Brightworks is a truly magical school! It has been a place of complete transformation for my child. As a seasoned educator who has taught in public and private schools in both the U.S. and internationally, I can confidently say that the Brightworks ethos and pedagogy embody what children need to thrive and succeed in our ever-changing world. We came to Brightworks when my older daughter was in 4th grade (also known as the Quartz band). She had previously attended another wonderful school--where my younger daughter continues to thrive--but it simply wasn't the right fit for her. By 3rd grade, she was taking three half-hour "bathroom breaks" each day, essentially the equivalent of cutting elementary school. She was being bullied by peers, had grown to hate the process of learning, and was beginning to believe that she was "dumb." She was also nearly two grade levels behind in reading. After exploring many schools, we discovered Brightworks. It wasn't flashy, but it immediately felt like the right place for her. Our first day was challenging. Although she had struggled at her previous school, she also found change difficult and was resistant to starting somewhere new. She refused to enter the classroom and instead ran up a tree in tears. The teacher (collaborator), Shirvan, responded with remarkable patience and warmth, reassuring me that my daughter could join the group whenever she felt ready. The administrators were equally phenomenal, offering compassion and support when they could see how embarrassed and overwhelmed I felt with my "spirited" child. About four hours later, she finally joined the class. Within just a few days, she loved school so much that she was sad when the day ended and disappointed when holidays approached. After each winter, spring, and summer break, she was thrilled to return. Within a year, she progressed from reading at a 2nd-grade level (e.g., Dog Man) to devouring upper elementary and middle school novels such as the Wings of Fire and Warriors series. She came to love school, the process of learning, her teachers, and her peers. She transformed from a wilted flower into a blossoming tree. The ethos of Brightworks is to meet children where they are and to approach learning through real-world contexts that spark their interests. Science and math are taught through hands-on exploration and authentic problem-solving, while reading and writing are developed through both personal interests and guided learning around social justice topics. Students gain genuine critical thinking skills alongside practical experience using shop tools. The multi-age, schoolhouse model allows older students to care for younger ones, fostering responsibility, empathy, and meaningful mentorship. Every collaborator is dedicated to guiding each child to become the best version of themselves. I only wish that all teaching and learning could be approached in the way Brightworks does. read more

Our son is 8 and in the middle of his 3rd year at Brightworks. We couldn't be happier about how the school has supported his learning, both socio-emotional (he is high energy and we were worried he'd be seen as a 'bad' kid at a traditional school) and academic (particularly reading, where he's been a bit slow, but now is right on track and loving reading). Brightworks' approach is project based. Not just doing projects *in* classes--like the science class doing a science project about earthquakes--but doing interdisciplinary projects *instead of* classes, with a greater degree of fluidity and flexibility in time and approach. The school has a strong maker and tinkering culture. We also don't have things that more traditional schools have, such as tests or grades, though we do have parent conferences and documentation of progress in several key areas (like a swim school report card). The kids do NOT sit at individual desks. A lot more time is spent outdoors, and we're in the Presidio, so there's tons of nature to explore. The kids aren't organized into typical grade levels, like K, 1, 2, 3. Instead they're in "bands" of up to a dozen kids each, giving the school more flexibility in placing kids in the group that they'd most benefit from being in each year, with less stigma if a child is "skips" a grade or is held back. The school's approach is naturally well-suited for kids with different needs. E.g. the focus on meeting every kid where they're at, individual learning trajectories, and being able to take the time that the kids need rather than being tied to a fixed daily or weekly schedule with lists of specific learning objectives. We've gotten great and entirely non-judgemental support for our son. That said, as a small school and as a private school, not every need or circumstance can be accommodated and we have seen a couple classmates over the years with, e.g. dyslexia or autism, move on to more specialized schools. (If your kid has special needs, I would ask about it; we do have many neurodiverse and other kids with particular needs that are doing great and seem well supported.) One thing that exemplifies the school is our annual Maker Marketplace where anyone in the community can sell things-like crafts, food items, gifts, or even carnival games or other experiences. It's entrepreneurial and community-forward, and there's a fair amount of open-endedness in what is possible. Maker Marketplace is a bit chaotic and a lot of fun and learning, and to me that really is the Brightworks way. read more

