For the best learning experience of a new language of Mandarin Chinese come to COCOCS or Contra…read moreCosta Chinese School to learn and excel your language skills.

My son has been coming to CoCoCs since Kindergarten and this is year 2 for him. We love the school…read moreand the community. It is a non-profit and run by veteran educators and people who are passionate for Chinese/Taiwanese culture. It takes a village to run education and my top reasons for staying at this school are below. 1. The curriculum: It is well thought out and one of the teachers actually designed and wrote the textbooks! I absolutely love it. They also offer Traditional or Simplied textbooks so parents can pick their preference. 2. No affiliation with religious groups: Some Chinese schools in the area are affiliated with Churches or other religions and my family isn't religious. So this school makes the most sense for us. 3. Parental involvement: We love parents here help out, volunteer and chip in to make the school run better. The principal and his wife have dedicated their life to run the school and parents/volunteers help bring the school forward. What is most important to us is my son enjoys learning and can understand Chinese. He has picked up quite a lot and enjoy coming here every Saturday. When I just recently took him home to Taiwan, my parents were impressed with his Chinese and can communicate with him. To me, that is a major plus!

Whether you want to prepare for a vacation in France, tune up your high school/college French, or…read morejust want to start from the beginning, Sève will work with you toward your goals. I began private lessons to dust off my high school French and have since added a conversation class. Because Sève uses an ever changing variety of teaching methods, I look forward to these classes every week. She is dynamic, fun, and, thankfully, very patient. Bonne chance!

Séverine has been my French teacher for almost 3 years. I have been her student in a formal…read moreclassroom setting at a local adult education center for 2 years. I have also participated in both conversation groups and one-to-one tutoring from her own classroom. Because she is from France, she is able to teach you French the way the French speak it currently. We study French grammar, vocabulary, culture, and music, as well as the geography of France in addition to practicing our speaking, listening (comprehension), and reading skills in French. Séverine is very personable with a great sense of humor. She really knows how to make learning fun. She is adept at teaching people of all ages. Whether you want to start learning French or need to brush up on it, Séverine can help you achieve your French language goals. Highly recommend!

Honestly this is the best daycare/montessori in the TriVally area. We toured dozens of daycares and…read moreFountainhead was the cleanest and most organized. When we did the tour at Fountainhead, the kids were so calm and the environment was peaceful. My wife and I are so happy that our son loves this school. We are pretty protective parents...He was the youngest of his class (2.5yrs) and the older kids help him a lot. He started early this year and his language skills has improved so much. We enrolled him for 2027 and hope to enroll his little brother at 1.5 years. Highly recommend!

All of the teachers here are great! We chose this school specifically for their mandarin immersion…read moreprogram, but my child has thrived in all areas. The facilities are well maintained and conducive to their learning.

I have been working with Ina for about 6 months. I really enjoy my sessions with her and look…read moreforward to them every week. She is very knowledgable and patient with me. She is also really funny. We talk a lot about things going on in my life in Spanish along with activities I am interested in. This really has been helping me grasp the Spanish language better along with the homework assigned each week. I cannot recommend her enough.

I cannot recommend Ina highly enough! Ina has provided a safe and comfortable space for me…read morebeginning my journey as an adult learning Spanish. I appreciate the individual attention and customization of the lessons. She is also friendly and flexible with scheduling. I am truly grateful to have found Ina!

I have two kids enrolled in this Spanish program in Piedmont. Teachers come and go, no continuity…read more Went through 4 teachers by the end of the year. And to top it off!!!! My son was made to be "a piñata" where the teacher proceeded to encourage students to HIT my son, as he just laughed in FEAR. When his older brother tried to step in, the teacher told him to move. How disgusting!!!!!!! Never sending my kids to this horrendous Spanish class!!!!!!! AWFUL PROGRAM

Our daughter began attending after school classes at Viva when she was in the the third grade. She…read moreenjoyed the music and singing and warmed to the kindness of the teaching staff. Learning Spanish through immersion was natural. She continued going to Viva through the 8th grade. By the time she entered high school she was able to place into 3rd year Spanish. She continued Spanish through high school (through her school) and was able to (and proud of) being able to write essays (in Spanish) about the Spanish literature she had studied. During one summer in high school she had the opportunity to travel to visit friends who lived in Bolivia. The flight attendants honestly thought she was a native speaker -- because of her accent. Learning (and listening) and having the gentle corrections made while she was younger made a difference in her being able to properly pronounce the language. Thank you, Viva!

