It was a Okay school. I learned mandarin there and it helped me quite a bit but it was so boringgg…read more I spent 3 hours of my childhood sitting there and I was in 6th grade at the time and in a 2nd grade level class. You can just imagine me just sticking out. Although definitely make friends if you don't you might as well die of boredom.

As my grades slipped in Mandarin class in high school, my mom found it in HER "best interest" to…read moreenroll me into Nam Kue the summer between my freshman and sophomore years. (NOTE: Yes, I was doing so poorly -- but cut me some slack, will ya? I come from a background of not even pure Canto -- my family has roots in Toishan, so I can't even speak Canto properly. I can't even speak Toishanese either! So of course pinyin and the sounds made no sense to me! The only thing I could really speak was English! I did try to get out of taking Mandarin in high school, but my mom forbade me to do so.) So yes, I did a quick reading test and they put me in...the 3rd grade. Yes, the 3rd grade with the little kids. I was about 3 feet taller than all of the class. My teacher for the year was an old guy who was supposedly the "calligraphy master" of the school. It was in this class I learned to "cheat" calligraphy writing, haha -- where you do every single stroke painfully slow. In the 4th grade, I had a teacher I liked a lot, because she, well, she gave me 4th rank despite me not doing a lot of the work -- purely because she liked me, hahaha. However, it was in this class that one particular fat boy I had to sit next to the entire year kept bugging me. He was rude, obnoxious, and a slew of other Chinese words. The only upside of this year was I made a lifelong friend who's suffered the process with me -- haha. Always got 1st rank in the class, and was the same grade as me in high school. Overall, I'd say I learned a good amount of things, but most Sundays, it was just pure boredom. I spent most of the time watching the clock tick. And the burning question -- did it help my regular Mandarin class in high school? I guess to an extent it did. It was crazy though, because that meant I had school 6 says a week, on top of swimming and violin lessons. +1 For the nice teacher I had in 4th grade. +1 For the friends I made. -1 For the assemblies. -1 For the boring ineffective ways of teaching. -1 For the fat boy.

Sterne is a great school for kids who have learning difference! The teachers are very supportive…read moreand understanding.

Our daughter is an eighth grader at Sterne, and we are glad we made this choice for her education…read more As a teacher, I am impressed with lessons I hear about. From teaching students about marine life with the Marine Mammal Center, learning about the Innocence Project and reading about a child's experience with her father's incarceration, to reading about a migrant family and their experience in the U.S., Sterne's teachers are amazing, not shying away from challenging work and topics, despite student's academic struggles. They encourage critical thinking and empathy for all people. With dyslexia and dysgraphia, she has consistent support from her teachers, making big gains in reading. Formerly a reluctant reader, she goes to the library most weeks. The teachers and staff know my daughter as a unique individual, with strengths and talents. The school's motto is "start with strengths" and I have seen this enacted many times. She explores her interests in music, digital arts, theater and studio art with dedicated teachers creating wonderful performance opportunities: playing in a rock band, participating in a unique fairytales play, or building a carefully crafted art show. We look forward to these events each year, and there is a newfound confidence in our daughter, who was shy in the past. Additionally, the administration handled a difficult situation between our child and another student, with kindness, compassion and respect, with nearly immediate contact with me. The staff made her feel safe and empowered to speak up for herself, and I am grateful for that. We also appreciate the kind and attentive staff at the front desk and office, who always help her out. Working in public education myself, I do not take for granted the opportunities the students at Sterne have for field trips, interest-based lunch clubs, and experiential weeks. These opportunities take an incredible amount of planning. I am impressed at what they do for students who could easily become disenchanted with school. The students are lucky at Sterne. We look forward to her continued growth, and eagerly applied for the high school this past year. We are grateful to be part of the Sterne family.

I went to high school here for two years, freshman and sophomore year. I felt like a lot of the…read morekids here don't care and it causes other students to not work as hard. The school is actually really nice and I love LOVE how it is right by the water. Teachers here are nice.

My son just graduated and my daughter is a Freshman! We thought it was a great school for my son…read moreand so far so good for my daughter. Every school as it's challenges, but have been impressed with admin and teachers. My son had a issue his Freshmen year and the admin was very responsive. He did say, that the admin can be a bit slow responding dealing with just students and is faster when parents get involved.

I am a Cantonese speaker, so learning to read and write Chinese was my goal. I thought the school…read morewas very effective. There's really only one way to learn new characters, which is by mindless drilling. It's not a phonetic language. For Chinese as a second language, maybe full immersion is not the best way in the U.S.. the kids mostly communicate in English during recess, so they're not practicing the language outside of class. They probably don't understand enough Chinese to really understand the lesson in the book since the teachers teach in Chinese. I wish they had a Cumberland Chinese School in the South Bay. There aren't that many options for Cantonese speakers.

