I cannot rave enough about Mandy Kirk. She's brilliant, enormously insightful, effortless with…read morechildren and cares beyond measure. My husband and I were faced with a tough decision when our 6th grade son who was on a leadership scholarship at a very expensive independent school where he is doing very well both socially and academically came to us and told us that he wanted to go back to his old school for junior high school. His reasons - he wanted a more challenging academic environment and was afraid that if he stayed at his current school he would not be as well-prepared for high school which would in turn affect his college opportunities. Mandy listened to him voice is opinion, listened to our concerns and then asked a lot of questions. She was so respectful of our son and asked some great questions that really made him think. He told all of us that he wanted to be more academically challenged, he wanted more structure and he wanted more homework. The thought of that scared us as parents because he left his old school because the structure, discipline, academic challenges seemed too much. This is also why his current school which catered to a more critically thinking child seemed like such a good fit. Mandy's gentle questions and how she guided his and our thought processes made it clear to us as his parents that he had thought about this extensively, his decision was proactive and internally driven and he knew what he was doing. Mandy helped us to listen to what our son was really saying, to understand that he was asking to be more challenged in junior high school, to understand that he wanted more and better study skills and that he was ready for it, to just let go and again listen and trust our son. Mandy also suggested a coach for our son to make sure that he would be successful. He loved that idea much more than getting a tutor since he's all about sports. She also suggested that we consider getting him tested. There has always been a disconnect between how verbal, engaging, ambitious and forward thinking he is and his ability to focus if it's a subject that he is not 100% fascinated by. All in all, she left and we were all completely clear on what the right decision was. Mandy is worth her weight in gold. We can't praise her highly enough. Neither can our son. In his words, "She's amazing, she really listens and asks good questions that make me think. I was pretty sure that this is what I needed to do but now I'm certain that it's what I need to do." Mandy, this is definitely your calling!

Do it!!!!! Call and meet with Amanda, you won't be disappointed…read more A friend recommended we see Amanda regarding out 13 year old daughter. Amanda gave us more insight and great advise that made sense than any counselor we had spoken to. Her report after meeting our daughter was concise and spot on! Thank you Amanda, you're amazing!!

Very kind and respectful staff overall. Ease of finding the building, and escort support from the…read morefront desk person. Clean space all around, easy instructions upon arrival, and no confusion whatsoever. Testing space RE lighting, temperature, and comfort was satisfactory.

Just passed my second (and final) test for my professional license at this center. It's well…read morelocated, easy to get to and most important, when I am 100% freaked out about my high-stakes test, VERY NICE and VERY KIND people that work there. Check in and security check terrific. I can't express how grateful I am that they are organized and really put one at ease. Note -- everyone is taking a different test so don't go by what time others leave. They have noise canceling headphones available at each cubicle, this easily distracted person is very happy for that. THANK YOU!

Our daughter has been receiving math tutoring from Tree Trunk Tutoring (or "Triple-T" if you're a…read moreGuy Fieri fan) for almost six months now and it has been extremely helpful in building her fundamentals and growing her skills with solving math problems. Aside from all that, Kimberley is a truly positive presence in our daughter's life and she really looks forward to seeing her twice weekly. We will be with Tree Trunk Tutoring throughout both of our children's academic career, I'm sure!

I started sending my 4th grade son to Kimberley for supplemental tutoring and am really happy with…read morethe results. His math, reading and writing have all gotten better with Kimberley's great teaching style. 2020 has been a hard year for my son's learning with the pandemic, so I'm really glad we found Tree Trunk for the 1:1 help.

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!)

We have two elementary-school boys and spent over two years trying other learning programs in the…read morearea. While they helped a bit, nothing compared to PEL Learning Center in Alameda. Mr. Lawrence and the entire staff are incredibly attentive to each child's individual needs, helping them not just improve but truly excel. What sets PEL apart, however, is their outstanding communication with parents. They keep us closely informed, work directly with us to assess progress, and make thoughtful adjustments so our boys stay engaged and never lose interest. This partnership lets us provide the right support at home. Most impressively, Mr. Lawrence has gone far above and beyond--he has even attended our son's IEP meeting at school to better understand his specific learning needs and ensure PEL's program perfectly complements, supports, and supplements his classroom experience and special education plan. I've never seen this level of genuine passion and investment in individual students from any other program. If you're looking for a tutoring center that truly cares about your child's academic growth and overall engagement, I can't recommend PEL highly enough!

My 15-year-old son has been working with a Strive Path counselor for several years. The benefits of…read morethis program have been amazing for him. He has learned about many classes and clubs that he has been able to navigate successfully thanks to the guidance provided by his counselor. He is currently on the youth commission and looking to apply to top universities in the upcoming years. If you are serious about your child's education and the need for college guidance, this is the company!

Sunny and his team are amazing. Very helpful for students to have a third party outside of the home…read moreto help with the college application process. The sports recruiting addition is excellent and very helpful. Highly recommend!

This is such a helpful staff! Any time I have a question or issue regarding my kid's school or the…read moredistrict's GATE program, they are there for me. The entire staff is friendly and always assists me with a smile. I was in today for the sad reason that I am moving away and I needed some records for my daughter's new school. They helped in the fastest friendliest manner. I am so grateful to everyone in the student information dept. for helping me out. Thanks ladies, and especially Jennifer K!!! If your kid is a student in this district, you are very lucky parents!

The new District Offices are beautiful. They building is two stories tall and right on the corner…read moreof Burton and Nut Tree. There are plenty of conference rooms and the technology is top notch. The staff is friendly and very helpful!

"A radical change is going to be needed to get a learning system fit for a democracy. It needs to…read moreget away from domination and its endless stream of uninvited teaching. It needs to recognize that, in a democracy, learning by compulsion means indoctrination, and that ONLY learning by invitation and choice is education." - Roland Meighan Full Circle Family is in process of opening full-time sites for your family's educational enrichment. In each site during a typical day you will find the following in full swing. Sites are comprised of adult staff and children ages 4-19 in ratios of about 1:10. Members freely intermix between age groups. The children choose the topics they explore via 100% self directed learning with choices being governed within a 100% pure democracy (each member: adults & children, carrying one vote). Adult staff entrusted with the safety and nurture of the children both emotionally and educationally are on a first name basis and children are able to truly experience being fully responsible for themselves. Young members learn through life experiences, practice learning as they go. They initiate their own academic learning, choosing their method of learning as well as taking their own initiative as to the timing of their learning. Welcome to education from the inside out! We can't wait to meet you.

Did not use the service, but communication was very poor in scheduling a consultation. They…read morecancelled on my daughter and I last minute with no advanced notice. With so many alternatives available I recommend avoiding

Look no further....East Bay Prep is the absolutely the BEST ACT Prep Class!…read more The test prep course worked along with my daughter's heavy Junior/Senior year academic load, on top of their weekly test prep lessons. The team was excellent at listening, communicating and following the needs of my daughter "individually" to help her succeed. The tutoring was flexible to her competitive sport schedule, as this was also key to the demands of succeeding in academics + sport. The consistency of the team to give effective feedback & guidance so that she could understand "how" to be a good test taker was priceless and best of all she is bringing these skills test-taking skills into her AP class test-taking. Honestly parents....my daughter went from feeling anxiety with taking the ACT to a confident and smart test taker, BEYOND the ACT!!! The team at East Bay Prep is one-of-kind. Best value...best outcomes...thank you East Bay Prep!