ECC Academy, Los Angeles | Fees, Rankings, Address, Admission, Vacancies, Reviews & More

If ECC hadn’t come very highly recommended to us by one of the parents at our elementary school whose daughter attended it (and passed both the Science Academy and Walter Reed IHP entrance exams), we would have not gotten past that lone 1-star review and gone somewhere else. But because the same parent was choosing to send her other kid (who happens to be one of the best students at our current school) to ECC again for Science Academy prep, we decided to visit ECC in person before deciding whether to sign up or not.

Mr. Jimmy Choi (the Director / Instructor) won our trust within the first few minutes of meeting with him. He is a kind, knowledgeable, personable and patient man. The facilities are very clean and professional. This really is an actual school, and they know what they are doing! According to Mr. Choi, ECC enjoys 95% success rate among its students that have successfully passed The Science Academy entrance exams.
I asked Mr. Choi about that horrible review. He said that he has no idea who had written it or why. He also said that they rely on word of mouth business and never ask anyone to write a review because they want to be able to keep the classes small (usually about 4-6 kids), so that everyone gets individual attention.

We signed up for the 8-week course on the spot. We were on a road trip during the first class but received a video recording of the entire 90 min lesson the next day, and our 10 y/o son watched the entire thing and followed along in the car, on our way back to LA. He loves math, and was totally engaged in the lesson.

The rest of the lessons (twice a week) he attended in person. (Since we don’t live nearby, I brought our puppy and a book, and waited next door on the lovely patio of the Document Coffee Bar (they make the most delicious latte, and their pastries are addictive!).
After each lesson I asked my son if he had fun and what they worked on in the class. Each time I received an enthusiastic Yes! and a detailed rundown of what he had learned that day. (I should mention that we took the course over the summer break. Prior to starting, we got some expected resistance (“But whyyyyy? It’s summer! I don’t want to!”, etc.). Once the classes began, we didn’t hear one complaint – not about having to show up, nor about the amount of homework. Our son is not shy about complaining, and he only had very nice things to say about Mr. Choi, his teaching style, and the other kids in his group.

We won’t know for several months whether our son will pass the entrance exams, but we do know that he learned a lot while at ECC, had fun learning, and he will now have a fighting chance to get into one of the top middle schools.

In conclusion, I am convinced that that 1-star review must’ve been written either on Opposite Day or by an envious competitor, for our experience was a polar opposite of it. I can’t speak for their other programs, but as far as the Science Academy and IHP test preparation goes, ECC offers a truly wonderful opportunity to learn for those that *want* to learn.

This place is abusive, and their treat to kids were traumatic, anger based. This place need to be closed. This was the place where I got bullied, abused.