My child's friends wanted a last hurrah before parting ways for middle school. A handful of them…read moreregistered for Urban Adventure. Because the summer camp runs weekly, with several rotating and parallel themes, the kids were able to land on the same interest and available week. Shocking, I know! The camp's extensive schedule works for vacations and professional work hours. Even though some kids had already attended previous summers, each of them enjoyed the experience differently when friends were involved. They can escalate to be the most rambunctious bunch or wander as cerebral or silly, chatty tweens. The social pace was great, and this camp has a seamless inclusion vibe. For some weeks and cohorts, the group veers younger, like 2nd- to 5th-graders, and some older, like 5th- to 8th-graders. Mike, the camp director, does a great job with the groupings paired with an experienced counselor. We were lucky to have school teachers as lead. Given this was my child's first experience with Urban Adventure, he absolutely loved the exploration and riding public transit (BART, SF MUNI - bus, trolley, and metro, AC Transit, Cal Shuttle, Ferry). Going up to the ferry observation deck was exhilarating and inclusively fun with friends who could access the elevator. Although my child has been to many of the museums and features when he was younger, he barely recalls them at all. We did so much pre-pandemic and, over time, lost those family events to sports purgatory. So glad my child got to re-experience with his peers. Lastly, my child has suddenly shown a burst of independence in reading maps, following directions, examining transportation timetables, accounting for museum and business hours, and actively thinking about plan B, C, or other contingencies. He was so excited to demonstrate that he ended up giving my husband an Urban Adventure experience today. The kid sent a slurry of calendar invites with the various SF locales. While they play local tourists, I actually have time to type up a long-winded review. My child attended both Biology/Natural Science and Technology/Physical Sciences. Many thumbs up!

My kid loves Urban Adventures--it's his favorite. Honestly, I picked the camp because of an easy…read moreshort commute/parking (IYKYK), reasonable start/end time for working parents, and consistently strong reviews. They're efficient, on top of things, easy drop-off/pick-up in terms of parking, simple sign-in/out, and lots of variety. They communicate well in advance with comprehensive info which eliminates a lot of the unknown. My son's favorite one is art. I almost don't want to tell people since camp sign-up season is crazy and the popular camps sell out FAST. My son is neurodivergent and manages to find a buddy each year on his wavelength. They also go to wheelchair accessible sites. It's also great seeing the kids have a blast in the daily private photo links.

This was our first summer we have done a session of Kids for the Bay and my 8 year old absolutely…read moreloved it! He did the Stream Science session. Everyday he came home thrilled about his day and excited to go back the next. He typically is weary of trying new things but in this case we got a 2 thumbs up each day. He made new friends and the counselors were warm and kind. It felt very organized and thoughtful. We look forward to returning next year. Thanks Kids for the Bay!

My son has done Kids for the Bay's camp at age 6 and last summer at age 8…read more One of the highlights of the camp that I noticed right away is the engagement of the Counselors with the campers. Camp Leaders are full-time teaching staff with the organization during the school year. They were professional, warm and top notch educators. According to my son, "fun, and funny!". At some other camps that we've done, you drop your kid off and some summer staff can be kindof checked-out - but not here. You get the sense that the staff team is working together to make a great experience for the group. The locations change from day to day to explore different environments. Sometimes driving to different locations was a little long from Oakland (like Tilden Park, Lake Anza), but locations are not too far afield. A favorite for my son was Blake Gardens, where the group got to do a nature scavenger/treasure hunt.

My daughter spent a week at summer camp at Glitter & Razz and talked about it for 6 months. She…read moreloved everything - the drama, the art, music. And the staff is incredible. The fact that they can corral 20 4 - 6 year olds and write, create sets and costumes and perform an original play speaks volumes about their talents. My kid loved it so much she begged for a G&R birthday party. Our first drop-off party, Lynn and Andrea lead the kids in creating their own play. The kids got to be whatever character they wanted and Lynn made it gel into a story that the kids performed 2 hours later. WOW! Love G&R and can't wait for next summer.

This WAS a great camp experience for my daughter. Unfortunately the women who started the camp sold…read moreit to Chrissy Mulvihill and it did not continue as the loving and inclusive community that it had been. My daughter had looked forward to continuing to be part of Go Girls. from being a camper to being part of Leadership Team and then a junior counselor. Instead she was rejected by the Director in a very hurtful way. I can no longer recommend this camp experience.

