BE AWARE. If you buy 10 hour Study Space Pass from them, you have to use it within that year…read moreotherwise they will keep your money and unused sessions will expire. When you get the invoice from them it does not say anywhere that they expire and you are not going to get refund. My son had tutoring through them for the past three years. Paid $1360 every four weeks. Bought Study Space pass for my daughter that she end up never using it and it expired. You think they would contact me to tell me you have unused sessions that are expiring or asked me if I would like to transfer it to my son. No, money down the drain. On the other hand had excellent experience with Tutor Doctor with my daughter and tutors come to your home as opposed to you going to them. Rip off and no respect for loyalty or the amount of money you spent for tutoring with them.

Brainboost Education on West Broadway in Vancouver is at best a mediocre tutoring service…read more We contracted them to tutor our son, Kieran, in Language Arts and Math last summer. They provided us with an acceptable tentative schedule, but by the time he began school the classes and tutoring sessions we had agreed upon no longer existed. Instead we settle on Social and in about a further 4 month's time, they found a math tutor for our son. Unlike the class they had promised us the tutor costs $75 per hourly session. It's very difficult to find suitably qualified extra-curricular services for learning disabled students, even for those with dyslexia (a very common disability). Due to high pressure sales tactics, last minute scheduling changes and real insensitivity towards their clients requests we found BrainBoost much less amenable than other tutoring companies in the immediate Broadway West or MACKENZIE HEIGHTS/DUNBAR area. I feel now that it's much less of a school than a business and it provides only modest value for your hard-earned tutoring dollars. Please feel free to contact me for more specific recommendations if you have a learning disabled child. Giles Slade, PhD

Montessori school in south Vancouver close to Granville and West 70th Ave near Fraser River Park in…read morea light industrial area. They offer Pre-School from ages 3-6 and Elementary from grades 1-7. My kids went here from pre-school all the way through grade 5 and it was an incredible experience. A early Montessori education really helped them develop their hard-working and inquisitive personalities. French is offered from pre-school on and their level will exceed most public schools except for French immersion schools. Both French language and culture is taught which is nice so the kids have a practical reference for use of the language. They have both class observations where the parents can observe their kid in the normal class environment and parent/teacher conferences. Year-end show is fun where the elementary kids all present skits, songs and plays for the parents at a nearby theatre. Competition to get into the pre-school program is quite stiff so register early to get on the waiting list. Dedicated, long-term teachers and staff, highly recommended!

Small school, I'm guessing only up to Grade 4 but I digress…read more Came here last Saturday to vote b/c at Sunset, well over a 45min. wait! Asked the worker there of a closer one b/c I can't be waiting that long lol. Just walked right in ;)

I'm not a big Yelp reviewer, but the few reviews here leave a very skewed view of the school, which…read moreis a huge disservice to families who need an honest review of the school. Madrona was a game-changer for my kid and I can't imagine the student he would have become if he'd stayed at his public school or even gone to a different independent school. Unlike the negative review, this was the best time and money our family has ever invested. It's not for "just" bright and gifted kids - it serves neurodivergent kids who are also bright/gifted. A lot of the students come with particular challenges that are typical of people with this profile - asynchronous development (including often slower socioemotional development) is pretty common. If your child is "just" bright/gifted, it's probably not the school for you. The kids who need Madrona would fall flat on their faces at a regular independent school like St. George's (which is awesome for neurotypical kids!) because the struggles they have wouldn't be attended to sufficiently; they would just fall between the cracks. The staff at Madrona also work so hard to meet families' needs, and bend with them as they change. Will there be bumps? Of course. There are bumps at any school. If you're considering the school for your 2E child, go to an open house or ask for a tour. Everyone wants their kids to grow and do well there, and it is small enough that different personalities and needs can be accommodated. Again, nothing is perfect, but my kid and most of other kids in his classes over the years grew in ways that wouldn't have been possible in schools designed for neurotypical students. Most kids go to Madrona because their home school/other schools can't meet their needs. Madrona goes above and beyond to do this. I can't express how grateful my family is to have found this tiny school and how much it has changed my kid's trajectory in every way.

They deleted my Google review! Waste of time and money…read more Didn't meet ANY other kids who were Designated P Gifted Learners. Just mostly families who didn't like the other Ivy League private schools nearby; apparently if you have money, Madrona is easy to get into. One of our main teachers had zero knowledge of supporting gifted learners and didn't even "teach" instead resorted to having the class do online programs with no actual in person enriching lessons... Over. The. Entire. Year! Basically paid $24K for babysitting. Save yourself the time and $ and sign up for online classes like IXL etc yourself at home. Another friend of ours who's family also left this terrible school, had kids who were bullied at school and online. The head of school, Ms Lammie did nothing and took several months to even communicate to the parents about it. Frustrating at such a small school. Especially when you consider they've raised tuition to be similar to St. George's School... have a look yourself and compare the offerings - it's shocking that a school without even a playground can get away with the most expensive tuition compared to the 20 other independent/private schools in the GVRD. Perhaps if the staff at Madrona were remotely specialized in the needs of gifted learners, it might be worth it, but they failed short on everything we signed up for. Everyone I know has had Epic Failures of an experience at Madrona. There are many other options out there. Do your research and ask around. We made the mistake of making such an important decision on the scraps of online praise and the fact it is located in Vancouver which was convenient for us. Don't make the same mistake - if your kids are truly needing gifted support, this is not the place. A few of the teachers that actually were great, have left the school over the last few years. I don't usually write anything negative, but this info/experience needs to be put out there... for the sake of the kids and in the spirit of goodwill among fellow parents looking for help.

