I can't recommend Strategies for Learning highly enough! Natalie and Michelle have both been just…read moreamazing. My son (6 yo) has a number of learning disabilities and tonight he was able to accurately recite the entire alphabet to me (twice!). For parents with kids who struggle in school, it is the small victories that matter so much and to see your child make such a major improvement in only three months is just amazing.

We worked with BJ McIntyre and he was really great. He is kind and fun and was really curious about…read moremy kid and what she needed to succeed and feel positive about herself as a student. The strategies he taught her have helped so much. We would definitely recommend!

Sylvan helped our stubborn to read and now Sylvan is teaching him the mechanics and joys of…read morewriting. Your child has the skills to master these skills. He or she simply does not want to do it with their parents. Send them to Sylvan. You will not regret it.

Our son is a reluctant writer. Since he started attending Sylvan he has begun to have more…read moreconfidence and less fear. Sylvan has a nurturing atmosphere that fosters learning. We are big fans!

We have been really pleased with this tutoring center. Our child is in 5th grade applying to…read moreindependent middle schools and had to take the ISEE. His math practice tests were going poorly, and he was also struggling with math schoolwork (especially word problems). Our tutor has been Chase, a very nice young guy who is able to explain complex ideas in clear and simple ways. Paul said he was good with younger kids, and we agree - he's very friendly, positive and patient, and our child really liked working with him immediately. In addition, he's been super flexible with schedule changes, and really a calm, low key pleasure to work with. And he has produced results: In Dec 2016 our son took the SSAT as a practice run, and scored well on verbal but sub par on math - with very minimal prep and only 2 meetings with Chase. Several weeks later he took the ISEE and scored about the same on verbal (which Chase did not focus on), but improved almost 100% on math, especially those pesky word problems! His score almost DOUBLED on the quantitative tests. In this instance he'd prepped for a little over a month, with maybe 6-7 hrs max devoted to math prep. That's a big jump up, and of course, it's helping with schoolwork as well. Chase has seriously done a great job and we recommend him unreservedly. I am giving 4 stars because some of what other posters have said is true - in other ways this center could stand some improvement - billing seems chaotic and to this day I really don't know what we've actually paid and what we have not. Their billing person seems haphazard. Also, Paul said he would evaluate our child himself and never did, and has not offered any feedback on his learning style, which he promised he would give in our first, lengthy, conversation. In addition, the center on Piedmont is often without heat - a major issue this winter, so bring a coat!

Paul is the best tutor one could go to, especially if that one is a concerned parent looking to…read moreposition their child with the best possible tools. He does not teach math, he explains the logic of math. Paul is a principle based teacher, he teaches the logic of the subject matter so the student learns the underlying principles essential for true understanding; I.E. no memorization, but real, god honest understanding of the material. Just to give you a very, very basic example, instead of saying 5 times 24, Paul would propose something akin to: what if you have 5 groups of 24? And if that didn't work, he would draw diagrams, adapt his language further, and seemed to actually enjoy trying to explain the subject matter; he has a real passion for teaching, is more or less what I am saying, and, for my (older now) and many other/future/your? childrens' sake, it is an effective passion for teaching. Paul is the crème de la crème of tutors, you could not do better, and would notice an immediate difference, to your relief I am sure. This guy can take a D student and make them an A student, he is a miracle worker, so long as the child has some spark left for learning, he can be the fire starter. Not to mention that ultimately, I actually saved more money from Paul's SAT tutoring in the form of scholarships than I paid for the tutoring! Just in case you are wondering, this an honest review, that is dead on accurate. It's literally been years since I have talked to Paul (7 or 6) and I still sometimes reflect on how much I learned from him. In college and even the work place, his guidance at that point in my life is now invaluable. ++++ he is a really cool guy that teenagers/kids will like.

PEL stands for "Pre-Eminent Learning" and is the new Kumon with the Singaporean math trend focus on…read morecommon core math that us millennial parents didn't grow up with. There aren't any Russian math options around Alameda yet so we decided to sign up for the free consult/testing for PEL for our then five year old at the end of TK to see where he was at and he's been enjoying it ever since. We go twice a week for one hour and with the daily homework, our kindergartner is enjoying math drills and writing practice/phonics/reading. It takes a second to make it a habit but now he enjoys it and timing himself on the homework (cue childhood trauma from Kumon where my mom had a stopwatch!). I stopped correcting the homework for my sanity (more trauma - my mom corrected all our Kumon with the borrowed answer books and yelled if we got too many wrong). At this young age, they have Junior PEL which is with a teacher in a small group (versus the older kids who independently work and then raise hands for help). Our son's favorite teacher is Teacher Anna. For the waiting parents, this place has better parking, location and amenities than Mathnasium or Kumon with the Southshore shopping center. You can go grocery shopping at Trader Joe's and Safeway, pickup dinner, get a foot massage at W Spa, go for a run/walk by Crown Beach, return Amazon purchases at Kohl's, go to the bank, charge your car, etc. It's a carve-out time for errands that makes PEL seamless into our hectic family life with two young children. You can also just veg on the phone or work while waiting in the lobby (they have a super clean bathroom and it's quiet). The couple that owns this location also has a sister location in San Leandro and they run it efficiently and smoothly bc Alameda is their second location. Director Lawrence and Ms Kiwi are caring and kind and they also conduct regular parent teacher conferences, which is helpful at projecting and quantifying the hours invested into PEL. The icing on the cake is the annual honor roll ceremony in October. They did a great in putting the event together with the kids and parents in mind and our son is so proud of his honor roll trophy and shows everyone that comes over. Highly recommend PEL (especially those in public school in alameda bc K doesn't have homework!)

