My family has been very happy with this school. The facility is clean. The staff is friendly and the teachers are fantastic! My son has behavior issues from time to time and this school was very good at helping us handle the issues. There are several playgrounds and activities that the children do. My son comes home singing new songs everyday and has new art projects to show off. We could not be happier. Not to mention we got invited to tons of birthday parties so we made a lot of new age appropriate friends! read more

Both of my children attended Community First and loved their time at the school. It has been a great place for them to learn, play and make friends. The teachers are all great and so is the administration. During Covid it was a safe spot to send our kids. Strongly recommend for anyone looking for a preschool on Sunnyvale, Mountain View or Los Altos. read more

It is a somewhat daunting task to find the perfect school for your child and at times can get very overwhelming. We had inquired at several preschools for our son - ended up on the waitlist for some, one never even responded back to me, and others just didn't quite fit our budget or our schedule, which in the end worked out perfectly for us. When we moved to the border of Sunnyvale and Mountain View, I started my search again and through Yelp, found Community First School. When I first inquired, there was waitlist for my son's age. But by the time I finally was able to take tour, fortunately a couple spots had opened up. We love this school and most importantly, our son LOVES this school. Every day, he comes home talking about what he learned that day (we don't even have to ask). He gets fed, he's made a bunch of friends, gets plenty of outside time, and we never have to worry about him. One of the best parts of this school is an app that they utilize to keep us informed of what the kids have done during the day. Also, communication between the school and the parents is awesome! If you are fortunate enough to be able to send your kid(s) here, I would recommend not to hesitate. My only regret is that I wish I sent him here sooner! read more

The teacher attrition rate is insane. I believe there is only one teacher who has been here for more that 4 years, everyone else is new. The teachers are always complaining about how the place is run, and how often they have to come in to do extra work. Unhappy teachers make for an unhappy class environment. . The Summer Camp kids seem to have a lot of fun, however, the male teacher never smiles or greets the parents. There is no feedback for the parents picking the kids up about how the kids did that day. I often times noticed that there were some kids who ask for more milk and or food, and the teachers tell them there is no more, especially with fruit .. :( The lunch served is good The grounds and facility is good The prices are fair for the area considering they provide two snacks and lunch Only if the owners could figure out a way to keep the good teachers on for longer, it would make the school a lot better. read more

We were so worried about sending our daughter to school (she was with a nanny until she turned 2) and I'm so glad we found this place! I toured probably 20 schools and this is by far the best one. There are so many good things to write about CFS so I'm just going to pick a few highlights: 1. The director Miss Mimi. Where do I start? This women is something else. At every point in time she knows everything about every kid. She also knows all the parents and sometimes even sibilings and grandparents :) She's always smiling, warm and helpful. She is super intelligent with a great educational approach and whenever we had any questions or concerns she handled it in the best possible way. She truly cares - about the kids, the staff, the families. We were so impressed by her. 2. They provide all the meals and snacks which is super convenient! They always have a vegetarian option. The food is not always super healthy but at least it's cooked there and they do serve lots of fruits and vegetables. 3. Unlike other schools, CFS does not feel like "a factory" and they make an effort to understand the needs of every kid and family. For example my daughter is vegan and they were 100% supportive and accommodating, including educating the teachers on the topic. This made everything so much easier for us. 4. The staff is great - from the lovely teachers (Miss Carmen, Angelica, Vee and many more) to the friendly Miss Breanna in the reception, to the cook and really everyone. 5. They have lots of special events when parents are invited that are completely optional but really fun! They live up to their name - it really is a community. They also have parents nights out! Is this place perfect? No place is... Of course some teachers are better than others (we haven't seen even one bad teacher though!! They range from okay to amazing), the food could be healthier... But these are all small things. Overall I think this school is so much better than any other I've seen and our daughter just loved going there and learned so much. I highly recommend it!! read more

More than one year ago I started my kid in CFS, now he's graduated and I have no complaints. The campus is not too close to the roads, and has spacious rooms, playgrounds and parking lot. Tuition is cheap which includes snacks and lunch. The management is very helpful. Teachers organize lots of activities for kids and upload photos everyday. I like their not forcing kids to nap, since my kid had stopped taking naps long ago. After starting school he needed nap at times though, I can see that he played hard! He also studied hard here. I never taught him writing, but when I took him to apply for a private elementary school, his handwriting was praised. I hope CFS live through this pandemic and keep up the good work. read more