I'm so happy to share that our child and our family are thriving at Brightworks four years in. Our 9 year old is a super curious, high-agency kiddo. She had a not-great experience at a different school in kindergarten, and begged for us to switch her out. We listened, did our school search, and our hearts lit up when we came upon Brightworks, the school that says "YES!" In this setting, she gets to love school, is excited to go each day, and wants to stay at aftercare until the place closes. She makes her own zines, has a save the axolotl campaign with her buddies, built her own chair at the start of 3rd grade which she uses every to sit in, and is just genuinely psyched about learning. Four years in, she believes deeply in her ability to learn about anything she's curious about, and feels empowered to do that. Honestly, I can't think of a better testament to a schooling experience than empowering kids to trust in their capacity to learn, and giving them the tools to explore what they're curious about. For those of you who have seen the schooling experiences that really deflate your kids in some way, I know you can appreciate how big of a gift it is for her concept of education and schooling to be what it is now after her not-great kinder experience. I honestly think what makes Brightworks and the community there so special is that every adult radically believes in kids and their capacities. They trust children to co-author their learning. Adults there *share power* with children. Progressive/project-based schools fall on such a spectrum, and Brightworks is on the radically-embodying end of that spectrum in a way that deeply honors kids. For our family, the school community has been so wonderful and so deeply human. We've made life-long family friends and genuinely love the community of fellow parents we have gotten to know here. Also something worth sharing: this is not a robotic institution! This is a small school where folks are heard and help contribute to shape the school and community. We're really heartened to see the school's commitment to creating an antiracist institution and to seeing leadership so adept in implementing the mission of an antiracist school where kids co-author their learning. With leadership we really believe in, collaborators that really tune into kids, and just such a loving supportive community, we feel so hopeful about and excited by the future of this community: where we can confidently say as a family know our child and our values are just truly met and honored here. If you have high-agency kids that are insatiably curious, you parent them through consent and connection, you want a place that deeply trusts them, you believe that kids are so capable, and you deeply value being in an antiracist community that honors that children co-author their learning, I wholeheartedly recommend Brightworks I'm not a big Yelp reviewer, but this review was so worth finding my yelp login to write;) read more

We were a prospective family willing to pay full tuition and found this school unprofessional. Two years ago we applied for our son, interviewed and heard no response back. Mind you, this was summer rolling admissions and we were researching other schools. Later that fall, we attended the open house admissions and it was an eye opener. First, there is really no curriculum or academic structure, just vague references to projects. Kids were running around the school when we arrived so it was chaotic. A lot of references to larping, but no extracurriculars, athletics or enrichment. The "high school" was down right depressing. It consisted of a bunch of teenagers laying around a room droned out on laptops. It's not a proper facility for high school students. This is a very small school so doubtful the "collaborators" have the deep knowledge to teach math, science, literature, etc. After seeing this ridiculous setup. I was ready to leave. read more

This school failed our child socially, emotionally, academically and in every other way it possibly could. We had enrolled a vibrant, communicative, inquisitive child, an avid tinkerer (it's hard to overstate how much he loved and loves building and making things) with a wide-range of interests and when we pulled him out three years later, he was a nervous ball of anxiety, with low self-confidence and self-esteem, unable to even respond with grace to a stranger asking him his name. The students at this school spend a nominal amount of time on projects, perhaps just a few hours every quarter, and that is meant to be their sole process of learning. So evidently, children are learning very little about anything ('deep dive' is patently false). The rest of the hours, are tightly scheduled and regimented (children learning to 'advocate for themselves' is another of a long list of falsehoods), into what basically amounts to the child doing nothing - morning circle, choice time, reading time, quiet time, park time, snack, lunch, closing circle - occasional math & literacy time. Going into a building every day with nothing to do, almost drove our child crazy. The inefficiencies and incompetence we saw also stressed us out to no end. Most families' refusal to share openly what they (we were all) experiencing, did not help. In general, deep & meaningful community engagement was non-existent but there were endless emails and narrative building & spin about 'community'. During school hours, children are faced not only with exhausted teachers and support staff (both categories are routinely fired at will), but the poorest quality of learning, tinkering materials & tools, and even after 10 years, this school hasn't figured out how to get children to do basic math and reading. Not only were we spending thousands of additional dollars on projects and skills like wood-working, outside of school, but also on basic math and literacy. After failing to teach the child elementary academic skills, they had the gall to suggest our child was dyslexic (after 6 months of home tutoring, including 3 months at a new school he reads with ease, sitting with books for hours). Taking them seriously would have cost us tens of thousands of dollars more - but honestly, they couldn't care less for our money or our child. The apathy runs deep and what we found over the last few months left us seriously troubled. For starters, parents should know that Brightworks is part of a larger non-profit called Institute for Applied Tinkering or IAT. IAT also runs Tinkering School camps and has been sued in the past for leaving a child with PTSD after an overnight camp ( Google 'JOHN DOE ET AL VS. INSTITUTE FOR APPLIED TINKERING ET AL'). When we read the details of the case, it sounded exactly like what a night camp run by Brightworks might look like. Secondly, the school is always short of funds. There is not an extra dollar for anything. Everything at the school is old, overused and donated. When I asked if the funds from Brightworks were kept separate from other IAT activities, I never received a response. The financials are a complete black box and I never saw any of the stated objectives - both big or small - from the Annual Fund met (I am still waiting for the tiny house from last year). On the other hand, as a non-profit, the Form 990s are all public and shockingly reveal that ~1/2 a million has been spent on travel over 6 years. It also looks like from older filings, the school has spent several hundred thousand dollars on meals (this has to be in addition to the potlucks that families were participating in!) and ~ 100,000 dollars on field trips. There was never a free meal when we were enrolled or even obvious use of paid services as parent volunteers seem to do everything from washing towels (yes, you're reading it right) to changing air purifier filters - in addition to donating funds, furniture and even plants. I also heard at a board meeting (Nov 2023) that the school has never raised funds to offer tuition aid to families, when I followed up with how on earth the school managed to offer aid to 40% of the families but did not get an answer. Which led to me ask how much is the Brightworks education actually worth - with no materials, enrichment, athletics, art, languages - and at $40,000 a year - and in the absence of any real tangible break-up, are families receiving aid, even receiving 'aid' or paying the actual fee or maybe even more! Last but not the least, Gever Tulley, although doesn't put his name on any written communication to parents - is the lead of the 'Leadership Team' (which will now include the new Head of School) and is the de facto Chief of the school, the non-profit and all its fundraising and grant writing initiatives. This is not all of it, and I hope families will use this as a starting point for their research before enrolling their child. read more