My son has been going to PEL for over a year now and it's definitely positively supplemented his…read moreregular school learning. We felt like he was starting to fall a bit behind and school work/assignments alone weren't giving him enough practice/rigor. He's been doing both English/language arts and math programs. The extra attention and practice/repetition caught him up and then some. PEL also has some fun incentives for kids to help support their motivation: they earn "money" for work completed successfully and can "buy" prizes. This also helps teach value and rewards/incentivizes saving for bigger prizes. If your kid could benefit from some extra practice/structure, it's worth at least doing the free consultation to see if PEL would be a good fit for their learning style.

Here's one more grateful mama writing the praises of Tilden Prep. Our son attended a well-ranked…read morepublic high school for his 9th and 10th grade years. He is a bright guy and has always done fine in school, but never liked reading, and spelling is not his thing. We were assured by well-meaning teachers that his challenges would disappear with time. The first two years of high school were miserable for him, and I had to drag him out of bed every morning to get there. He worked hard, but his grades steadily declined until he pretty much gave up putting any effort into his assignments if he did them at all. The last straw was when he confided to me sadly that he no longer felt smart at all. Ugh. So, long story slightly less long, we had him tested and discovered that he is dyslexic. Of course, this information made his teachers' suggestions that he work HARDER, rather than DIFFERENTLY even more frustrating. We discovered sadly that his school was unable and/or unwilling to help him out. The silver lining for us was sending him to Tilden for his junior and senior years. What a Godsend they are there! After two years at Tilden, our son is graduating with the knowledge that he is capable, intelligent, and has learned how to learn in a way that works for him. He's excited to attend college next year with renewed confidence. Tilden is pricey, but for us, it was well worth it. The teachers and Sallie, the head of the school, were committed, encouraging, and engaging. What relief to see our boy back on track and excited for his future!

Tilden Prep has been transformative for our son, who's twice exceptional. It offers greater depth…read moreand breadth of curriculum and more highly educated staff than its competitors, like Fusion Academy. For example, Tilden offers Multivariable Calculus and Linear Algebra. While such courses are offered at a community college, having the option to learn 1:1 is critical in giving a student a more solid foundation before entering a 4-year college. At the same time, the rates make more sense than Fusion Academy, which is on a trimester system and 30% more. Tilden is run like a school rather than a corporation. It's more pure to its cause. Good job Tilden. Keep up the good work!

We decided to withdraw our children from The Academy after ongoing concerns about bullying, lack of…read moreaccountability, and weak leadership. Our son faced repeated exclusion and inappropriate comments from classmates, including remarks that he was disliked "because he is Turkish." Despite our repeated reports and requests for support, the school minimized the situation and stated that "there was no bullying." Yet even during classroom assignments, our son expressed in writing and drawings his deepest wish for a world without bullying -- something no child should have to feel so strongly about in the first place. We tried for months to collaborate with the school, to have meaningful conversations, and to trust that the situation would improve. Unfortunately, it did not. Two students -- one acting as the leader and another following his lead -- consistently targeted him, and there were no real consequences. The administration's responses were consistently dismissive, suggesting a lack of understanding of the emotional impact such behavior can have on a child. Our son's sense of safety was completely eroded. Leadership at the school often acts in denial rather than taking responsibility. Communication is reactive and defensive. We also learned later that the administration offered us a $6,000 refund in exchange for signing a non-disparagement contract -- essentially asking us not to talk about our experience. We declined. Families deserve honesty, not silence. Academically, the school claims to be "one year ahead" and to follow a rigorous curriculum. After transferring to another school, we learned this was not true. Many concepts were skipped or taught superficially, creating learning gaps. Teachers are inconsistent -- some are good, while others frequently absent or disengaged. The third-grade environment in particular suffered from poor classroom management, inappropriate peer interactions, and a lack of supervision during recess and lunch. Conversations among students included inappropriate topics such as smoking and alcohol, even at this young age. This reflects serious gaps in oversight. The school also advertises a French program, but in reality, students only learn a few isolated words throughout the year -- far from the language exposure and learning that parents are led to expect. This is one example of how the school's marketing and actual classroom experience do not align. The only staff member who genuinely helped us and consistently supported our child was the inclusion and belonging teacher. She truly cared, followed up, and tried to make a difference when others didn't. To our shock, after leaving the school, we learned that she had been laid off. It's hard to understand how a school that claims to value inclusion could let go of one of the few people who actually embodied it. Adding to the concern, we later found that in the 2024-2025 school year, the administration encouraged families to post positive reviews online to boost enrollment numbers, as the kindergarten class had only six students enrolled. That context makes recent glowing reviews highly misleading. I would advise anyone considering this school not to rely on those reviews, as many were written under pressure to improve the school's public image. When The Academy was founded years ago, it had a strong reputation. Sadly, under the current leadership, it has lost its integrity, its sense of community, and its educational quality. For us, both the financial cost and the emotional toll were high. We are writing this review not out of bitterness, but out of responsibility -- so that other families can make informed decisions. Our new school has shown us how dramatically things can change when children feel truly safe, respected, and supported. Every child deserves that.

