A magical place! My 6-year-old son is autistic and it was such a relief to be welcomed by a team…read morethat just gets it. The space is super clean and feels like a kid's dream. There's so much to do, climbing, building, exploring, getting wiggles out, and even a quiet room to chill. You can tell the folks behind it really thought through everything. The vibe, the décor, even the website feel so neurodiverse-affirming. They have tech to help build community around members too. We live in Novato so the distance makes a membership tough right now, but I'm hoping we can join in the summer when school isn't in the way. I'd love to see Spirited Play Labs expand to more places as this is the future IMO (please come to Novato, I'll help!). For families like ours, where typical play spaces can feel stressful or isolating, this place is a true gem, welcoming, thoughtful, and hopeful for the future. Thank you!!!

We've been coming to SPL for years, and it has always been such a positive experience. The play…read moresessions with Lia mean so much to us. we truly appreciate her patience, guidance, and support. Every visit, we notice progress. My daughter used to play only by herself, but now we see her becoming more independent and interacting with Lia, which fills our hearts. As a mom of a child on the spectrum, I know how hard it can be. My daughter doesn't have friends, but when we come here, she has one. In other spaces, the stares that come with her stimming can be so difficult to ignore, but here at SPL, we feel safe, accepted, and not judged. That sense of belonging is rare for special needs families, and we are so grateful to have found it here. I love how the staff embraces inclusion and acceptance. it shows in everything they do. I truly wish there were more places and programs like this for our kids, because families like ours need community.

I worked here for several years and had the opportunity to be part of a great team. The students…read moreand staff are amazing and the work is very fulfilling. Berkeley is also of course a great place to be! :)

As a student of College Internship Program, I have been subjected to quite a few of their…read moreexperiences. One of these reviews said it helped, two others, written by one of the students sons' and his mother, were extremely negative. I'm going to attempt to make this review as non-biased and accurate as I can. It all started out with a lie. I had no idea what to do with my life, so I met up with several staff on their campus who tried to sell me on the program. One of the people was their residential coordinator, and he, among other people, told me things that were untrue. The most prominent one I can think of is saying I could go just about anywhere on the weekends for as long as I'd like. Turns out there was a curfew. This was one of many things they've said. After talking with many of the students, especially the saner ones, I got confirmation I was not the only one they did this to. So I got let in. I ended up going in very last minute, and missed orientation, so I was more unprepared than any other student. I've heard of the staff saying you NEED to attend orientation, and that there are a limited number of people they can let in. Given that people are let in last minute every year, such as myself, I question the truth of that. Anyways. The idea of the program is that they can take all your things and rights/privileges (depending on how you define it) and build you up bit by bit. They took away everything that gave me any sort of independence, as they do to everyone else. Drove me crazy. Sooner or later, they started giving me my independence back, but it was never enough until I got out of the program. There's a reason some students don't succeed at this program and others do. Many don't try, or just flat out refuse to try. This program works best for people who have motivation to do well. They try to motivate the other students, but often the program falls flat on its face. This program gave me friends, and skills I need to survive in the real world. I appreciate it for everything it has done for me, but if I had one piece of advice it would be this: Make sure that your child has the motivation or want to make something out of themselves. Otherwise it's useless and a giant money pit. I'm giving this three stars instead of one, or five, because it is a mixed bag. The price is very high, and you should check out other options as well. That said, it was worth the money to me, and to a handful of other people in the program as well, but make sure your child is prepared for a long, uphill struggle. It's only worth it in the end if you start climbing the mountain in the first place.

Our Journey with our son's learning issues began in elementary school. As time progressed he fell…read morefarther behind. In middle school we put him in a one on one school where he could be succesful as he could learn at his own pace.( Tilden prep). He had gained confidence in that time and was ready for high school, but we could not find a high school which combined working on how to deal with his learning disability and to provide the academic rigor necessary to get him into a college which is what he wanted. He came out of the school with confidence and with skills for self advocacy which has enabled him to be independent in college. His entire demeanor about learning changed in Bayhill as they showed him that he was able to learn and to enjoy it. The staff and director were extremely supportive and tailored to his needs

Bayhill is an amazing school! In my 13 years working at the school, I've witnessed so many success…read morestories, students who arrived with little confidence in their abilities become lifelong learners ready for college and so much more!

My third grade granddaughter has been there since preschool. The outdoor/gardening/cooking…read morecomponent is a great balance to the strong academics. Peaceful atmosphere, lots of beauty.

As someone who moved to the Bay Area about a decade ago, I've often missed the sense of Persian…read morecommunity I grew up with, attending "mehmoonis" (parties), hearing Iranian music fill our home, and being surrounded by our rich, beautiful culture. When it came time to find a preschool for my son, I dreamed of a place that could offer him that same warmth and connection, and Golestan has given us exactly that and more. The first time I stepped into Golestan's "hayaat" (yard), I was instantly transported to my grandpa's garden in Iran. The laughter, the trees, the care woven into every detail. It's such a lively, loving, and vibrant space where my son learns, plays, makes friends, and creates lasting memories. The teachers are absolute angels, deeply nurturing, creative, and so attuned to each child. From the thoughtfully designed classrooms to the fresh, nourishing food (with ingredients straight from their learning garden!), every aspect of Golestan reflects an intentional, heartful approach to education and community. I feel truly honored for my son to spend his days in such a magical and enriching environment, surrounded by love, culture, and curiosity, and I'm already dreaming of the day my daughter can join. Regardless of your background or heritage, Golestan is a place worth experiencing. I'm sure they'll woo you at "Salaam" :)

We highly recommend Liz Block. Our daughter had some formal testing and evaluation with Liz after…read moresome learning challenges were identified in second grade. The experience was wonderful both for our daughter and for us as parents. Our daughter looked forward to testing sessions and asked when she would be seeing Ms. Liz again. She is very warm and attentive with kids. Liz is highly skilled, patient, observant, and insightful. She is able to explain sophisticated technical concepts in a way that is understandable. And she does an excellent job of summing up findings of her evaluation and setting practical tasks and achievable learning goals for each child. We were extremely pleased.

