I have two kids enrolled in this Spanish program in Piedmont. Teachers come and go, no continuity…read more Went through 4 teachers by the end of the year. And to top it off!!!! My son was made to be "a piñata" where the teacher proceeded to encourage students to HIT my son, as he just laughed in FEAR. When his older brother tried to step in, the teacher told him to move. How disgusting!!!!!!! Never sending my kids to this horrendous Spanish class!!!!!!! AWFUL PROGRAM

Our daughter began attending after school classes at Viva when she was in the the third grade. She…read moreenjoyed the music and singing and warmed to the kindness of the teaching staff. Learning Spanish through immersion was natural. She continued going to Viva through the 8th grade. By the time she entered high school she was able to place into 3rd year Spanish. She continued Spanish through high school (through her school) and was able to (and proud of) being able to write essays (in Spanish) about the Spanish literature she had studied. During one summer in high school she had the opportunity to travel to visit friends who lived in Bolivia. The flight attendants honestly thought she was a native speaker -- because of her accent. Learning (and listening) and having the gentle corrections made while she was younger made a difference in her being able to properly pronounce the language. Thank you, Viva!

Toastmasters has literally changed the way that I communicate professionally and personally, as…read morewell as enhanced and improved my leadership abilities. I thought that this was just a public speaking club when I finally joined 2 years ago! Little did I know that I would gain the courage to stand up and speak in front of my peers, thanks to the supportive environment in this club, as well as learn how to think quickly on my feet, and become a better leader. This particular club was a great starting point for me, as the people are friendly and nice, the membership base is a younger demographic than other Toastmasters Clubs in the area, and there is no pressure to speak if you do not want to get up in front of a small audience just yet. An added bonus is that I have made friends in the club, as well as recruited my friends outside of the club to join in the fun. Yes, it's FUN to give prepared and impromptu speeches, to give evaluations of other people's speeches, and to become a club officer to collaborate with fellow club members. The new location at The Kensington is stellar! It's no wonder that two other Toastmasters Clubs also meet here. It's clean, well-lit, has lots of seating and tables, a good speaking space, and its own side entrance. I highly recommend Toastmasters as an organization, and this club specifically. Don't wait to gain confidence! If you want to impress hiring managers at job interviews, learn how to respond quickly to questions out-of-the blue, learn how to give presentations at work, or just want to network and socialize while learning new skills, check out Toastmasters!

I have been a part of the Toastmasters community for the last 5 years and it has truly been an…read moreincredible ride. The fact that we have the opportunity to not only improve our communication skills, but also enhance our leadership capabilities makes for a valuable experience. The Walnut Creek Toastmasters club has been around for 10 years, and you can tell by the veteran members who have been with the club since its inception that it will be around for 10 more. These members are the ones who's passion inspires you to improve your communication and leadership skills to eventually meet their level. I agree that this club still has room to grow, but I feel confident in its future and I see a lot of new members coming in with a lot of enthusiasm to improve. I can't wait to see how this year pans out and I am excited for the future of this club! :)

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

This is my child's second year with EFBA in Alameda. She loves her Francophone teacher, Angelique,…read moreand her French skills have improved even beyond my expectation. The teacher to student ratio is very excellent, and the other children are good classmates. I highly recommend these French classes.

The beginner flower arranging class I signed up to take was very disappointing. I stopped after one…read moreclass for these and other reasons. The instructor used a pre-recorded YouTube video to show us how to make our arrangement! And she didn't even make sure the flowers/supplies she provided to us , at an inflated cost, matched on the ones in the video (she admitted the greens in her video were wrong). The flowers/supplies she made us purchase from her were much cheaper (e.g., carnations vs. roses). I don't know why she didn't provide a live demonstration and do so with the right flowers, etc. That's why we signed up for the class! I knew something was very wrong when she began the class by reading her written course description out loud, even referring to herself in the third person (e.g., "Supplies and tools are available from your instructor"). The class is for beginners, but the arrangements in her "textbook" are SOO pedestrian (see photos). She could show students much more appealing arrangements to make. Another problem was that the class had a combination of new students and returning students (those who wanted a flower arrangement certificate). The returning students had their own projects, so there were two classes going on at the same time, which made it hard to focus. The school district's unfair policy is that refunds are available only before first day of class, so be aware before you register!

Great teachers, great curriculum, nice environment, safe, learning lots, meeting people all over…read morethe world!

