TBS provides a nurturing environment with comprehensive educational support that will not only shape your child's academic growth but also instill a sense of confidence and curiosity that will benefit them throughout their life. TBS takes an empathetic approach, and kids have gone to top bay area high schools with success because of the solid educational foundation. Parent of TBS alum read more

This school works to actively take down negative reviews. They kicked my 4 year out w 3 months to go. The staff is highly proud of themselves, they are understaffed for active little boys. The school allows the children to play in the sandbox for majority of the day. My kids came home with wet sandy feet every day. Major construction projects on the edge of the school with particulate overflow. The principal is very ill mannered and not fit to oversee little boys. Step 2 is better in the Berkeley Hills. read more

We've loved our years at TBS ECC! The preschool has a beautiful outdoor space, and the teachers work so hard to truly get to know each child. It's a warm and welcoming community where parental involvement is appreciated but never required. We use aftercare and have no complaints. Tons of community events and the school is great at communication. Highly recommend for families looking for a nurturing and engaging environment in berkeley! read more

Our daughter has been attending the Berkeley School's ECC Preschool since she was 2 years 7 months. She's now in her final preschool year and I can't say enough good things about it. The teachers are absolutely wonderful!! From the classroom to extended day, we know it the school has had an immeasurably positive impact on her development, and she loves it, too. read more

The Berkeley School met and exceeded our expectations! My son graduated last year and is currently thriving at an independent school in SF and the education he got at TBS is very much responsible for that. I consider it a Goldilocks school - not too big and not too small... it was just right to allow for growth but also allow for each child to be seen and known by all of the staff. read more

My daughter attended TBS from preschool through eighth grade and is now a Freshman at The College Preparatory School. My son is in second grade and attended the ECC as well. Here is a little insight into why we love TBS: - Dedicated, energetic teachers who are deeply supported by their administration - Happy, friendly and diverse kids - Consistency across classes and curriculum - Active parent community (with a variety of ways to contribute) Ultimately, my daughter is doing very well at College Prep. TBS helped build her confidence, developed her already great sense of humor, and prepared her intellectually and creatively to do pretty much whatever she wants to. PS. we love the school lunch program run by Gregoire (parent and Berkeley restaurant guy) PPS Feel free to visit our family blog (thederringdos.com) to get a sense of what one TBS family is like. read more

The Berkeley School - Preschools Near Me - Berkeley, California

Our child has been at TBS since preschool and they are now in 5th grade. The TBS teachers and staff have been consistently kind and nurturing. Our child looks forward to going to school and learning every day. We look forward to watching the progress as they move to middle school. If you're looking for a school that instills the love of learning and community in children TBS is a great choice. read more

We used to love this school. Then we felt like the Great Curtain was lifted on Oz, or maybe the Kool-Aid stopped being served to us. We came to believe that the school is far more concerned with the *business* of running a school and the artificial outward appearances of "success" through slick sales than the authentic health, education and welfare of the children they are supposed to serve. It's so easy to fall for the mythical perfection of it all, until a problem crops up. Our problem was that our kid was bullied, relentlessly, and the school's response was more about self preservation and propping up bad staff and faulty practices than simply solving the problem and protecting our kid. Save your money and go to public school, at least there are policies against bullying. But not at TBS, there is no policy. And you will become the pariah if it happens to your child and you have the audacity to ask for help. We found administration can take a hands off and patronizing approach, do not resolve issues they deem "irrelevant" and will spend more time explaining why they are right (and why you are essentially a meddling idiot) than just fixing the problem. Administration are excellent at spin (a few would make fantastic politicians)... and they know just what you want to hear complete with latest buzz words, edu-lingo, and the best "non-answer answers" imaginable. Sadly, as far as teaching and learning, we found there is little true creativity or progressive thought (despite what the photos of Maria Montessori and AS Neill hanging in the lobby denote). And certainly not what the website and the marketing materials would lead you to believe. What direction are they going in? Who knows. But we didn't stick around to find out. Some of the new teaching staff have had kids in tears for not not "performing" to their liking, employ very traditional methods and give little room for individual learning styles in the classroom (it's one size fits all). No authenticity, integrity and soul to be found, just a lot of slick answers. Overall, a really bad experience, and totally "un-Berkeley". We so profoundly regret sending our child there. It cost us more than money, it cost us heartache. read more