Despite knowing very limited Cantonese and struggling through 6 years of Mandarin classes taught in…read moreexclusively Cantonese, I still feel like I learned a lot from my experience at Cumberland. Maybe not Chinese itself, as I can barely read, write, or speak, but I learned life-long skills and values that have influenced who I am today: things like independence, hard work, cultural appreciation, and creativity (I redrew a lot of good textbook art, and I think it inspired me to pursue art as I got older). Maybe I wish my mom let me quit after about 4 or 5 years, but I don't really see my time here as a total waste. The teachers, especially in K-4, were strict but meant well. They encouraged me to work hard, and even when I didn't understand the languages in the classroom, I remember I got an award one year because I worked so hard to memorize a passage phonetically and almost ace my final. Granted, it was in second grade, but I still have fond memories of going here. Also, my Chinese writing skills are quite nice. I took Japanese in high school, so I had some of the best kanji characters out of the whole class. I used to tell my mom that Cumberland was absolute torture and a waste of money, but I guess I've somewhat changed my mind.

Like others who've shared their experience, I agree this school offers the best overall education…read more The community of parents and staff is very engaged. We're happy that our child has been able to learn French and take piano lessons from Kindergarten to middle school and have the opportunity to participate in the school's sports teams.

the middle school is more like military camp. the rules are too insane and I wish I would have…read morepulled my child out. THe school is not child centered.... it is a dogma and not enough french is taught! Not enough french culture is provided.

Fusion Academy is a franchise of one-on-one schools with built in systems to ensure that they…read moreover-charge your student. In addition, their staff is a revolving door because they simultaneously over-charge their students and under-pay their teachers. The positives are that the education is decent and there is some flexibility if your student needs it. But even that is buried in extra mastery sessions that always seen necessary and a built in TWO WEEKS of tuition that you have to pay (then pay again in mastery (make-up sessions) if your child gets sick or takes a leave of absence. Meanwhile they are constantly pushing the next academic contract on you to lock you in further financially. My advice, use them only if absolutely needed for as short a time as possible.

My son has been taking a class at Fusion in SF. After months at the school, I had the very first…read morecommunication from his teacher. Of course, there is a problem. $4000 for one semester and my first communication is not, hello I'm your sons teacher. No, there is a problem now we need an extra $525 for additional classes. Very poor experience.

The teachers are unexperienced, rude, and show favoritism. My mental health was not the best while…read moreat this school. do better.

This school is an absolute gem! We are so grateful that we have been introduced to this school. My…read morechild is beyond happy and we are very fortunate to have such a great school staff and principal who assures that students are well supported and thrive throughout their school years. My son has gained so much knowledge and has excelled academically with the help of the talented teachers here! I highly recommend them!

So..I'm currently an 8th grader right now,and I got to say is not that bad.6th and 7th grade we…read morehave a lot of trouble makers.But then suddenly in 8th grade they became more mature. Now your middle school experience depends on 3 factor -the teacher you going to have -friend -the kind of student in your class The staff is nice and all I guess,to be honest I don't really talk to them.If you came to this school for education then Hahahaha pls go to another school m8te.Depend on what teacher you will get,you either will learn something or don't learn at all.8th grade is the best year since more people have become more mature and not a**hole. BEST TEACHER? Mr.tom and mr.lamborn is the two class I been to and feel a community in the classroom.basically they are the cool and good teacher that try to understand The situation and listen to the student have what to say.Mr.kornow and mr.Doyle are good teacher too. Electives(some may change) -journalism(exclusive to 8th grader) -art -computer -drama (exclusive to 7th grader) -mandarin -Spanish -music(band and orchestra) And other class I may forgot Since I'm in journalism class base on what I recorded, most people like computer class. COOL THING WE DO IN PE -biking -wave board (kind of like skate board) -judo for Doyle class only -circus trick? -kick boxing I thought this some pretty cool stuff we get to do. So how is marina school? Meh,is not as bad as you think.

One of the biggest problems with this school is that some teachers seem to think they can treat…read morestudents however they want and then hide behind the excuse of "being strict." There is a huge difference between being strict and making students feel embarrassed, singled out, or disrespected. What makes it even worse is that when students try to speak up about how they are being treated, their concerns are often brushed off. Instead of listening and trying to understand why a student feels uncomfortable, people immediately defend the teacher and say they're just doing their job. This sends the message that teachers can say or do whatever they want without being held accountable. A school should be a place where students feel safe, respected, and supported. Unfortunately, it often feels like student concerns are ignored while teachers are automatically believed, no matter what happened. Respect goes both ways, and if schools expect students to treat teachers with respect, then teachers should be held to the same standard. Overall, this school needs to do a better job of listening to students and taking their concerns seriously instead of dismissing them as complaints about "strict" teachers.