We were really looking forward to having Ms. CASEY be our son's Kindergarten's teacher next year,…read moreand I was so disappointed (honestly, enraged) that the new Principal, Ms. Saranya, had suddenly changed Ms. Casey's classroom. I am sincerely appalled. Ms. Casey is one of the BEST teachers at Grant, and I am not feeling positive about Ms. Saranya, a young woman appointed as Principal with very little experience in a lead position herself. Ms. Saranya doesn't seem to be a team player, nor does she have any genuine compassion and regard for her best teachers, which she should cherish.

Grant elementary school is an amazing place. The facility is gorgeous, with lots of greenery, a…read morelovely mural and a track! It is very well maintained. The entire staff are kind, professional and compassionate. Teachers are wonderful. Grant is a community - huge level of parental involvement, kids and adults helping eachother thrive. Lots of events throughout the year bring the families together. Love the after school offerings including piano classes, chess club and more. The PTA is extremely well organized and run, and they offer a performing arts experience for each student who wants to be involved. Outstanding! The principal is superb, fair, firm and loving. She understands special needs and how to help our kids. She genuinely cares for each family. Thank you Mrs. H!! :)

I cannot rave enough about Mandy Kirk. She's brilliant, enormously insightful, effortless with…read morechildren and cares beyond measure. My husband and I were faced with a tough decision when our 6th grade son who was on a leadership scholarship at a very expensive independent school where he is doing very well both socially and academically came to us and told us that he wanted to go back to his old school for junior high school. His reasons - he wanted a more challenging academic environment and was afraid that if he stayed at his current school he would not be as well-prepared for high school which would in turn affect his college opportunities. Mandy listened to him voice is opinion, listened to our concerns and then asked a lot of questions. She was so respectful of our son and asked some great questions that really made him think. He told all of us that he wanted to be more academically challenged, he wanted more structure and he wanted more homework. The thought of that scared us as parents because he left his old school because the structure, discipline, academic challenges seemed too much. This is also why his current school which catered to a more critically thinking child seemed like such a good fit. Mandy's gentle questions and how she guided his and our thought processes made it clear to us as his parents that he had thought about this extensively, his decision was proactive and internally driven and he knew what he was doing. Mandy helped us to listen to what our son was really saying, to understand that he was asking to be more challenged in junior high school, to understand that he wanted more and better study skills and that he was ready for it, to just let go and again listen and trust our son. Mandy also suggested a coach for our son to make sure that he would be successful. He loved that idea much more than getting a tutor since he's all about sports. She also suggested that we consider getting him tested. There has always been a disconnect between how verbal, engaging, ambitious and forward thinking he is and his ability to focus if it's a subject that he is not 100% fascinated by. All in all, she left and we were all completely clear on what the right decision was. Mandy is worth her weight in gold. We can't praise her highly enough. Neither can our son. In his words, "She's amazing, she really listens and asks good questions that make me think. I was pretty sure that this is what I needed to do but now I'm certain that it's what I need to do." Mandy, this is definitely your calling!

Do it!!!!! Call and meet with Amanda, you won't be disappointed…read more A friend recommended we see Amanda regarding out 13 year old daughter. Amanda gave us more insight and great advise that made sense than any counselor we had spoken to. Her report after meeting our daughter was concise and spot on! Thank you Amanda, you're amazing!!

