McDowell School – Private Preschool and Elementary

This is our family’s 7^th school year at McDowell. We chose McDowell for its strong, secular education and small class size. We quickly came to appreciate McDowell’s supportive, nurturing, safe, family vibe – and lack of pretense.
The teachers are outstanding – each has become my child’s favorite. And I’ve seen my kiddo blossom, thrive, and stretch in their care.
‘Tis the season to tour middle schools so, the other day, I broached the topic of life after McDowell. My kiddo’s face fell – «I don’t ever want to leave McDowell.» Can’t offer a more glowing review than this: My child loves McDowell and can hardly imagine going anywhere else.

McDowell is a small school with awesome people. My daughter has been here for four years now and I am completely thrilled by the academic and artistic experiences she has had. They don’t have the fanciest playground or sporting equipment, they don’t have a world class computer science room stocked with the latest gadgets, but what they do have is amazing teachers who provide incredible learning opportunities in a supportive environment. And you won’t spend your hard earned dollars just to get another classroom with 20 or more kids with a teacher just out of school. My daughter’s class has never had more than 12 students and always had a teacher with an incredible amount of teaching experience. Words literally cannot describe how awesome the teachers are here — I keep thinking we got so lucky and then the next year the teacher is just as awesome.
So if you are looking for a place for your kiddos to get an amazing education in a kind and supportive environment, this is really the only gig in town.

This is our second go around with this school. We couldn’t ask for a better elementary school experience, combined with everything a great school has to offer– small class size, excellent teachers, caring staff, high quality curriculum, and community feel. To us, McDowell School is the best kept secret in Laguna Niguel. We love it and more importantly, so does our daughter!

We have been at this school for 8 years. Teachers are thorough, thougtful, caring and kind. They expect each and every child to reach their potential. Class sizes are small (between 12 and 18 for the most part) but families are still very diverse. If you are looking for South Orange County haute this is not the school for you. Grounded kids is what you will get.