This review has been a long time coming! My son graduated from Creative Montessori back in July…read more2016, and I still look back with so much appreciation for everything he learned there. My husband actually found the school through a friend, and I remember thinking, how could a 2 1/2-year-old possibly be independent or follow structure? But to my surprise, my son adapted so quickly -- it was amazing to see! In less than a month, he was fully potty trained, eating on his own with real utensils and dishes, putting things away, and following routines with confidence. The teachers were so loving, patient, and kind, and truly knew how to bring out the best in each child. The foundation he got at Creative Montessori carried through the years. He went on to do incredibly well in elementary and middle school, graduating at the top of his class with five awards, and now he's a freshman in high school taking four honors classes. I truly believe that his Montessori start gave him confidence, independence, and a lifelong love for learning. Another thing that stood out was how much care they put into the meals -- freshly cooked hot lunches with healthy servings of fruit every day. It felt like such a nurturing environment, not just academically but emotionally too. We also made lifelong friendships with other families during our time there, and it still warms my heart to think about those early years. If you're looking for a preschool that truly builds a strong foundation for both learning and character, I can't recommend Creative Montessori enough. The loving teachers, thoughtful structure, and caring environment gave my son such a beautiful start and for that, I'll always be grateful.

Ms Priscilla is such a truly wonderful teacher--patient, thoughtful, and incredibly supportive."read more

Our son is about to graduate after almost 3 years at Little Tree. We loved our experience,…read moreespecially the teachers. There was no teacher turnover which is amazing as the teachers really get to know your child with all their quirks and can help through whatever you are working on with your child. They were especially patient and helpful with potty training! There is strong parent community with a monthly pizza get together at the park and an active WhatsApp group. What I especially love about Little Tree is that the kids that go here are so sweet and kind, and I think the school really helps with that through their focus on interpersonal relationships and social skills. My son was accepted to all the private schools we applied to as he was well prepared for this next stage of his education.

We are so lucky to have Little Tree as our neighborhood preschool. With so much uncertainty in our…read moreworld today, it's comforting to know our little one is in caring hands with the Little Tree staff. Our child is entering his second year here and it's almost the same team as when he started a year ago. This says a lot about how they work together as one cohesive unit with shared values and a consistent approach to early childhood development. After checking out a few in home daycare options and other neighborhood preschools, the warmth here is palpable and genuine. They are always intentional and almost giddy w new activities and fun projects to do w the kids that center around monthly units of study. This is not your "bring home a cutesy piece of art for your parents to hang on the fridge" place. Instead they let them explore colors and textures, and you can see the progress in your child's dexterity as they progress from gross to finer motor skills. I mean, my kid is still very much in the gross motor skills realm and that's fine by us. :) They also take grand summer bus trips (ex: to the Ferry Building or the Salesforce gondola ride) and a weekly trip to the local park. The attention to a play based philosophy and to fostering positive social interaction is evident in our kid's language skills. Our child will readily tell us what did or did not happen each day and how happy he feels when he's at school. He tells us that bees love pollen and that this was something new to him. He regularly tells us when he needs more room or when he is not ready to end his play at home as well . We feel comfortable sharing feedback and finding common ground in our communication with the staff and appreciate the evident love and joy they have for our kid and all kids in the program. They make a point of allowing time to chat about his day at pickup which is rare in most settings where the evening pickup rush can be hard to even say a quick greeting. They recognize how important the line of communication is w parents and always have examples of what he did at school. Lastly, I would say they will meet you where your child is in their development and support you with your parenting decisions whether with regards to potty training, food, or sleep. This level of partnership is unmatched and only possible because they are in tune w our child and with the range of where kids are on the journey. We love sending him to Little Tree. It's safe, loving, enriching, and incredible. As you consider where you'd like to send your child, we highly recommend this neighborhood school. The cost is absolutely reasonable and you don't have to do an hour of commuting just to find the elusive perfect place. It's where it should be: down the street within walking distance of home.

