Super attentive staff, my kids learned a lot and very good activities too. They were not English speakers and they helped a lot

Our daughter has attended Pacific Heights Prep for 2.5 years, and has grown so much working with Emily and her team! The program is focused on helping kids develop socially and collaboratively, and I've seen our daughter build friendships, learn from the older children, and learn to show so much patience and care for her "younger friends" at school. PHP has also been a great community for us as parents - we've gotten to know a number of neighborhood families for park dates and get togethers. Emily helps build connection through occasional weekend park gatherings for spring and fall for families to connect. It's been a great environment for both our daughter and for us - and we're planning to send our son there too as soon as he is old enough! read more

We absolutely loved our time at PHP. Our daughter started when she was 2 and attended for a year before we moved, and it truly felt like a second home for her. Miss Emily runs such a warm, welcoming, and well-organized program. Miss Rachel and Miss Serene are incredible teachers -- patient, nurturing, and genuinely invested in the kids' growth and happiness. Our daughter blossomed during her time there: she built strong routines, learned new skills, and always came home talking excitedly about her day. The environment is clean, cheerful, and thoughtfully structured, with a perfect balance of play and learning. We're so grateful to the whole team for the care and love they showed our daughter. We'd recommend Miss Emily's to any family looking for a safe, kind, and enriching place for their little one! ***** read more

Our son attended PHP starting at 18 months, and our experience with Emily and the entire staff was simply wonderful. The level of care and attention they provide to the children is truly exceptional. The educators, led by Emily, are highly attentive and create a perfect balance between play and structured activities. The meals are thoughtfully planned and well balanced, which we greatly appreciated, especially since our son had food restrictions. Emily and the team were always mindful and supportive in this regard. Our son loved going to daycare every single day and always went with a smile. Emily played a huge role in his development, from helping us through potty training to offering support whenever we needed guidance as parents. We also appreciated the variety of indoor and outdoor spaces. The outdoor area, in particular, is a wonderful environment for the children, whether for water play or simply enjoying time outside. We are very grateful to Emily and the PHP team for creating such a nurturing, supportive, and joyful environment. We could not have asked for a better place for our son's early years. read more

My daughter attended PHP starting at around 18 months and we loved it. This is a warm, supportive and nurturing place for tots to learn and grow into bright, kind kids. Emily's program is very thoughtful, incorporating lots of play -- art, music, reading, etc. -- with a routine that left our daughter confident, considerate, curious and very well-prepared for school. There is frequent communication (through a convenient app, with lots of photos which I loved) and support, especially for us first-time parents navigating through her toddler phases and figuring it all out. The space is beautiful and the fact they provide food (breakfast, lunch and snacks, all fresh and healthy) is HUGE for busy working parents. We really can't recommend PHP enough! Thank you, Emily! read more

We are so grateful to have met Emily. She has been so thoughtful and caring since our son started attending last summer. Everything is well planned, which shows her many years of experience. We appreciated the frequent communication, which made the transition into PHP very easy. We have a happier little toddler from the time that he has spent at PHP. The space itself is great, with a large main bright room with many activities, and a fun outdoor space in the back. Emily is very selective with her staff, and always kept us up to date with. You could see everyone's positivity and enthusiasm. It was priceless having piece of mind knowing PHP is a happy, nurturing place where all the kids are welcomed. We would very much recommend, thank you Emily read more

We couldn't say nicer things or be more happy with Pacific Heights Prep. Our daughter had a fantastic time - learning and having fun, simultaneously. Emily runs such an amazing program and we both feel so grateful to have found her. She has great experience looking after children - babies ,toddlers, pre-k and older and it shows. Emily is also very selective on finding the right staff who were equally amazing. Everything is of the highest standard from lessons and activities to toys and materials. Even the food they provide the children over the course of the day is so well thought out. And everyone was so responsive and caring that we always felt that our daughter was in the best hands. We highly highly recommend Pacific Heights Prep and Emily. Indeed, we look forward to our second daughter joining next year - which is perhaps the greatest vote of confidence! Thank you, again read more

PHP is truly a special place and we would highly recommend this group to any parents that are looking for childcare. Our daughter started going to PHP at a year and a half and the staff did a great job helping her acclimate to her new routine. PHP is unique in that they create a very intimate environment that is fun, educational, and great for creating lasting memories. PHP helped shaped our daughter in a very positive way in a very important stage of her life and we are forever thankful for that. We truly felt like we were part of the PHP family and we really miss having our little girl attend this school. Something that PHP does really well is communicating with the parents. They have a great mobile app (Brightwheel) that helps parents stay informed on how they are doing throughout the day by sharing health updates, photos, funny moments, and developmental milestones. If there is any type of health issue or incident they will notify you immediately which is very much appreciated. You cannot go wrong with PHP! Matthew and Emily have an amazing team and we cannot say enough good things about them. We still continue to keep in touch and meet when we are in town. read more

