Our twin boys just started at a bilingual kindergarten in SF this fall, after attending GMIS for the past 3 years. Seeing their confidence, independence, and kindness toward their classmates in their new school made me deeply appreciate the quality of the education they got at GMIS. I rarely leave reviews but feel compelled to leave one right now. We had a really positive experience through the years, but nothing like seeing the results at the end to truly see the difference; the proof is in the pudding. Before we enrolled at GMIS, we visited seven (7) preschools. The world was still thawing from the pandemic at the time. The generous outdoor space at GMIS was a big draw for us; there were chickens in a coop, fish and terrapins in a water trough, a veggie garden (maintaining it is part of the kids' curriculum), a play structure, picnic benches for lunchtime, and an area for soccer class, all in the shaded open air. The classrooms had a Montessori-style layout; kids had indoor shoes and managed their own cubbies. The 4- and 5-yr old kids helped look out for the 2- and 3-yr old kids. Over the 3 years, I got to know almost all of the other kids and their parents. There were several big celebrations during the year that brought us all together with amazing activities: Mid-Autumn Festival, Halloween, Thanksgiving (stone soup tradition), Lunar New Year, and graduation (which usually coincided with Dragon Boat Festival). The teachers work very hard and cohesively as a team to create the right balance of structure, creativity, and challenge for the preschoolers. Vivi, the school director, is driven and hands-on, and her top priority is the kids. I couldn't be more grateful for the care from the teachers and the engagement from the parent community at GMIS. Thank you! read more

My 3 kids have been with GMIS for the past 6 school years. If I had a 4th, i'd choose them again! We love the Montessori-style of learning! The classroom is full of different trays on shelves - very neatly organized - that the children get to choose as their activity. Everything is play-based, but all contribute to their future learning of math, language, and independence. When my kids were 2 years-old, GMIS helped to potty-train them. They are very flexible and work with you to get this done. The Young Children's House teacher is a god-send!! A huge draw for us was the Mandarin immersion. We do not speak Mandarin at home (I come from a Cantonese and Teo Chew speaking household, my husband is English only), but I wanted my kids to have a Chinese language and have more exposure to the culture. There is a Spanish after-school class if families are interested in that as well. My daughter takes that and loves it! Each class has a Chinese teacher and an English teacher. They learn all their letters, sounds and also learn them in cursive. The older classrooms are combined ages of 3-5 years-old. For enrichment activities, they are grouped by age. What I love most is that I feel absolutely no pressure to enroll my kids in any other enrichment because GMIS has it all! Consider it the "One stop shop" of preschools! The regular school day is 8:30am - 3pm (but you can have your kids there as long as 8am - 6pm) My kids have all learned: dance, music, performing arts, gardening, cooking, animal care, soccer, various art projects, caring for their environment (folding clothes, wiping windows, watering plants, feeding pets, etc...). Only thing they don't have is swim ;P There's a lot of opportunity for family engagement: Chinese new year is biggest performance. A theatre is rented out and the kids perform multiple songs and dances. They recite lines and wear costumes that are shipped in from Taiwan. There is lion dancing and food. Is a huge event that is so special to watch come together! How they get all those kids to do this is still incredible to me!! One of my favorite events is the Grandparents luncheon where the kids make stone soup for Thanksgiving. Each kid contributes an ingredient, prepares it at school, and it all goes into a pot. Grandparents come and the kids sit with them to have lunch. It's such a special way they incorporate the elders into their school lives. You may not even need to do your own trick-or-treating because GMIS throws a Halloween parade with trick-or-treating around the block afterwards! Another thing I absolutely adore is the birthday circle. The birthday kid will sit with the teacher and show the class a photo of each year of the kid's life. The teacher explains what are normal developmental milestones for that year, then the kid holds an earth and walks around the image of the sun on the floor. Then they go on to the next year of life. It's so super special! There are weekly newsletters with reminders, signups, photos, and Montessori education. When the kids graduate, they are well prepared for Kindergarten. There are some GMIS alumni who return for some of the special events too! I had the option of putting my kids into TK but opted to stay at GMIS because of the robust program they have. I wouldn't be able to do half days (many TKs end at 12noon) and wouldn't want to just have babysitting for the remainder of the day if the schools offered extended care. I've always said that GMIS feels like home. It's not a huge school and things don't feel fancy inside. But everything is well-kept, the teachers are understanding and the kids are loved! read more

