My kids have been at Merryhill Elementary for 5 years, and it has been great. We've watched our kids grow up in this school. The teachers and staff have been great, and everyone is very approachable and happy to help. I believe attitude comes from the top, and Mrs. Quinn, the principal, has been so awesome and knows all the kids names, and not just the trouble makers. read more

My son stayed at Merryhill for a few years. He stayed that long for his friends. However, for me, I personally was not a big fan of the teachers. This school mainly runs on favoritism. The teacher very clearly favors one student over another. On the flip side, if the teacher does not like a student, the teacher also will not hesitate to made that very clear to everybody including the kids, in many areas, without considering how terrible for the poor kids to bear. For example, the class you will be assigned to at the beginning of each academic year, is determined how much you are favored. Good students are often assigned to good class, bad students are assigned to bad class. We believe our son is not Ms Quinn's favorite, or Ms Quinn has certain bias against us, so we quickly ran away. I do not recommend Merryhill to anybody! read more

Great place for your toddlers to transition to school! The teachers are amazing and they really care of their students. I highly recommend them to parents out there who are looking for a safe learning environment for the little ones. read more

Merryhill Preschool, Elementary & Middle School - Pumpkin Patch Field Trip! - Preschools Near Me - Milpitas, California

Hi i am a 9th grade student that was at merryhill.I do not reccomend this school at all.The teachers here are good they are nice and calm and can be funny. But the curriclum your children will have to face will be terrible hard and they will give loads of homework.Miss Quin is the principal and she is the strictest out of all of them. This schoool will give detention for anything and everything i do not reccamond only if u want your child to be very anti-social and not active anymore read more

Horrid and torturous school. Teachers are strict except for a few and unfair grading system. Runs on favoritism and can be sexist sometimes.

Very Good School. Balanced school in academics and extra curriculum activities. My daughter graduated from this school and now my son is also going into same school. All the teachers there are very knowledgeable. Mr. Batangan and Mr. Manowski are the very helpful and supportive teachers. Very happy with the school. read more

One of the best schools in Milpitas. My daughter enjoys to the fullest. Great teachers and leaders ,helpful and ever smiling front desk. They know how to make kids comfortable and easy method of teaching. Even summer programs are worth. Keep up the good work. read more

We love Milpitas Merryhill very much! My son transferred here in 2nd grade; Ms. Joanna is fantastic! My son has made significant progress compared to his previous school. The principal and teachers are very friendly, and the children are very happy in the after-school program. The learning atmosphere of the school is good, and it is a private school with high-cost performance, so we decided to send our younger son here as well. read more

Merryhill Milpitas has a good balance of academic and extra-curricular activities. My son started there from Kindergarten and currently in 2nd grade. He progressed really well and teachers are wonderful. Specially his current teacher Ms. Joanna Wu is excellent. She is prompt, spends lot of effort in properly grading student's assignments and providing great feedback. We greatly appreciate her efforts in ensuring all-round development of her students. It's because of teachers like her, that the school is doing really well in developing kids. read more

I have bad experience with this school. It was one of the bests before the Stratford in Milpitas came up. After that, they became highly competitive and started pressurizing students. Teachers are also overwhelmed and don't have time to help the kids. Take a look at the number of teachers who have left the school in the past 5 years. Ms. A is useless and doesn't know how to handle bullies. My child was kicked on the chest by one of the bullies in the class, but Ms. A took no action against it even after multiple complaints. read more

Great school - my boys have been going there for a few years and continue to learn and be challenged. The school also has zero tolerance for bullying which helps. Teachers are professional, friendly, and quite involved. Would be nice if they can expand the facilities and extend the education until 12th grade. read more

My daughter went to 2nd Grade in this school and it worked very well for us. There is enough academic load to push the students, but not stressing out the kids. I think this is very key. Most Bay area parents look for a school that has a good academic curriculum for their kids because most come from very educated backgrounds. At the same time they dont want to overload their kids with school work so much that they dont have time for extra curricular activities and for just regular kid fun. We moved our daughter from a school that had high academic load and we were happy we made that decision. One may argue that we can get an environment like this in public schools. It may be true for some public schools, but not all public schools have the academic rigor that typical bay area parents look for. The school teachers and management are very friendly and approachable. read more