From the owner: I help children do better in school and feel better about themselves.read more

The therapists and front office staff deserve five stars. Leadership's approach to families does…read morenot. As a parent of twins with developmental disabilities, I understand the importance of attendance. I also understand the reality of managing multiple therapies, medical appointments, school meetings, and life. Over time, repeated conversations about missed appointments, attendance reminders, and signing attendance acknowledgments left me feeling judged instead of supported. The final straw was accidentally leaving one week off a summer scheduling form, which led to another conversation about attendance. It wasn't about that one incident--it was the realization that this philosophy simply doesn't align with how I believe families of children with additional needs should be treated. The clinicians were wonderful, and the front desk staff were always professional and kind. My disappointment lies with leadership and the culture created by these policies. Families seeking pediatric therapy need partnership, empathy, and flexibility. Unfortunately, that wasn't our experience, and we chose to take our children elsewhere.

I have to update my review as things have gone downhill. We had a rough start with Childs Play with…read morefrequent turnover with their SLPs made it difficult to find a good match for my daughter. We finally got a good match and they "switched departments". Then they started saying I had to move my time due to scheduling conflicts even though we had waited 2 years to get the time slot we had. We got moved with a new SLP and I complained that they kept canceling and rescheduling. I can only assume they were double booking so instead of taking accountability for their poor planning, they decided to discontinue services simply because i advocated for my daughter. They dont seem to care about the children, they just want their paycheck

After leaving my son's other middle school this was so much better. There was this cool ass mother…read morefucker named Memphis Razack and made my sons week during the sick ass Washington DC field trip. Luxury hotel and cool sights as I saw with the different photos my son sent

I volunteered at King Middle School through the Be-A-Scientist program when I was a graduate…read morestudent (Ph.D.) in geophysics (volcanoes and planetary interiors) at the University of California, Berkeley. I participated in the program during autumn semester in 2015. As part of the program I was assigned a group of four 7th grade students to bring the scientific method to life through interactive and hands-on experiment design and execution. We, Be-A-Scientist volunteers, came in on a near weekly/bi-weekly basis to make progress in each student's project. The week's session was always in the theme of one of the steps of the scientific method. This way by the end of the semester the students had designed and performed their own scientific study/experiments according to the scientific method. Each session we went over each student's project discussing it as a small group so they could get feedback from others in the group and hone their communication skills. They also wrote up what they were doing, sometimes including drawing graphs/plots, and if it was a week dedicated to the 'experiment' step in the scientific method they performed experiment trials/experiments. I enjoyed that we were able to develop an experiment for each individual student and thoroughly enjoyed the experiments my students decided upon. One tested different substances on slices of bread to see which generated the most bacteria, one wiped different surfaces with Q-tips to see which yielded the most bacteria, one tested different potting mixtures to see which was best for growing plants, and one dried different fruits to see which one evaporated the most moisture. Some of the results from these projects, such as Q-tips wiped on the wall having less bacteria than Q-tips out of the container, were down right shocking. All of the students in my group were great, expressing mush enthusiasm for the task(s) at hand and each had their own distinct inquisitive style. I have only good memories of my time volunteering with these students and at King Middle School. If you are a visitor here, like I was, there is a main office where you need to sign-in when you arrive to the school and sign-out when you leave. This way the school can keep track of who you are, why you are here, when you are here, and what classroom(s)/teacher(s)'s classes you are visiting while you are here. We were allowed to use only the faculty/staff restrooms when were volunteering.

Our daughter started at Raskob in 3rd grade, after trying two different schools (public and…read moreprivate) that did not provide her the support that she needed for her learning differences. It has been an absolute game-changer for her (and our whole family!). She went from hating school and feeling bullied by peers to loving school, forming sweet social bonds and making strong academic progress. Her teachers have all been extremely caring and attentive with great home-school communication. Each child has an individualized learning plan specifically tailored to their needs and core subjects are grouped by skill level, not by grade level. So a 3rd grader with stronger math skills might spend math class with a 5th grader who is more challenged in this area. We haven't experienced middle school yet but I know that kids graduate from 8th grade at Raskob and receive great high school counseling to help them choose the just-right school for them (I've seen some kids graduate on to O'Dowd, or public high schools and others stay in private schools for learning differences like Sterne or Orinda Academy). It really depends on what the kids need at that point. Huge Raskob fans in our household!

They kicked my son out a few months before he was to graduate for reasons that, I'll say were…read morehighly suspect. In a meeting with the school they said some things about middle schoolers in general were pretty terrible in my opinion. That meeting was recorded by lawyers present. Can't imagine what they would say off the record. Inner monologue must be be pretty bad. Stay away.