We've had the pleasure of sending both of our little kids to PHP. Throughout COVID they were cautious which kept the kids exposure to getting sick to a minimum. Emily runs a sweet program that allows kids to split time indoors and outdoors throughout the day. The hours are great for working parents, 8-5:30 with breakfast, lunch and multiple snacks throughout the day provided. Her program has allowed us to trust our kids are in a safe environment everyday! We miss Emily, it's hard when the kids grow up and must move on. read more

Our daughter started going to Pacific Heights Prep (PHP) when she was 18 months old. It was her first time with anyone outside of family and away from mom and dad (pandemic baby). We cannot recommend PHP enough. Emily and Matthew were warm and welcoming from the first meeting to our last day there. There are a few things that set PHP above the rest. The first is that Emily really emphasizes the importance of being kind to each other and it really showed when my daughter started. Going in at 18 months our daughter was the youngest and she was not ready to be away from mom and dad. She cried through most of the day during her first few weeks there. Not only were the teachers so understanding and empathetic, the children also showed empathy. They followed Emily's (and the other teachers') lead and would ask how they too could help my daughter feel better. It was something I was definitely not expecting but was comforted when Emily told me about it. The communication from the staff to parents is very open and frequent. They use their app to communicate and send pictures. Emily teaches thematic lessons. Before she starts any theme, she communicates to the parents what theme they will be focusing on in the future months. Additionally, each and every day we were swarmed with pictures of our daughter during her time at school. This helped us create a link between home and school. I would sit with my daughter and talk to her about the theme of the month, projects she worked on, and friends at school, all while showing her pictures to recap her day. The student to teacher ratio is AMAZING. There were 12 students and 3 teachers. Additionally, the chef (Doug) would help out when he wasn't cooking bringing the ratio to 4:12. AND when we were lucky enough, Emily and Matthew's children would hang out and play with the children. You won't find this ratio anywhere else! Lastly, Mr. Doug, the chef. He cooks up the most amazing lunches! Everything is always freshly cooked. His meals aren't your usual kid-friendly meals that get boring. He creates dishes that I wish I could eat sometimes too! Our daughter was well fed at PHP. Emily is always observing and thinking of ways to teach based on the children's interests. For summer she based her themes on what everyone seemed interested in. Emily, along with the PHP team, figure out how to make learning meaningful. You can definitely tell that the PHP team genuinely love and care for each child under their care. It makes the world of a difference knowing that you're leaving your child with caring and loving people for 8 hours a day. They're the best ever! read more

I can't speak highly enough of Emily and her team at PHP! We enrolled our daughter just after her second birthday. She was nervous at first about a brand new place without mom and dad (and honestly so were we) but after a very short time, she starting coming home talking about how much fun she had at school and how she wanted to go back. Pickups got to be a pain because li'l lady didn't want to leave! Particular highlights: - PHP uses Brightwheel and posts lots of pics and updates throughout the day so we could see in near-real-time how things were going - Emily was very receptive and responsive whenever we had questions or requests, including regarding dietary restrictions - Nutritious food taken care of (which made our lives simpler) - Lots of art projects and mementos! - Fun outdoor time in the playground in the back The parents of the other children are so warm and friendly, which was a particular treat during the pandemic when we didn't really get to interact with anyone. We left PHP only because we moved out of SF. We'd highly recommend PHP to you and anyone else! THANK YOU PHP TEAM! read more

We can't say enough good things about PHP. Amazing daycare/preschool for early learning. We are so thankful and appreciative to Emily and her team. Our daughter was at PHP from 2 years old to just over 3 and we were all so happy with the care, learning and development that we saw within that time. Our daughter was always happy, loved her friends and her teachers and grew up and learned in Emily's safe and nurturing environment. We would still be there if we hadn't moved out of the city. Having looked at several other preschools, we realized just how lucky we were to find Emily and PHP. Their baby chef, Mr. Doug crafts homemade, warm, nutritious and delicious meals each day for the kids. Now going to a new preschool where I have to make the lunches, I have some big shoes to fill :). PHP follows a great schedule with lessons, art, free play and just enough structure to help the kids learn at a steady pace. Our daughter loved the curriculum and especially loved water play days in those warm Indian summer months in SF. She also learned how to use the potty! We, of course, trained her over a long weekend but Emily and her team supported massively during the school days as she continued to learn. Communication is great. You get photos through their app all day of the snacks lunches activities etc. which we loved to see during the week day. It also served as great dinner conversation to chat with our daughter about her day and what she did. We will always hold PHP near and dear to our hearts and if you are lucky enough to have the opportunity to join this school, there is no better, safer, enriching environment. Highly recommend read more