We decided to withdraw our children from The Academy after ongoing concerns about bullying, lack of…read moreaccountability, and weak leadership. Our son faced repeated exclusion and inappropriate comments from classmates, including remarks that he was disliked "because he is Turkish." Despite our repeated reports and requests for support, the school minimized the situation and stated that "there was no bullying." Yet even during classroom assignments, our son expressed in writing and drawings his deepest wish for a world without bullying -- something no child should have to feel so strongly about in the first place. We tried for months to collaborate with the school, to have meaningful conversations, and to trust that the situation would improve. Unfortunately, it did not. Two students -- one acting as the leader and another following his lead -- consistently targeted him, and there were no real consequences. The administration's responses were consistently dismissive, suggesting a lack of understanding of the emotional impact such behavior can have on a child. Our son's sense of safety was completely eroded. Leadership at the school often acts in denial rather than taking responsibility. Communication is reactive and defensive. We also learned later that the administration offered us a $6,000 refund in exchange for signing a non-disparagement contract -- essentially asking us not to talk about our experience. We declined. Families deserve honesty, not silence. Academically, the school claims to be "one year ahead" and to follow a rigorous curriculum. After transferring to another school, we learned this was not true. Many concepts were skipped or taught superficially, creating learning gaps. Teachers are inconsistent -- some are good, while others frequently absent or disengaged. The third-grade environment in particular suffered from poor classroom management, inappropriate peer interactions, and a lack of supervision during recess and lunch. Conversations among students included inappropriate topics such as smoking and alcohol, even at this young age. This reflects serious gaps in oversight. The school also advertises a French program, but in reality, students only learn a few isolated words throughout the year -- far from the language exposure and learning that parents are led to expect. This is one example of how the school's marketing and actual classroom experience do not align. The only staff member who genuinely helped us and consistently supported our child was the inclusion and belonging teacher. She truly cared, followed up, and tried to make a difference when others didn't. To our shock, after leaving the school, we learned that she had been laid off. It's hard to understand how a school that claims to value inclusion could let go of one of the few people who actually embodied it. Adding to the concern, we later found that in the 2024-2025 school year, the administration encouraged families to post positive reviews online to boost enrollment numbers, as the kindergarten class had only six students enrolled. That context makes recent glowing reviews highly misleading. I would advise anyone considering this school not to rely on those reviews, as many were written under pressure to improve the school's public image. When The Academy was founded years ago, it had a strong reputation. Sadly, under the current leadership, it has lost its integrity, its sense of community, and its educational quality. For us, both the financial cost and the emotional toll were high. We are writing this review not out of bitterness, but out of responsibility -- so that other families can make informed decisions. Our new school has shown us how dramatically things can change when children feel truly safe, respected, and supported. Every child deserves that.

In credible school and incredible community. We've been at the school for 5 years and have two…read morechildren at the school. Both children have grown and thrived. We highly recommend The Academy.

Fabulous adult beginning ballet program. The teachers are excellent, providing rigorous instruction…read morewith a warm, joyful vibe. Fellow dancers have an inclusive, supportive community. Highly recommend everyone join the fun!

I've been taking adult ballet classes here for about a year now - would highly recommend for any…read moreadults looking to start their ballet journey! The atmosphere is supportive and welcoming - very friendly to complete beginners - and Denise are Joral are excellent instructors. As someone who didn't have any previous ballet training, the adult Introduction to Ballet series was great for building foundations, and the Beginning Ballet series is great for advancing those foundational skills. Repeating each series a few times has helped me to retain and apply what I've learned.

We recently moved to Oakland, and our daughter really needed some extracurricular activities to get…read moresettled in after leaving her school and all her friends. Mr. D's exceeded our expectations. The program is led by passionate, talented and caring people who bring out the best in the kids. The programs pack in a lot of different activities, including dance and movement, art and theater tech, and of course music. The theater at Holy Names Highschool is beautiful, and it is a pleasure to watch the performances at the end of the session. My daughter was especially inspired by the 'Leaders in Training' high school aged staff who helped mentor and instruct. And Ms. Hailey and Mr. D are incredible stewards of music culture and youth involvement. We feel very fortunate to have found this community.

