Our daughter has been going to Shalem from the fall of 2019. Even though we aren't Jewish, my…read morehusband and I fell in love with the values of the school and the importance of the mind, body, and soul development for the kids. After like 2 -3 weeks of the initial transition time of getting adjusted to the preschool, our daughter now LOVES to go to school. She loves her teachers, her friends and the activities she does at school.  My husband and I are very happy and pleased with our decision to send our daughter to Shalem especially when we hear our daughter say school is fun and she wants to go to school :)  There are many other things we love about the school. The snacks the kids get are healthy and great. The teachers/staff are very sweet and truly care about the kids. We love the Brightwheel app, we get daily updates on what they did at school and pics of our daughter that we share with family. The school has a very involved parent committee.  I highly recommend Shalem for anyone who wants their kids to fall in love with school and learning.

It is impossible to list all the C reasons Shalem is better than any preschool I know of. The…read moreteachers are so kind and reasonable that a kindness and respect and happiness and artistic expression and understanding are just every day occurrences. Great for everyone. Incredible staff. Safe and loving and so much more.

This school is incredible and one of a kind! My son absolutely loves it here. It took us a while to…read morefigure out as a family what would be the best choice for us and we are so glad we looked around the South Bay and we are so glad we found MBNS. There is such a wonderful sense of community with the families and staff here. Families from the area and greater Los Angeles come together at this magical place. At MBNS children are really free to lead their own play and their feelings and ideas are respected. It's so wonderful to see how the mixed age groups play together. MBNS campus is so beautiful and lush! Lots of plants and trees to offer shade. My son loves to play with dirt and water, which can be found anytime you need it here. There are also lots of fun toys, tricycles, homemade play dough, books to be read, and more. As a an educator myself, I feel qualified to say this is a paradise for kids and a wonderful place to learn!

We joined this school back in 2021 because we were drawn to it's free play, child-led "curriculum",…read moreand emotionally supportive staff. We enjoyed most of our time there, made great friendships, and grew as parents. However, as time went on and we began to get more involved (including serving on the Board for 2 years), it became clear that not all was well. The director, Carol Tatsumi, repeatedly dismissed community feedback unless it fit her vision of how school should operate. She failed to distribute the co-op bylaws to the Board or parents, such that no one knew they had voting rights as members or how the co-op should work. When this came to light, she denied wrongdoing and rejected suggestions from the Board to share the bylaws with members so they could be made aware of their rights and responsibilities in the organization. She even had Board Meeting minutes deleted that contained any bylaw discussion, even though they are supposed to be made available to members. Furthermore, the director failed to abide by California state laws and permitted 60% of the students enrolled to be unvaccinated and used the students records who WERE vaccinated to be the "cover" during state inspections. Once caught by the government agency, she abruptly unenrolled the students who were partially or fully unvaccinated rather than giving them the 10 days allowed by the government to either get up to date or at least say goodbye to the school and have a smooth transition. This was incredibly painful for those students and their families and negatively impacted the entire school community. Sadly, this "co-op" doesn't operate like one, and it's poorly operated at that. The building is in need of major repairs although the director dismissed multiple suggestions to improve its safety, function, and appearance. Furthermore, the school has been losing money due to low enrollment and hasn't recovered since COVID, so there is limited budget to address safety concerns let alone hire, develop, or retain talented staff. Finally, the "rules" families need to follow is laundry list long, from forbidding packaged foods to making kids turn their shirt inside out if it has a character or any brand on it. There might only be 3 kids at school one day, but all parents need to volunteer every single week such that there are often more adults on campus than children. And perhaps most disappointing, there isn't actual coaching of non-violent communication skills, just avoiding of setting limits and boundaries among kids such that exclusion and cliqueyness prevail. This school will probably be a fit for those looking for a very specific experience for their children, but do know that there are not enough families enrolled here to make this co-op run smoothly, so you will be required to do more than your fair share to try to keep it running and your feedback to how it could be more efficiently handled will probably be ignored. Good luck!

Our family has been part of the Journey of Faith Preschool community since 2020, and after six…read morewonderful years, it's hard to put into words how grateful we are for this school. When I first applied, we were more than 100 spots down on the waitlist. I checked in regularly, hoping for an opening, and when the opportunity finally came during the pandemic, I felt incredibly fortunate. My oldest daughter was ready to start preschool, and from day one, we fell in love with Journey of Faith. Since then, both of our daughters have attended. Our youngest started at just five months old and will be heading to kindergarten next year, which feels incredibly bittersweet. Throughout every stage, the teachers and staff have created a nurturing, supportive, and joyful environment where our girls have truly thrived. The education they have received has been phenomenal, but what stands out even more is the genuine care, love, and dedication shown by everyone at the school from the teachers and administrators to the chef and support staff. Every person contributes to making Journey of Faith feel like a second home. We are so thankful for the friendships, memories, and strong foundation our daughters have gained here. Journey of Faith has played such an important role in our family's life, and we wholeheartedly recommend it to any family looking for a loving, high-quality preschool experience.