CFS is a great school/center to send your kids to. Pros: leveled classrooms, academic instruction, large play area outside, great hours (7-6), reasonable affordable, 2 snacks and lunch included, directors very easy to communicate with. i know my son was well taken care of :) Cons: Not many! My biggest gripe is that the day my son turned 4, dedicated and supported naptime ended. he wasn't ready to let that go, and while they still "offered" him a nap, it was hard for him to do it in a room with regular activity going on. Overall, I would recommend this place! We were sad to leave it. read more

Let me start by saying my son has been going to CFS since he was 5 months old. This school has always been more then receptive and responsive whenever I have an issue or questions regarding my sons care. I do not know where the other review that is citing dirty school conditions is coming from as I have never seen this in all the time my son has been at this school (my son is currently 3 1/2). Sure there has been turnover, but what place doesn't have turnover at some point? The teachers they currently have are nothing short of nurturing and caring. If your looking for a safe and fun environment for your child, this is it. My family loves this school and we will be sad when it's time for us to move on. -Current Parent of a child enrolled at CFS" read more

CFS is a great school and I feel safe leaving my 15 month old daughter there. She started at 8 months in the infant class, and I was worried sending her to daycare this early, but she took to the school very well. Very caring teachers and they update you everyday on how much your kid ate, pooped, how many times their diaper was changed; everything you wished you knew when you are leaving your little one to go to work. They also will call you in case of any accident, no matter how tiny and let you whether its important or not and you will get an accident report sheet at the end of the day. I would recommend full time, because that gives your child more time to adjust to their new surroundings, teachers and other kids. My daughter is now in the toddler class and she still loves going there. She sits on a little table and eats her own food and has a good routine where she will take a 2-21/2 hr nap int he afternoon. They have playtime for them twice, depending on the weather, which my daughter loves. They also have artwork and I usually get a big stack of my daughter's 'artwork' at the end of the month. All in all, the kids have fun and my daughter comes home learning new words and actions everyday. I used to send food for my daughter when she was in the infant class, but they have an option of fresh made food cooked everyday and great choices with egg and nuts free options. They also provide milk if you choose to. The good thing is, you can pick and chose any meals from school or would like to provide your own. My daughter seems to love eating there and always will eat better at school than at home. I am very happy with this place and do recommend it to other parents. read more

This school is wonderful!!! Unfortunately we were only here for a short period of time but I highly recommend this school. ALL the teachers and staff really do a great job keeping the kids happy. read more

This school is just great. When we first visited, we were somewhat put back by the huge spaces that were not used, the buildings that were quite old and needed refreshing... so, we had doubts. But when our daughter started to go there we found how well everything is organized there, how nice and caring the staff is, and, of course, the main point is that our daughter loves it there. The application they use to inform parents of what their kids do during the day is very helpful, we receive at least one photo of our kid every day and a full report on what she ate and how her day is going. We also love the fact that our child is in a class with kids from all over the world - there is no one particular dominating nationality - same goes for the teachers at this school - everybody is different, and we really like it. In addition, tuition here is lower than in most of the schools in the area. read more

I just have to say that we miss it here. My daughter started when she was 2.5 years old. CFS was the first care that she had received from anyone outside of family. Fast forward to two plus years later, they had become our family. Every time I picked her up from school, she wasn't ready to leave because she was having so much fun with either her friends, with the activities or enjoying story time. As a working mom, they made it easy for me as they provided 3 meals a day, worked with her and us when needed. It was a loving and nurturing environment that I am forever grateful for. They're super flexible and just great all around. I'll continue to recommend them, even though we no longer live in the area. read more

Loving this daycare! My two year old daughter goes to this school and within the first week, stopped crying and enjoys going now. The staff and administrators (including the Director, Mimi) are highly responsive/accessible. They also have an app through which the parents receive updates on activities through the day and a report at the end of the day that tells you 1. how many times diapers were checked and changed, 2. How well or not your child has eaten snacks and meals. Fair amount of transparency which put us at ease! read more

