We have two children at TBS - 2nd grade and ECC. We actually stumbled upon the ECC campus when…read morelooking 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.

TBS provides a nurturing environment with comprehensive educational support that will not only…read moreshape 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

This is my daughters school and so far we are loving it. She is finishing up second grade and was…read morenew to the school this year. The education is very solid and the music program is fantastic. They have small class sizes and two teachers per class. I feel that they really know my child here and that is worth every penny. Amelie's review: I really like my school,teachers,music and science. I love sitting near the class room at snack and hanging on the high bar.

Our daughter has completed two years at Black Pine Circle and every morning she is in a hurry to…read moreget to school. I'm writing this review because she has flourished at BPC, both academically and socially, and without a doubt the school can take a lot of credit for it. The headmaster John Carlstroem knows what he is doing, and runs a very happy ship. A school is a complex environment with many personalities and expectations that need to be managed. John works with a reservoir of deep intellect and excellent management skills and has managed to set a harmonious tone for the whole school. He thinks deeply about education and pedagogy, and he spends the school's money wisely. John's passion for the school is reflected in extraordinary commitment by the teachers, who are superb. In the lower school the kids learn english and math well, and the school's emphasis on music permeates lessons and activities and is wonderful to behold. In a review such as this it is not possible to describe the full extent of the curriculum, but I have been continually amazed by what my daughter is learning. Most importantly, her teachers have taught her self-respect, self-confidence, and have instilled in her a love of learning. I have spoken to many parents around the Bay Area, and I know there are many good schools. Still, I may be biased, but I feel that BPC is special, in a very good way. P.S. The math club is among the best in California.

My kids have been attending Ms. Wang's classes (Both Math and English, both group and private) in…read morethe past 4 years. There is no push needed from me at all as kids just want to join and learn from the engaging sessions. Ms. Wang also would give feedbacks and updates on progress and findings which I highly appreciate. Ms. Wang is a caring educator as I know during Covid she offered free group lectures online to support kids in community that have less access. I am glad our kids are thriving with support from Ms. Wang

We have used Karen for years for our two boys. Before we found her one of my sons was struggling in…read moremath. After finding Karen consistent A's. She also stays on top of what's being taught at school to keep them ahead of the curve. I highly recommend her.

My daughter was struggling in math after finishing the fourth grade. After a few weeks of Sylvan…read moreshe's much more confident and no more tears during homework. The communication is strong and I've appreciated the timely check-ins and reports on progress so we know exactly how she's doing. They also provide prizes so she's actually excited to go!

Sylvan helped our stubborn to read and now Sylvan is teaching him the mechanics and joys of…read morewriting. Your child has the skills to master these skills. He or she simply does not want to do it with their parents. Send them to Sylvan. You will not regret it.

We have had a great experience with Mathnasium so far! Our 11 year old 6th grader has been…read moreattending for the past 5 months and she feels much more confident in the foundational math fluency that she was missing. She never complains about going and is always jumping out of the car quickly to run in and start (this is truly a feat with our kid). Mathnasium staff have been engaging, helpful and non-judgmental and she feels really comfortable there. They have a great system to incentivize the kids so they look forward to going and being able to win prizes and complete their master checks. I also really appreciate the ease of the online appointment system and the option to have at least 1 weekend day for sessions. The staff and owners have been very approachable and flexible with scheduling requests and issues we have had. Highly recommend.

My 7 year old daughter did not want to go here at all. She complained, said she didn't need help…read moreand I had to drag her there. After her assessment and first day, she LOVES it and begs to go daily. The tutors are super friendly and make the kids feel welcome- they give regular prizes which get the kids excited about finishing their worksheets. For parents- The owner has made this after school activity super convenient for parents! I signed up for 3 hours of tutoring per week, we can come in anytime during their business hours for our slots, no need to adhere to a strict day/time and if you take a vacation, your hours will roll over and you won't lose them. Highly recommended and well worth your money!!

