I highly recommend Teresa Garza as an instructor. I am a Spanish teacher myself trained by her. She…read morecouched me using her methodology, and she is a true master; she has so many "flight hours" in the trenches. She really knows the field and you would greatly benefit from her expertise. The courses I took with her allowed me to further expand my previous knowledge having gained a Single Subject Credential in Spanish. I wanted to challenge myself, enrich my Spanish vocabulary and gain overall a better understanding for teaching Spanish as a second language . Teresa has been my saving grace on all my evaluations, both my principal and the school district. I am respected among my colleagues and I am viewed at work as a strong, professional teacher. When teachers at the Spanish department ask me, after seeing me study in the teacher's lounge sometimes, where I study at, I always say "Spanish 4 All". Teresa is also priceless as an editor. She corrected and embellished my book in such an elegant way. Just finding not only the right words and expressions, but the perfect ones.

Learning a foreign language is a strange project, particularly as an adult. It takes lots of time…read moreand effort and you need patience. So learning to somehow enjoy the ride is one of the most important tricks to learn. But how do you learn to enjoy the ride? For me, this is where Teresa shines. Teresa is not only interested in the Spanish language, but also in how students learn languages, any language, and how to move them forward and keep them interested. Indeed, I have made a lot progress with Teresa. Now if I have a thought I can make it come out in some kind of Spanish. When I get it wrong, a lot or a little, Teresa is there to make the corrections and get me back on track. And it is almost always fun, even subjunctives and pronominal verbs. I don't need to search Yelp for a Spanish language teacher because I already found Teresa. But remember, I already have a lock on Wednesdays just after lunch. You will need to schedule your class for another time.

I have been taking Italian language and literature classes with Polyglottist Language Academy off…read moreand on since 2017. I initially started taking classes because I had planned a trip to Italy for the summer, but after my trip I was motivated to continue. I have since returned to Italy 2 more times. I've taken Italian classes with several instructors including but not limited to Sole, Valerie, Cinzia, Oscar, and Francesca. I have thoroughly enjoyed each and every class. The instructors are knowledgeable, patient, and eager to create a positive and enriching learning environment. Olga has been even more accommodating in light of the difficulties that arose with COVID-19 social distancing protocols, even allowing classes to take place on Zoom. I would 100% recommend taking classes with this academy!

Hi, I highly recommend this Academy and in particular our great teacher Francesca Lorenzon…read more Francesca is an excellent teacher, who truly cared about me and the rest of our class. She made sure that we learned about culture, geography and language. She always welcomed our questions and was just fun to be around. This carried forward into the overall classroom experience where all had a good time and ended up going out to lunch every few weeks. I studied Italian for eight months to prepare for my trip to Italy and highly recommend Francesca and the Academy. Joe

Centro Latino has improved my Spanish skills immensely! They are kind and friendly and the teachers…read moreare very knowledgeable. They ensure that you understand the language and ensure that you improve your listening, speaking, and reading skills! And the company is very good at communicating. The schedule is very flexible and can work for anyone's schedule. Highly, highly recommend!

I have been taking classes at Centro Latino for 4 years now. The entire time I have been working…read morewith Ximena, and she has been so great as a teacher. She cares a lot about my learning individually and is constantly catering the class to my strengths and weaknesses. We play fun games, listen to spanish music, learn about the history of various countries and their people, and do it all in spanish as a double-learning opportunity. I went from not remembering any of the spanish I learned in high school to being able to understand and converse more confidently than I ever have. The classes have emphasized proper grammar but also really help with interacting socially and in certain situations with spanish speaking people. I have used the skills I've developed to have many full, 30+ minute conversations with people in spanish speaking countries, and it's given me an opportunity to connect with people I wouldn't have otherwise. Highly recommend them.

I absolutely love Sra. Maca!! My kids are second generation born in the United States. And like…read moremany 2nd generations the language starts to die down. My kids understand Spanish but have trouble speaking back. So with Sra. Maca, she takes her time and has lots of patience to correct the boys when they get stuck on words that are hard to pronounce. She has definitely helped our kids speak more and for that we are greatful. We continue to reinforce Spanish in our home but it's a big help to have someone teach our kids in a class setting. We have been with her for about 3 months now and will continue with her !

Maca is brilliant, a gifted natural teacher. She is able to engage my 2 wild boys in 45min lessons…read moretwice a week, and they love her! She makes Spanish fun and rewarding, AND she holds them to high standards of grammatical correctness, pronunciation, and expanding vocabulary. I'm forever grateful and in admiration of Maca's skill.

Rafael is an amazing teacher- patient, willing to meet you where you are, recognize your…read moreshortcomings and help you advance. I highly recommend him without reservation

Rafael is an amazing teacher. Trust in his methods! I went from only knowing a few basic vocabulary…read morewords to reading and speaking Spanish quickly. I highly recommend Spanish fun and easy with Rafael to everyone I know who is serious about learning. Prices are great compared with other classes and private lessons that I have seen.