My 2.5 year old daughter was there for 2 months. We absolutely did not have a good experience there. She started the day care when she was 2 year and 3 months, and before that she with my mom or my wife. She didn't cry that much on the first days since we had talked to her about kids going to daycare and she was exited about going to school. Anyways, after the first week, I was getting phone calls from the school that she does not sleep during the nap time and they can't take care of her since the teacher wants to take break. I had to drive there almost every day to sit with her, every day I was arriving there she was in tears and she was frightened and sad. it even makes me upset now when I remember those days. I will add more details. read more

The previous reviewer's one-star review of this place is a joke. They very clearly have an ulterior motive. Perhaps a competitor? Anyway, I would give this place 4 stars, but I'm upping it to 5 because I'm so annoyed with people who review for their own benefit and I'd like to do my part to offset their review. In all honesty, this pre-school is as good as it gets in this area. Our daughter attended for around a year and a half (1 year old to almost 3). We decided to pull her to make the switch to Montessori, and we're kind of sorry that we did. We were expecting a Montessori experience that was on-par with the schools we attended at her age, and have been fairly disappointed. I really like a few things about Community First School. First, the front office staff are pretty genuine (I can tell because my daughter loved them, and she can't stand insincerity). Second, the rates are fair, especially for this area (and snacks/meals included). Finally, the curriculum is not lacking. My daughter learned as much (maybe more) from her Community First teachers' curriculum as she has from her Montessori teachers' curriculum. I could list the few things that I don't like about Community First School, but I don't really see the point. Let's just say that the list of things I don't like about this school is much shorter than the list of things I don't like about previous daycares/preschools that my daughter has attended. read more

Community First School has been a second home to my son and daughter for the past 6 years. As a parent, and local teacher myself, we feel blessed to have found such a loving and nurturing environment for our children. Community First has been absolutely exceptional. Both of my children have flourished under the care of Community First's outstanding staff. My son, who is now in first grade, still talks about his teachers and how much fun he had while there. Inherently introverted, he developed a strong sense of confidence while at Community First that has allowed him to flourish in grade school. My younger daughter has also thrived while here. One of her more recent teachers, Miss Erica, is hands-down the best teacher that she has ever had. Miss Erica is loving, patient, organized and extremely creative. My daughter loves going to school every day and excitedly tells me everything that she learned when I pick her up. I love Community First's organic approach to learning. The curriculum is hands-on, fun and age appropriate. My daughter is not only learning how to write, but she has also been learning Spanish with Ms. Erica. Now when my son sits down to do homework in the evenings, my daughter joins us at the table to "practice her letters and Spanish" as well. We only have two more years at Community First and I can honestly say that I will miss the teachers and staff once my daughter has graduated. They have made such a positive impact on my family and I whole-heartedly recommend this school to any family looking for a nurturing environment with an emphasis on balanced, inquiry-based learning. read more

If you're looking for an after school program for your school aged child, this is the place to be! My daughter goes to Cumberland, CF picks her up after school and they have a great program. She's mad some wonderful friends and it always encouraged and supported by the staff. This was a much better choice for her and our family than the after school program located on the school campus. The adult to child ratio is better and the kids are always friendly. read more

We started our daughter in the infant room through the waddler room and were SO happy with Community First. The only reason we left was because we moved and the commute would have been ~45 minutes if we'd kept her there (but don't think we didn't seriously contemplate it!) Community First has unmatched infant/teacher ratios, is such a wonderful facility tucked away from busy streets, but beyond that felt like a family more than a business. The people/teachers are so loving and caring and we were heartbroken to have left! Every chance I get I try and recommend this place. I see there's a negative post which I'm really shocked about as we had the exact opposite experience. We miss that place! An example to show how much they care.. they even sent a beautiful home made holiday card made by the kids and teachers to my daughter even after we'd been gone from the school for a month. How incredibly thoughtful!! read more

I took a tour of this place today and WOW!... It brought back so many memories. Memories of a time when school was a fun, safe and exciting place for a kid to be. These days schools and daycares are hit and miss. Well, luickily for the people in Sunnyvale, this place is a hit. The sound of kids playing and the smell of garlic bread in the kitchen made me want to stay. Unfortunatly, I had to go back to work. Back to the real world. I would have traded places with any one of those lucky kids. read more