We were very fortunate to find PHP, and very lucky that our timing coincided with another family leaving which opened up two slots for our children to join. Emily and her staff are amazing. The curriculum for the children is perfect. Our children learned more than we expected, and more importantly learned who they should be, developed wonderful manners and taught tremendously helpful lessons in behavior. The meals are nutritious, diverse, and prepared in a way for kids to grow their palates. (thank you Mr. Doug!). The kids are also nourished mentally, physically, & spiritually through play, projects, & learning respect for each other and their surroundings. Emily started PHP because this is what she loves doing, and it shows in the service her kids and parents receive. I know picking a safe, happy, and caring place can be such a daunting task for parents, but PHP surpassed all my expectations as they will do for you as well. The kids and parents are another great aspect to PHP. The other kids in class became our kid's friends, and the other parents became our friends. The only bad part of our experience was having to leave PHP when our family relocated out of state. Both us and our kids greatly miss the teachers, friends, and most importantly the experiences we all had together. This was truly one of a kind and we are very grateful for our time there. read more

My wife and I were visiting SF for work and used the PHP drop in service. We loved it! Emily was incredibly responsive and helpful from the start of our enquiry and the daycare really lived up to our expectations. Everyone bent over backwards to make my son feel welcome. Special shout out to Kennedy for being super attentive to his needs and to Serena for teaching him the fist pump, he was beaming for days on that new skill!! Thank you so much Emily and team! read more

My kid has been going to Pacific Heights Prep for close to a year since he turned one. Emily and her team did an amazing job. My kid loves the school and everyone there. Their space is in a grand Victorian mansion. The main area for the kids is a huge living room with a high ceiling and great lighting. The school has a well-structured schedule but also personalized care for each individual kid that tailor to their needs. They also keep parents updated throughout the day using the Brightwheel app which captured so many great moments we, unfortunately, have to miss. I highly recommend Pacific Heights Prep to any parents without reservation. read more

Our son has been a student at Pacific Heights Prep for a little over two years now and our daughter has been going for about four months and we are so thankful to be able to take our kids there. Emily, her family and her team do an amazing job teaching and engaging with our kids and it is apparent from how significant our kids' development has been since their first day attending. Our kids love their school and are excited to go every morning. They have a full day of activities where the lessons are changing regularly and they also get fed delicious and nutritious home cooked meals and snacks throughout the day. We really like how the school is a small program so there is a good adult to kid ratio and it is reassuring that the school has a playground on site so the kids are not leaving the property to go play outside. It's a really great community where you get to know all the kids and their parents and we love that the school uses BrightWheel so we get updates, photos and videos of our kids throughout the day from Emily and her team. read more

We put our daughter into Pacific Heights Prep daycare when she was 2 years old and she was there for 1.5 years. We are so thankful for the experience we had there! She thrived at PHP and we got to see her growth and development excellerate by being around the PHP helpers and other children. We appreciated that it truly has a family feel. Matthew and Emily's children (elementary, HS, and college age) even help out regularly and my daughter absolutely LOVED them.  The space is bright and open with a lot of toys that are regularly switched out to keep the children excited about new things to play with. They have a great outdoor space with a lot of fun activities-including obstacle courses and water play when it's warm.  Emily is warm and loving and spends individual time with each child. She is so creative with the projects the kids work on and I have a wonderful photo album of pictures I took of the art and crafts that were sent home (It would take up a lot of space if I kept them all).  The food that is made for the children is healthy, varied, and made us wish we were attending to be fed by Mr. Doug as well. Our daughter is a pretty picky eater at home but we were always amazed by what she would eat there. The staff also took extra care to help our daughter fall asleep and she napped significantly better at daycare than she did at home.  Our number one favorite thing though was the use of the Brightwheel app. It was so nice to be able to check in at any time and see cute pictures of our daughter playing, eating, or napping (my favorite ones were the daily sleeping ones). To know the times of her naps, potty times and type (esp when potty training), and what she ate was also so helpful. It was reassuring to always be in the loop and to see her having so much fun (plus some of the pictures were definite keepers that we could save for our own albums).  One disappointing element was there was a lot of turnover with helpers (outside of the consistent 3 and their children). However, at the end of our time there, they did hire someone permanently who was really wonderful and we wished we could have had more time with her as well.  We definitely recommend PHP! We moved schools when we moved to a further out neighborhood but our daughter constantly talks about her friends and the helpers there. read more

