I took part of a class there a long time ago with Irma, who was very patient and very nice. And…read morethen unfortunately Covid hit and that ended the classes - at least, in-person classes. I literally never heard from her or anyone else again. Maybe they continued the classes on Zoom or something. I stopped by the school a few times but the door was locked. I'd paid something like $250 for 8 sessions and I did 5 or 6 of the 8. I contacted her about a year later after the horrid first phase of Covid was over, and she said she was sorry that we'd fallen out of touch and that I was welcome to return sometime. I think Irma is probably outstanding for one-on-one instruction. But after 6 class sessions, we hadn't really gotten very far, and I am sure I'd have had to pay her thousands of dollars before I was proficient in Spanish. I guess what I was looking for was something like a 4 or 6-semester Spanish class a couple times a week that wouldn't have cost me more than about $1,000 total (yeah, "good luck with that" in these times of inflation...) I actually did find this at Pierce College and it was way beyond bad - after 6 weeks of twice-weekly sessions, we were still on uno, dos, tres and learning how to use the verbs ser and estar. Anyhow, I wish Irma and her program the best, even if it didn't happen to work out for me personally.

I met Irma when I joined a class of hers four years ago.  the class was small and intimate, and…read moreIrma had an amazing ability to customize the class towards the people that were there so that we maximized our learning potential. When the class ended, I hired Irma to teach me privately, which she has done for the last three years. I have studied Spanish my entire life, and have had many teachers, but no one compares with Irma.  She not only has extensive knowledge of the language, but she is a very intuitive teacher who is able to assess her students and tailor the lesson plan to best suit their needs.  I also believe in Irma because she is very patient and thoughtful. Irma has had a tremendous impact on my life.  Firstly, she has helped me improve significantly my ability to speak, read and write Spanish.  Second, I really feel that the world is a more open place for me, because I am able to communicate with everyone in my environment, and speaking Spanish with native speakers immediately puts them at ease, opens up doors, and shows them respect.  I also feel that potential opportunities will arise for me because I am able to speak Spanish.  My Spanish lessons are extremely important to me, and I look forward to them every week.  If you are interested in learning a new language, School of Language Arts is the place you should go.

Our son (6yo) and daughter (3yo) participate in the leap dragon after-school program every weekday…read morefrom 3PM-6PM. They have had such a wonderful experience here and it is their favorite part of each and every day. Veronica and the rest of the staff do an incredible job of tailoring an academically oriented yet fun & creative curriculum for each individual child. They do a wonderful job of challenging the kid,s yet also helping to build their confidence. I love that they not only work to improve their mandarin language skills, but also writing and math. Each week there are special activities like cotton candy making / boba making days or other fun activities like play doh day or lego day that our kids look forward to all week long. They are also very flexible with our needs and schedule changes and have a wonderful space that is clean, safe, and beautiful. We cannot recommend Leap Dragon highly enough and would encourage anyone interested to at least give their program a trial. We did a trial last year and are so happy we did. We visited 2 other chinese immersion programs and while they were also good, we feel that Leap Dragon had the best balance of caring teachers, a nurturing learning environment, and an affordable price.

Update 12/27 - my daughter signed up for their winter camp. Can I say this is the best camp she's…read moreever been? They have such a great combo of learning and cool activities. She gets so excited to go there every morning.

I am taking Chinese Mandarin classes at Language Doors.. instructor Janie Golden is warm, kind and…read morevery patient with each student. I like this place and I will continue to perfect my Chinese Mandarin. Thank you to all the people at the Language Doors.

I don't know what kind of business they are running, but I know that their customer service…read morevirtually doesn't exist. I had requested ESL info via email for my visiting mom. I had made an attempt twice by the phone and twice by email three weeks before my mom arrived. Nothing came of them. When I called the school the woman who answered the phone told me that she had emailed me the info. I told her that I hadn't seen anything even in my Spam box. I gave her my mailing address and asked her to mail me the info. Nothing. Well, no thanks to them, the church down the street offered an ESL class for free. My mom attended there and had a good class. Hallelujah.

I've taken several online Spanish classes now with Jose and I really enjoy them. They are very…read moreconversational and practical. He keeps things interesting and continues to progress the challenges. These Zoom classes are convenient, and work very well for me with my busy schedule. I highly recommend!

Talk to me in Spanish has been a great experience for me in the past few years. Jose makes the…read moreclasses fun and interactive and it's great to have conversations with the fellow students. Zoom classes are also very convenient. Come and join the fun experience!

I was looking for a private tutor to get me conversational in Spanish and found Jose on Yelp. I…read morewasn't really sure what to expect, but so far I have found him to be responsive, accommodating, and an informative tutor. I enjoy his perspective as a native Spaniard living in the U.S. because he understands the little differences in composition and grammar that can make learning a new language overwhelming. Go ahead and give him a try. You'll come for the lesson and stay for the charm.

My son improved and gained confidence in Spanish 2 with Jose's help. Jose is a very good tutor…read morebecause first of all, he knows the Spanish language very well. He explains it in a way that is easy for my child to grasp. He gives exercises and practices until he is sure my son understands the lesson. He is also able to connect with my son making the learning fun and not boring. He is a great tutor and I highly recommend him.

So happy we found Katya. She is calm, attentive, engaging and really focused with my kids. She's…read morealso super patient and explains things very thorough. Kids look forward to her classes. The atmosphere with her around is amazing. Truly amazing!