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Please do not send your child to this school. That's honestly the first thought that pops into my mind when I think about Brightworks. It's small and it's perfect and everything about it makes my daughter sigh and wish she could go to school on Weekends. I am able to home school my son this year, but I certainly dream of the day that both of them will be Brightworks students. Okay, go ahead and bring in your children. Everything that the team at Brightworks does - comes out amazingly well, so I'm sure they are capable of growing their school and keeping it as absolutely amazing. Please don't hesitate to contact me through a direct message. I'd be glad to take a half an hour out of our family time and bring my daughter to coffee where we can talk and our children can talk (as long as you have a social media presence that makes you present as "safe"). My baby girl will give you a review that will make 5 stars sound weak and she can tell your young one(s) what it's like to be a Brightworks kid (because I'd never send my children to any school unless they buy in first). PS: Yes, she is getting an above average education AND enjoying it. read more

I feel so extremely lucky that my kids are at BWX this year. This school has gotten a lot of experience rolling with the punches over the past three years, and the community has developed a protocol of communication and flexibility that is getting us through this. The teachers are great and endlessly inventive, the administration is friendly and supportive, and the kids are, somehow, in the wasteland that 2020 has been, still learning things. read more

I'll keep this brief even though I could go on and on. My son has been going here since Kindergarten and is now in 7th grade (they actually don't have grades because they mix the classrooms ages selectively to help older kids and younger kids mesh minds) During the time we've been there the school has grown in the best possible ways. Things that were concerning, at least for me as a public school "inductee" was when there was no homework coming home, but if you're up on the latest studies then you know that more meaningful projects that make the child want to carry that project home to work on are much better for development. That's what Brightworks excels at knowing the science behind child development. My son at 8yo did things like figure out the volume of Helium needed to calculate the fight time and distance of a weather balloon that they launched. He builds projects like models of cities with bridges and shows the effect of Earthquakes and wind. He's built a full size arcade machine with a Raspberry Pi that had over 1000 games and 30 different game consoles (Atari, NES, SNES, etc.) He wants to go to school even with the flu. He gets upset if I pick him up 10 min early. The teachers, director and for that matter all of the parents create an inclusive community that for me, being a single parent, was the best thing that could have ever happened to my son and I. If you want your child to be a thinker, problem solver, and not a drone then this is the school for them. read more

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We are so lucky to have our daughter at BWX. The administration has been true leaders during this time of chaos. She has reminded excited and engaged in school despite it being remote. This is due to the care and planning of her great teachers. read more

My son has been at Brightworks (BWX) for 5 years and is now 14yrs old. Although because it is project based BWX is sometimes seen as a "maker-school" the main thing I feel it allows our son to make, is his own education. BWX allows him to have ownership over his learning. It empowers him. He isn't passive in his learning, he is in charge of it, crafting it. One recent example of this: he was working on a group project; they were building a website tool to help people create better habits in their lives. One of the kids who wanted to do the project with them, was unsure if he could, because his parents had hoped he'd do a project on his own. Our son and one of his teammates wrote an email to their friend's parents outlining the project, trying to alleviate the parent's concerns, and listing out exactly what their son would learn from the group project. It was fully from their own initiative. BWX has taught them, if you have a problem (here, they wanted this kid on their team), figure out a way to try and solve it. And in this case, it worked! And now they have this extra motivation, they want the project to do extra well because they're responsible to themselves, but also to their friend's parents. It just feels like important life skills they're learning. In the Bay area, we sometimes hear anecdotal stories, from friends, about younger workers/interns in the tech industry who have difficulty being self-guided, who need to be told what to do and how. I can't imagine a BWX kid being described that way. Now that so much knowledge is accessible to us through the internet, it feels like schools need to teach us not facts, but more what we should be doing with all that knowledge. And I believe that's what BWX does. BWX also has a huge heart. The collaborators care and give so much. Our son calls BWX his second family. He feels safe and secure enough there to be vulnerable, take risks, and aim big. There's a lot of interaction between students and they are constantly communicating and learning from each other. We love it. read more