My daughter went to PHP for couple of months before she turned 2 years old. And she loves go to school and meets with her little friends. Emily and her team are awesome. They have very structured teaching plan that can help individual kid to grow. I can tell my daughter improves a lot on speaking and also learn good behavior from school. PHP also has a decent size of backyard that can have kids play around and be safe no need to go outside. They are also using Brightwheel app that parents can catch all precious moments and know what's happening at school. The in-house chef is another big plus. They provide breakfast, lunch, and afternoon snack. Foods are healthy and delicious. My daughter really enjoys the meals. It is unfortunate that we need to leave PHP. But I truly recommend Pacific Height for all the parents. Your child will be for sure taken good care and learn a lot! read more

Years ago, Mrs. Emily was my fifth grade teacher. I remember her being strict but loving, teaching us students that she would give second chances, opportunities we wouldn't have as we get older. When she retired from teaching at that time, the school lost a huge asset. I was really blessed to have the opportunity to be in her last class. When we made mistakes in quizzes or tests, she wanted to encourage us to have the opportunity to correct our errors by giving partial credit back. She has an innate knack for knowing how to incentivize kids to do their best, to overcome failure, and to try again. This is a feature I find lacking in people nowadays. When kids do not achieve the top of grades, some train themselves to give up; Mrs. Emily taught kids to persevere, and that change is possible. I also remember how vigorous her lessons were; she had high expectations, that all students tried to meet. She was a very effective disciplinarian too, no one defied her in class. I've been a full grown adult for some time now, but Mrs. Emily is the only teacher I've experienced who has made concerted efforts to keep up with all her previous students. She has a huge, caring heart, and I can't imagine anyone better than her in shaping young minds. read more

We have found that Emily is an experienced and enthusiastic teacher who works hard to connect to children as individuals. She tailors her approach as needed so that each child can learn in their own way. The games, activities, and crafts are fun and provide lots of opportunities to learn. The school space is bright, clean, and safe. There are many cool and educational toys to explore. read more

Is there a 6 star rating option? Our experience with Emily and PHP was positive and memorable. We were lucky that a spot opened up for our son so we could enroll him there right before the age of 2. Emily was very thoughtful about the whole process ensuring that we were a good fit which we felt set our son up for success. He adjusted quickly and there were no tears at drop off. I should mention that the kids there are the sweetest. They were all so kind to the "newbie" and tried to involve him. He learnt a lot whilst he was there in his first three weeks, new songs, new words and even started bussing tables at home. He says his teachers names at home when he is with us, or when we go through his artwork from school - it's so heartwarming that he thinks of them. All his activities are updated diligently on the parent teacher app which enables us to also talk about or do the same things at home. The meals and snacks are well balanced and vary through the week. We appreciate that there's really a lot of work the teachers put into the children's development every day. Thank you PHP. read more

I have been overwhelmed by the personalized level of care and support Emily, Matthew and her team have provided to our two and half year old. Our daughter is thrilled to go to pre-school everyday at Pacific Heights Prep. The space is warm and welcoming and she has really thrived there. Emily and team have been incredible partners to us as well, advising on techniques to help when our daughter has acted out, but also celebrating and reinforcing positive behavior. What stands out to me most, and what distinguishes this special place from others, is the genuine love of learning that's instilled at a young age. For example, they focus on letter recognition early and lots of storytime to cultivate a passion for reading. Emily and Matthew have raised three bright wonderful children themselves and the team has treated my child as if she's their own. Pacific Heights Prep also utilizes the BrightWheel app so you can see all of the fun activities and creative projects they've participated in throughout the day. We literally receive 10 to 15 pictures a day, not including general updates around feedings/changings/naps etc. They also provide amazing, home-cooked nutritional meals and snacks. Overall, I'd give Pacific Heights Prep the highest rating possible given the great care, attention, activities, meals and love they provide to our daughter. read more

My son loves going to 'school' every day and has bonded well with the educators and children, he was immediately comfortable in the warm and inviting space that Emily and Matthew have created. The meals provided are creative and varied and the garden space is the perfect size for the children. Emily and her team are very calm and patient with the children and provide lots of wonderful feedback in person and through the Brightwheel app. We're so happy we found Pacific Heights Prep and would highly recommend it to any prospective parents. read more

Emily, Matthew and the team at Pacific Heights Prep are absolutely amazing. They are very experienced, warm and loving. They treat all the kids as if they were their own. Our daughter just started at the beginning of the year and took her less than a day to get acquainted to the environment. They work very closely with me to keep her feeding and nap routine and sends us regular updates through an app that I'm now addicted to! I love that they encourage her to learn and grow and help with all her milestones. We feel so fortunate that they opened in our neighborhood! read more

This review will not do Mrs. Emily justice. She was my former elementary school teacher, and despite my many years of education (obtaining a law degree), she stands out as one who genuinely cares for the well-being of her students. Her class was rigorous academically - across all subjects. More importantly, she taught and instilled in me values - integrity, to work hard and treat others with kindness. I have no doubt I will entrust Mrs. Emily one day when I have my own child. read more