Ms. Quinn is values-driven, role models mental fortitude to embrace uncertainty and patience. Our children are thriving under the leadership of the room teachers who are intentional, conscious, planned, proactive, organized and reflective. Not only does this school has a challenging curriculum but also provides invaluable character education for which we are so grateful. read more

This review is for the PreSchool. Overall with the new administration and changes, my husband and I really like this Preschool. It's Top-Notch! They have 4 areas depending on the age of your child: Beginners; (where my son was placed 3 yrs ago) ages 18mo to 3yrs (includes potty training among a lot of other things) Intermediate; 3 to 4 yrs and Pre-K2; 4 to 5.5/6yrs. All rooms/areas include snack, playtime outside (supervised), circle time with songs and lots of playful and academically stimulating objects all over. Here's the things I like and things that can be improved upon: PROS: 1. Structured Curriculum/Academics; Fantastic! however, it's a bit too "Tiger-Mom" for me but I've stated why in the "Cons" portion. "It's a love/hate thang" 2. Principal and Administrator; Glenda and Rosa. They are very approachable, listen to any/every concern, address the issue and strive to help answer, solve/resolve your question/concern. They've done a great job updating/revamping the program academically, visually, and with the activity area's for the children. 3. Love their Food/NO NUT/Allergy POLICY. They are really on top of this and take it seriously. Whether your child has a food allergy is a vegetarian or vegan, soy only, or omnivore, they've got it written down and triple check at all meals (yes including snack time). 4. Constructive feedback; I wish they had the Parent/Teacher Conference on a quarterly basis. They have a fairly detailed report when they sit down with you, and the Teacher's and assistants will let you know about any behavioral issues on a day-by-day basis. 5. Play Centers; they have dress-up/drama, construction, reading, and science. The children earn their way into their favorite indoor activity by finishing their "in school" written lesson/s. 6.Teachers & Assistants; must have the patience of JOB! (jobe) They can be a bit overwhelmed it seems, yet they do a really good job. 7. On-Site Activities; they have a Petting Zoo day, Bird Show, Reptile Show, lot's of really fun and cool guest's like the Fire Dept., or Police Dept. The children really *love* the activities. CONS: 1. No "High-Tech" Security: (For the price of tuition there should be) This being a part of Silicon Valley you'd think you'd be able to log-in via a website, and peek in on your little darling at anytime during school hours. But nope, unfortunately not at this time. 2. Uniforms: Mandatory for the PreK2 classes. I'm told it's to acclimate the children to get them ready for uniforms when going to Kindergarten and to give them a sense of a "team". However, you are "REQUIRED" to buy from the merchant who they choose. I bought 6 shirts (short & long sleeve) and all have nearly lost the hem thread around the bottom and arms of the shirts. They are not cheap in price, but in quality. 3. Tiger-Mom Academics: This is a Pro as well as well as a Con and again I can ague it both ways. While my husband and I have high regard for education, the amount of homework (that's right I said hmwk, for the Pre-K2 classes only) is a bit much. The children are only 4-5 and have 2 full pgs of "hmwk" daily. (though my son attends 3 days a wk) They have eased up a bit, but also require a few "Community Projects" that I believe the children do in 1st or 2nd grade. It can put more stress and pressure on the child and the parent to make the deadline (usually 1.5 /2 wks given) which isn't much time. 4. Meals: With new administration in come the changes, to which most I really like and appreciate. However, *NOT* in this case. It seems the quality went down, and for the upcoming year (2012/2013) they will now charge double for the hot meal program. I'll be packing my boy's lunch. However I digress, my son who is about to graduate Pre-K2 in June is learning a LOT. He's already a head of some in Kindergarten, and way a head of those kids who (unfortunately) are not. read more

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Our 5 year old son joined summer camp here this summer. I do not recommend coming here for summer camp. One day, we ordered lunch for our son in the morning. The order was late so it didn't go through. The school did not notice us. They did not provide anything for our son either. So, our son did not get to eat anything entire day... What is wrong with the teachers. Did they pay any attention to students?!!! I wish there is a 0 star! read more