I've vacillated for a while on whether or not to write this review, but after finding a loving and warm community for our son in another preschool, I think it's important to tell other interested parents what our experience was in the Early Childhood Education application process. I will begin with the fact that our child was not outright accepted, he was wait listed, but he was not outright denied admission. We really fell in love with the ECE campus when we went to visit. It is kind of a magical preschool setting and all the classrooms are large and engaging. We quickly decided the school was at the top of our list, despite the exorbitant price tag that we would struggle to afford. During the application process we went on a tour, we went for two separate parent visits, we paid for and submitted a lengthy and arduously prepared application, we paid for an submitted an equally arduously prepared financial aid application, we made calls to current parents (note in hindsight that no one we talked to actually expressed their love for the school), and eventually we had the "child visit". In all, we invested a good sum of money and time (some of which we had to take off from work), in the process. The "child visit" is where things started to go sideways for us. First, despite having met my son several times, and having supposedly read about him in all of our application materials, they repeatedly called him "she". In general, I don't care about stuff like this, but when you're supposed to be evaluating my son for admission it would probably be good to know what child he is. Second, there was no explanation for what the children were being evaluated for. Being all between 18 months and 2 and a half, it's hard to imagine what they were evaluating on, but nonetheless he was followed around the classroom by a number of teachers with clipboards taking notes on his every move. Despite my asking, it was never apparent to me what was being written down about my child. I understand evaluating children for high school or college admission, once they have had time to develop and distinguish themselves, but evaluating a 20 month old seems wrong to me. It was only at this visit that we were told how few slots there were. I believe it was something like 6 slots for 28 applicants, and it was not done on a first come first serve basis, it was based on the evaluations and some demographic information. Ultimately, my son was placed on the wait list and we were told by the director of admissions that they would follow up weekly (every Friday) with an update. Several weeks passed and no update. I wrote several emails and made several calls, none of which were returned. Eventually, the lack of responsiveness coupled with their reliance on evaluation of toddlers made me realize that this was not the right place for us. I called and took my son off the wait list realizing this was not a good fit because open and honest communication is my number one requirement in a school. To close the loop on the experience I wrote to the ECE Director and the Head of School letting them know about my experience. The email was ignored. I spoke with several other parents in the applicant pool the felt the same way as us, especially about the evaluations. One parent even told me that while observing a classroom a child's participation in a group discussion was shut down in a rather mean way, basically because it was not time for that topic. He was excited, and two, this just made me sad. Also, a word of warning, the cost of attendance was somewhere around $26,000/year (which is by far the most expensive preschool we looked at), and this does not include the gap care you would need over the summer when they are closed. We're talking around $30,000/year. Kudos to you if you can afford this, but at this price tag I would expect their customer service and responsiveness to be excellent. It was not. read more

We have two children at TBS - 2nd grade and ECC. We actually stumbled upon the ECC campus when looking for a preschool for our older daughter. We found it to be an amazing place where our daughter thrived, became curious and always wanted to jump out of our car to go to school. During our kindergarten evaluation, we looked at several other schools to make sure we were evaluating all of our options. It's the best kept secret of private schools. Education is changing and TBS is light years ahead. If you are looking for a school that markets academic rigor, than this is not your place. But if you are looking for a school that creates children that want to learn because they are excited about it, always looking to understand their impact in their community, a dedicated staff of accomplished educators, forward thinking, understand the link between social-emotional learning, focus on the 4c's, project and maker based learning, and more than this is your place. I work with a lot of private, public and independent schools in the Bay Area and this is one of the best. read more

We have been part of the TBS community for seven years and couldn't be happier. The teacher/student ratio is low, allowing for personal attention. The faulty and administration are up on the latest educational research, ensuring strong student-centered pedagogy. The community is vibrant, with lots of ways to participate. And the values are focused on social-emotional development, civic engagement, respect for diversity and the environment. What more could you ask for? read more

Both my kids have been at The Berkeley School (formerly known as Berkeley Montessori School) since pre-school and kindergarten respectively. My son is now in seventh grade and my daughter is a freshman at Berkeley High. Our experience has been great. For me, the proof is in the pudding: my daughter landed at Berkeley High fully prepared and she is excelling there, and I think the same will be true of my younger one. The best thing in addition to a demanding curriculum is that the teachers really turn out kids who think for themselves, who ask tough questions and are compassionate about the world they live in. The school provides a great environment for parents who want their kids in a place that values more than just good test scores, yet will also prepare them to do well on those tests when they really start to matter. Full disclosure: I have served as a parent board member at the school. But I have no business relationship with the school, I just like it. read more

My daughter is in second grade at The Berkeley School (formerly Berkeley Montessori School), We have been part of the TBS community for 5 years, since she started preschool there at the Francisco Street campus. Our experience has been fantastic -- a rich learning environment and a focus on the social-emotional development of children has been the perfect combination for us. Her teachers have all been warm and caring, and always seem to know when our daughter is ready for a new challenge or is facing a social dilemma. She loves school, and is excited to get up and go every morning, which to me is a great testament to how engaged and happy she is at school. read more

I really love this school. I feel the curriculum is very balanced with an emphasis on the emotional and developmental aspects of a child. My daughter has been here since pre-school and now she is in 5th grade. It is a small and close knit community with a great head of school and a great elementary 1-5 head. I cannot speak so much for the Middle School since my daughter has not got there yet but, like the elmentary school, has dedicated and competent teachers, small and intimate classes, and a really nice head of school. You should definitely consider this school and community. read more

