We initially chose EBI for its Spanish immersion program and were soon delighted to discover it's…read morealso an International Baccalaureate (IB) school. While raising bilingual children is important to us, the IB curriculum has become the most enriching part of our experience. Its inquiry-driven approach inspires curiosity, deep thinking, and a genuine love of learning that keeps our children engaged. Our top priority was to find a school where our kids would enjoy learning, ask big questions, and develop a global perspective--and EBI has exceeded our expectations. The teaching at EBI is high quality. The educators are thoughtful, skilled, and dedicated to helping each child succeed. They create a supportive learning environment that emphasizes both academic and social-emotional growth. Group work and collaboration are central to the school's approach, helping students build important interpersonal and problem-solving skills. EBI has been a great fit for our child with a learning difference, and also the one that doesn't have a learning difference because of their commitment to differentiated learning, which supports all learners! The inquiry-based model allows them to engage with the material without relying on memorization or worksheets. We appreciate the strong Learning Differences and Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) support team as well! The EBI community--teachers and parents alike--have been fabulous!

We love EBI and have been at the school for 8 years for our 3 kids. Wonderful teachers and learning…read moreenvironment, great staff and leadership working to strengthen the school. Our kids have benefited from an incredible education and community!

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!!!

I have my children in this school, currently. it s been 2 months…read more The teachers all seem very nice and knowledgeable. The community seems just as nice, and it feels pretty welcoming. The classrooms are nice and so the playground. The admins are nice and the staff in general is nice. now the price makes absolute no sense. We were in Francophone Charter School the previous years. And long story short, we had to change school. FCSO is by no means a perfect school but it is Free, Diverse and the community is awesome and the academic program is very good. If you are looking for a French bilingual school, have a look at Francophone Charter school of Oakland. Send your kids there, save 35K / year. Instead, support FCSO with 3K and they will be very happy, spend 5K in after school programs. Your child will thank you for life. You will have a nicer car and have nicer holidays thanks to the money saved.

EB is just an amazing school, there are so many metrics along which you can see this…read more The teachers are simply awesome, and they are doing a terrific job. You can see this by the average longevity they stay at the school. Some of them have been there for over 30 years, and it shows that the school is an amazing community, that goes way beyond the teaching aspect. Also, some of the teachers have taught two generations already, i.e. they taught the parents, and now they are teaching the children!!!! This shows many parents love it so much that decades later when they have kids, they send them there for the same experience. This is very special, and very few schools have this. In particular many of the schools in the East Bay have very quick turnover, EB is stable! In the last 5 years (since my kids have been at the school), the management has just been spectacular. It is exemplified with the amazing way they handled COVID, managing the transition to online masterfully, managing the transition to "back to school" even more masterfully. The kids are tested for COVID multiple times each week, online apps track, and as a result, the number of cases is extremely low. The management is in constant contact with schools around the world in various networks (incl. French) and has adopted best practices around the world, in accordance with local regulations (county and State). The school has also embraced technology very well, in the classroom, outside of the classroom, in covid etc. Robotics activities have flourished (and will resurrect at full speed in the post-pandemics world). A joy to see, and which also leveraged the proximity of UC Berkeley. The community is amazing! Before COVID, there was a huge number of activities centered around French culture and beyond, the famout Marché, the Gala, and many others. I have put two pics attached, which shows activities of the kids outside of the classroom. There is a tradition also, the kids each bring apples (either from the market or from their garden - some parents have apple trees (!)), and it all gets put in the "juice maker" which produces fresh apple juice (with the garden teacher) for the kids to drink on the spot! On apple juice day, my son is beaming!

The FLI center is staffed by smart, motivated UCB students who are ready and willing to assist you…read more There seems to be a rather large network of tutors to help you find the right fit. My language tutor was very good and helpful. My tutor very flexible to my studying needs and worked with me throughout the week for intensive study sessions. We also covered a broad range of topics (cultural, current events, opinion, etc). I came away the sessions equipped with more relevant, current vocabulary, grammar, idioms and more. I recommend these private tutoring sessions for busy people who need the most flexibility.The scheduling was also convenient. I would recommend that you negotiate to have the tutoring at the FLI instead of in some cafe or random room around the UCB area. FLI will be the most quiet and unintrusive place you can find around the area. Overall, I enjoyed my experience and recommend others to use FLI's services.