In credible school and incredible community. We've been at the school for 5 years and have two…read morechildren at the school. Both children have grown and thrived. We highly recommend The Academy.

I called Piedmont Tutoring looking for help in Chemistry. My course at Berkeley was not unusually…read moredifficult but after a month in I had a high C, no not the drink. The regional manager was very knowledgeable and took some background info in order to assign someone for me. The tutor ended up working out really well. Alex was able to meet me at the school library around once a week (sometimes more for tests and quizzes). He actually graduated from Berkeley and had taken the same course before. Sometimes scheduling didn't work but he made sure I was taken care of at least once a week. Never hired a tutor before so the experience overall was enjoyable. I believe they do offer to change tutors if you aren't happy but I didn't have to deal with that. Will call again but hopefully won't have to!

My daughter Angie wasn't doing well in her calculus course during her first year of college. We…read moreweren't sure if we should drop or continue. I reached out to Piedmont Tutoring for a tutor that can help us out. Andrew was our "first responder" and helped us right away. Our assigned tutor worked well with Angie and has improved her confidence and her grades over the last few months. He has been flexible and easy to communicate with. We kept a consistent schedule throughout the year which was best for both parties. Would recommend to others looking for tutoring in the area.

Sport L.'s experience doesn't reflect the Redwood Day School that I send my kids to. Redwood Day is…read moregreat in so many ways, from the teachers, administration, the beautiful campus, and a true sense of community. I have two kids at the school, and I am grateful that I made the decision to send them here for these very important years of their education. For math, the school uses a hybrid form of Singapore Math, which for most parents seems very different from what we learned, but it works (and has success metrics - students in Singapore have one of the highest math mastery in the world). They use a different model in the Middle School for the 6-8th span that equally prepares students for higher level math in High School. Redwood Day has ways for kids who need or seek more in math - my kids are always challenged. They also have a Math Olympiad program and programs/staff to help students who may need additional support. I have never found Redwood Day to be lacking in helping my kids learn, grow, and master math. Culture and celebrations are also very integrated at the school - which celebrates everything from Latin, African American, Asian American, and Jewish Heritage months to Women's History. The school is having something for Ramadan, and I know they have also hosted a Shabbat dinner in addition to other cultural celebrations. All to say, Redwood Day is super inclusive, and my kids come home learning a lot about their friends' cultural traditions - just a couple weeks ago, they did a Holi event. No school is perfect, but I believe that Redwood Day is always evolving, changing, and listening to the parent community. For discipline, I'm thankful for the social and emotional learning that starts in K and goes through 8th. Even as 5 year olds, kids learn about choices, options for dealing with conflict, and what and how to make different (and better) choices when there is conflict. I don't know what the prior post means about authoritative discipline, but long gone are the days of that type of discipline model. My kids (and these next generations) need to learn self-awareness, self-regulation, critical thinking, and agency in working out their own differences - with the guidance and oversight of teachers, coaches, mentors, and role models. Personally, I much prefer that my children talk through issues with their friends, take accountability, practice humility, and have the support of trusted adults to help them navigate challenges. Not everyone is the right fit for any school - and as a parent, it is absolutely on us to ensure that we find mutual synergy with the school, teachers, faculty, and community. For me, Redwood Day was the absolute right choice for my kids - and I know they are more because of it.

Sometimes I get parents who reach out and ask me more about redwood day school to them I say we…read moreleft here and went to Berkwood Hedge School in Berkeley where my daughter thrived. We made it though covid with an amazing pivot to outdoor classrooms and my child didn't miss a beat. She's now in a public middle school: wise, self assured, kind. confident and getting straight A's. I believe her courage and strong sense of self come from the education she received at Berkwood Hedge School. If you're looking for a truly inspiring progressive independent education check them out. Not as many Bells and whistles but what matters is there the heart and the academics.