Our kiddo has been here a year and loves Holly laoshi! It's amazing to see how much he's grown, and how much he has to tell us about all the things he does at school He likes being around the older kids at playground time - they've been helpful peer encouragement for potty-training, which was pretty difficult for us beforehand, and the teachers here made it look easy. He really enjoys the dance, music, and soccer as well. read more

We love GMIS first and foremost because of the teachers and parent community. We're relatively new to the school (moved from AIM last year) but already feel at home here. Our son lovingly calls the school "waffle school" because of the weekly cooking classes they hold and how the whole school smells like waffles during open house. Most importantly, he is learning to be a kind, considerate, Montessori child. read more

My oldest child has been attending GMIS since the end of Covid restrictions in 2022. They helped her in immeasurable ways, including socialization (she was, of course, a Covid baby) and potty-training (nice bonus!). The bottom line is that my family's experience at GMIS has been only positive. The teachers and staff are truly what make GMIS a great place to be. They are so dedicated, passionate, and caring of all of the kids. My daughter's teachers regularly ask us about our pets and vacations because they take the time to remember the random things that my daughter tells them throughout the school day. (Now imagine having to do that for every single kid at the school.) More days than not they will re-braid my daughter's hair in beautiful, intricate patterns when sending her home. (Now imagine doing that for every single girl at the school.) It is my understanding that these sorts of experiences are not necessarily the norm at other larger Mandarin-immersion preschools in the Bay Area. Other things that I love about the school include their varied curriculum (teaching visitations from Lawrence Hall of Science; regular physical education with Soccer Shots; music class; Spanish instruction), their immaculate special events (Chinese New Year, Halloween, and end-of-year celebrations are spectacles in their own right), and attention to the natural world (a variety of school pets and school garden). I cannot say enough good things about GMIS, and we have already submitted our application and deposit for our second younger child to attend (hopefully) as soon as he turns two. read more

Our family has had a difficult journey with GMIS and we feel that it's important to share this with perspective parents considering the school. We shopped around *a lot* for a preschool for our child, starting when she was 6 months old. This was before the pandemic so we toured each school. We eventually realized we wanted a bilingual immersion Montessori program for our daughter, and looked into several in the east bay. We chose to apply to GMIS because the cultural programs were appealing and we liked the facility. We toured and liked the teachers. We were set to enroll last year, and paid a $2k deposit. As the time drew closer for our enrollment a series of things happened to make us question our choice. First, the school was not transparent about their COVID protocols or staff vaccination status. We called and emailed the school several times, but didn't get a response at all during the three weeks preceding our start date -- nothing from school administrators or the office. No reply at all. The only thing we heard from the school was from their third-party billing agency, letting us know we were due to pay tuition. We also had a couple basic questions regarding some state-mandated documents notifying us about a claim of physical abuse by one of the teachers, who was accused of physically punishing a student. We asked for more context but no response. At this point, it started to feel weird; we were about to drop $18k on preschool but couldn't get a call or email back about basic facts about how the school was responding to issues about our child's physical safety. The protocols were eventually published into the website, a few days before the first day, but at this point the lack of response led us to notify the school to let them know that we were going to withdraw our kid. I This is when it got super weird. Out of the blue we got a call from Vivi, the schools "executive director." (Executive director of a preschool? Eh, ok, sure.) During the next hour, Vivi talked non-stop in a frantic monologue -- skipping around between information about the incident with the abuse, COVID, her school's financial stability, the Chinese cultural programs, her problems with the office staff, etc. I mean, at least an hour and we could hardly get a word in edgewise. At this point we were freaked out--I told Vivi we were fine to lose the deposit, but wouldn't be enrolling our child. This news made her more agitated and she was talking a mile a minute about her legal standing with the abuse claim and the policies about our deposit and the process for removing a student, etc. Totally manic. We loved the school when we toured, but this felt shady. Several months later, we got a check in the mail with our deposit, no note or letter, written in this crazy writing... (?) OK, great, but the whole deal was so weird, so lacking in basic professionalism, and unhinged, that we were glad to move on. I'm sure there are some great teachers here and don't doubt the positive experiences of others, but for our family, this place was way too sketchy to entrust with the well being of our child. read more