COVID update: 2020/2021 has been an extreme outlier experience for everyone, and we are thankful that our kid was at Merryhill during these unprecedented times. Even during the initial months of lockdown during March- May 2020, Merryhill made every effort to keep things chugging along, and though there were many challenges and frustrations, they rapidly learnt from it and made the next school year's experience more smooth. My heartfelt thanks to the teaching and office staff at Merryhill for persevering through the transition to online/hybrid teaching models, and for continuing to maintain positive vibes and optimism, which greatly influenced the kids' overall well-being over the last 15 months. My daughter has been going to Merryhill since Junior K (2015) and we are very happy with the school. The teachers we have had so far are excellent, and even the office staff are great. My daughter has a very energetic outgoing personality and this school with its culture of all-round development is a perfect fit for her. She loves going to school everyday ! Their focus on academics is pretty competitive, and at the same time they also have numerous extra-curricular opportunities for kids to pursue other interests. The communication from class teachers is organized, frequent and efficient. The school building and the grounds around it are pretty good, but as other reviewers pointed out, parking can be a challenge. We have made peace with that fact now and just plan ahead of time (especially during school events). I highly recommend this school to anyone looking for a positive, nurturing and holistic experience. read more

So glad that I found this school for my kids. Some of the teachers are simply fabulous ... Ms Kanchan, Ms Sama, Ms Bui. The principal is very responsive and the school is very helpful and accommodating . They have field trips and lot of other activities. It is also not as expensive as some other private schools. Glad we found this and our kids doing well. read more

My daughter has started the beginner's program two weeks back and I love the school. Especially Miss Zoila is so amazing. She truly loves the children in the class and gives each of them personal attention. They have excellent meal programs, outside play structures and lot of variety in the activities to simulate the kids each day. The principal Miss Glenda also pays very close attention to keep the school up to the mark. I totally recommend it. read more

Both my kids go to thIs school. The teacher are great here. Not just focussed on academics but on mindfulness, personality and overall development of the child read more

My daughter joined Merryhill's pre-K class last year. We have nothing but good things to stay about this school and its staff. She felt at home from the first day at school and looks forward to going to school everyday. The teachers here are super friendly and know each kid's strengths and weaknesses well. They give feedback to the parents from time to time and during parent teacher conferences. Their education system is designed to develop "well rounded" personality in kids. read more

Notice how most of the 5 star reviews are from parents, not students. As a former student, my parents and family were constantly lied to throughout my whole experience at this school. Not only are the teachers toxic, but the students are too. And teachers don't do anything about it. Their "zero tolerance for bullying" is all talk. When it comes down to it, they don't care at all about the students. Like some people there have said, Ms. Quinn and most of the other teachers don't care about the kids, only the money. For example, on an 8TH GRADE field trip, a group of kids threw money at my and my friends and ran away. Later that day, I was accused of stealing, bullying, and unkind for not chasing the money that blew away and finding the person to give it back. Going back to school after this incident was absolute hell. The teachers and students were mean, the rest of my time there (luckily at the time there was only a couple weeks left of school) and I was called poor, a thief, and other cruel names. There are so many other incidents that happened there, so many that I was in the office for something every single day. When I came home every night crying, my dad talked to the principal the next day, and she lied straight to my dads face and told him that everything was okay, and that I stole from a student and they were handling it. This turned my whole family against me, and I had no one on my side. This was a constant thing for me; I unfortunately went to merryhill from kindergarten-8th grade. If you don't want your kid to struggle academically, mentally, emotionally, and physically, DO NOT send your kids here. Trust me it is not worth the money. read more

To Ben K.: "The child that wondered away from class was missing for only 5 minutes before they starting searching the school." "starting to search"? read the disclosure they provided to parents (by law) how long did it take them to actually locate the kid in parking lot? maybe they have improved security since that incident. but still, there is no onsite security patrol like other schools i mentioned. "What is the big deal about having a piano in every classroom.". Let me tell you what's the big deal: the piano is not to be played by preschool kids, but for professional music teachers who come in twice a week to teach kids songs. At Merryhill, I saw teachers were just humming some tunes they felt like - kind of funny in comparison. One thing you are right about is that some teachers do look too serious. Also I want to make it clear that my negtive reivew does not mean to trash them, but to encourage them to improve, and to get parents informed about other schools out there might be doing better jobs in some areas. read more