Ekaterina is an incredibly talented, hard working, focused professional teacher of languages. Her…read morecalm demeanour enables her to connect well with her students both young and older. Her ability to find relevant and meaningful materials catered to teach each student allows for an atmosphere of co-reciprocity based on interest, respect and as such exponential educational growth! Thank you for all you do!

Great school ,great environment and affordable ESL school!!…read moreFrom my experience here with my teacher Deborah, who make my learning so easy and enjoyable. I gained a lot of confidence with my English, I also learned that the fear stop us from reaching our dream and achieve our goals in this country .we just need to make up our minds and go for what you really want, here you'Il find the best ESL teachers that will help you improve your English in a short time. I left with good memories of good people , meet the best passionate teachers and most important I improve my english !thank you Deborah and Tanks to Build my English !

I came to this establishment to take classes and the gentleman asked me to show proof of…read morevaccination for Covid. Let's keep in mind today is July 31, 2023. After studies have shown that the vaccine does NOT stop the spread of Covid in any way. There is not one single other establishment that is asking for proof of vaccination and hasn't been in many months. I think this is very unfortunate and sad and quite honestly shouldn't even be allowed to ask for proof of vaccination. Normal schools do not ask for this let alone a part time course. Don't recommend supporting this business.

I've been taking German with Jerilyn for several weeks. She is an awesome instructor who makes the…read moreclass fun and effective! She teaches fully in German, but also makes it approachable by explaining things in German in a way that is easy to understand. Even in a group class, she provides tons of resources so you can learn at the pace that matches the time you're able to commit. I've already learned so much and have signed up for the next course!

These Spanish classes are amazing. All of the teachers I've had have been great. Most recently I've…read moreworked with Karen for quite a few classes and she's an excellent teacher. Very patient, makes you feel comfortable, and explains things well. I highly recommend it.

This is an incredible Persian language and culture immersion for children 4-14. I have been coming…read morehere since they first opened and have since brought several friends kids into this program. I love so many aspects of this all day Saturday program 10am-4pm. First of all the school is run by a young progressive group of Iranians. Very welcoming of all sorts of families- intercultural, queer, Muslim, Jewish, atheist...they focus on Persian culture (arts music games) and food. The kids have several classes thru the day- Persian language (they are even learning to read and write), Arts (they do amazing crafts with one of irans most famous puppeteers), music (they learn great classical songs), and even learn chess! The school accommodates kids that don't speak a word of Persian to kids who understand Persian but don't speak- all the way up to more native speakers. Lots of inter-cultural and second generation iranian-Americans who want to keep our culture alive. It's a great immersion of culture and wonderful parents too. Love this place and highly recommend it.

Great school for Farsi, awesome teacher's, my daughter loves it! They had special program for…read moresummer (art and dance class),it was great experience for my daughter

Lions & Tigers & Bears, oh my!…read more Ok, that's not quite what Critter Squad Wildlife Defenders (CSWD) is all about... BUT...... Wouldn't that make for an interesting kids birthday party! Imagine this... Billy's older brother: "Hey, Mom, Where's little Billy?" Random party goer: "He was last seen petting the Tiger." (Tiger looking extra guilty & licking his lips) Billy's Mom: starts crying hysterically, "Not my Baby boy" Suddenly, Billy comes around the corner licking his own lips while holding a shaved ice from the shaved ice truck at the party and says, "'mommy, why are you crying?" Phew!! (Crisis adverted) Wait... Where's suzie? (Billy's little sister).... (Que to the dramatic piano) Dun, Dun, Dunnnnn Moving on shall we! Thankfully, for your sake and for little Susie's sake.... Critters Squad Wildlife Defenders only has birds, bunnies, guinea pigs, porcupines, snakes and other fun, cute, furry little animals/reptiles that won't harm you.... Just make sure to follow the directions of your assigned wildlife team member. For us, our first and only encounter with CSWD was at a recent birthday party that we attended for one of our daughter's fellow classmates. Like most kids birthday parties, all the usual suspects were on site. A bounce house, a birthday cake, snacks for the kids, a table for all the gifts and of course those wild and crazy kids running around having fun. But this party had some had special guests. Some scaly, some a bit pokey, a few that were soft to the touch and others that had 8 eyes and 8 legs! So as everyone arrived to the party and got acclimated, the host of the party got everyone's attention and had us all set up on the grass for the "special surprise." Kelvin from Critter Squad enters that chat. Yeah, Kelvin was super cool and was very knowledgeable about all of the critters and reptiles he brought out to show. He was great with the kids and parents in attendance and everyone who wanted to participate to touch, hold or get a closer look of the different animals, were all welcomed. At the party we attended, the package included a few different Snakes, a Tarantula, a Porcupine, a bird and a few other critters that were all definitely the stars of the party. Although it was not my party, I witnessed what a great addition this could be for a kids birthday party, especially if they love animals or you want to do something unique. Definitely check out their website for pricing, packages and availability. And don't fret about little Suzie, she was located in the bounce house =)

I was looking for a petting zoo for my daughter's birthday and came across Critter Squad. The price…read morewas reasonable and they seemed to have some animals that were slightly different to other petting zoos. I decided to try it out and was able to book online. I missed a call the next day from them to confirm the details and place a card on file. I tried calling back several times each day for a few days, left a voicemail, sent an email, but was not able to reach them until a week later. Before confirming, I was reading through other people's reviews and started feeling a bit concerned that maybe they wouldn't show up to the party, especially since I had already paid the deposit. After confirming all the details finally, I was hopeful. The day of the party came and everything went smoothly. The staff was friendly and my kids loved all the animals. At the end of the day, it was worth it for me because my kids and all the other kids at the party got so much enjoyment out of it.