Our daughter has been attending GMIS for a little over a year. We relocated from New Jersey to the Bay Area in 2018 with little time to plan the move. One of the biggest thing to decide besides where to live was which school to enroll our daughter in. Since she had been attending Montessori school in NJ, we decided to start there. After some research, we learned that there are lots of bilingual schools in the East Bay area. GMIS came up as one of the options. I decided to contact GMIS based on the one picture that I saw on Yelp that had traditional Chinese in the background. We brought our daughter on the school tour and at the end of the tour when we were in front of a classroom, she asked if she could go in and play with the kids! It was such a relief to see how comfortable she was with GMIS from the day one. Fast forward a year later, our daughter is thriving under the care of the GMIS teachers and staff. After spending some time getting to know this wonderful community, it warms my heart to know that everyone, including the owner/director, teachers, staff and the parent community, put enriching children's life as their top priority! Also to add, after spending a little time in the Bay Area and learned a bit more about the other options, GMIS is still in my mind the best bilingual option for us. Highly recommend! read more

I am grateful that my daughter went to GMIS from the ages of 2-5. It was very easy for her to transition from GMIS to kindergarten in another school; the strong academic and social foundation she built at GMIS didn't just make her kindergarten ready. It also helped her think of school as a place that she fits in well, where she is a good student who gets along well with students and teachers. GMIS was also great for her foundational Mandarin skills, and I have enjoyed listening to her sing many Chinese songs she learned there. read more

We did an exhaustive search of Mandarin-immersion preschools in the East Bay and SF--combed through websites and reviews and attended every single open house. At the time we were still pregnant so we had time! ;) We had many conversations that began with, "How old is your child? Are you looking to join in the fall?" And then my husband explaining, "Well...our son isn't born yet but we heard that waitlists can be long so we wanted to plan ahead." Yes, we were that couple. Choosing GMIS as our top preschool option was an easy choice. The school itself is bright, spacious, beautifully organized and the exterior grounds include a playground, large gazebo for snacks and lunch al fresco and an impressive fruit and vegetable garden! Now that we have been a part of the school for nearly 2 years, we recognize that it is the teachers and staff that really make the school shine. I am continuously amazed at the thought that goes into coursework, arts and crafts activities and special occasions. (They could sell tickets to their Chinese New Year celebration!) Plus, the rigor and commitment to creating a safe environment for our children to learn and thrive in the midst of a raging pandemic is admirable--words can't express the gratitude we feel for all the hard work and dedication of the teachers and professionals at the school. The most meaningful and sincere assessment of the school comes from our son. He has grown tremendously both cognitively and socially and he enjoys learning and playing each day. As you know, toddlers are incredibly honest and will let you know immediately if something is amiss! In a couple months we'll be sending our daughter once she turns 2--we're so fortunate that she'll be able to experience GMIS too! read more

If you are struggling to find quality schooling in this crumbling education environment, check out this school! Montessori/Chinese/Japanese language My 2 kids are in the elementary Japanese language program. The teacher/student ratio is about 1/5!! They can read, write and speak in Japanese (and English of course), and are thriving. They have developed such a passion for reading, love going to school each day (the sign of excellent teachers) and are excited and challenged. I can't be more satisfied with their education and the quality of teachers here. This school is also a bilingual preschool (Chinese). ages 2+ Set up a tour and see for yourself!http://www.globalmontessoriinternationalschool.com/ read more

Our two kids have been at GMIS since its founding and we cannot be happier with the school, teachers and staff. Our son started at PRINTS and we moved him to GMIS because GMIS has a warmer and more nurturing environment. The school has definitively cultivated the love of learning in our kids. They literally look forward to returning to school after every weekend so they can do more "work" - the Montessori descriptor of the various exercises and activities that the students do. Our kids' Chinese is almost better than mine and the bottom line is, they are truly happy! The program has also been improving over time. We love the growing emphasis on music and art in additional to the traditional Montessori and language curriculum. Vivi Teng, Director of the school, has always been open to parents' suggestions and has a genuine love for children and teaching. I have personally witnessed Vivi getting down on her knees and helping kids with their work (or simply changing diapers). The kids at school all love her. She also has extensive Montessori teaching experience in Taiwan and the US (she used to teach at PRINTS). The teachers and staff are also superb. I also cannot say enough about the parent community. We have a good group of like-minded and fun parents who are ready to pitch in and help make GMIS a better community. read more