My son is in the youngest band at Brightworks, the equivalent of K-1 and we couldn't be happier. The community is wonderful. The mixed-age bands (classes) and small size means that he plays, works and is friends with kids from 5 to 15. The kids have embraced him as part of their community and he loves belonging to it. What he is learning is similar to any K-1 classroom. How he is learning is different. At Brightworks, the kids tend to delve deep into topics they find interesting and important. The math, science, literacy, is woven in. They might research the topic using books, internet search, observation, experimentation and then express what they learned using writing, art, drama, or a construction project. For example, during the Measure arc, the youngest used their research, observation, counting, measurement, and addition skills to answer their question: "How big is an Orca?" Their investigations also took them to The Academy of Sciences and the Muni Bus Yard as they measured and compared. Across the space, the oldest band was delving into bridge engineering to design and build a permanent connecting bridge in the space. At a given time, all the kids in the school are focused on learning around an arc topic. But, the actual the work a band or kid is doing is always developmentally appropriate for them. For example, during the Clock arc, the youngest were putting together see through pendulum clocks, playing with the springs, gears and pendulums to see how they worked, while the oldest band was studying the physics of pendulums. My son loves seeing the projects his friends are working on that are parallel to his, but more advanced. The arc topics are big and broad and lead kids down fascinating paths. They spend 7-14 weeks in the arc, time enough to develop a real sense of mastery of a small piece of the arc topic. This year the arcs are Measure, Clock and Mirror. I am a little jealous that we were not here for Salt. My son loves Brightworks so much that he does not wants to leave at the end of the day. He also wields a mean drill. He has grown so much in his first 2 months at Brightworks, I can't wait so see what's next. read more

My son started kindergarten at Brightworks this past fall. Despite (or because of) these chaotic times, I think to myself nearly every day how lucky our whole family is to have this school. We took our school search very seriously, looking at over 20 independent schools (and one charter) on the Peninsula and in San Francisco. Brightworks was the only place we felt that truly and deeply honored children as equals in their learning (and, frankly, living) process. Although Brightworks is known to be a "maker school" (and the kids do indeed do tons of making--there isn't just a maker lab--there are so many spaces throughout the whole school for different aspects of making!), what I think really makes it stand out is how respectful it is of its students and families, how flexible, embracing, loving, and joyful an environment it creates. We've been through distance learning, in-person learning in Golden Gate Park, and are now entering a holiday season where COVID-19 cases are surging, but throughout it all, the staff has been flexible, communicative, and, above all, warm. I've talked to families at other schools, both independent and public, who have talked about the pressures they feel to help and keep up with their kids' learning. I've felt that pressure, too, but it's mostly internal because Brightworks never once made me feel that we needed to do more--they always prioritized everyone's mental health. Everyday, my son's two collaborators (Brightworks's equivalent of teachers) lead their group of approximately ten kids (BTW, what a phenomenal teacher-student ratio!) to different sites around Golden Gate Park (and, once, Ocean Beach). They've studied buoyancy by building and floating boats in Spreckels Lake, created a make-believe restaurant in a redwood grove, experimented with building shelters in the rain, made maps of the park, scavenger hunted, wrote stories (both collaboratively and individually), climbed trees, used their measuring tapes to measure objects, recorded in their nature journals, observed turtles, leopard slugs, crawfish and other wildlife, got surfing lessons (on the sand), carved pumpkins, caught minnows, rolled down hills, waded in lakes, and so much more, all while following the kids' own interests. This school truly embodies its motto that "Everything is interesting!" and, in this crazy year, has definitely made a superb lemonade out of these 2020 lemons. read more

My 9-year-old daughter has been at Brightworks since opening day. It was a scary choice for us to make since she was doing well in regular school, but we're so happy that we did. She's really blossomed as she's needed to collaborate with kids of different ages and work on hard projects in different topic areas and styles (she's done performances, builds, research papers, and board games). She's been constantly challenged in new ways, without being forced into the rote, test-driven, hours-of-homework mode that's common in schools these days. She gets time to play, but also works her tail off, voluntarily, because these teachers make the world interesting. The school is new and still going through its startup phase, so it's not for everyone, but I can't recommend it highly enough if you want your child seriously challenged, taught to collaborate, and spending their days solving interesting problems...and of course if you enjoy experiments yourself. read more