I've been studying ESL at Berkeley Adult School since 2024 and I really like it here. The teachers…read moreexplain clearly and make learning fun. The classmates are nice and come from all over the world. I can feel my English getting better and I'm so happy I joined this school.

I took a class with Crystal Graves who has to be one of the worst instructors I've ever had. The…read moreclass was on Zoom. Most of the world has been using Zoom for years and has an understanding of how to use this platform. Ms. Graves has chosen not to master online instruction. Due to her poor instruction, the class was very disorganized. Also, it would have been nice if she had a quiet space to teach without personal interruptions. The final kicker was trying to get students to buy things off her Etsy site. I felt the class was a waste of time and dropped it which is sad because it could have been so much better.

Just started the weekly Conversation class. Love the relaxed and encouraging ambiance of the place…read more- a very happy place. Alternating between classroom and front room, I like it when we sit around on couches, munching on a snack, without pressure, practicing our newly learned Spanish. Maria is great, gently correcting our grammar while prompting más, hablar y practicar español.

Maria's 'Study Abroad' tour of the Azores in 2012 was a rip off. The accommodations were awful,…read moreseveral of the rooms had mold/mildew, the tours of the islands were inadequate, and the language instruction was not taught by a licensed language instructor. More to follow once I 'recover' from this trip. Do not even consider signing up for her tour in 2013!!!

Im a student there well leaving. But above from that i wouldn't recommend this school. Its sad on…read morehow the staff don't care about the students unless its the science or math teacher at times the English teacher is very much nice but this school can keep a English teacher. Its sad to say that my time here in this school was wasted. The activities weren't even there. I've been in the office and then they laugh about students and their issues. This principal and the office lady don't deserve to be in their position at all. Neither the man in the office in control of everything. Them three are so disrespectful towards people and make comments about others and laugh.

If I could give this school no stars I would. All is not what it seems please don't send your…read morechildren to this school...My neighbors kid goes there and said several students were caught smoking weed in the bathroom... teachers don't want to be there and are overwhelmed because the students are disruptive disrespectful and run the school...this is not an acceptable environment .. I ask the kid tell your parents and principal about this they laughed and said the parents asked questions and are aware of everything and so is the principal but she doesn't give a damn nor does anyone else again please don't send your kids here.

I have two kids who attend this school and it has surpassed our expectations. We live in Orinda,…read morewhich has a very good school district. Our girls chose St. Mary's for the faculty, community feel, diversity, rigor, and e-week experience-among other things. It has not disappointed. The Vice Principal, Ms. Molinelli, goes above and beyond, talking to me outside of school hours despite me saying that I am happy to adjust to her schedule as I am also in education and know the challenges. She is knowledgable, up-to-date with current research (she mentioned articles from The Atlantic and other publications/books that I had also read), and is clearly passionate about education. There are other notable faculty who are just so pleasant, so warm, so willing to sit with an anxious parent and walk them through making these difficult choices for your child: Dr. Troyani, the new principal, is also wonderful as is Mr. Filson, Ms. Esposito, Mr. Rogers, Mr. Mosby and so on. We love that the adults in St. Mary's have high expectations for the students. They hold them to a dress code (no torn clothing). They have days where professional dress is required (as someone who has interviewed people in cargo shorts and open toed Teva sandals for a job in education, I appreciate that my children are learning that there are still appropriate ways to dress for more formal events/presentations, and that they implemented a cell phone ban. As a practicing Catholic, I also appreciate St. Mary's focus on LaSallian virtues and SERVICE, and that it is so incredibly inclusive, which is what I believe true Catholicism should always stand for. We could not imagine a better place for our girls, who both love going to school (which was NOT my high school experience) and who now have such a wonderfully diverse group of friends. As a mother of two Asian American girls, one of whom is darker skinned, I have deeply appreciated that my children have been in an environment that is nurturing and supportive; that celebrates who they are, allowing them to be comfortable in their own skin. St. Mary's is a special place and we are so grateful to be part of this school community!

Saint Mary's College High School came into being as part of St. Mary's College in Moraga, It was…read morefounded in 1863 by the Catholic Church, and put under the auspices of the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools in 1868. Saint Mary's is Albany's other High School, although the main entrance is on the other side of Codonices Creek in Berkeley. None of my kids went to school here, although I have been on their pretty, green, and 7 building campus several times. My most notable experience involved Leo, a now departed orange tabby cat that decided to run away from home, and take up residence at St. Mary's. In fact, when I found him, he was hanging out under a tree and holding court with a few students. After I took him back home, the school called to make sure that he was OK and to tell me that the kids really missed him! He was a great cat.