I'm writing this as a former student who went to Nuevo Mundo. My mom took my twin brother and I…read morethere when we were pre school age and I had nothing but good memories and times there. The teachers were so caring as if they were our own parents and they take very good care of us when we were kids. Not to mention they made learning so much fun and beyond school, they taught us how to be kind to one another. I'm 27 years old now and I'm a Real Estate Agent now and I just wanted to share with everyone that Nuevo Mundo being my first school I've ever attended it lead me to my path in education and it lead me to the path they wanted all of their students to be. I highly recommend any parents who wants their kids to have not only a fresh start in school but to have a good foundation to walk on to want to continue pursuing education as they get older have Nuevo Mundo be that foundation for your kids. Thank you

I love this school for my little queen,great staff! Communicate to me about everything and I…read moreappreciate that besides the fact they taught my daughter proper Spanish and English and reading and writing. Don't have any more complaints just wish they could go have an elementary school and middle school

My daughter attended Montessori Family School for 3 years. While there were many things we loved…read moreabout the school, we, like many other families, were essentially forced out by the current Head of School, Alissa S. Enrolling your child at Montessori Family School (MFS) is a bit like gambling. If your child has any trouble listening, staying on task, following directions, or you as a parent are outspoken, like to stand up for yourself, or don't deal well with those who are patronizing and lack empathy, it is more like playing Russian roulette. What we loved about MFS were the families. The community was fantastic, and one of the things I miss most. I don't think I met any parents or children that I didn't appreciate and enjoy. I think this is rare; I can't say the same about her new school. On the other end of the spectrum, the school administration - specifically the Head of School, Alissa S., and the "learning specialist" Regina H. - were a nightmare. We, like most parents, were blindsided by them and how they presented our daughter as struggling, having problems, and needing help. Worried about our kids, we didn't realize until later that what they had done and said was inappropriate and unprofessional, and that they were the problem, not our kids. The sad part is that the voices of these families were rarely heard when they needed to be, and still aren't heard now. The number of positive Yelp reviews, many from hand-picked parents that were asked to serve on the school's Board of Directors, tell only the positive stories. While I do believe these accounts are sincere, they are only part of the full picture. The stories of those that were forced to leave the school, lost thousands of dollars in tuition, and were so upset with the situation that they were considering legal action, are mostly absent, and should not be forgotten. My daughter did well enough at MFS, but about half-way through our time at the school, we were told that she needed "outside support", which seems to be private school code for, "Your child is a burden to us. Go pay for an aide, tutoring, or something else." My daughter, who was later diagnosed with ADHD, and is also strong-willed, was more than the school could or wanted to support. While I understand and can accept that, the way this was handled was unprofessional and traumatizing. There was a complete lack of empathy from the individuals mentioned above. I found them to be very narrow-minded, opinionated and authoritarian, and it became clear that we would need to listen to them and do what they said, or we would be kicked out. I luckily realized this, and tread carefully for the rest of our time there - not directly or openly opposing or contradicting them. Other parents were not so fortunate. I personally know at least four families that had to switch schools in the middle of the year. One family had pre-paid their tuition for the year to obtain a discount, and it was not refunded. Two were speaking with lawyers. One was apparently threatened by lawyers from the school. For us, we were suddenly placed on "Academic Hold" in the middle of our third year, which basically meant they would not let us re-enroll. This was upsetting, and a complete shock, and came with no warning, nor had we even heard about such a thing before. We were left suddenly trying to figure out where we would attend school the next year, with only a few weeks left to tour and apply to private schools. We have since moved to public school. Despite the challenges inherent in the public school system, it has been a relief to leave behind the dysfunctional administration at MFS. Still, while her new teacher & the school staff are fantastic, I am far less impressed with the parents and other children in her class, compared to those who were at MFS. MFS has struggled with these issues for years now, and there seems to be little to no improvement. When I was first looking at MFS, I had heard some stories and I knew people that had withdrawn their kids, but I was more focused on what I saw on the surface and liked, and didn't pay as much attention to the warning signs myself. When you see something you like, you tend to ignore or minimize the negative. I don't regret our decision to attend MFS, but it would have been nice to have known a bit more and been a bit less naive. If you are considering MFS for your child, then it might be the perfect school for your family. But I write this because I could no longer stand by while a small number of families were treated so horribly. It is my belief that this situation only persists because those affected are few, they are afraid to speak up, or rather, don't feel like it will do any good. And so far, they have been right. Should the good experiences of a majority of families outweigh the mistreatment and hurt caused to a smaller number of families, which end up at other schools anyway? That is for you to decide.

Any school can call themselves Montessori, but MFS is the real thing. Accredited by the American…read moreMontessori Society, it stays true to the Montessori philosophy of multi-age classrooms based on Montessorian development stages. The student-teacher ratio is low, and the teachers and staff are dedicated, hard-working, and nurturing. My kids are challenged, stimulated, and are learning at their own pace. An added bonus-- the music program is amazing! I visited several Montessori schools, but chose MFS (we started at the preschool campus) because it just like the Children's House I attended in early childhood. If you are interested in enrolling in a Montessori but are new to the pedagogy, you may want to visit the AMS website or pick-up a Parent's Guide to the Montessori Classroom or a similar book so you know what to expect.

Choosing Mi Mundo will make it to your top list of proud parenting decisions for life - as it has…read morefor us. We enrolled our daughter in Mi Mundo Alcatraz. The quality of the educational program, the kindness and warmth of the teachers, and the parent community have enriched our entire family's life. Our daughter enrolled when she turned three with very little exposure to Spanish, and she has loved it from day 1 and in month 2 we already see her language skills at work. Mi Mundo has also passively instilled beautiful families values in our child that she has taught us. A small example of that is, she waits for us all to be seated with our meal so we can eat together. This is not something we asked of her, but something she asked of us. Since starting at Mi Mundo, we also saw her three year old temper tantrums go down and an ability to reason and self regulate her emotions. We cannot thank all of the teachers at Mi Mundo enough, and Lina for her vision and leadership.