I can't say enough good things about CFS. My son has been here since he was 4 months old. The teachers are SO sweet to the babies and the kids. In many ways, they have helped me learn how to be a first time mom - when to increase solids, when to drop naps, etc. The directors are top notch - very involved in the day to day in the classroom, clearly loved and respected by teachers and parents, and very responsive to emails and calls. Of course, I have had questions and concerns along our journey about how my son is being cared for, and they are always happy to discuss and quick to make sure I feel comfortable. At least in the infant room, they will make recommendations but always ultimately defer to how YOU want your child to be cared for, which matters a lot to me and my partner. Lastly, I said it before but I'll say it again - the teachers love the kids. They are deeply nurturing and good at their jobs. I love seeing the way that they love my son, and it makes it so much easier for me to go to work every day knowing that my child is loved and cared for. Only possible downside I can think of (this doesn't bother me) is that they are fairly low tech - no real time updates on diaper changes and naps sent to your phone, but to me that's a positive ;). read more

My son went to CFS for almost 3 years, until it was time for him to go to kindergarten. We cannot say enough good things about the school, the teachers, or the community. My son still asks when he can go back. We 100% recommend this school if you are in the area, even if you are not. We moved to San Jose and still decided to keep our son in CFS because we knew it was such a great place for him to be. read more

Our daughter is in their infant room, and I can't say enough nice things about the teachers in her room. She is a very active child, and they have shown her so much love and patience throughout each phase in her life so far. Especially when she first started, she was refusing bottles, but now she takes them like a champ with the teachers! They keep me completely updated on her day, and I feel very connected with the entire staff at the school. It really is like a big family. read more

We were only able to have our daughter at CFS for a short time, but she love every minute of being there and we would enroll her again in a second if we ever move back. I appreciated the helpful attitude of al the staff. The teachers were friendly to our whole family each day during dropoff no pickup. Everything in the office was organized and getting questions answered was easy every time. Our daughter learned so many songs and had lots of fun each day. CFS is a fantastic school! read more

Our kid fell sick every other week for the 6 weeks she was there. I'm pretty sure it was from other kids because anytime we visited we noticed at least a couple of kids with runny noses. So overall I'd say they have a low bar for the sick child policy. As a working mom that made things very difficult because I'd have to find alternate arrangements at the last minute. read more

We totally disagree with whoever it is that gave this school such a bad review earlier this year!! This is a great school!! We have enjoyed this school for the last 1,5 years and we are so happy to bring our two children here every day. Our son is soon turning 3 and our daughter is starting 1st grade after this summer. They both enjoy their classes. Our daughter is in the after school program, where they always are doing a lot of fun things as well as homework and different academic projects. The teacher is very supportive and brings a lot of positive energy in the classroom and our daughter loves to be there. They pick her up after school and we know she always gets healthy snack when she is there. Now she is really looking forward to the summercamp where the school gave us a lot of flexibility to decide which weeks we wanted her to come. They will have different themes every week and there will be a lot of fieldtrips and they will serve her 2 times snack and a healthy lunch as well. And she can come as early as 7 am and be there until 6 pm if we need/want to drop her and pick her up early/late. Our son has been in the waddler class, the 2 years room and will soon move on to the 3 years room and we have seen him growing, making new friends and having so much fun. We feel secure to leave our children to this well-run school. We really appreciate the size of the school, the familiar atmosphere, the healthy home-cooked food, the time they spend outside in their lovely playgrounds, getting a "report" everyday from the 2 years room, so that we know when he went potty, what they have been doing and what and how much he ate during the day etc. We would gladly recommend this school to everyone who wants to see their children grow, play and having fun when learning new things every day!! read more

I totally disagree with the two extreme reviews below which do not say anything about their experience of child care provided by the school. Perhaps they visited the school once and saying their first impressions? ... Anyway, here is my review based on my experience during the previous 1.5 years (and currently) when my two children have been going to the school. (By the way, it is strange that my earlier review, written in May 2012, was taken out with no reason. So, I am posting it again). *** My daughter (age 5) and son (age 3) have been with Community First School (CFS) for the last year and half. We feel very fortunate to have found CFS. Teachers pay attention to individual child's needs, and hence, know each child very well. When I pick up my son, I hear many teachers, whether his own classroom teacher or not, tell me similar stories about my child's day. The school works hard to make our life easier and richer. When we decided to potty train my son, his teacher took the initiative, and within two weeks he got fully potty-trained. Without the teachers help, we expect it would have taken much longer. They also occasionally offer a "parent's night out" program to let parents enjoy a few hours in the evening to go out without kids. The classrooms are spacious so that my children have some opportunity to do more individual activities and have some private space and play without interruptions when they feel like. The large playgrounds have open spaces to run and bike around, various trees, flowers and vegetables, as well as lots of age-appropriate play structures. Since my daughter started kindergarten, she continued her summer camp and then after school at CFS. She feels at home there, and often wants to stay there longer when I pick her up. My daughter does many fun things (e.g., creative arts, group sports, games, cooking) in addition to writing a journal page or doing homework under teacher's supervision. The school was very flexible to accommodate our need for change in schedule so that my daughter could enjoy various after school activities for the days she is not going to CFS (although she likes the days at CFS the best!!). read more

