Nothing makes me prouder than to stand before a group of highschool junior and senior girls to…read moreanswer questions about Education and Technology. Techbridge came to Yahoo! today and I was able to serve on a panel of women in tech to answer questions and mentor under represented girls from various backgrounds. We get so consumed in our day to day lives that some of us forget to give back to our communities. (including myself) I always make it a point to join these programs at work and help out as much as possible. The girls had SO much in common with me. Most were of Latin descent and don't have exposure to professionals in technology fields, let alone a woman mentor to give them insight on how to get into a technology/engineering career as a woman. I was the first in my family to go to college and it will be the same for them. I didn't write this review to toot my horn or get on a high horse about my involvement in this program. I NEVER write NON business reviews. I wanted those of you who want to give back, to see that there are MANY programs out there which you can join and DO something about our youth. Keeping girls and boys off the streets and drugs is a social responsibility of ours. The feeling I have after my day with the girls is SOOOO much more fulfilling than buying that HOT dress or expensive pair of shoes. I can't explain it. I know they will go home and tell their parents about meeting me and seeing first hand that a girl from the hood can make in a man's world without educated parents or a silver spoon. Before parting, I shook each of their hands firmly and looked them in the eye and told them to never ever be afraid of being ambitious and intellectual. I saw myself in them and I think, no- I KNOW they felt the same.

Our elementary aged daughter worked with Miranda for a couple of years and instead of tears and…read morepower struggles, Miranda was able to engender interest and fun. The math our daughter dreaded was transformed into a fun and engaging opportunity.

My 5th grade son has been working with Miranda over the past 18 months on executive functioning…read moreskills and academic coaching. Miranda was able to immediately connect with him and meet him where he was. She is warm, kind and is adaptable to any mood or level of focus he has that day. He always looks forward to their weekly sessions! She has truly helped improve his organizational skills and writing ability (previously a non-preferred task for him). She has also helped interface with his teachers and school (independent east bay school) in a way that has really benefited him. Miranda has really helped him schoolwork that more accurately reflects his abilities. In addition to helping him break up and strategize for his homework assignments, she also works on skill building (taking notes, doing research, learning citations, editing, estimating how long a piece of work will take). These skills have blossomed and will continue to help him as he transitions to middle school. I can see a notable increase in his confidence when he tackles new assignments. I highly recommend Meyerson Education services. Miranda has really been a game-changer for my son and our family!

PEL stands for "Pre-Eminent Learning" and is the new Kumon with the Singaporean math trend focus on…read morecommon core math that us millennial parents didn't grow up with. There aren't any Russian math options around Alameda yet so we decided to sign up for the free consult/testing for PEL for our then five year old at the end of TK to see where he was at and he's been enjoying it ever since. We go twice a week for one hour and with the daily homework, our kindergartner is enjoying math drills and writing practice/phonics/reading. It takes a second to make it a habit but now he enjoys it and timing himself on the homework (cue childhood trauma from Kumon where my mom had a stopwatch!). I stopped correcting the homework for my sanity (more trauma - my mom corrected all our Kumon with the borrowed answer books and yelled if we got too many wrong). At this young age, they have Junior PEL which is with a teacher in a small group (versus the older kids who independently work and then raise hands for help). Our son's favorite teacher is Teacher Anna. For the waiting parents, this place has better parking, location and amenities than Mathnasium or Kumon with the Southshore shopping center. You can go grocery shopping at Trader Joe's and Safeway, pickup dinner, get a foot massage at W Spa, go for a run/walk by Crown Beach, return Amazon purchases at Kohl's, go to the bank, charge your car, etc. It's a carve-out time for errands that makes PEL seamless into our hectic family life with two young children. You can also just veg on the phone or work while waiting in the lobby (they have a super clean bathroom and it's quiet). The couple that owns this location also has a sister location in San Leandro and they run it efficiently and smoothly bc Alameda is their second location. Director Lawrence and Ms Kiwi are caring and kind and they also conduct regular parent teacher conferences, which is helpful at projecting and quantifying the hours invested into PEL. The icing on the cake is the annual honor roll ceremony in October. They did a great in putting the event together with the kids and parents in mind and our son is so proud of his honor roll trophy and shows everyone that comes over. Highly recommend PEL (especially those in public school in alameda bc K doesn't have homework!)

We have two elementary-school boys and spent over two years trying other learning programs in the…read morearea. While they helped a bit, nothing compared to PEL Learning Center in Alameda. Mr. Lawrence and the entire staff are incredibly attentive to each child's individual needs, helping them not just improve but truly excel. What sets PEL apart, however, is their outstanding communication with parents. They keep us closely informed, work directly with us to assess progress, and make thoughtful adjustments so our boys stay engaged and never lose interest. This partnership lets us provide the right support at home. Most impressively, Mr. Lawrence has gone far above and beyond--he has even attended our son's IEP meeting at school to better understand his specific learning needs and ensure PEL's program perfectly complements, supports, and supplements his classroom experience and special education plan. I've never seen this level of genuine passion and investment in individual students from any other program. If you're looking for a tutoring center that truly cares about your child's academic growth and overall engagement, I can't recommend PEL highly enough!

Looking for an after school program? Mentorship? Summer Camp?…read more We Lead Ours is the place! They truly care about the community, the youth and families!

From the owner: We Lead Ours (WELO), a non-profit organization, has a proven track record for responsible community…read morebuilding and development. At WELO, at-risk and underprivileged youth are exposed to positive, enriching environments filled with educational, community, and service orientated activities - activities that help build self-esteem, good communication, and strong personal values.

These services are a scam. Since Seneca has been in my home things are worse than before. The…read moreamount of time these people take vacations blows my mind. I believe part of the reason these services are the way they are is because the connects are in between lapse and "time off".. having parent support services didn't happen for me. Never a stable person. My husband and I got no help. If you want an effective team to help meet the family and child I would look elsewhere.

I cannot say enough about Seneca family of agencies, my daughter goes to school. I one other sites…read more She has excelled so much. It's incredible and the staff are absolutely wonderful and they really care about the kids. The classes may be seven children in one class the whole school may have about 40 students Now this is the school that she goes to PathfiindersAcademy, and Union City. Absolutely amazing.. I really really appreciate them because my daughter was having a really really hard time with bullying getting her work done staying in class and not eloping and now she loves to go to school and always has positive things to say when she comes home. Altogether a wonderful agency.

Turning Point Educational Services is fantastic. I hired Carolyn Edwards last year to help my…read moredaughter with reading challenges. She is a gifted tutor and a consummate professional in every way. She has changed my daughter's life (and therefore mine), and I am eternally grateful. We are in our second year with Turning Point. Carolyn Edwards is dedicated to raising a child's academic progress and self-esteem, and the results have been profound. My daughter Magdalena improved dramatically and quickly. She went from an uneasy first grader who had taken kindergarten twice and refused to raise her hand to one who ALWAYS raises her hand. Magdalena's teacher at Redwood Heights School in Oakland said at the end of last year that my daughter was "one of the major success stories in the school this year." I attribute this remarkable progress to Carolyn's work at Turning Point. If you hire Carolyn to help your child get a leg up, you will receive not just top-notch academic tutoring, but also a friend to your child that will genuinely connect to them and affirm their entire character and being. Carolyn is truly a gift. Don't wait to hire her. I wish I had done so sooner.

I am writing this review 7 years later because Carolyn's words and tone at my son's assessment were…read moredisgusting at best and haunt me to this day. Her final analysis was "Well let's just say your son will not be a college professor" he was 6 years old. Shame on her insensitivity then and I am sorry it took so long to finally write this review. Happy to say my son is now a straight "A" student.