I had two children attend GPM over the past two years, and while I am grateful for the education…read moreLisa and Minyi were able to provide, working with the administration of this school was a singularly frustrating experience, which ultimately led us to withdraw our daughter from the school after having put down a deposit for the upcoming school year. The school administration, led by Rosemary, consistently under-communicated and miscommunicated with parents in the downstairs classroom, leading to frequent confusion, surprise, and frustration, to the point where the parents of the downstairs classroom felt like second class citizens at this school. The final incident that prompted our withdrawal occurred when it was discovered by a parent in late May 2025 (less than two months before the end of the school year) that Lisa would be removed as the teacher of our children's classroom, to be replaced by Rosemary herself. I say "discovered" because this plan had apparently been in the works for some time, and based on Rosemary's subsequent reaction to the leak of this information, it was clear she would have preferred to not to tell the affected families until much later. The firestorm this caused prompted Rosemary to schedule a meeting with the parents whose children this change directly impacted, ostensibly in order to hear our concerns. To call what we experienced at that meeting disrespectful would be an understatement. We felt gaslighted, our concerns were belittled, and we were subjected to meandering, confusing, and deceptive answers to our questions. When we specifically asked why Lisa was being removed as the teacher, we were given a long circuitous explanation that started with budget cuts, and ultimately ended with philosophical differences in Rosemary and Lisa's teaching styles. Specifically, Rosemary felt that Lisa was over-emphasizing math and reading, while Rosemary herself wanted to emphasize "meditation" and "exploring spirituality". I believe the phrase Rosemary used was, "All [Lisa] wants to teach is math and reading". I responded to this answer by telling Rosemary that this was precisely the reason why my wife and I chose this school over others: I distinctly recall Lisa explaining at the open house we attended two years ago about how much the kids she taught were instilled with a love for math and reading. Of course, not every parent has to agree that math and reading is a better emphasis than meditation and spirituality. That's for every parent to decide for their children. But the key point I wanted to emphasize was that it was *our* choice as parents to decide what was right for our kids, not Rosemary's. When Rosemary began the parent meeting, she expressed no empathy towards what we as parents were worried about; the only thing she was upset about was the fact that this information was leaked at all. She would have preferred that we did not find out at all until it was too late. Preschools fill up quickly. This incident kicked off a mad scramble for many families, including ours, to find alternate preschools for our children. The parent meeting soon devolved into Rosemary questioning one parent's qualifications to judge their child's education, and then ultimately asking why it even mattered who the teacher was. Ultimately, the problem was not even that Lisa was removed as teacher (though we obviously wanted her to stay); it was the fact that there was zero transparency in any of this. Rosemary seemed intent on letting the clock run out and not announcing this until right before the start of the new school year. Nearly all of the parents who attended that meeting ended up withdrawing their children as a result. While this was the most egregious incident we experienced at this school, this was just the last in a series of other things, some big, some small, that we experienced during just this past school year, including: * The abrupt announcement of a nearly $400 per month school lunch program exactly one week before the school year began that was presented as mandatory. This amounted to an over 15% increase in tuition. This was reduced in price and made optional only after parent feedback. * Similarly, the other team in the downstairs classroom was transferred to an administrative role right before the start of the school year. This was announced 4 days before the start of the school year. * The school misaligned their spring break with that of SFUSD, which resulted in significant scheduling conflicts for several families. * Emails from the administration frequently went out with mistaken dates and locations. * Emails to the administration frequently went unanswered. If you've made it this far, my warning for any parents considering this school for their children is that Rosemary, in my experience, was a person we could not trust to give us timely, accurate, and ultimately truthful information.

If you are looking for a school that is inclusive, look elsewhere. Don't waste your time. We did an…read moreinterview and I mentioned there is some neurodiversity in our family. We were not called back. I don't think it's a coincidence. I'm so glad I mentioned it even though my child is not neurodivergent. Whew!

We are extremely happy with our experience at Building Kidz on Clement, all the teachers have been…read morewonderful to our son and they do a lot of great work building community amongst the parents as well. The center itself is clean, all progress and milestones are clearly reported and communicated to the parents. No complaints, we love them!

Building Kidz been a wonderful fit for our family. The teachers are warm, attentive, and truly care…read moreabout the kids, and communication with us as parents has always been thoughtful and supportive. We've seen so much growth in our son since starting here, and he's excited to go to school and share what he's learning each day. This is truly such a positive, nurturing environment, and we'd happily recommend this preschool to other families.