I used to send my 2 year old daughter here. The 2's class was filled with too many kids. The administrator assured me that they would hire more teachers. This never happened. There were about 20+ kids with only 2 teachers ( when 3 would have been better). To top it, the teacher attrition rate was terrible. Every teacher would be gone in 2 months. With this kind of churn, trying to potty-train kids is hard. There are other saner places in Sunnyvale - just look around. read more

What an awful place. I don't know where to begin. I walked in with no appt to ck out the place. The office consists of trash all over the floor. Smells like spoiled dog food. The classroom had an odor like someone peed on the floor and food was left out in a tray two hours after lunch. The Vietnamese couple that rent the place are money hungry. They will negotiate with you to try to get you in the door. I don't know why this place has not yet been shut down. The gang who try to show a pretty face to the facility, specifically Jean and Jessica, have a permement smile painted on but if your smart you will see the resources are slim and kids are treated like a flock of animals with nothing of value to be taught to the kids. All I have left to say after speaking with a few parents is avoid this place. read more

I just wanted to repeat again how good my experience has been with CFS. My son loves it and we are so glad we found it.

This is a top rate place to take your children. My 7 year old went to their summer program and is now in the after school program as well. The summer program is awesome! They take great field trips and when not on a field trip do age appropriate activities that the kids love! My daughters loved mad scientist day! Their after school program is a god send for working parents. They assist with homework in an environment that allows the children to complete the tasks at hand. As an added bonus, they also have language enrichment. The children can learn Spanish or Mandarin. They teach them using fun activities such as bingo in spanish and this week she is making a book of pictures of words in Spanish that they are going to laminate for practice! The teachers are fantastic! They keep the environment safe, but still are loving towards the kids. I am so happy to have found Community First. I only wish I had found them sooner. read more

Money was not an issue when we were looking for a place to send our daughter. We looked everywhere in the Mountain View, Los Altos and Sunnyvale area. We choose Community First School and we're very pleased with it. Upon first look, it's not the newest facility or up to date (technology wise) but when it comes down to it, the most important thing are the teachers. My daughter is in the Twos room and you will not find more loving and caring teachers. When we go to pick her up, the teachers (Miss Alice or Miss Mel) will always take the time to tell me how my daughter was that day - "was she cranky, did she have a good day, did she listen well etc". She's given BIG hugs when she leaves and the teachers love her and she loves them. But ... it doesn't stop there. My daughter knows most of the staff by name which surprised me. When we leave she waves good bye and says "Bye, Miss Jean, Bye Miss Mimi" ... the whole school just has a family feeling to it, it's warm and inviting. The owners care about the children - yes they are a business but I get a really good feeling when I go to pick her up and she though she's happy to come home with us, she makes sure she says good-bye to everyone. When it came down to it, my husband and I were choosing between CFS and Wonder Years for totally different reasons. We're glad we chose CFS, while not perfect, because it provides a loving, playful and educational environment for our daughter. I'm not the only one who feels this way. I've recommended this place to two of my friends and they both send their kids to CFS as well. read more

My older child has attended summer camp at CFS for the last few years and loves it. CFS directors and teachers both make special efforts to accommodate older children to support their leadership skills and keep them engaged throughout the day. The number of children to teacher ratios are great. Not sure what the previous post meant by the attrition as we have had the same teacher for the last few years. CFS's healthy food and fresh made meals have also been a treat for my picky eater! read more

