I went to Carden from kindergarten through 8th grade. It's a great school and the education I got really gave me a leg up in high school. The class sizes are small, <20, so individual attention is not a problem. The curriculum is rigorous and the teachers are friendly and competent (not always so in public school). The only downsides are that the tuition is $395 a month (seems a little steep to me) and that social interaction isn't a great as public school (<150 students enrolled), but overall I think that these cons are outweighed by the education and personal attention that each student gets.

My oldest is currently in kindergarten at Tompkins. I am not unhappy with it at all but if I had the money she would be going to Carden! I went there during my 5th and 6th grade( this was many years ago). I was advanced during these years. My reading levels were extremely high at that age and I actually won 1st in county and 3rd in state for an essay contest during my 6th grade year. Ahhhh....those were the days! :) Hope this helped a little!

I'm going to second the suggestion to investigate Valley Oaks.  We moved here earlier this year, just a couple months before school let out for the summer.  I really liked my son's second grade teacher at Golden Hills, but I was extremely disappointed with their kindergarten program.  Previously, my then-kindergartner had been in a full-day K program, with emphasis on learning sight words and reading.  I felt that her few months at GH were merely a rehashing of what she'd learned in preschool, rather than anything at all like she had at her former school.  Although her teacher had nothing but praise about her, I kept getting stuck on the comment she'd made about my daughter being nearly prepared to skip a grade.  My child is not a wunderkind; she's simply a bright kid who was well-prepared for first grade at her former school, and nearly second grade here, or so I have surmised.

When we were looking to purchase a home, we focused our search exclusively on houses that were within Golden Hills School's boundaries, because what I'd read on greatschools.net about Tompkins, was a bit disappointing.  I did minimal investigating of the private schools, and determined that Heritage Oaks wasn't for us; although our faith is similar (but perhaps more liberal) than that school's religious charter, it did not seem like a good fit for what I wanted.  And considering that they require 2 days of homeschooling a week anyway, the monthly fee was a bit steep.  In general, I wasn't opposed to Carden, and were I to opt not to homeschool any longer, I think that school would be my first - and only - choice now.  My hesitation there was the less-than-stellar things I'd read about the Carden curriculum in general, but it probably wouldn't be enough to prevent me from enrolling my child there now.

Be advised that (elementary) children who transfer into the school district mid-year here are at risk of being assigned to another school initially; I was told that my kindergartner may need to attend Tompkins until the end of the year, when she'd be reassigned to GH for the new school year.  Moreover, bus service is fee-based - even if you live beyond, say, 2 miles from the school, your child is only eligible to ride the bus if you pay for it - or if they send your child to a school to which you are not zoned (such as if they assign your child to Golden Hills or Cummings Valley). 

If you were considering Heritage Oaks and you had the time to homeschool for those requisite two days a week, I'd also encourage you to contact Valley Oaks and speak to the folks there.  Although I never thought I'd be one to choose homeschooling, it definitely feels like the right choice for us right now. 

I am very happy about public schools out here, my son is at Cummings Valley.  I work at a high school in the Antelope Valley,  My experiance shows that any child from any school has a chance, it all depends on parent envolvment and support.  Another thing I have found is a high "burn out rate" with kids these days.  The first few years should be fun and exciting.... not tons of things stuff down their brains so they can be the smartest kid out of your group of friends.  The basics should be learned and with support from home the learning will continue.  I see kids graduate every year and go off to college, military, trade schools, and the work force, not all of them that are IB, advanced placement kids go off to college.  Almost everybody hopes their kid goes off to college right out off high school, the truth is that it is up to the kid.  Just because they are the smartest is not a guarantee that they want to go to college.  And just because they are not a 3.0 or higher student they do not go off to college.  In the end, it is the social skills, the "street smarts", and the personality that makes success.  In the very early school years everything should be fun in school and the learning will come naturally.  Good luck with your choice!

Cummings Valley just received one of the highest marks for ALL the elementary schools in the state of California. My oldest 2 go there and I think it's a great school, The only down side is that I feel like we miss out on funding that other schools get because the parents of the children overall make "too much money", or so we're told. I think music and art is important and since the prgram was taken away last year, we've been granted only $15,000 this year to spread across music, art, and physical education. I know for sure that's not enough - they're looking for a volunteer music teacher the last I heard. So, yes there are awesome kids and teachers at the school without a doubt, but maybe it's just the overall CA school system that's kind of putting us (and other schools) in a bind with lack of funding for subjects that I personally feel are essential to a child's development.

Additionally, with no personal experience, I have heard nothing but fantastic things about Carden, which is why there's usually a waiting list.

Good luck!

From my understanding, (my kids did not go there) Cardens academical program is geared toward not pushing kids, esp in in the early years. As stated by Screemyl, this can be a good thing as kids need to get the basics learned.  Having fun while learning can instill a love for learning that will last a lifetime.  All work and no play can burn a child out, something TUSD needs to consider --no art, music or PE. The class sizes at Carden are small so there is lots of individual attention.  However, some of the kids who have transferred to TUSD  (I used to work for TUSD)are behind their classmates, due to their "less than stellar" curriculum.  They have had to do a lot of catching up and some have had to repeat a grade.
That being said, I will continue to home school through Valley Oaks charter school.  My daughter is in 6th grade and we spend about 3 hours a day working together and she spends another hour working independently.  And what do you know--it's brought MY math grade up.

Everyone, Thanks for the responses!  I think I have made my mind up and she is going to go to Carden.  She started school out here in North Carolina and I have been far from happy with the school and the teacher she has.  If we were staying out here she would not continue to go to this school.  This class sizes are small but the school is big so they have LOTS of rules to keep order.  It seems like everything you do their is a rule that does not allow you to do it.  For example we bought my daughter a watch for her first day of school and figured it would be a good way for her to begin to tell time.  She would look at the watch and see that she had 2 minuets  before we needed to leave the house and I told her what time to look for when it was time to come home.  Well low and behold she gets in trouble for wearing it because it is not allowed, it is considered a toy.  She has to eat her lunch in a certain order, and you cannot talk to the teacher after class you have to call the school and leave a message for her to call you.  I should be able to talk to the teacher when I pick her up if I have a question or concern.  So I am hoping that a smaller school will be better for us.  I know that there does need to be rules but when there are many useless rules it can get a bit overwhelming for a child.  I do not want to home school  because my daughter loves going to school and I like her having the social environment.  I am also going to school and it helps me having her in school so that I don't have to do my work when she is home.  Well, thanks to everyone, this is a big decision.