The IB Program at SJS has been wonderful for my two kids. The teachers and administration obviously…read morework very hard to create a well prepared and engaging environment. My experience has, so far, been limited to the junior school where the warm and encouraging (while still academically challenging) atmosphere is quite special. My son, in particular, has transformed over his three years, (and counting), at the school from a bright, though highly anxious and shy child, into a much happier confident kid.

Our child was at LMM for a year and a half, and I believe he learned a lot there. The instructors…read moreAubin and Cindy are firm but kind. The thing I found most lacking however was communication with parents. We never knew what the kids were doing at school. No photos, no newsletters, email updates, no work is ever sent home, etc. As a parent I was disappointed, and the teachers were not open to feedback and very strict about their systems. Our new Montessori is a breath of fresh air and our child is more relaxed as well. LMM is a good school but just not the right fit for us.

Our daughter is in her second year at Little Mountain and we could not recommend Aubin and Cindy…read moreenough! They are both warm, kind, and truly care about their students. Our daughter has flourished during her time there, and Little Mountain's program provides a great a great academic foundation balanced across math, the alphabet/phonetic reading, language (including French), and art. Their teaching is based in Montessori, however we have found their approach to be less strict than other preschools we considered. They have a great philosophy of enabling kids to be kids, while instilling the discipline and structure of a Montessori program. Every day our daughter runs right in at drop off, excited to see her friends and teachers, and then comes home afterwards with something fantastic she's learned while there. We are confident that our daughter will be so well set up for elementary school (and beyond!) after her time at Little Mountain!

Wind and Tide preschools are so great. I had my daughter in one and then we moved and she finished…read moreout her second year at a different preschool, and it was a disaster. She was so bored. We drive quite a distance to make sure my numeber 2 child is in Wind and Tide. The Christian aspect worried me at first because I am pretty agnostic, but it is totally Christian lite... with no stringent requirements like kneeling at parent teacher interviews or anything (I am joking, don't get all freaked out) Anyway, the curriculum is fantastic, both my kids are better off for their time at W&T and the teachers are absolutely the best. They have other programs like Toast minors public speaking and some other ready to read programs. They have a family life aspect with gues lecturers and events for grown ups. Love it. Be warned, waiting lists for all their schools are EPIC.

I went to this pre school and i taught me more than i learned from kindergarten to 7th grade. the…read moreteachers were so nice and we learned about things like the planets, dinosaurs and the ocean. Honestly, i wish every school was like this one :D

This review is for Oakridge Montessori School. My child went through most of the Junior…read moreKindergarten year. Unlike teacher communication at OMS, this review was written 100% without the use of AI. OMS, if you would like to respond, please consider not using AI. Prospective parent: Unless you are ultra-wealthy and have at least one caregiver who does not need to work, stay away! (You might also like to own a Tesla). You will need all of the above to shuttle your child back and forth to many field trips and special events (not on the school calendar) that last ~2-3 hours in lieu of actual school, plus you will need to pay extra for every single one of them (plus up to $10k more for auctions...as the principal said, "It's Report Card Season!"). Essentially this is an (aspirational) feeder school for elite private schools in the area, and tries to behave like one. Oh, and you should also read/write Mandarin and have the WeChat app in order to participate in the parent group. This school has absolutely nailed their target demographic. I don't think the school needs to change, because it works well for said population. I'm writing this review so that those who don't fall within this particular demographic can go in with eyes wide open. We didn't, clearly - because who can really be that choosey about childcare in Vancouver? - but I think a heads up might have helped. OMS is a self-proclaimed "organic Montessori" school. They do screen time, and they seem a bit light on some other parts of Montessori (my kid reports that they don't really clean their environment, for e.g., though I take their report with a grain of salt). What concerned us early on was the use of reward/points systems to motivate behavior in the classroom through their ClassDojo App (which, btw, suits the school well - always asking for money - and which we hate with a passion). To the school's credit, when I raised this issue with the teacher, the school principal(?)/"Director of Education" called me and addressed it, claiming it was a communication error and that the points were not to be used with this age group, only Grade 1 & up. They did seem to stop using it after this. (Though are points really appropriate for Grade 1 & up in a Montessori school?) Continuing to give credit where it is due: Teachers and staff have taken the time to answer our concerns, and have called us during what I am guessing are their lunch breaks. While the AI responses really rub me the wrong way - because these are the people teaching my child to read and write - I acknowledge that being in charge of 16 4ish-year-olds is really no mean feat. I do believe that the staff and teachers care about the students. Moreover, my child did learn to read and write quite willingly during their time at OMS. IN SUM: Our family is an outlier at OMS - we don't own a car, we aren't trying to send our kids to elite private schools, and having to pay $55 per adult to attend my child's "Spring Tea" concert (which is 1.5 hours long with no regular school) is a bit painful. And so attending this school has been a bit awkward and logistically burdensome for us. You might say there was a mismatch in values, but of course no daycare or school is going to mesh with our family's culture completely. No irreparable damage was done, we did our best to make a few friends among the parents, my child has been mostly happy......but we will not be continuing our "OMS journey".

Expensive! 2.5 hours a day! 3 programs running a day. No wonder the teacher turnover is high. It…read morefeels like a prep school for private schools with charges for every extra detail. Fees are going up $5000 next year, insane.