This school is a special place. We dropped off our first baby when he was six months old and, as…read moreany parent knows, that experience is so scary, stressful, and emotional. You are entrusting strangers with this tiny, precious human that's quite literally your heart walking (or crawling) out in the world. From day one, these teachers have slowly and delicately transformed from strangers to friends. It's been so clear and obvious how much these women love and adore our children. They care about their well-being and their overall development! There are lesson plans, extracurricular activities, classroom parties, so many fun events for both students and parents to participate in and enjoy. We just had our second child a few months ago and have so much peace of mind knowing that she will be in great hands when a spot opens up for her. Thank you JoF School! We are so grateful for you all.

We have our second child in attendance here now and have had nothing but a lovely experience for…read moreyears. The teachers are so loving and kind and the staff is professional as well. I feel as tho it has the warmth and caring of an in home daycare but in a larger, more professional environment. I rave about this school to everyone I meet with little kiddos. We had sent our kids to multiple other schools in the area before finding COL and now would never want him anywhere else!! We even kept our older son in TK here rather than moving him up to elementary school because of the community we found here.

We have been part of this school for ten years and have so treasured our time here. The teachers…read moreand staff are loving and create such a wonderful first school experience for our children. We will miss COL so much next year when our youngest child graduates. Love this school and the community it has fostered for us as a family over the years.

This school is fabulous. My husband and I are searching for a good place for our 3 year old girl…read moreand the tour was so heartwarming. The staff seemed very attentive, the school was warm and homey even though it's a school! The woman giving us the tour was lovely informative and encouraging. We are definitely hoping to get out girl in here.

My son attended the "CHALKlets" program at CHALK Hermosa, and we felt it was well worth the money…read more It's a great introduction to a school setting; longer than a typical parent-and-me class (it's 1.5 hours once a week), and perfect if they're not quite ready for a drop-off pre-preschool yet. The class incorporated music, physical activity, sensory play, snack time, and of course early learning. The program is also a great way to be introduced to the campus, which is very cozy with small class sizes so your kids are definitely seen, heard, and well-cared for. We loved Ms. Madison and the rest of the staff!

There's nothing more comforting than your child WANTING to be somewhere you are not…read more From day 1 my daughter really enjoyed coming to PEM. The teachers, Ms.Maduka, Ms. Sharon, and Ms.Andrea in particular were a very important part in her development. The curriculum here is spot on and really enhances what your kid enjoys doing while also teaching them many other important subjects and ways to learn. If you are looking for a school that takes absolute care and dedication of your kid then look no further. I highly recommend this school to all. You will not be disappointed.

My daughter spent nearly two years at Pacific Explorer Montessori, and I'm so grateful for the…read moreexperience. From the very beginning, Mrs. Maduka created a warm and supportive environment where my daughter has truly thrived. She absolutely loves all her teachers, including Ms. Andrea, who introduced her to Spanish in such a fun and engaging way, and Ms. Sheron, who has also played a big role in her learning journey. My daughter has become more independent, confident, and curious, and has developed strong language, reading, and math skills. We've always felt at ease and fully recommend this school to any family looking for a supportive and enriching early education environment.

I drove past 4-5 other preschools and up a huge hill (in my feeble hybrid) to get my daughter here…read moreand have no regrets. The director, teachers and support staff are all genuinely loving and kind and amazing at their job. Children are busy at play and the lush, beautiful, thoughtfully curated environment very much facilitates that. My child loved coming here for a year before we moved and I wish she could've stayed longer!

This a very friendly congregation. I attended their Christmas Eve service, and although this…read morereview is late, the service was awesome. I have been Christmas Eve service with Bells & I can't make a choice.

This is a very well run, warm and caring school. The teachers are super nice and give the children…read morelots of individualized attention, as well as working hard to build their confidence and helping them make friends. My 3 year old went there for a month of their summer camp and came back speaking much more Chinese (she was speaking just a little before) since the environment made her a lot more comfortable with the language. The school's facilities and rules are well thought out and designed, with a regular schedule for instruction, activities, snacks, napping and free play. There's a lot of hands on activities and crafts, which my little one loved and enjoyed showing me when she got home. I really liked how well thought out the lessons are and how many demonstrations and experiments the little ones are encouraged to do. The parent community is also warm and supportive! Pros: - Great teachers - Lots of individualized attention - Well thought out curriculum and hands on activities - Great outdoor area for play (including a treehouse!) - Very good app that the teachers update daily with pictures of the kids, this is great and made me feel like I'm there at the school with my child Cons: Smaller parking lot (may be challenging in the morning)

My son is one of the first starters at the school. He stayed home since COVID, and he had…read moresuccessfully managed his transition from home to the world again at this school. He now loves to tell me what he did at school right after I pick him up. He knows all the students and all the teachers there, and he loves to go there every day. Even though it's a new school but it's really a new site for Nihao. It has all the systems and rules. The director there is an experienced elementary school teacher who is very considerate and thoughtful for situations such as my child's eating habit and bathroom usage. They have hands on activities, outdoor activities for lessons, celebrate different festivals as well as nap schedule, which is essential for the little ones. Myself, is also an elementary bilingual teacher, and I love that they differentiate the lessons for the kids to meet their developmental needs. Besides, they teach Mandarin and English, which helps my son speaks Mandarin at home since our home language is English. There's a lot more to say about this school, and if you are looking for a systematic bilingual preschool, this is the one.