Our daughter has been at Cornerstone for almost 2 years and we absolutely love it. Her Chinese is…read morefluent now, and this is one of the only schools that we toured for the children actually speak to each other in Chinese on the playground, instead of reverting to English. The project based and play based curriculum for three and four-year-olds is truly unique and engaging. The teacher to student ratio is low and the teachers genuinely understand and are invested in each child's development. Unlike many traditional Chinese schools, they also focus on children's social emotional development, and my daughter has matured substantially in this area. Helen and Teresa are wonderful and made time to meet with me anytime I had concerns. Truly, an exceptional environment for Chinese immersion, and in my opinion (after touring nearly every Chinese school) the best on the Peninsula.

Summary: A great immersion school with caring staff. My chicks have been attending here for many…read moreyears. 99.8% of their Chinese ability is from CLF. ( yeah, I will take the .2 %). Their Chinese is not native level but enough to help new student from China in school. ;) We know plenty of kids go to other Chinese schools that have shuttle services, homework hours, extra enrichment options etc. let's be clear. CLF doesn't offer any of that. When you sign up CLF, you are there to learn Chinese. Guess what? Unlike the norm that kids dislike Chinese school and eventually drop out, Most CLF kids stay and continue for many years. My chicks have close friends from CLF kinder days. The same class pretty much grow up together. My chicks love their Chinese school and excited to go. Students learn Chinese though regular activities like singing, performing, cooking, science projects. Last key point: CLF fosters a healthy culture of handwork and effort. Not purely on how fluent/good you are with Chinese. Students who don't have the opportunity to practice at home can equally feel empowered and recognized. On rainy days, you can see teachers escorting the kids with their umbrellas up and down the stairs. Now that is caring!

I would not recommend. Initial experience was not stellar. Materials provided for my children were…read morenot age appropriate and the instructor was changed mid program. My son still had interest as they provided new materials and he liked the second instructor. So I decided to purchase another session with the condition of the same instructor and time we required. The representative agreed, charged my credit card and a couple of days later reneged on the agreement. Now I am struggling to get reimbursed.

Im not sure who to blame here. Is this a Berlitz satellite location that is a franchise and the…read morefranchise owner is horrible at running a business, or is Berlitz a completely incompetent company that is completely mismanaged? Either way I beg you, PLEASE please please look elsewhere. This place is a complete joke. Teachers don't show up to teach. Their communication system involves emails that are never sent or sent right before a cancelation. Good luck managing this with your work and kids. God forbid you complain and expect to get refunded for your charges where nobody was teaching. You get this insane run around where nobody knows what is going on, where your credit card is stored, how it is charged, what you have been charged, etc. It's almost like dealing with a scam company. In the end we live in Palo Alto. There are dozens of legitimate and high quality programs in our area. Just don't waste your time or money by coming here. Honestly, this place should be investigated and shut down.

I can't speak for the entire school, but I had a very bad experience trying to enroll in a night…read morewood working class. I had previous experience in woodshop classes I took at Mount Tam high school in Marin, so I wasn't a novice. I paid the fee and enrolled in the class. However, when I met the teacher Ray, he decided not to let me take the class. I think he just didn't like me. Disappointed, I tried to get a refund but the school wouldn't give it to me, so I had to open a dispute with my bank. None of my calls or emails to the school or the teacher were ever returned regarding the class or the possibility of taking future classes. It felt like the class was a private club not open to outsiders. Its this kind of elite snobbery that gives rich cities like Palo Alto a bad name.

I am all about learning something new. I have taken classes from financial, to building your own…read morewater fountain to a basic sewing class. Classes are mostly held at Palo Alto High School on Embarcadero Road and El Camino Real across from the Town and Country Shopping Center. They follow the semester system. I get a hard copy catalog in the mail. You can register online, by phone, by fax and by mail. How easy is that? Classes are very reasonable and can range from $35 on up to $200 depending on how often it meets and the types of supplies you pay for. Geared toward the adult, so evening and weekend classes. They have arts and crafts, cooking, financial, computer, language, music, health and fitness, birdwatching, dancing, acting, CPR and first aid, ...you name it.

Sharon is very excellent interview preparation coach. She listen carefully, very friendly, and very…read moreprecise to help me with interview questions I might get. She not only fix my pronunciation and grammar but also help me organize my answers, making them sound more polished and comprehensive. After two sessions with her, I got accepted for the position. making them sound more polished and comprehensive. After two sessions with her, I got accepted for the position. I greatly appreciate her help!

Sharon is an excellent ESL (English as a second language) teacher. I take online English lessons…read morefor 60 minutes once a week. I wanted to improve my English grammar, pronunciation, writing, and conversation skills. In a few lessons, not only did I notice big improvement, but my colleagues did too. Her approach is to work on quick fixes and to give immediate feedback so I can incorporate that learning immediately in my daily life. In addition to helping with daily conversation, she has expertise in resume/LinkedIn profile review and job interview preparation. With the help of her sessions, I landed a wonderful job opportunity.

Absolutely beautiful campus!! They also have a free bus system that goes around the campus during…read morethe week. It's limited on the weekends. It is a rather large campus as well. I did so much walking and was tired. And I walk a lot! haha. Glad I got to visit my nephew here!

Visiting Stafford University for my sister-in-law's PhD graduation over at Maple Pavilion was nice…read more The only thing was the lack of organization of parking as it was a madhouse. However, once inside the pavilion very organized and what a spectacle a lot of brain power, but also very proud. The campus itself is remarkable, and if you haven't gone on it, take a look at one of the best universities in the world.

This school was hands-down the best choice we made for our son. He had a fantastic experience in…read moremiddle school and is now excelling as a 10th grader, with his sights set on the Diploma Program.

Our son started summer 2020, with K and 100% distance learning…read more Excellent experience! School leadership, teachers and staff are all super professional, very friendly. They really know how to make learning via zoom exciting and valuable. We highly recommend Alto to anyone looking for top IB education in the SF Bay Area!

I came across Rebecca's YT channel one day and was instantly hooked. Her take on the issues that…read moreMandarin speakers have when it comes to English is spot on. I was delighted to find out she is in the same city as me and I signed up on her one-on-one class for 15 sessions. On the first class we worked on breathing techniques, postures and how to project voice. We took a before vs after video and it was literally night and day difference. My voice was much stronger and I sounded more confident. Over the next several sessions we worked on vowels, consonants, diphthongs. She would listen to my pronunciation carefully and provide me feedback. We'd drill those tricky sounds over and over until I got it right. The last few sessions we worked on more advanced topics such as reductions, different T pronunciations, stress and intonation. Finally I recorded a video, putting everything I learned together and review with Rebecca. I got valuable feedback and ideas that I can use to refine and improve my pitch. Rebecca's strength lies in she can identify students weaknesses pretty quickly and provides target exercise and suggestions for students to work on. I highly recommend her if you want to take your English communications and accent reduction to the next level.

I took 20 sessions with Rebecca. She encouraged questions while she covered concepts and…read morepainstakingly pointed out the areas that require pronunciation, tone improvement. I enjoyed it even after long workdays. Interestingly though, I feel I benefited in areas that were totally unplanned for me (which resulted in some mental clarity, lesser people pleasing, conflict resolution, drawing boundaries); more than the reasons I reached out to her for (accent reduction, pronunciation, executive presence). It was a pleasant surprise that she was able to offer effective solutions to everyday situations I found challenging to respond to. She is more than a accent coach and I'm so grateful for that experience.

I met Val at my son's elementary school during a bilingual story time. Val has an excellent way…read morewith kids (and adults too!). I feel like she has all the patience necessary and still makes learning Spanish fun.