.com/yorbalinda | Yorba Linda
Best Private Preschool, Elementary School/Junior High School, High School
Fairmont Private Schools
A sixth-year winner, Fairmont Private Schools has been providing students in Orange County with a superior education since 1953. With four campuses to serve your family, Fairmont focuses on individualized learning for preschoolers through high school students.
fairmontschools.com | Multiple Locations
Best Single-Location Private Preschool and Single-Location Private School
Heritage Oak Private Education
Heritage Oak has been in Orange County for more than 50 years. It serves preschool through middle school, is accredited by NIPSA and is a nationally-recognized Blue Ribbon School. This is the third year the school made the list.
heritageoak.org | Yorba Linda
Best Church-Based Private Preschool
Good Shepherd Preschool
Good Shepherd Preschool’s goal is for “every child to experience success and to know the love of God in their lives.” Professional, faith-based, early-childhood-development-trained teachers create “emergent curriculum” that encourages children’s natural curiosity. Good Shepherd also offers pre-kindergarten rooms with a “Get Set for School” program that helps youngsters prepare for a life of learning.
goodshepherdpreschool.com | Irvine
Best Public High School
Yorba Linda High School
Yorba Linda High School encourages Mustangs to run with the STAMPEDE, standing for Service, Teamwork, Achievement, Mastery, Passion, Ethics, Dedication and Excellence. The expectation is for all students to graduate fully prepared to continue their academic success in vocational/technical training, community college or a four-year university.
ylhs.org | Yorba Linda
Best Magnet Public High School
Troy High School
Troy High School is a four-year public high school in the Fullerton Joint Union High School District, located next to California State University, Fullerton. Troy is a 21st Century National Blue Ribbon School of Excellence/California Distinguished High School. The school provides an excellent liberal arts program, and is a leader in progressing students through tech, science and governmental courses.
fjuhsd.org/Troy | Fullerton
Best Montessori School
LePort Montessori
LePort’s mission is to foster students who will flourish as joyous children today, and as successful adults tomorrow. LePort achieves this by using Montessori methods to create an atmosphere that provides all the tools and support the children need to become confident, wise and overall excellent human beings.
leportschools.com | Irvine
Best Faith-Based High School
Mater Dei High School
The Catholic faith-based high school, Mater Dei, has been operating in Santa Ana for more than 67 years. As a preparatory Diocesan Catholic high school, Mater Dei aims to give students a holistic Catholic education. The school follows guidelines established for Catholic education in the document “To Teach as Jesus Did” while still recognizing parents as a child’s chief educator. Their mission is the “development of the whole person: spiritually, intellectually, emotionally, physically, socially, morally and creatively.”
materdei.org | Santa Ana
Best Music School
Orange County School of the Arts
Orange County School of the Arts is designed for students passionate about the arts. Besides their nationally-recognized and award-winning college-preparatory academic program, OCSA has a School of Music, School of Dance, School of Theater, School of Applied Arts and School of Media & Fine Arts. OCSA alumni include Tony-award winner Lindsay Mendez and actor Matthew Morrison, best known for his roles on “Glee” and “The Good Wife.”
ocsarts.net | Santa Ana
Best Tutoring Programs/Service
Kumon
Kumon aims to improve the global community through individualized education. The techniques and learning methods students are taught to apply at Kumon encourage critical, self-learning. Displayed both by the success of individual locations and as a whole, Kumon’s growth and recognition is due to its results. Readers voted for it nine years straight as Best Tutoring Program.
kumon.com | Multiple Locations
Best Montessori Preschool
Far Horizons Montessori
Far Horizons opened its doors in 1975 with a mission of providing a caring atmosphere where the child is first and always feels valued, according to Owner/Director/Founder Nora Cunningham. “The teachers, staff and administration have a unique relationship where we work together to assure that the children are valued and cared for,” she said. The school serves up to 50 preschoolers in two preschool classrooms, each with two Montessori-trained teachers.
fhmschool.org | Orange
Best Faith-Based Elementary/Jr. High School
Red Hill Lutheran School
Founded in 1961, Red Hill Lutheran’s preschool through eighth grade serve 450 students. In addition to a rigorous academic curriculum, the school offers a range of specialty classes in all grades including everything from choral music, Spanish and STEM classes to competitive sports. According to Principal Dr. Paul Marquardt, the student population is kept at just the right size — with an average class size of 18.
redhillschool.org | Tustin
Best School District
Irvine Unified School District
Serving more than 35,000 K-12 students, the Irvine Unified School District encompasses one early childhood learning center, 24 elementary schools, four K-8 schools, six middle schools, five high schools and one continuation high school. Since it was founded in 1972, the district’s schools have been recognized nationally for their comprehensive programs in academics, arts and athletics. The school district regularly exceeds state and national standards.
iusd.org | Irvine
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