Mr. D truly captures the spirit of creativity through singing, dancing, acting, and the arts. This…read morecamp has been a magical place for our 8-year-old, who loves being on stage. The thematic playlist spanning decades is absolutely captivating and adds so much charm to the experience. My daughter admires Mr. D and enjoys every moment with the wonderful teachers and Leaders in Training (LITs). Everyone is kind and knows how to engage kids in a way that makes learning feel like pure fun. The mixed age groups bring great energy to the performances. From day one, she said it was the best camp ever--and she already can't wait to come back next summer!

My daughter (rising 5th grader) attended AIW this summer. While there were some things she didn't…read morelike (the "silly" camp songs/not really writing the first day), she really enjoyed this camp and said she would do it again. The campers get to create their own e-books. They brainstorm concepts, create a draft flipbook/storyboard, write and edit the actual story, come up with illustrations, type the story up (using iPads), learn how to crop photos, and put it all together. This is all done over the course of 2 weeks. They learn editing marks, "Said" alternatives, strong verbs, page design, writing conventions and more. They are given a notebook to guide them. The older kids also helped the younger kids with their books and my daughter really enjoyed that part as well. There is a music component as well. In addition to learning "silly" songs, the campers also learn about rapping and rhyme, and even have a rap battle against the other AIW camps in the area. I was very impressed with my daughter's e-book and would definitely send her next year if she is still interested. It is money well-spent and definitely on the reasonable side in terms of cost, especially when you factor in what the kids learn. The Oakland Hills camp was held on the Aurora School campus. It was a great location. The sign in/out process was very controlled. The camp also offered a lunch service for purchase through a 3rd party. My daughter had the hotdog lunch and the hamburger. She said they were good, but not really hot, which she didn't like. There have been other lunch services at other camps that she has attended where the lunches have actually been served at a proper temperature. That's really the only complaint.

Last year my son went to Camp Galileo's Summer Quest at Corte Madera. He had a wonderful time, and…read morereally enjoyed his major, which was video game design. Kids were nice, staff seemed professional. The reason I gave this four- stars instead of five-- was that my son's minor the first week was "myth-busters". The first two days the kids started, but didn't finish, either experiment. It was pointless to have kids start an experiment, without seeing the results or having any idea why they had started it. After the second day in a row of this nonsense, I spoke to the director and to her credit, she was extremely responsive and they seemed to pull it together. But I was surprised at the poor planning and what a waste of time it was for the kids. I noticed this year they have focused on just one major and no minor, so they are taking the right steps to ensure they make the best use of the time. All that being said, my son was incredibly excited about the video game design major and couldn't wait to go to camp each day so he could work on it. He also really liked the counselors and the kids. If you asked him, he would rave about it, and we'll probably be back this year for the go-cart program.

We had a similar experience as the first reviewer - we sent our kindergartener to galileo last…read moresummer and were disappointed. No counselors seemed to check and see if young campers ate any of their lunch or needed any help during mealtimes. And drop off was very chaotic, with the individual needs of campers overlooked. We had a few days were our son was tearful in the morning, none of his counselors offered any support or engagement. We watched him stand alone crying while multiple staff stood around chatting and dancing with their friends - we ended up speaking individually with one of the assistant directors who received the feedback well. nonetheless, we wouldn't recommend, at least not for parents of younger kids.

Amazing small preschool with teachers who really care. This is a gem of a community. Very very…read moresweet place.

Our three-year-old daughter attended Arbor for the inaugural school year (21-22) and is now…read morereturning for her second year. We've been very, very happy with the school so far. The location is a beautiful, tranquil space, the teachers are all wonderful, and they've brought together a really nice group of students and families. One thing we've especially appreciated about the school is that the whole staff approaches their work with humility: they've been flexible, receptive to feedback, and easy to communicate with in general. It's inevitable that a new school will have its share of logistical hiccups and a bit of trial and error in developing optimal policies, but they consistently approach these challenges with a collaborative spirit. We plan to send our daughter to Arbor for two more years -- and we hope that our son can start there in a couple years when he's old enough!