Our daughter spent 3 years at Mi Mundo, and we have had nothing but a great experience there. While…read morewe started before the pandemic happened, when it did hit, Lina did an excellent job of pivoting and helping all of us survive those first few months of being at home, and then safely transitioning back to in-person teaching. Masks were required (and still are) and we had NO outbreaks in the school. Lina, was also, and continues to be, very inclusive of parents, and works with us as well. She has the hardest job of the lot, having to navigate each family, and of course her first duty is to the school, but we have found working with Lina to be a pleasure, and her candor and demeanor is one you can only hope for in a director of two preschools! The Spanish Immersion program worked wonderfully, after 3 years, our daughter is completely proficient, and will be ready for her elementary Spanish immersion experience. She has developed a great base for Spanish, and while one of us speaks it in home, neither of us as are native speakers, and our child got a great deal more proper Spanish instruction at school. She didn't speak any when she started, and while we were nervous, many families are in the same boat, and the kids adapt amazingly, much quicker than us adults. The kids all fared really well, and I imagine was a bonding experience for many of them. The Maestra's - there are no words for how wonderful all 5 of them are and have been to our child and family. When I asked my daughter what she will miss most about leaving MM, she didn't say her friends, playing, art, singing, all of which she loves - she said "the maestra's. all of them." The love and attention they give to each child is exemplary. They all have early education backgrounds, and know each kid is different and approach each child with a unique perspective. The kids at Mi Mundo genuinely adore their Maestra's, they make them feel safe, feel loved and valued. The semester check-ins provide excellent feedback on what each child is doing, where they should be and where they are at. We found it to be immensely helpful, and would use their progress reports to help us work on areas of our child's development that needed it. It is an art-based preschool as well, and the art is incredible. The "proyectos" are creative, and help develop their fine motor skills in imaginative ways. There is a lot of it, so get ready so send some off to family - the grandparents love getting them as gifts. Homemade Halloween costumes were my favorite. The curriculum is well thought-out, week to week, they explore lots of topics from oceans, planetary systems, the body, ecosystems, social justice, and more. It's a topic of the books picked at story time, and then blended into their art projects as well, so they kids get to make sense of what is being taught to them in an age-appropriate manner. Snacks are healthy and to my knowledge organic. The parents all get along and have become close friends. They have a safe and enclosed backyard where the classes have (separate) lunch times and play outdoors as well. We couldn't be more happy and grateful to Mi Mundo for the incredible foundation given to our daughter, and we look forward to our sons attending as well.

I can't say enough amazing things about Prospect Sierra. Our family feels incredibly grateful to…read morehave found this school and be a part of this wonderful community. Prospect Sierra is a truly exceptional elementary school (K-4 at lower and 5-8 at upper) that fosters a welcoming and vibrant community where diversity is celebrated both among students and faculty. There is a strong emphasis on emotional intelligence woven throughout their curriculum which feels balanced with their focus on academics. The school provides a warm and nurturing environment for holistic development and has the support of learning specialists, a wonderful school psychologist, etc. The faculty is beyond exceptional and in my opinion what sets Prospect Sierra apart. The teachers and administration are all dedicated educators that embody PS's commitment to leading with respect and joy and creating an environment that fosters a love for learning. My daughter is genuinely excited and happy to go to school every day! Prospect Sierra has a very well-rounded enrichment curriculum that creates a rich and engaging learning experience. Specialty classes include drama, music, art, Co-Lab, and Spanish to name a few. With two teachers in each classroom we certainly feel the personalized attention and extra support. The afterschool program is also wonderful and my daughter has enjoyed participating in the afterschool program classes such as cooking, legos, chess, judo, etc.! The campus and the physical spaces including the classrooms and enrichment rooms are beautiful. The school does an exceptional job with communicating with the parents (via emails, a fabulous newsletter, etc) and there are plenty of opportunities for families to get involved (as much or as little as they want to!) including volunteering in the specialty classes, driving for field trips or leading a school committee. The school is also extremely committed to diversity which is woven throughout the curriculum. As part of the professional development, they recently sent a large number of the faculty to a POCC conference, there are family cohorts and racial cohorts for students including a Black, AAPI, LatinX, Pride and Swana cohort and lots of cultural celebrations throughout the year. Beyond 5 stars! We have had the best experience and pinch ourselves everyday that PS is a part of our family and our child's development.

My children love this school, and at the end of each day, they do not want to leave!…read more This is a well-resourced, beautiful school perched at the top of the El Cerrito Hills. The school culture, which has become our home culture, is one of overt and active kindness. My children learn in an environment of safety and celebration of difference, and from my perspective, the school's administrators actively seek to build community wherever possible, and the faculty actively work to remove all barriers to learning.