I had both my children at Pacific Rim International School for a total of seven years. When Ernie Mahr broke away from PRINTS to co-found GMIS with Vivi Teng, I stayed at PRINTS out of respect and loyalty for the many wonderful years they gave my children. However, Ernie's departure had decimated both the PRINTS student body and teaching staff, and by the spring of that difficult year I had decided to enroll both my children at GMIS. Not a week after I applied, Ernie broke away again to form a third Japanese/Chinese immersion Montessori program. All three of these schools are within a 3 mile radius, and having three such niche schools in such a small area has made it difficult for all three to each build a vibrant, critical mass of students and teachers. Reeling from the painful deja vu of Ernie's twice-in-as-many-school years break-away, I chose to keep one child at PRINTS to finish out the Children's House cycle, and enrolled one into GMIS' elementary program. This year both my children are in GMIS' elementary class. I have been continually impressed with GMIS' program, and with Vivi Teng. While she is admittedly still developing her administrator "sea legs", she is dedicated, hard-working, and supportive of parents, students, and staff. I appreciate her honesty, candor, and earnest focus on providing a quality education in a warm and caring environment. I am equally impressed with the elementary teaching team. I find all of them to be energetic, creative, and willing to try different approaches to engage their students and build not just their academic skills but also their self-esteem and sense of (and responsibility to) community. There is a synergy among them that creates a sphere of dynamic, engaged learning around the entire sun-washed and airy elementary classroom. As an educator myself, I appreciate the clear lines of communication with my children's teachers, and the clear sense of collaboration in the education and growth of my children that these teachers, Vivi, and the rest of the staff engender. Thank you, GMIS. read more

I have 2 kids at GMIS since it first started and approaching our third year. Each year the program gets better and better. In addition to the language-immersion program, music, art, PE, and soccer are now part of the weekly program. This dynamic program is evidence that the Director, Vivi Teng is actively committed to providing a well-rounded education for the children. My children are in the Mandarin immersion program. They both can speak, write, and read Chinese, which is amazing since there is no Chinese at home. AND they are highly motivated to learn more Chinese! (spilling over to Spanish for my older son). This enthusiasm is what happens when there are excellent teachers. In addition, the Montessori approach fostered my childrens' natural curiosity to explore something more in-depth and to pursue challenging material. The warm and nurturing environment instilled in them confidence to build their character. My children are very happy at GMIS and will come back for their after school/summer programs. We will even consider their elementary program. Also, as a parent, I am very happy with the parent community, as I have gotten to know many wonderful families and developed many good friendships. Although no school is perfect, this school is doing many things very very well. Tour the school and speak to the parents; you are guaranteed to find other happy and satisfied parents like me. read more

My son has been enrolled at GMIS for almost two and a half years now (since he was two years old), in the Chinese language program. He really enjoys the environment, the teachers, and of course his friends. The teachers and staff at GMIS genuinely care for the well-being of all the students. They provide a warm, supportive environment for kids to learn and explore the world around them. Some of the other reviewers have commented much more eloquently than I could about the benefits of a bilingual Montessori-based education, and how it's implemented at GMIS. I can however say that my son is having fun while learning, and he seems to be doing pretty well at GMIS. The parent community is amazing. I feel fortunate to be involved with a school with such enthusiastic and dedicated parents, who are also fun to be around. We have a few big events each year (Thanksgiving, Winter celebration, Lunar New Year) and seeing all of the students and parents together is truly uplifting and, dare I say it, like one big family. The school is great and getting better. If you're interested in a bilingual Montessori program, I encourage you to arrange for a visit and see the many things that GMIS has to offer. read more