Our daughter has been enrolled at The Berkeley School since 2008, when she entered the school's early childhood program. The magic has never worn off. In the eight years our daughter has been a student at the Berkeley School she has been challenged, inspired, motivated and encouraged - in an academic environment that sets The Berkeley School apart from other independent schools. More than anything, though, it's the way that our daughter feels about the school - her deep love of and respect for her teachers and the faculty at The Berkeley School - that remains our constant reminder that 8 years ago we might the right choice by joining this fabulous community of parents and educators. Now poised to begin her middle school years at The Berkeley School, we are confident our daughter is receiving the best, most comprehensive and personalized education a child can receive - in the East Bay, and indeed in the Bay Area. read more

I definitely feel that this school is not transparent. We had an assessment at the ECE and I watched through the window during the assessment to see what was going on and there were maybe three children that received zero attention while the teachers actively engaged the rest of the cohort. I watched my child play around with a few of the stations, but the teachers completely ignored her. After the assessment I inquired about this and was completely blown off. I asked to speak to the director, Paula Farmer, about this and she said that she would speak to me in a few minutes, but then she retreated away as I stood there and never returned. The director emailed us much later telling us that our child was accepted from the waitlist and we asked for a week to make a decision, but they never responded. We were so turned off by this that we decided not to attend. This was really poor form on the part of a professional and I would think twice about sending a child to a school that shows so little interest in a prospective applicant. We basically experienced something very similar to Jennifer C. We had assessments at other schools and the assessments at those were crystal clear to the parents and so was the communication about matriculation. Send your child to a school that actually values them more than a walking stack of cash. read more

I wish that I went to this school as a child. My 3 year old son is at the preschool and he loves his teachers and has dear classmates. My 5 year old son is in kindergarten and he tells me that school isn't good - it's great! I appreciate the warmth of the community and the diversity of its members. Aw yeah TBS! read more

We have two kids at the Berkeley School, one in fifth grade and one in eighth, and we feel like we hit the jackpot in terms of schools. Prior to attending the Berkeley School, we had one kid in another independent Berkeley school for two years, and then both our kids went to the Lafayette public schools for a few years. We've also visited many of the other independent schools over the past several years and feel that The Berkeley School is an often overlooked gem. Both of our kids are academically advanced in certain areas, and it's a challenge to find a school that is appropriately engaging in their areas of strength. Many schools talk about differentiation, but in our experience few actually deliver. TBS has a wide range of learners, including many students who are gifted in some areas but may need support in others, and TBS provides support at both ends of the spectrum. They have a curriculum and differentiation specialists who helps teacher provide more advanced reading and spelling/vocabulary lists, as well as learning specialists who help students with learning challenges. The teachers are incredible and are well-supported by the administration. They have two teachers per class for elementary school, and they have a seminar style format for the middle school that keeps class size around 12-13. Their social/emotional curriculum is thoughtful and purposeful, and they follow through on helping students navigate their emotions and how to work through conflicts. They have a solid reputation among the independent high schools for producing students who know how to write well and who can work well both independently and in groups. Our older daughter just went through the very stressful independent high school application process and was accepted at College Prep and Bentley, her two top choices. The graduates are pretty evenly split between students who go on to independent high schools or public high schools, but the students are well-prepared to navigate either by the time they finish eight grade, and are well-supported in the process. Finally, we love the social community at the Berkeley School. Both our daughters and our family were welcomed as transfers and it's a bright, joyful, creative community. read more

Our son was at the Berkeley school from 2 yrs 7 months to 4 1/2. He always looked forward to going, the teachers and kids seems happy, and it was a very warm environment. Now that he's been to another pre-school, I really appreciate what a great place TBS was. A great mix of play, love and learning. read more

We haven't been accepted into the school yet, but I just have to say that no school has a better method for helping prospective parents get to know the school: visiting classroom teachers and sitting through lessons as if you were a student, panel discussions with huge number of teachers, observing classrooms, question and answer sessions. Extremely professional. They walk their talk. read more

The Berkeley School has been such a gift to our family. The teachers are so thoughtful about every lesson and every child feels seen and supported. Our girls (5th and 8th) can't wait to go to school in the morning and are sad to miss a day. They are engaged in meaningful, academic and fun projects, service learning, and learning how to be a contributing member of their community. They are also learning social skills that will last a lifetime. But don't use online reviews to make your decisions, please visit and see if it's right for you and your family. read more

We have been at TBS for 4 years now. Both our boys started in the pre-school and are now in the Elementary school. We have found the community to be supportive and inclusive. I love how the school is super responsive to the needs of the kids - so for example in two different years they have had particularly full classes for one of my sons, and each time the school hired a third teacher to ensure continuity of attention to the children. There is a committed and engaged learning support team, which we have had occasion to make use of. I find the administration extremely transparent and thoughtful in their approach to pedagogy, and every single teacher we have had has been committed, loving, and creative. My musical son has had the good fortune of having musical teachers every year till now and grades 1 and 2 they sang their way through the curriculum. It's true that the administration is very good at presentation and at selling the school, and JH T's review says below - but my experience has been that everyone who works there, and I mean everyone, from front of house staff to the businesspeople to afterschool to the principal and everyone in between, really believes in what TBS stands for. I feel like every child there is held in esteem and care. TBS is a wonderful school. read more