I am surprised to see some of the negative reviews here. Albeit, I worked with Amanda Mallory in…read morethe late 90s, testing for learning disabilities, dyslexia, and whatever else was commonly tested then. I had no behavioral issues when I was a child, with the exception of a smart remark. I simply needed structure. The school I was attending at the time for dyslexic children coddled me, and I was not prepared for high school at the end of 8th grade. I should say, this was nearly 40 years ago, and I may have worked with some other employees, but I did meet Amanda Mallory directly. Two or three boarding schools in Carmel and the central coast were recommended to us initially. They were not a great fit, but we were patient and knew it was part of the process of finding a good environment for me. Eventually I decided on an all boys, junior prep school in New Hampshire that offered the structure and encouragement I needed to take the next step in life. The type of school I needed was present at several schools in New England, but not California. My parents were nervous to send me across the country, but once we visited, it was a no brainer. We never would have found the school if it were not for Amanda. I remember a few things vividly from my appointments and interviews with Amanda. The first, which was unintended, was hearing Amanda tell my parents I was a normal, nice kid. That was comforting to hear when you are in the middle of a growth spirt, with braces, acne, a cracking voice, and do not feel like any environment fits. The second thing I remember is that Amanda asked me, while I was by myself in the interview, what I was interested in. She made it clear this was my choice ultimately. I wasn't being sent away, and I had an incredible opportunity ahead of myself to study, play sports, and make great friends with a bunch of guys that would become life long friends. I wanted to share my success with Amanda. I would take many of the negative reviews here with a grain of salt. Not everyone is a success story and no two children have the exact same needs.

We used Karen Kindler as our educational consultant for my son. Karen helped us with boarding…read moreschools' application/admission process. She was highly recommended to us by some other family who had a pleasure working with her last year. Karen Kindler is a very kind, polite, and patient person. She is very professional and is a true expert in her field. Karen guided us through every step of the process including checking the necessary paperwork, calling the schools, and correcting our son's essays. She also talked to admission people and was constantly in contact with them via email or phone conversations. Thanks to Karen, our son got accepted into 4 very prestige boarding schools, the best in the country. We are very happy with Karen's services, and we highly recommend it. We can guarantee you won't be disappointed with her work. Anna, Boris, and Daniel (happy clients)

We are incredibly grateful to Grayson for helping my daughter achieve a perfect score on her first…read moretry in the ACT (Jul-2024) and also a perfect score in the PSAT NMSQT. My daughter was already scoring high but wanted to push for perfection. In just 7 sessions, Grayson taught her the techniques and strategies she needed to reach her goal. His personalized approach and focus on her specific needs made all the difference. Unlike big institutions that often feel impersonal, Grayson provided one-on-one attention and tailored guidance. We strongly recommend working with him if you're aiming for top scores. The results speak for themselves, and we couldn't be happier! Thank you, Grayson, for your expertise and dedication! --Saritha

I am so happy that we found Zenith Tutoring. Grayson and his team are fantastic - they have…read moreinspired my child by explaining specific techniques that have improved their score on the SAT. If you have a kid who did well on the SAT, but is trying to do even better, Zenith is a wonderful partner. Our child has taken weekly sessions online for a few months with Grayson and done a significant amount of work in preparation for each session. The online system they have is easy to use and helps the student understand the reason for the answers in case they get something wrong. The level of detail in the analysis is amazing. Grayson is an excellent teacher. He has been kind and extremely well-informed when working with our child and has made the work in-between sessions worthwhile because the scores keep going up. Who knows? Maybe the next stop will be 1600.

I have two kids at Russian Hill Academy - one is leaving for Kindergarten this fall 2026 (started…read moreat the tail-end of COVID) and the other just started last year in 2025. We had our son in the thick of COVID and were nervous about sending him to daycare. His interaction with people outside our home was limited, not to mention the fear of illness at the time. Jiali and her staff made sure we were totally comfortable with their practices, and they are super clean in general. It is a safe and clean space for kids to learn, explore, and remain healthy. When it came time to send our daughter to daycare, it was a no-brainer. We jumped at the available slot and she has been happy and thriving for the last 9 months. She is in her own class with kids in her age group and has made her own friends. The school does a good job of having the siblings find one another at select points in the day but she also has a strong independence which is important as we prepare for our son to leave RHA. If we could keep our son at RHA we 100% would but alas it is time for him to move on so we will hold onto the remaining time our daughter has there, dearly. The friends we've made will be with us for a lifetime, and we give so much credit to Jiali and her staff for all the heart (and sweat) they pour into creating a community for kids and parents alike.

We cannot say enough good things about Russian Hill Academy and the care we get with Jiali and her…read morestaff. Our daughter started at a year and a half and thrived around having children her age and older around. She always came home with new words and found her best friends at the daycare. She has since started kindergarten but misses the daycare and always wants to come in and give a hug to the teachers when we come to pick up my son. The children go to the playground, have a beautiful indoor area for play and learning. The food is home cooked by the staff (my children eat more vegetables there than I can introduce at home!). I love to see the combination of fun with education as well. Our son now attends and also started at the same age, he loves going in and is always excited to tell us about his day. The school is Mandarin immersion (we do not know/speak Mandarin at home) but both children love and speak the language well, always singing songs and teaching me words. My daughter has loved it so much that we continue to find opportunity to continue to learn Mandarin. They both are able to identify symbols and converse easily with the staff. The activities that are posted and shown to us through Brightwheel are always impressive with respect to the breadth of activities like learning about caterpillars and butterflies or doing motor coordination activities. The children are always enthusiastic about singing and dancing and my children's Mandarin proficiencies are demonstrated through the video as well. While we do not always get to communicate as thoroughly with some of the teachers, Jiali is always very responsive to questions and keeping us updated on our child's progress. We have not had issues despite not speaking Mandarin for our children and we have loved that another language is being developed with our children. The families in the community are also wonderful and we love attending the yearly event where the children learn dances and songs to present to the families. Jiali is second to none in expertise in care for children. I credit her for both of our children being potty trained at the daycare, and she had to use very different approaches for both of them which I know comes from her understanding there's different personalities and needs for children. She has the children's safety and growth both in mind. We moved away from the Russian Hill area but felt so strongly about our great care with Russian Hill Academy that we have continued to have our care with her despite moving further away.