Happy Little Faces is the best daycare in the area. Our son has been going there since he was just…read more1 year old, he is now 3 and absolutely loves his teachers and friends. Not only do they provide with healthy snacks, food, great education with an all-Spanish immerse program, but most importantly, they truly care for our kid, and it shows! My son is being taken care of and loved at the same time. I could have not asked for a better daycare. I was initially referred by a friend that had her kid there and she loved it. I decided to take my son out of the previous day care he was at and put him in Happy Little Faces and the great difference of care shows. Additionally, all kids participate in all holidays and festivities. It is just so cute and adorable seeing our children recite in Spanish and dance to Latin music too. I will forever be grateful to have found this place.

I wanted to update my review as we've now been with Happy Little Faces for several years and two…read morechildren. Both my girls have attended what I thought was a daycare and quickly realized was a wonderful little school. They have both learned so much Spanish and have been thoroughly prepared to start school. Pilar and Marlene have taken such good care of my kids. They have so many great activities there including a Christmas party, a Santa visit/annual picture, a graduation ceremony (with caps and gowns!), field trips, a beautiful little book of photos when your little one finally leaves to go to Kindergarten, and more. Recently they even added an app so you can see videos and photos of what your kiddo is doing there during the day. I am sad to go, but a new travel adventure awaits us, so we must say "Adios!" Gracias Pilar y Marlene por todos!

Parents, please do not send your poor children here. They take your money and have no…read morequalifications to teach anything. I wouldn't even allow these people to pet sit let along try to educate. I sent my child here for close to a year to learn piano and she learned nothing. Here are my main concerns: 1) teacher showed up 10 minutes late every time for 30 mins session and of course they continued to charge me for the full session 2) they try to teach using technology but their Wi-Fi is down. Therefore the rest of the class they spend trying to figure out how to connect to Wi-Fi which first hand observing, was painful. 3) the place is owned by a clown with the biggest ego. I went in there to watch my child after realizing that the sessions were not helping her at all. The clown that owns this place was fumbling around trying to get tech support to turn his computer on. He refers to himself as a "doctor" which further shows what a narcissistic clown he is. He also was upset that I hadn't been in there before to introduce myself to him. I don't think the moron realizes that parents have to work to pay for extracurricular activities like his clown school. He literally was offended that I didn't come in to introduce myself!? 4) the pianos and other instruments looked like they were picked up at the local dump. I can't sing and I am more tuned than the piano my poor daughter was trying to learn on. 5) the worst part is that I asked them to cancel my daughters sessions. That night I noticed that he had gone in and quickly charged our credit card for next month. What a crook and phony. Horrible place disguised as a teaching institute.

Don't send your kids here. Angry owner in attack mode:…read more I had an appointment in the building of 99 Brookwood Rd, Orinda, CA 94563. The person I had an appointment with told me that I could park in the ATMA/ALMA spaces. My dad dropped me off and wanted to wait for me, so I told him to park in one of the ATMA/ALMA spaces since he would be waiting for an hour and could take a nap if he wanted.  When I was done with my appointment, I walked to my dad's car and we got ready to leave. We saw a car stopped on the street and thought the driver was waiting for the space. After we pulled out of the parking space, that driver waved my dad down and got out of his car. I thought, "oh, maybe we didn't close all the doors in our car and he was trying to be nice." Not the case. This man, while blocking traffic, walked towards my dad and took a photo, then started yelling that we can't park there and that we were disturbing the businesses. My dad doesn't speak fluent English, so he told me to explain to the man what we were doing there. I got out of the car to tell the man that I was here for an appointment in the building and was told that I could park in one of those spaces. That man did not stop yelling to hear my explanation. He continued to yell that it was his spot. There was no point to this, so my dad and I got back in our car and drove off. I called the person I had an appointment with and found out that the man who yelled at us was the landlord of the building. He received a complaint from a tenant, SaraBella (florist), who described my dad as a creepy man walking around. My dad was stretching and admiring the scenery outside of his car while waiting for me, nowhere near the florist, minding his own business. No one, not the florist nor the landlord, talked to us and just assumed that we did not belong. We were judged by our appearance and treated unfairly. What happened to my dad and me happens to many people and I'm not going to be silent about it. His name is Dr. James Fiatarone, aka Dr. Jim. He is a landlord and a music teacher at the Academy of Language & Music Arts (ALMA), located in that same building. Stated on his webpage, "James is a Bay Area native who holds a Ph.D. in language and literature from the University of California, Berkeley". I expect better language and understanding from someone with such esteemed credentials, at the very least a common decency to speak maturely. Instead of introducing himself as the landlord and seeking to understand, Dr. Jim chose to block traffic and cause a scene in order to exercise his own judgment and bias. I want to get my message out and let him know that the way he conducted himself is not okay, especially in a place of business.

This is my child's second year with EFBA in Alameda. She loves her Francophone teacher, Angelique,…read moreand her French skills have improved even beyond my expectation. The teacher to student ratio is very excellent, and the other children are good classmates. I highly recommend these French classes.