Our daughter is in Kindergarten with Ms. Perez and Ms. Umanani, and we absolutely love Challenger…read moreSchool. The teachers do a fantastic job of tailoring their approach to kids with different personalities, making learning both highly effective and incredibly fun. Our daughter loves everyone there, from her classroom teachers and Extended Care staff to the administrators. It is a wonderful, supportive community where kids truly thrive!

I am delighted to recommend Challenger School - Middlefield to any parent seeking an academic and…read morecaring environment for their child. My child attended Preschool since he was 3 years old and our experience has been nothing short of outstanding. The teachers ( Miss Jia and Miss Aboli) are compassionate, patient, and highly skilled in early childhood education. The curriculum is a perfect blend of academic learning, social development, and creative play, all within a safe and nurturing environment. Since attending Challenger, my son has grown in confidence, developed important social skills, and discovered a love for learning. I am grateful for the wonderful foundation the Preschool has provided, and I highly recommend them to any family.

Both of my daughters have had great experience at Stratford Palo Alto campus. My older one attended…read morein her pre-K year, and now my younger one is in the Mandarin bilingual preschool program. I'm impressed by the well-designed curriculum which balances music, art, phonics, maths, science, outdoor play time, and of course language skills. She has made great progress in both English and Mandarin Chinese (and also picked some Spanish from the Spanish class). Beyond that, they celebrate all the major cultural festivals with fun activities, including the most recent dancing lion performance in the classroom to celebrate Lunar New Year. Her teachers are amazing! Ms Ella and Ms Jahaira are kind, patient and encouraging. I really appreciate the care they give the children. They often share the fun things that my kid does at school - the small progress she made, her interaction with other kids, etc. They are super attentive and caring. Since I'm writing this, I also want to take this opportunity to thank Ms Martha in the early preschool class who helped my daughter transition well last year, Ms Stephanie, and Ms Sonia and Ms Karen who have been with the school for many years and also taught my older daughter. Ms Kate, Mr Alexis, Ms. Yi, Ms Lois, Ms Nova, along with several other floater teachers, make the school feel very welcoming and friendly.

Ms. Zhang is an exceptional teacher and educator. She has shown tremendous patience, kindness, and…read moreprofessionalism while working with my child, who can be very energetic and strong-willed. She has been instrumental in helping him stay focused, build confidence, and develop important behavioral and learning skills. It's clear that she genuinely cares about her students and is dedicated to helping each child succeed. We are incredibly grateful for the positive impact she has had on our child and highly appreciate the support and guidance she provides in the classroom.

We switched our son who is a third grader to Emerson from the public school. It was the best…read moredecision that we made. Our son wasn't thriving at the public school. He is now transformed academically and socially. The lower elementary head teacher Raji is absolutely amazing, and brings out the individual potential for success in each child. Director, Chuck and Assistant Director, Boi are very supportive and kind. The school runs 8 hours with one hour of lunch play time. My son comes home happy and calm despite having the long day. His attitude towards academics has changed in positive way. My son is now enthusiastic and cares about learning. One thing we really like about Emerson is that the school is very low tech in my opinion. They use technology with intention. We love Emerson!

Mr. Bernstein does not know how children learn, and therefore should not be teaching them. I…read moreobserved his teaching over several days, and it was fair at best. Teachers must build up their students, not belittle them in order to get what they want from them. It's sad...

As I watched the Spring Concert today, I again felt grateful that we discovered this magical school…read morefor our son 6 years ago. The environment here enables each child to bloom at their own pace, their own way. There's positivity and joy in the air. The learning is driven by "pull" from the students rather than "push". This approach spurs natural organic academic excellence. High learning with low stress - for the whole family! The camaraderie in the parent teacher community is palpable and completes the learning circle!

We are so pleased to have found this school. Every single one of the teachers there has made a…read morepositive impact on my daughter's life and she has only been there for two years (TK and K) They genuinely care about all the children and they do a great job of making every child feel significant and special. Everything written on their website is true, everything they said to me on the phone during my admission process is true and what I saw during my prospective visit was genuine. My daughter has grown so much academically, emotionally and spiritually since attending Living Wisdom School. I could not possibly be any happier with my decision to enroll her there.

This is just for their pick up process. They are extremely strict in their rules. I don't mind…read morebeing strict, but the lady enforcing the rules was very very rude. I would say snappy and aggressive. We all want to get in and out, but there is no need to bite someone's head off for asking a question.

Walter Hays is one of 12 great elementary schools in the Palo Alto Unified School District…read more Wonderful staff & dedicated, talented teachers. Great programs in music, art, technology & science. This school is located on the corner of very busy Middlefield & Embarcadero streets. Its nice that there is always a crossing guard during peak school times when children are going to and from school in the mornings & afternoons.

First of all the German is bad, second a Chinese teacher in 4th grade was too strict but taught 1st…read moregrade math, because the Chinese teacher taught math in Chinese. Last The food service is really bad.

Never pressed submit so my review is dated but still accurate. - I just have to give a shout out to…read morethe staff at my children's school during such an insane time in the world. I feel incredibly fortunate that we are part of this community during such trying times. Many people have been so negative and I believe that is primarily due to the fact that this is obviously a terrible time for so many people. INTL is doing everything in their power to provide the best education possible during a world wide pandemic. We have to keep this in mind. My children's teachers have been exceptional considering the challenges of the world right now. We are lucky they even get to go to school. They are excited everyday, I feel like they are safe onsite and that the school is doing everything to the best of their ability. Teachers have found unique ways to share what happens at school with parents online. Pandemic aside- my children are only exposed to Chinese at school and come home singing to themselves in the mirror in Chinese. The program is IB which focuses on creativity and questions. They learn through discovery. The school is as international as you can get in the Silicon Valley which was really important to me having grown up internationally myself. Thank you INTL for working so hard to make such an unreal time in our lives as good as humanly possible.