Great school with great teachers. The school teaches "7Habits for successful people" at a very young age, and I love that. My son used to be at Stanford earlier, and I find this school to be more all rounded. It focuses more on verbal skills. Teachers are great and nurturing. This is my second year at the school. Expectation from parents is not much which is great for working parents. Principal is awesome. read more

Although I find the curriculum very good, the school offers little to no help if your child struggles in a subject, the only way they will help is if you pay for it as if you're not already paying enough for your child to attend read more

As many parents have seen, bullying is common in schools. But this school is truely bully-free. I beleive this school is a great place for kids to learn and grow. The principle and teachers at this school are very nice and polite. The school also has designed good programs for students like Spanish. Dance, Music, Art, and Technology. My kid enjoys being at this school. read more

Unfortunately I had a BAD experience with the MILPITAS MERRYHILL Preschool (Yosemite Dr). After researching extensively a preschool for my 3 year old daughter I found Merryhill. Their approach and curriculum on paper and the website looks and sounds wonderful. However "in vivo" it is all very different. The teachers and staff are not well prepared and skillful; not consistent; not connected to the children in a "preschool level"; regarding daily activities, teachers and assistants just follow a very systematic theoretical book lesson without complete knowledge and not prepared(put a piece of paper with bunch of letters in front of big number of kids and tell them to copy those...no interaction or detailed directions/lesson....too many kids and too much going on at the same time). Anyway, you may have gotten the idea...! My daughter cried every day especially because she had to nap/rest on the dark for almost 2 hours against her will. I understand and accept 'quiet/down time' and I think it is essential and very important. However, they cannot make a 'must do' to children that don't nap anymore...all children with no exception needed to be on their 'beds' during nap hourS even if they don't nap anymore..... reading on the dark is not pleasant or 'inviting'....this is unacceptable to me and too convenient for all the staff to take a huge break and reduce time to take charge and really interact and teach the kids. For a class that size and a probable exhausted teacher, they need more rotation on "willing and sympathetic" staff. I will never go back and I am very happy we are out of there and really happy and satisfied at our new preschool. read more

What a disappointment. My son attended the Merryhill at Corning and although I had my issues the last few months he was there, I have to say that the staff was very nice and loving towards the children. I met with Ms. Quinn (the principal at this Merryhill) for the school tour and I was very excited to have my son transfer this summer. Teachers have NO LOVE for your children here. I can't speak for all the teachers but the fact that you can be walking down the hall and get no hello's or smiles from anyone here is pretty sad. On the Second day of SUMMER school Ms. Manowski was complaining that my son didn't sit still and that they had to keep him in their lap the whole time. Hmmm.... My son had never had any night terrors and after his third day at Merryhill he woke up crying and drenched in sweat, asking me not to take him back to school. Fourth day of Summer school and you know what Ms. Manowski tells my son after calling roll and IN FRONT OF ME, "David you make it hard for me when you don't say here!" Give me a freaking break! If she talks to him that way in front of me, what can I expect when I'm not there. Needless to say I withdrew my son from the school, wrote a lengthy e-mail to the principal and you know what she said? "She is a very experienced teacher and truly passionate in working with Kindergarten students." Yeah right. She ended her e-mail with "I wish you the best in finding the right school for David" Well guess what Ms. Quinn I did find the perfect school. My son attends Gateway Preschool Academy in San Jose and absolutely loves it. The teachers are loving and genuinely interested in the growth and development of my son, through positive reinforcement and without the yelling or pent- up frustrations from teachers like Ms. Manowski. As the saying goes, everything happens for a reason! read more

The school is OK academically and the teachers are friendly and excited about teaching. If you have a special need for the handicapped parking, I suggest you reconsider. Many inconsiderate, healthy, able-bodied parents use the handicapped parking because they're just too lazy to walk an extra 20 yards. So far, although I've complained, I haven't see the school address it. During school performances, parents totally fill the fire zone making it a huge liability if there really was an emergency and the fire department needed to get in. They wouldn't be able to. read more