My first yelp review and I must say this school deserves my first rating. My daughter transition from day care to CFS and never looked back! She loves this school. We enrolled her in the preschool program with CFS during the middle of the year and was afraid how she would adapt to the change but her first day was successful and there after. Everyone welcomed her with warm greetings and made her feel as if she was there from the beginning. There is never a struggle in the morning to get up for school. That tells me the school is doing something right. =). I really like the free play which allows the kids to be independent. The teachers are all so informative and caring. They treat each child unique and is very attentive. We had prior enrollment scheduled with another school before attending CFS and was just awaiting for that school year to start this past August. CFS was very patient and worked with us in making sure everything was taken care of in which ever direction we decided and of course, we made the decision to keep her at CFS where she is most happy and thriving to complete the preschool program. My daughter was thrilled! Just like any other parent out there, I want the best care and safe environment for my child and I definitely feel CFS has provided that. Thank you CFS! read more

If you are looking for a place for your child be careful. This campus is spacious and looks great at first, however take a quick whiff of the disgusting office and a glance at the way the owners conduct themselves and keep on walking. The staff that used to work here were excellent, but ask them about their teacher turnover and the qualifications of their management staff and you will find out the root of the problem. The owners are worried about the bottom line (the almighty dollar) and couldnt care less about the teachers or children (or even their own children who are constantly dirty). The teachers have a lot to say, but they wouldnt dare tell a new parent. You have to attend to see the multitude of problems. I won't get into licensing issues, but no one at your school should need clearance exceptions to work there. I agree too with the post about the fake smiles. You can also hear the owners and staff talking about teachers, parents, and children from the front lobby. In the front it says may all who enter leave as friends, but it's more like dissatisfied customers. read more

I am not sure if Nahed attended the first school both my children are attending; I doubt so. It is one of the cleanest and nicest daycares in the area. Student parent ratio is very good; the rooms are nice and spacious. I have never seen trash on the floors, what a nonsense. The caregivers appear to truly care about the children, and mine sometimes do not want to leave. We love CFS. Also, prices are very reasonable for the area, and anybody money hungry would use the shortage of daycare space in the area to charge more. I would recommended (and have recommended) CFS to my friends. read more

What a happy place! My grandson has been attending here for about eight months and I pick him up more than half the time. My grandson is not yet a year. The first thing that impressed me was the contentment of the other babies. I have picked him up over 100 times, and I might hear crying maybe four times! They are just having a great time, they interact with each other and yet have routines that keep them calm. The teachers have all been sweet and very friendly towards the babies and the caretakers. It is very clean, organized and the documentation they give us every day is very useful and well done. The two co-managers are always around, full of smiles, clearly running this school well, and my grandson loves them. We definitely recommend this school, and have NO idea what the two negative reviews that didn't get hidden come from. If you want to see 12 more very positive reviews look at the hidden reviews. read more