This is a special toastmasters group. Meetings are structured, well run and, dare I say fun…read more Guests are welcomed and are always pleasantly surprised at the inclusive environment. The group is diverse with a mix of professions and backgrounds. There is a reason this group has been around since 1984... they create a positive environment for individuals to come in and develop themselves as a public speaker. I joined as they met in my office building, and ended up staying. I get a lot out of performing formal speeches. That said, I get as much from attending and getting the chance to participate during ad hoc speaking portions of the meeting, and by taking on functionary roles (observation reveals a lot!). Toastmasters is a great process, and this group is an exceptional group, as shown by the group and individual speaking awards it consistently wins. Highly recommend.

This club is impossible to get to. I drove through San Francisco traffic and desperately searched…read morefor parking only to arrive at building 1255 and find that it's locked. No one is there in the lobby to let me in. Finally someone comes out from the elevator, I go into the building. Then the elevator... I get on, press 3 to go to Constellation Brands and... Wait for it... Nothing. I guess you need a key card. I go out to the totally unattended lobby, see a door and figure maybe there are stairs. I go up a flight only to find out that the entrance to each floor is locked. I call the club phone for help and get no answer. If you are a private club you should register as one. I will not be returning because apparently I am not welcome. -signed a 3 year toastmaster that loves attending other clubs that are welcoming

The staff at Lindamoodbell on Union St. in San Francisco have provided amazing support to our…read morefamily over the past several years. Thanks to LMB's rigorous and free assessment, we were able to gain a deep understanding of our son's opportunities in reading. The way LMB teaches reading is scientifically proven to work (which is not true for all reading curriculum) and he made incredible progress. Despite spending 100s of hours at LMB, because the teachers genuinely care and have a fun approach to teaching, my son was engaged with the instruction. Thank you Paris, Karis, Gabriella and the rest of the LMB team!

Brining my son here for reading tutoring has literally been life changing. He is 7 and in second…read moregrade and we knew he was behind in reading. The Lindamood Bell assessment helped us to understand exactly where he was struggling and how big the gap was. We chose to put him through 200 hours of tutoring. Half way through, my son is reading!!! More importantly, he is loving it. They have given a huge boost to his self esteem. We are so thrilled we made the decision to send him here and can't recommend it enough to parents who have kids with reading challenges.

Came here for a team offsite for 20+ people. It was great to prep a multi course meal. Similar…read morefeedback to previous reviewers, the chefs didn't seem super friendly and happy to host us. With all the food cooking, the kitchen area got a bit smokey. I wish there was better ventilation. Overall solid 4 stars. We had crispy rice patties, veggie risotto, steak, and mini cupcakes. I would recommend for a team event. This was much better than the ramen making event with a different vendor we did as a team event last time.

To be honest, I expected a little better out of the full event…read more The Good: The recipes were easy and the food was good. There was enough space to go around and not be cramped (16 people on our team). They allow us to bring our own wine bottles. The Bad: The main chef was not very friendly. She was snappy, and sometimes upset when you ask her questions. She almost seemed like she did not want to talk to people or almost talking down to them. The other staff members were really nice. Out of 6+ ovens they had. Only 2 were working and NOT working properly. This is a cooking event space, and if there are no functional ovens, I think it defeats the purpose. In addition, most the knives were dull and barely cut well. You get to cook one of the 4 or 5 dishes. I would highly recommend you rotate the stations, and everyone learns a little more hands on. Way too much teaching compared to doing. Some might enjoy the simplicity, but for a high ticket price, I would expect more. I would say if they fixed the oven problem, and became a little more hospitable, then it would be an easy 5 star place.

As one of TestMagic's success stories, I can honestly say that this company was critical in helping…read moreme get into my dream school, UCLA. The boss of the company, Erin, cares about his students more than your average test prep tutor. He even cooks his students hot dogs if they are too hungry to focus. My high school GPA was not that high. It was a 3.5 weighted. However, after doing a lot of practice tests, my SAT score went from a 1300 to 2010. (This was back when it was out of 2400). Test Magic didn't look at my low GPA score and give up on me. Their excellent service in personal statements helped me to shine the best light on myself so that my application could be as strong as possible. I was so proud of the final essay that I sent a copy to all of my friends. Now I am an architect working on Google projects. There is no shame in getting extra help if it will lead you to a better future. Thank you TestMagic!

My daughter attended Erin's writing class for 3 years and really loved it. Her writing improved…read moresignificantly over the years and she enjoyed the time with her classmates. We both greatly appreciated Erin's flexibility moving to Zoom during the pandemic. Not only is Erin a great tutor with a steady offering of classes, he was a great advisor when it came time to assess high schools and go through the application process. Our daughter's middle school experience was much better after having connected with TestMagic and Erin. I high recommend his services.