My son started at Tinker when he was about 1.5 years old. He is now almost 5 and will start TK in…read morethe fall. I do not have enough wonderful things to say about Tinker. They are not just a preschool but a genuine community with deep roots to the local neighborhood. The teachers and leadership stay up to date on evolving philosophies around early childhood development, with a strong focus on raising happy, confident, and emotionally well-adjusted children. There's a deep respect for each child as an individual, along with an emphasis on social-emotional growth, independence, and curiosity. We feel incredibly grateful to have been part of this community and for my son to have this enriching early childhood experience.

Tinker Preschool has been a wonderful experience for our family. The teachers are exceptional:…read morewarm, caring, empathetic, and truly invested in each child. We also love how much time the kids spend outdoors. The focus on park time, exploration, and nature-based play is such a special part of the program. Tinker strikes a great balance between child-led exploration and structured learning, which has helped our daughter grow with both confidence and curiosity. The school also has a strong sense of community, with thoughtful parent involvement and a very supportive environment for families. Miranda and the Tinker team have been incredibly helpful throughout, especially during the stressful kindergarten application process. We're so grateful to be part of the Tinker community and would highly recommend it.

We had an amazing experience with our 2 year old. Everyday she has new activities that we could…read morenotice helped with her development, they even bake and plant. Also all the teachers are very kind and especially Sandy who gave us all the support with her adaptation from the start. I highly recommend!

We visited Growing Stem academy when they held the open house a few months ago, and it was amazing…read more Inside the school was new and clean, and there's plenty of space, books and toy. Ms. Sandy and her staff were very welcoming and our kid had a great time there! We are planning to enroll in the winter.

My son has been going to this daycare since 8 months and he is now 2 years old. In the beginning I…read morewas really worried about leaving him outside of family members but now that he has been there for over 1 year. I see him getting really excited about going to school and see his daycare friends. He is learning colors, alphabets and number and learning to interact and be helpful with toward other kids. I love the teachers there. Joann and Selena treats the kids like family. She makes sure to give each kids a gift for Christmas , celebrate Chinese new year, Halloween and all of the holidays. The teacher even showed up to my son's birthday party at the park and got him a gift along with food. This is really beyond the call of duty as a teacher and really like treating us like family. I wholeheartedly recommend Joann's daycare and is super happy that my son is coming here. He is learning so much!

My family and I love Flower Bud SO much. I would, without hesitation, urge any parent seeking…read morechildcare to send their children to Ms. Joanne. My daughter started attending Flower Bud at just 4 months. Ms. Joanne made sure our child was comfortable, warm, well-fed, and constantly learning new skills. We had great communication and I always felt that the staff truly cared. They even helped my child along her complicated mobility journey without issue or complaint. Now my kid is fully walking with such confidence. When my daughter woke up this morning, the first thing she said was her classmates names. This is a beautiful community organized around nurturing children. Their experience shows in their level of care. As a plus, they also provide simple, healthy meals that our daughter loves. Also, the facility is very convenient to BART and many bus lines. We commute from the Excelsior on the 29 without issue. We are so grateful to Ms. Joanne and all the other teachers at Flower Bud for taking such excellent care of our child.

We have absolutely loved our experience with the teachers and administration during our child's…read morelast year at Alpha kids Junipera Serra. I remember our child's first week, he was a bit scared but Ms. Susan took him under her wing and he was having fun in no time.  The teacher (Ms. Rebeca) is fabulous! She has fun crafts and songs and every day of school he comes home happy. We've seen our little one grow socially and academically due to the great instruction and environment they have created.  We would be happy to recommend Alpha kids to other parents.

I've been around Alpha Kids for almost 8 years and have watched both my nephew and niece graduate…read morefrom here. I was so satisfied on how they had grown and thrived at Alpha Kids that I decided to send my own child here. My son, who was 2 when he started, didn't really talk, only simple grunting, as expected for a two year old, but he has completely done a 180 and is now able to express in sentences what he wants after less than a year at this institution. He has grown both socially and academically in such a short amount of time. The teachers are so attentive to the children that I cannot thank them enough for what they do. My child loves coming everyday and never wants to go home. The community that Alpha Kids have built is undeniably strong and the love that the teachers have for the kids is amazing and cannot be more genuine. Every time I pick up my child, I would always get an update on how he was for the day. If I could give them more than 5 stars I would. Thank you Alpha Kids administration and teachers!