As public schools go, this is a good one to consider despite the less-than-attractive architecture…read morethat greets prospective parents when visiting. We originally were disappointed with our assignment here (let's put it this way: Berkeley asked us to make our top 3 choices for schools where our kids would go. We did not get choice #1, #2, or #3. Welcome to Berkeley...) The school has an amazing garden which has been up and running since before 1908 (they have photos which document the life of this garden). The gardening teacher is cool! Her name is Tara and she is swell! The cooking classes use food grown in the garden and the lunches are all 100% ORGANIC!!! No weird stuff, no hormones in the milk, no growth hormones/antibiotics, etc. Every single kid gets a 100% organic Universal Breakfast at 10:00 each morning regardless of family income. It's a given, like PE (duh! Kids need exercise and good food in order to learn...we can't count on the government to figure that out. Remember Reagan telling us all that ketchup counted as a vegetable....) Anyway, sorry about the tangent, I just think this is such a cool arrangement. Here's the greatest part of the whole thing (for me, anyway). Every Monday morning there is an assembly welcoming the kids back to school and encouraging parents to stay. There is a teacher, Mr. Ted Watson, who is AMAZING!!! He leads the kids in campy songs that make me laugh so hard I almost pee my pants (imagine the average 3rd grader). My all-time favorite song is "The Weeny Man". Here's some lyrics and you decide: I know a weeny man He runs a weeny stand He sells most everything from hot dogs on down. Someday I'll join his life I'll be his weeny-wife. Hot Dog!! I love the Weeny Man!!! Well, there's more but you get the gist...Who wouldn't love this?! This teacher gives me faith that teachers can be fun, cool, get kids' attention, and have fun learning. Hot Dog!! I love the teachers at this school! The principal is cool, too. If you live in Berkeley, and you're bummed you didn't get into the fancy school on the hill (you know which one...), please give Washington a chance. It has a lot to offer. 4 Stars b/c some of the teachers need to retire or just quit teaching, most are good tho'. The cafeteria ladies remain humorless despite the high quality food offered.

I volunteered for Ms. Talbott's class a few years back and I had the most wonderful experience…read moreever. Ms. Talbott is one of the leading teachers at Washington Elementary in equity, forward thinking and compassionate teaching. The school board should model their philosophy after her teaching standards and practices. My work schedule does not permit me to volunteer anymore but for all of the parents out there looking for a stellar Kindergarten teacher at Washington, try to get into Ms. Talbott's class.

I went to give a guest lecture on archaeology with a few other graduate students and was deeply…read moreimpressed by this school. The girls were passionate, self-possessed, and hungry to learn. I was consistently surprised by the caliber and complexity of the questions they were asking while we were lecturing and there was no lack of self-confidence that you so often see with girls in their pre-teen years. The teachers were equally as engaged and enthusiastic, and it was obvious that they were professionals at the top of their game, but also personally involved with the girls' progress as well. The campus is beautiful, located in a building designed, appropriately enough, by Julia Morgan. If I ever have children, I'd move heaven and earth to have my daughter attend this school. And this after spending only half a day there!

We love it at JMSG! Our sixth grader is thriving. She receives so much personal attention and help…read moreto become a confident student. She struggles in math and is becoming a confident math learner. She absolutely loves the emphasis on women's empowerment. This is helping her grow into the kind of woman we want her to be. She participates in musical theater after school and is looking forward to playing basketball next season. What a gorgeous campus, dedicated teachers, and unparalleled curriculum! I'm so glad we found JMSG for our girl!

I have been to Greta's Kumon center on multiple occasions and based on my experiences, I couldn't…read moredisagree more with Cynthia W.'s review. First, it's a math and "reading" program - not "English" (i.e. you don't read novels or write essays).. Second, it's too bad that Cynthia's experience was less than satisfactory because Greta has been running the center for many, many years with amazing results. Many of her former students become her teaching assistants - and who better to guide younger students than former students who are fully familiar with the system? My observations of the Center: 1. The math program is impressive.. After a short time, kids can perform semi-complex math in their heads. Greta and her staff teach them shortcuts to dealing with fractions, multiplication, and division that I wish I had learned when I was young. 2. The primary instructor, Greta, and her staff are truly committed to teaching, and clearly enjoy the satisfaction of seeing their students learn new skills. 3. Kumon is great for two kinds of students: 1) those who have fallen behind and therefore continue to struggle with their schoolwork, and 2) those who wish to enhance their traditional schooling to get ahead. 4. It's never too late or too early to start. Kids start as young as 3 and continue through high school. What isn't helpful is starting and stopping, starting and stopping. The best results are seen through continuous enrollment. 5. I will surely enroll my kids and am confident that the skills they learn from Greta will certainly put them at the top of the class. My advice to prospective families - don't judge this center just by one inflammatory review. Go to an orientation. Meet and talk to Greta. Observe her center in action. Then, make your decision. The results speak for themselves.

We've had the most amazing experience with the Kumon in El Cerrito. I became really concerned about…read moremy son's math instruction at school when the transition was made to Common Core. Not only was math being taught in a very confusing way, but the materials were awful, and the teachers were unable to explain the material to either me or my son. That's when we enrolled in Kumon, and it allowed me to relax and breathe again. Greta and the Kumon staff are incredibly capable, dedicated, and kind, and I felt confident that they would keep my son's math learning on track regardless of what was going on at school. That was 5 years ago, and my son has gone from a poor math student in elementary school to a straight A math student in high school. You won't regret giving Kumon a try!