715 Garfield Ave
South Pasadena, CA 91030

Our family would like to respond to the review of Ms. Lewis (Wong) that is on this website. This in no way is meant to discount the experience of one individual, but the experience our child had in Ms. Lewis/Wong's class was wonderful. Ms. Lewis showed genuine care for our child, responded to questions we had about how things were going in the classroom, and worked quickly to address concerns that we raised (including teaching positive conflict resolution skills). She's hard working, and she put a lot of time and energy into tailoring each student's classroom experience and making it a fun environment to learn. Our child grew and thrived in her class, and we've seen older students come back to visit Ms. Lewis with genuine affection and enthusiasm.Overall, we've had a wonderful experience at Marengo, from the principal down through all the teachers, and we recommend the school without reservation.

The curriculum is excellent, my student’s’ were outstanding learners. They held 3.8-4.0 gpa’s throughout middle school. My experience with South Pasadena Middle School was good during the elementary school years, but unfortunately not in the later years. We felt many days disconnected, alienated & not included. All three years of our attempts to join ASB my kids were turned down. No reason, no explanation, just an empty apology and courage to try next year. Even after tirelessly filling out all the questionnaires, forms, and gathering a number of signatures by members & school staff. We couldn’t figure out why they’d be declined to be involved in betterment of the school, adding different perspectives etc. We knew we weren’t the only one’s, many students were rejected every single year after year. The sports were the same-. They were all by invitation only. You have to have been trained at a young age whether interested in tennis, basketball or any sport. Sadly both kids were never able to join any sport teams throughout all the years of middle school. Every sport (at least 3) they tried out for they were declined, this level of expectations on middle school athletics were very rough and cut throat. How could a school be so tough on middle school sports? It would be understandable for high school. What kind of school does this to young teens? Unless your super prepped & trained there’s no way in. I would have to say the worst part of school were the councilors. They don’t have a minute to spare for parents. Unless you’re lucky enough to get a question answered via email. Many times I wouldn’t get my emails answered at all. By the end, I didn’t bother. When you ask they say, “they’re trying to teach your kids that it’s their responsibility to email the teachers if they’re having any issues or concerning your child, as it teaches them to be independent”. If I had the choice to do it again I wouldn’t send my kids to the Middle School or to the High School , they’re the same. The councilor’s are unhelpful, void, and not interested in helping your child. The principal of the High School, who was in my opinion the best part of the district, dedicated many years, just left her position this year. The middle and high school need to get their act together. The students’ deserve better. It would be nice to hire a new staff of councilors to prepare and actually support the student’s education goals.

The new Principal Eldred has ruined this school. South Pas was a unique and vibrant school when under the helm of Principal Anderson. She created a culture that was interested in assisting students to craft a unique 4 yr plan for each student's individual goals. The new Principal Eldred has abolished all of those unique avenues and has made it so every student is exactly alike in this cookie cutter factor of a high school. The Parents at South Pasadena High School are encouraging the new superintendent and the school board NOT to renew his contract. We would be ecstatic if they approached Janet Anderson to be the interim principal while also asking her to consult on hiring and training her replacement. The Parents at South Pasadena High School wish that mediocre and rigid Eldred would go back to where he came from because he does not fit in with the flexible and dynamic culture of South Pasadena. He might be better in a military institution where everyone wants that kind of leadership. His favorite thing to say to parents is NO. It is his first, last and only comment on requests to help their children reach their individual goals. It's sad because this school had been incredibly outstanding for meeting the needs of students and parents. Unfortunately, I have discovered that it was the old Principal Anderson who created that culture. The Parents of South Pasadena are fervently wishing this new Principal Eldred would just go back to where he came from.