It's ironic that someone without any personal experience at GMIS writes about it going down hill... The fact is: GMIS is THRIVING! It's elementary program is expanding rapidly and it's children's house full. Our children attended PRINTS when it was the only option for Chinese bilingual, and we also followed Ernie Mahr to GMIS. But we chose to stay at GMIS when Ernie left to opened AIM, and we have been more than happy with our decision throughout the last 1.5 years. GMIS is what I call Montessori with warmth and creativity. You feel it when you see the campus and hear the children at play or sing & work in the classroom. This is all a reflection on Vivi Teng's vision and her ability to identify and attract wonderful teachers. She is also extremely open to parent input and is constantly striving to improve her leadership skills. Our kids' Chinese skyrocketed after GMIS became a pure Chinese immersion program in Children's House (effectively 70% Chinese; 30% English). They also loved the increase in arts, music and sports. Instead of "I don't want to go to school today," I couldn't get them out of school. They even ask us to drive by GMIS on a few weekends because they miss it. More importantly, we see our kids grow in their confidence and in academic areas such as math (they learned 4-digit add and subtract at age 5), English (cursive and print writing), Chinese reading and writing, and knowledge of Chinese culture. We couldn't be happier parents. Our kids are at Head-Royce now, and we owe much to GMIS for their preparedness. We will be back there for after school and summer programs so that they can continue to grow in their multicultural education. read more

I think we were lucky enough to catch the last best years of this school. When we first interviewed at their old location, we could not wait to get in. However, especially the last year of our pre-school experience was less than desirable. Since 2013 summer they lost a very key administrative director who literally managed the whole operation of the school, and the school has been going downhill since. Although the communication has always been spotty, but with no administrator and without replacing one in a year (it was taken over by part timers), the communication has been extremely inconsistent. We felt like we were in a black box all the time, and the principle/owner would not tell us anything and always pretended a victim herself. They doubled the size of their 3-6 age group after we re-enrolled, however, they were constantly under staff. It was no longer 1:8 ratio, it is now 1:12 without announcing it. Instead of hiring more qualified teachers, they chose to hire more Chinese nannies. As of the end of school year, they also lost the 2 most valuable Chinese Montessori teachers, who basically held the Chinese programs for their YCH and CH together. And these 2 teachers were the main reasons that a lot of us were there. Also, they decided to close their Elementary program pretty much 2 months into the beginning of the school year. The lack of leadership, management, communication and ability to retain high quality staffs are the key factors that drive a lot of dedicated families to leave. Although the future of this school is very uncertain, but we are very thankful that our kid had a great experience there, and we met a lot of great families along the way. It is just sad that we don't have a lot of choices in the east bay that are Chinese bilingual Montessori schools, but if we have to do over, we will probably put language second and quality of education first. Again, we were lucky enough that we did not have to choose between the 2 back then. Hey, but if you are just looking for a daycare, and you don't mind paying almost 20k a year to share a Chinese nanny with the other 11 kids and called this bilingual, they do have pretty decent English speaking Montessori teachers. Good Luck. read more

Wonderful school. We transferred over from LePort and couldn't be happier. This is what it feels like to be a valued member of a community that values children and education! read more