When we first found this school (during an exhaustive and stressful search) we loved it. The space is great, the rooms are very large, the outdoor play area is huge and everyone seemed very nice and friendly. But there were several red flags early on in our experience there and I so wish we had listened to our guts, which was telling us this was NOT a positive and caring environment for our child. We came here after relocating to the area with our two year old and while pregnant with our second child--due a few months after we moved. Needless to say there were a lot of changes going on in our lives. We communicated all of these issues to the staff and the teachers in the two year old room when we toured the school. They assured us be sensitive to how many changes she was dealing with. So we weren't surprised when for the first week or two our daughter had a hard time napping there, though she had not had any issues at her former daycare. After a week, I asked the teachers to walk me through their routine. It sounded pretty normal, except that they didn't mention her pacifier. I asked about it and the teacher told me "oh we don't give her that. We told her she is not a baby anymore and big girls don't need pacifiers." So without consulting me at all they had intentionally deprived her of her biggest comfort/stability item (which she used exclusively to nap and never at any other point during the day). The pacifier was a precursor for several months of nap battles. She started sleeping there (without it) but it was never very regular. It became a daily struggle and the teachers would recount epic battles of will, which I couldn't help but think were reinforcing the problem. By the end of our time there our daughter was flat our refusing to nap, EVER (this from a child who put herself to sleep at every nap and bedtime for the last 1.5 years.) We tried everything we could think of and talked almost weekly about finding another school but were torn about introducing any other changes into our toddler's life. One day our in-laws picked her up early from school and found her sitting at a table, eating snack all by herself. The teacher told them that when she didn't nap they punished her by not letting her eat snack with the other children. Meanwhile, our daughter would come home and begin acting out these very stressful situations with her dolls. Some days she would line them up and yell at them "it's time to go to sleep! no talking! If you don't lay down right now, I am going to take your baby away." Other times she would tell them that they were all going on thinking time because they were "very bad." I spoke to her teachers about the thinking time issue and they said "oh we have no idea where she gets that from. She is never on thinking time. Other than nap time, she is so well behaved." But I observed them putting other children on "thinking time" regularly--it seemed to be their primary method of discipline. The nap drama continued and we regularly asked how we could help. I kept saying "I cannot force her to sleep, and neither can you. So what can we try that might work better?" But the only response I got was that she didn't have to sleep, she just had to lay on her mat. Quietly. For two hours. While that sounds lovely, I have yet to meet a two year old that is capable of that. We completely understood that it was a problem if she was waking up other children or disrupting the classroom and tried to find a solution but they had no suggestions other than her laying there quietly when she couldn't sleep. I couldn't believe ours was the first child to have a hard time napping but they seemed completely at a loss. After one particularly bad week we met with them and they assured us they understood what a difficult situation we were in: I was about to go back from maternity leave and though we really did want to find a new school at that point, we had no idea how to find one that could take both an infant and a two year old that we would be happy with. Miraculously, she slept 3 out of the next 5 days (after literally months of not napping once). But three days before I went back to work the director called me in the middle of nap time and told me they were kicking her out! Thankfully, we did find another school for both kids on very short notice. After a week or two of quiet adjustment during nap time (where they let her play on her cot, color, or do quiet activities), our toddler r is happily back to napping. But it's been three months since we left community first and just today while playing the "sleeping game" I heard her say to her baby doll 'if you don't lay down right now I am going to take your baby and throw it in the trash." Not a week goes by without her doing or saying something she learned there that makes me cringe. I wish daily that we had listened to our gut and moved her sooner. She is so much happier (and better rested) at her new school. read more

We have three young children and as such have pretty much surveyed most of the preschools in the Sunnyvale/Mountain View neighborhood. We are so thankful that we have Community First School (CFS) to take care of our precious little ones. Besides the beautiful large playground and clean bright classrooms, we are most impressed with the school in the following areas: 1. Loving, caring and well trained teachers. All my children adore their teachers and talk about them a lot at home. For our 2-year old boy, the teachers fill out a detailed daily report every day which is so helpful to us. The teachers took initiative to discuss with us the best way to potty train our son and are always willing to listen to our special needs. My daughter's Pre-K teacher Ms. Rockie is an amazing teacher. She inspires the little minds with all kinds of creative projects and loves them as her own children. The CFS prepared my daughter well for Kindergarten. 2. Healthy snack and lunch. Many preschools either do not provide lunch or serve food that we do not think are that healthy for children. Community First School serves healthy snacks and lunch made from scratch. Their kitchen is always filled with fresh fruits and vegetables. One day I bumped into the staff peeling sweet yams and I was thoroughly impressed that they take the effort to do that, as opposed to serving canned yams which would be cheaper and faster. We are so thankful that the CFS takes the effort to prepare nutritious food for the children. 3. High professionalism. Director Thao has many years of experience in child care and educational programs. She treats every request and activity professionally and with attentiveness. We know we can always count on her for providing the best care for our children! We would highly recommend Community First School to any of our friends! Thank you, Thao, for bringing such a fine school to our community! read more

This is the worst school i have seen in my life....they are just behind money, money,..... and money.....i cannot say more than this.....think for urself before you go there..... read more

My daughter has been at this school for about 6 months. So far I have been very pleased with our experience here. When I was looking for a preschool I decided on this one because I was impressed with the size and layout of the classrooms and with the large outdoor space they had for the kids to play. The prices are very reasonable and the hours (7-6) are perfect for my schedule as a working mom. I also like the fact that they provide lunch and two snacks. I loved that within a week or two all the staff, even teachers from other rooms, seemed to know my child by name and would greet us as we passed them going to/from her classroom. The only reason why I didn't put 5 stars was I wish I knew more about my child's day especially about things like nap, eating, general behavior etc. if I ask they are more than willing to talk to me, but often the teacher with her at the end of the day is not her main teacher during the day and doesn't know much. Overall very happy and will continue with this school. read more