I know this school is built for people with learning disabilities and ASD, but I feel like the…read morestudents here don't reach their full potential. This is not necessarily the faculty's fault, but I think the curriculum here is way too slow and dumbed down for students. My daughter struggled in this school because it was too slow for her, and she was way ahead of her classmates despite having ASD. The accommodations were great, but I believe the school didn't provide my daughter education she actually learned. She would come home and talk about how much she played on an iPad or a device, which is just unacceptable. Why are kids playing video games in class? This is school, they need to be learning different subjects. My kid talked about how their classmates were playing mobile games on their iPads that they brought to school. I think this school can be better if they focused more on pushing kids beyond what is expected, because if we keep holding our children's hands throughout life because they have autism, it invalidates that people with ASD are actually extremely capable of succeeding. I pulled my daughter out of this school, and I believe it was the best decision. She is now an undergraduate and researcher at the University of California, and I notice that no one from Hope Technology school attends the University of California, nor do any of the staff members graduate from there.

Out son had a wonderful experience at HTS that helped prepare him for public high school…read more Incredibly dedicated staff.

DO NOT send your child to Ohlone…read more It is a well kept secret that there aren't many applicants to the lottery. So if you apply, you will get in. That's because, the academics are sub par and most importantly... Principal Elsa Chen and the teachers fail to create safe environment for younger kids. There is little playground supervision and kids continue to be bullied and physically assaulted despite complaints. They will gaslight you and your child and not respond to emails for the fear of creating a paper trail. And you will be guilt ridden for sending your child to this horrible horrible place. STAY AWAY!

I want to post this review to summarize our experiences at this school…read more This isn't a criticism of the school administration (we like principal Elsa) but rather the school's philosophy and its application, which sound great on paper but are in fact huge problems. The school coddles its students. Their every whim is catered to. If they want to fold origami or sit on their desk while the teacher is speaking, that's ok. Indeed, even returning to class after recess is semi optional. No wonder students have difficulty adjusting to regular school life after they graduate. We saw our child (who was in a different elementary school prior to Ohlone) fall further and further behind academically. There's a reason these faddish, project-based learning schools are not the norm and traditional curriculums predominate worldwide. It's because traditional learning generally works. Parents who went through strict traditional schools are in some cases rebelling against how they were raised and think that enrolling their kids at Ohlone helps them. It doesn't - they're ensuring that their kids fail to develop fundamental skills (math, science, etc.) and equally important non-academic skills such as discipline, perseverance, and resilience. Then there is the parent community. There is a lot of groupthink and the community is rather cult-like in how parents reinforce each others biases. Using one-word terms to describe the parent community is easiest: a. Hypocritical b. Pretentious c. Sanctimonious d. Shallow e. Snobbish f. Vapid (mindlessly spouting diversity and equity slogans while doing the exact opposite) The book, "Coddling of the American Mind" by Jonathan Haidt could have been a field study of this school, so accurate are the issues highlighted there. I think the best way to judge the school is, if the methods work, then graduates should be better adjusted than graduates of other PAUSD elementary schools when they enter middle school. Are they? No, many experience significant adjustment difficulties, feeling disoriented and lost, etc. That's a sign that the school is failing at its most basic goal: to prepare students for what comes next. Was this school not a good fit for us and our kid? Yes. Are our negative experiences unique? Emphatically, no. I've spoken to other parents who are very dissatisfied - some of whom have pulled their kids out and enrolled them in private school - but feel too cowed to say anything. Could the school be a good fit for your kid? It's hard to see how if you agree with even 20% of what I wrote above.

Palo Verde Elementary is an outstanding school that truly stands out for its commitment to creating…read morea nurturing and effective learning environment. From the moment you step onto the recently improved campus, it's clear that this is a place where education is taken seriously and where every child is given the opportunity to thrive. The staff at Palo Verde are genuinely caring, going above and beyond to ensure that every student feels supported and valued. Their dedication is palpable, and it's evident in the positive atmosphere and the smiles on the students' faces. Leading the charge is the hardworking principal, whose leadership and vision have not only enhanced the campus but have also fostered a sense of community and excellence throughout the school. The principal's efforts to engage with students, staff, and parents alike have truly made a difference, creating an environment where everyone is motivated to give their best. Adding to the school's appeal is its vibrant international community, which enriches the educational experience by bringing diverse perspectives and cultures into the classroom. This diversity is celebrated and leveraged as a strength, preparing students to become global citizens with an understanding and appreciation of different cultures. Palo Verde Elementary is not just a school; it's a community where children are nurtured, challenged, and prepared for the future. With its caring staff, hardworking principal, and a recently improved campus that supports learning, Palo Verde stands as a beacon of educational excellence. I cannot recommend it highly enough to any parent looking for a place where their child can grow, learn, and succeed.

Its pretty much your typical Palo Alto Elementary school. Its one of the smaller in the district…read moreand it does have those trailers that have sprung up at every school like mushrooms. It does not offer any of the "Emersion" classes so its mostly local kids so it has a much more intimate feel to it and the kids generally keep the same friends as they go through. The teaching staff is top notch and the school has high scores.

Hoover is one of 12 great elementary schools in the Palo Alto Unified School District…read more Wonderful staff & dedicated, talented teachers. Great programs in music, art, technology & science. Hoover is adjacent to J.L. Stanford Middle School and Mitchell Park.

Amanda Ferreira is such a wonderful teacher here so good with children and communication with…read moreparents thanks Amanda