We love love LOVE River. Our oldest went there from K to 5th and the only reason we didn't let her…read morefinish 6th grade there was because River doesn't have a Jr. High/middle school program and I prefer smaller middle schools for our kids so when she got into the middle school program at this other school, we moved her. It was a hard decision that I still sometimes regret. Just like any education programs, give it some time and have faith in the system, good results will show before too long. Montessori schools assigns lots of works to their students during school time (4-6 assignments completed each day plus research projects/teamwork projects) so some students might have a harder time in the beginning but there's also no homework which allows quality family time and the time for extra activities after school. No gradings which allows kids to like learning and wants to learn. Montessori education also provides the freedom to choose how much time students want to spend with each subject but yet still comply with the CA curriculum standards. The idea is for the students to challenge themselves to want to do better each time and they have just the right tools there to help the kids to do so. Doesn't that sound more like the real world/jobs after schools? Need I say more? Learning is just more fun and practical at River! Oh did I mentioned about their Science Fair and the International Family Fair and the Sustainable Creator's Fair that's all open to the public??? Today at the parent teacher conference with my kid's new teacher at the middle school, I was told she's kind, and she is doing well in all subjects. Top 20 percent of her age group in reading thanks to River's excellence Montessori education that positively reinforced their students to want to do harder and better. I am not the only parent from River that have this "after River experience" in fact, many have mentioned the similar experiences with their kids after River so if anyone ever questioned how the students are doing after River Montessori... they are doing great! If you are interested in learning about non traditional / alternative educations for your little one but still has your hesitations, schedule a tour with them and see the River magics with your own eyes!

A free public Montessori school! We love the school, especially after paying for private…read moreMontessori preschool for both our kiddos in another area. Our kids both love their guides and their friends. The staff has done a great job making the best of the available space. We're so happy we made the choice to go here.

Natalie is an amazing speech therapist. She is kind, thoughtful, reliable and detailed. She worked…read morewith our son for more than 3 years and we couldn't be happier with her method for speech therapy. Our son was barely productive in his speech when we started with Natalie at almost 4 years old and was ahead of age level milestones when we completed our time together. Our son looked forward to the days when he would work with Natalie and knew that he would have fun in their sessions while I knew that he would progress. Natalie was organized in her parent meetings to review progress and open to working with our son on reading too. If you are looking for a competent, kind and reliable speech therapist Natalie is your answer!

From the owner: Articulation/Phonology Early Intervention…read moreReceptive/Expressive Language Deficits Apraxia Tongue Thrust Learning Differences Auditory Processing Disorder Developmental Disabilities/delays Traumatic Brain Injury Genetic Syndromes Autistic Spectrum Disorder Social/Pragmatics Literacy and Writing Delays Congenital Disorders Hearing Impaired Down Syndrome Accent Reduction/Modification

We were initially drawn to this school because of its beautiful philosophy and child-centered…read morelanguage about independence, exploration, and nurturing a love of learning. Our grandson started there shortly after turning two, and he absolutely loved going to school. Unfortunately, our family's experience with the administration did not reflect the warm and developmentally appropriate environment described in the school's mission. From early on, my daughter was repeatedly approached with concerns about completely normal toddler behavior -- including delayed expressive speech at just over two years old and difficulty sitting through circle time. Many toddlers, especially active young boys, are simply not ready for highly structured group expectations at that age. Rather than partnering with parents in a supportive way, the communication often felt pressuring, judgmental, and lacking in understanding of normal developmental variation. At one point, the director even suggested that although we were paying for three days per week, our grandson should be removed for the middle day "to reset." That recommendation made little sense to us and did not feel supportive or solution-oriented. In our experience, families should understand that despite the Montessori-style language and emphasis on following the child, this program operates with fairly rigid behavioral expectations for very young children. If your child is under four, still developing speech, highly energetic, slow to warm up, or not naturally inclined toward structured group participation, this will not be the right fit. This environment may work well for children who are already very verbal, compliant, and comfortable with structure at a young age. But for active toddlers who are still developing at their own pace, it did not feel accepting or supportive of the "whole child" philosophy the school promotes.

We truly love Pepper Preschool and the wonderful teachers. The space is so thoughtful and sweet…read more The "Montessori Light" style has been perfect for our sensitive son and the themes for each months learning have taught him so much. There is a wonderful balance of outdoor and classroom time and his two years of Pepper Preschool have made him more independent and interested in learning. Each teacher brings a unique perspective and we love that they have all been at Pepper School for years. Most importantly he has learned how to be a kind friend and his ability to interact with other children and adults has blossomed. When recently deciding between TK and a third year at Pepper we opted for another year at Pepper. We know the skills he is learning and the wonderfully low teacher to student ratio will prepare him well for school.