Our Lady of Guadalupe School

As with every family, our children’s education is our top priority. OLG offers the best of educational opportunities, but also a very supportive and caring environment. I have a child in both 2^nd and PreK, and I have been beyond pleased! The teachers design creative lesson plans incorporating multiple learning disciplines (reading, writing, math, art.) My kids have been challenged, and have excelled, not only academically, but also in regards to their maturity, and consideration for their friends, family, and world around them. I really feel that the faculty and staff genuinely care about each and every child there. Along with the standard academics, OLG also puts on two musical productions per year, offers music and choir classes, along with additional art, and various clubs for the students to participate in. The PreK program is excellent, and has a very small class size, and low teacher /​student ratio. I highly recommend OLG!

Beautiful church with a lot of parking spots. A lot of rooms and seats, so take your pick. It’s right next to the park. They have a back room with window, for mom that wants to breast feed or hard or hearing.

We’re a new family at OLG. Our daughter is in first grade. It has been more than 2 months since she started and she loves going to school! The teachers and staff are very welcoming. Being a teacher myself, I can tell that they love being with the children and they are happy with what they do. My daughter’s academic learning has been very satisfactory. The content is within grade level standards yet challenging enough to push her to do her best. They offer varied school activities and many volunteer opportunities. My husband and I are glad that we chose OLG. It’s so reassuring to come home and hear about the wonderful things that our daughter has to say about her friends, teachers and schoolwork.

The bottom line: This is the best value in private schools in the area.
If you want more details: Many Fremont public schools are strong academically, and our neighborhood one tends to get rave reviews. (When I was visiting another private school in Fremont a couple of years ago, the vice-​principal actually said, «Wow, THAT is your public school? I’m impressed you’re considering private.») And yet… I drive 20 minutes or more each way, twice a day, during the school year, past our beloved neighborhood public school a few blocks from our house, and to pay for the privilege. Am I insane? Maybe, but read on…
My husband and I are not especially religious but feel that we were fortunate to have had Catholic educations in both elementary and high school. (In his country, the Catholic schools are free, though, so it was an unpleasant discovery for him to learn of this concept called «tuition.») Our daughter went to a public school for kindergarten because we wanted to try its Spanish immersion program. However, while I liked the program, my husband didn’t; we also wanted our kids to receive a strong ethical foundation in addition to academics. After major research and deliberation, we went with Our Lady of Guadalupe, and we have not regretted it
First, if you are in the market for a private school, OLG offers the best deal in tuition and fees around. The discounts offered if you have multiple kids enrolled are pretty good, too. (Our twins will be attending soon.) The aftercare program is a great deal, and kindergarten is FULL DAY, 8:00 to 2:50, just like the other grades. (School lets out early on Wednesdays, at 2:00.)
More important, though, is what you get for your investment. OLG has an extremely strong sense of community. Parents are very friendly and supportive of one another and each others’ children. The school has «Faith Families,» small groups made up of one child from each grade (K through 8^th) who eat lunch together occasionally and do a fun activity monthly. Kids from the upper grades escort kids from the younger grades to the monthly church services and sit with them. There is an anti-​bullying program.
Also, the school is genuinely diverse. The majority are students of color, of many backgrounds, but there are many students of European ethnicities also. No group is dominant, which is extremely rare in other schools in Fremont, both public and private. There are also non-​Catholics at OLG, including non-​Christians.
OLG offers an impressive range of sports for students, including basketball, cross country, softball and volleyball. My daughter has played b-​ball the last two years, and the coaches have been incredibly kind, supportive, and dedicated to all the kids, regardless of their abilities. Other activities include chess, math, and reading clubs; choir; ensemble band; a dance group; and a Spring musical. A few hundred students take part in the musical each year, and every kid who wants to is allowed to participate in a meaningful way. In fact, if your child has an interest in music and/​or drama, I particularly encourage you to check out OLG. The music teacher is excellent.
For the uniform, you have to buy a few items from The Merry Mart in Santa Clara (also sells online): the sweater, PE shirt and sweatshirt, and, for girls, the jumper or skirt. They are very durable and in my opinion great value for the money. Everything else (pants, shirts, shoes, PE shorts and sweatpants) can be purchased anywhere those items are sold, so I buy most of my kids’ uniform items on sale at JC Penney or Target. In addition, the school has a «uniform closet» to which many parents donate items their kids have outgrown. There are usually plenty of sweaters, sweatshirts, jumpers and skirts in very good condition you can pick up for nothing.
Now, the downside (for some people): All Catholic elementary schools nowadays have required parent volunteer hours. (Single-​parent families have a lower requirement of hours.) There are so many ways to get involved, though, including weekend and evening activities, that it’s not difficult to put in your time. If you prefer, you can pay a fee to «buy out» many of your hours, but I like that the school won’t allow anyone to buy out their hours completely; everyone still has to contribute at least some volunteer time in order to play a part in the school’s success. (Even the teachers whose kids attend OLG have to do volunteer hours on top of all the prep work they do for teaching!) So if the thought of having to volunteer puts you off, a Catholic school isn’t right for you.
My only real criticism of this school is that I wish it offered foreign language instruction. They used to offer Spanish but currently do not have a teacher. However, some of the parents are trying to bring it back, and hopefully that will happen. Other than that, I cannot recommend this school highly enough and encourage you to check it out. I truly believe you will be happy you did!

Our third year here for our son, first year for our daughter! We absolutely love this school! Amazing staff, parents, subject material, extra curricular programs, sports! This school offers it all! Small classrooms and teachers have full time aides. Before and after school care is very inexpensive but very good! Our children are flourishing!

I give great credit to OLG School staff, Teachers and Principal
to the wonderfull human being my Son is today!!!
My Son Braulio has been at OLG since kindergarten he’s now entering 6^th grade
my Daughter will be attending next year :) Thank you

The staff, especially the teachers, truly love the children and care about their development as a whole person — not only their academic achievement, but also their character development. The school offers all kinds of ‘extras’: PE teacher, Music teacher with choir, band, dance, and a Spring Musical that ALL students can participate in. There’s also a Christmas performance and a Spring performance (separate from the Spring Musical). There’s a math club & a reading club, and kids can enter the Young Author’s Fair (OLGS has had more winners per student capita for the past two years). Our kids participate in the Diocesan Science Fair every year (with students placing for the past five years). There’s an excellent Resource program to assist students needing additional academic assistance. Wonderful parent-​participation, and did I mention how much the children are truly loved and cared for? It’s a wonderful place to learn and grow — I wouldn’t have my four children attend any other grammar school.