Christine is amazing!! So happy we decided to hire her to tutor our 6 year old with his reading. We…read moremoved to Lafayette over the summer and received feedback from my son's 1st grade teacher that his reading was below grade level. We is a young 1st grader, a middle child, and had been in a french school environment, so it was not a surprise for anyone. The teacher didn't think we needed to seek outside help just yet, but I decided to see how a session with Christine went anyways. We got into a routine and have been seeing her weekly for the past 6 months. My son LOVES Christine days!! And.. he is now beyond 1st grade reading level. More importantly, he is confident with his reading and really enjoys it. Thank you Christine!!

Just to update - my son is now entering his senior year at a private college prep high school. He…read morehas a 3.9 GPA, is applying to colleges across the country, and always has stacks of books next to his bed, despite being very dyslexic. I credit the many hours he spent with Christine as critical in our journey. Early intervention makes an enormous difference. If your child is struggling with reading - seek intervention and make a life altering difference in your child's life.

Parents, please do not send your poor children here. They take your money and have no…read morequalifications to teach anything. I wouldn't even allow these people to pet sit let along try to educate. I sent my child here for close to a year to learn piano and she learned nothing. Here are my main concerns: 1) teacher showed up 10 minutes late every time for 30 mins session and of course they continued to charge me for the full session 2) they try to teach using technology but their Wi-Fi is down. Therefore the rest of the class they spend trying to figure out how to connect to Wi-Fi which first hand observing, was painful. 3) the place is owned by a clown with the biggest ego. I went in there to watch my child after realizing that the sessions were not helping her at all. The clown that owns this place was fumbling around trying to get tech support to turn his computer on. He refers to himself as a "doctor" which further shows what a narcissistic clown he is. He also was upset that I hadn't been in there before to introduce myself to him. I don't think the moron realizes that parents have to work to pay for extracurricular activities like his clown school. He literally was offended that I didn't come in to introduce myself!? 4) the pianos and other instruments looked like they were picked up at the local dump. I can't sing and I am more tuned than the piano my poor daughter was trying to learn on. 5) the worst part is that I asked them to cancel my daughters sessions. That night I noticed that he had gone in and quickly charged our credit card for next month. What a crook and phony. Horrible place disguised as a teaching institute.

Don't send your kids here. Angry owner in attack mode:…read more I had an appointment in the building of 99 Brookwood Rd, Orinda, CA 94563. The person I had an appointment with told me that I could park in the ATMA/ALMA spaces. My dad dropped me off and wanted to wait for me, so I told him to park in one of the ATMA/ALMA spaces since he would be waiting for an hour and could take a nap if he wanted.  When I was done with my appointment, I walked to my dad's car and we got ready to leave. We saw a car stopped on the street and thought the driver was waiting for the space. After we pulled out of the parking space, that driver waved my dad down and got out of his car. I thought, "oh, maybe we didn't close all the doors in our car and he was trying to be nice." Not the case. This man, while blocking traffic, walked towards my dad and took a photo, then started yelling that we can't park there and that we were disturbing the businesses. My dad doesn't speak fluent English, so he told me to explain to the man what we were doing there. I got out of the car to tell the man that I was here for an appointment in the building and was told that I could park in one of those spaces. That man did not stop yelling to hear my explanation. He continued to yell that it was his spot. There was no point to this, so my dad and I got back in our car and drove off. I called the person I had an appointment with and found out that the man who yelled at us was the landlord of the building. He received a complaint from a tenant, SaraBella (florist), who described my dad as a creepy man walking around. My dad was stretching and admiring the scenery outside of his car while waiting for me, nowhere near the florist, minding his own business. No one, not the florist nor the landlord, talked to us and just assumed that we did not belong. We were judged by our appearance and treated unfairly. What happened to my dad and me happens to many people and I'm not going to be silent about it. His name is Dr. James Fiatarone, aka Dr. Jim. He is a landlord and a music teacher at the Academy of Language & Music Arts (ALMA), located in that same building. Stated on his webpage, "James is a Bay Area native who holds a Ph.D. in language and literature from the University of California, Berkeley". I expect better language and understanding from someone with such esteemed credentials, at the very least a common decency to speak maturely. Instead of introducing himself as the landlord and seeking to understand, Dr. Jim chose to block traffic and cause a scene in order to exercise his own judgment and bias. I want to get my message out and let him know that the way he conducted himself is not okay, especially in a place of business.