I am leaving a review for a fantastic Mandarin immersion Montessori school in Berkeley named Global Montessori International School (GMIS). This review is completely unsolicited, and I have the freedom of being honest and objective because my child is moving on to another school. My child started at GMIS at the age of 2. I chose GMIS over the other Mandarin immersion programs in the area because of the following reasons: 1) the teachers were experienced, youthful, energetic, loving and kind; 2) the founder of the school, Vivi Teng, is a warm-hearted, honest person with extensive Montessori experience and devotes herself full-time to managing every aspect of the school; 3) a great parent community of highly educated but down-to-earth parents who are very involved and very tuned into the development of young children and their needs; 4) an ethnically diverse student population with over half of the children coming from multiple ethnic backgrounds. I visited and toured all the other schools in the area (PRINTS, AIM, Shu-ren) and came to the conclusion that the biggest hearts were at GMIS and that my toddler would be cared after the way I would expect a large family of kind aunties would provide. After having been at the school for 2 and a half years, my child has been able to recognize many Chinese characters (I would guess at least 50), knows bo-po-mo-fo symbols and is able to use them to read early reader books from Taiwan, is able to converse in Mandarin with proper tone, and is also progressing well in English reading and acquisition of math concepts. Potty training was done by the teachers within 1 year of enrollment and made my life so much easier. Extracurricular activities have included Soccer Shots, Kung-fu, Chinese and Western singing and music, beginning Spanish, and afterschool Chinese class. Other class options include art and dance. He has been exposed to gardening, animal care, trips to the Berkeley Nutcracker and Chabot Science Center. There is a wonderful outdoor garden area with a vermicompost earthworm bin to teach children about the soil lifecycle. The outdoor playspace is clean and has a variety of outdoor toys. In the summer, water play is also available. I have made many friends among the parent group and contributed to the development of the Parent Organization which provides parents with an organized website for information and helps to orchestrate the myriad of volunteer, holiday and cultural events that occur each year. The school's preschool through kindergarten is growing by leaps and bounds. The elementary school is still in development and currently enrolls through second grade. My son will miss GMIS very much and after 2.5 years, I am still certain that I made the right decision for him. I have not seen as many happy kids elsewhere as I have at GMIS, and as many kind teachers. Whether your interest is Montessori, Mandarin, a diverse and global environment for your child, GMIS will fulfill all of the above and more than prepare your child for Yu Ming or any of the other Mandarin immersion programs in SF. Many of the kids who go to Yu Ming from GMIS are quite over-prepared and already know most of the Mandarin and early math covered in public school kindergarten. All in all, a wonderful preschool and kindergarten and you can't go wrong. I expect that with continued development the elementary school will be wonderful, too. read more

I am leaving a review for a fantastic Mandarin immersion Montessori school in Berkeley named Global Montessori International School (GMIS). This review is completely unsolicited, and I have the freedom of being honest and objective because my child is moving on to another school. My child started at GMIS at the age of 2. I chose GMIS over the other Mandarin immersion programs in the area because of the following reasons: 1) the teachers were experienced, youthful, energetic, loving and kind; 2) the founder of the school, Vivi Teng, is a warm-hearted, honest person with extensive Montessori experience and devotes herself full-time to managing every aspect of the school; 3) a great parent community of highly educated but down-to-earth parents who are very involved and very tuned into the development of young children and their needs; 4) an ethnically diverse student population with over half of the children coming from multiple ethnic backgrounds. I visited and toured all the other schools in the area (PRINTS, AIM, Shu-ren) and came to the conclusion that the biggest hearts were at GMIS and that my toddler would be cared after the way I would expect a large family of kind aunties would provide. After having been at the school for 2 and a half years, my child has been able to recognize many Chinese characters (I would guess at least 50), knows bo-po-mo-fo symbols and is able to use them to read early reader books from Taiwan, is able to converse in Mandarin with proper tone, and is also progressing well in English reading and acquisition of math concepts. Potty training was done by the teachers within 1 year of enrollment and made my life so much easier. Extracurricular activities have included Soccer Shots, Kung-fu, Chinese and Western singing and music, beginning Spanish, and afterschool Chinese class. Other class options include art and dance. He has been exposed to gardening, animal care, trips to the Berkeley Nutcracker and Chabot Science Center. There is a wonderful outdoor garden area with a vermicompost earthworm bin to teach children about the soil lifecycle. The outdoor playspace is clean and has a variety of outdoor toys. In the summer, water play is also available. I have made many friends among the parent group and contributed to the development of the Parent Organization which provides parents with an organized website for information and helps to orchestrate the myriad of volunteer, holiday and cultural events that occur each year. The school's preschool through kindergarten is growing by leaps and bounds. The elementary school is still in development and currently enrolls through second grade. My son will miss GMIS very much and after 2.5 years, I am still certain that I made the right decision for him. I have not seen as many happy kids elsewhere as I have at GMIS, and as many kind teachers. Whether your interest is Montessori, Mandarin, a diverse and global environment for your child, GMIS will fulfill all of the above and more than prepare your child for Yu Ming or any of the other Mandarin immersion programs in SF. Many of the kids who go to Yu Ming from GMIS are quite over-prepared and already know most of the Mandarin and early math covered in public school kindergarten. All in all, a wonderful preschool and kindergarten and you can't go wrong. I expect that with continued development the elementary school will be wonderful, too. read more