Very good communication system with teachers and principal. Lot of activities at school. Even I go pick up my girl late as 5:45 pm, they still on activities with the teachers. Love that!!! read more

I wish I could put NO STARS! The administration at the Merryhill Milpitas school told us that they were even more advanced and a better school than the Merryhill Stockton. WRONG! ABSOLUTELY WRONG! My son learned the SAME EXACT concepts from MATH to READING including SPANISH!!! WTH!!!! My son spent a whole year not learning anything new as a first grader. WHAT A WASTE OF MONEY especially since they cost even more than the Stockton school. You would think you get more for your money (quality or quantity) and you get NEITHER! I spend more money at this school to teach my son nothing new, and to top it off their gap coverage during the school year and school breaks/vacation are EXTREMELY LIMITED in comparison that it is just NOT WORTH to send your child to this school. The teacher to student ratio is also very deceiving. There are 23 students, a teacher's aide and a teacher in my son's first grade class so you would think the ratio is okay. WRONG again! The teacher's aide is more like a babysitter. My son did not receive the same individual attention he received from the Stockton school. His kindergarden class at Stockton had a maximum of 11 students. VERY DISAPPOINTING Merryhill Milipitas! I pay much more tuition for NOTHING, and all the Google employees or what ever other tech companies there are in the area have a tuition discount which they do NOT need. Maybe because they donated computers or whatever? My son had more computer "time" at Stockton than at Milpitas. ABSOLUTELY DO NOT RECOMMEND THIS SCHOOL! STAY FAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAR AWAY! His teacher cannot even correct my son's english correctly. She marks my son's mistakes when they were actually correct and her emails have so much grammatical errors... no wonder she's from a different country! WTH is she doing teaching first graders english when she doesn't even know the correct grammer of this country? ... In conclusion... Merryhill STOCKTON IS AWESOME!... I would love to move back and have my son attend again Stockton school again. read more

I am appalled by Anon's comment towards Ms. Quinn Letan. This is disturbing for other parents. Sorry to say but your attack is wrong. This lady is genuine, caring and has vested her time and energy in the kids. You shock me by saying she is more about the money. I urge you to re think your comment it is a false accusation towards a respectable person. As a parent I vouch for her integrity and fairness. Even if she was after my money I would gladly give it to her because I have invested my kids future in her. As long as she runs the school I have full satisfaction. I can give my money to any school but it's because of Ms. Quinn i chose to send my kids to Merryhill. She is a mother herself and her first and most important role is to protect the kids. The comment made by Aron is bull shit and looks like a personal attack. Ms. Quinn you are doing a fine job and please don't let people like this affect your job. Your staff respects you and your work ethics. She deserves that honor of being the Principal of the Year.. There is no sexual assault in this school and they enforce zero tolerance for bullying. She takes these things very seriously and therefore it is a shame that someone would accuse her of such a thing. To NLCI management you have a smart, humble woman handling this tough job. read more

Jay E. First I would like to correct you on the false information you are putting out there about the school. The child that wondered away from class was missing for only 5 minutes before they starting searching the school. I have seen the added security measures that they have put in immediately after. They have alarms on all doors and have put a secure wooden gate with child lock in the main entry to add to the security. I have looked at other schools like you have said and I do not like their way of teaching. I am the type of parent to have my priority on academics and structure, but having fun at the same time. I have to disagree with what you have said about the school. Maybe you did not like the teacher. I have seen some serious teachers and felt at first that they were not happy, but I spend lots of time in the school just observing my sons classroom and the classrooms around it. I have found out that those teachers that looked serious to me at first when I saw them interact with the children they really do love what they are doing and they are good teachers. I don't think you spent enough time at the school to really see what they are all about. You definitely have the right to your opinion. Why has Merryhill school get so many awards and why are they full of children when other schools around us are not? Makes you believe they are doing many things better then some of the other schools in the area. One more things. What is the big deal about having a piano in every classroom. These are 2-5 yr old children. What are they going to do with a piano? Do these other schools have computers in every classroom that the children can learn to use in this technology leading time. Do the children have instruments that are appropriate to their age level? I know that Merryhill does :) read more