With me, during the early 1960s, whilst I was living with my parents in San Francisco, I kind of…read moreenjoyed attending Chung Wah Chinese school sessions after my regular American school. I had a lot of fun during recess playing tag games with the boys. Occasionally, we have had some squabbles with fellow classmates just like anything else in general. Despite that, I achieved good grades in learning the Chinese-Cantonese language dialect. I remembered the good old days!

Ha oh wow... didn't expect to find a listing for my chinese school…read more aaahhh the good ol' chinese school days when i used to ditch class during break time, walk over to downtown and kill a couple hours shopping for lip gloss. those days are long gone and i'm so thankful for that. the kids at the school are rowdy and are all probably forced into chinese school. the teachers are stressed because of the kids. everyone cheats. chinese school is a joke to most kids. i'm glad i took it seriously (on the days i actually stayed) because i'm thankful to know a second language. u get paid more and it's a good skill to have. before the renovation, this school was a hell hole. like a literal hell hole. the building was soo old and gross, the bathroom was disgusting -- a hole in the ground was probably better. haven't been here in yeeeears so iono how it looks inside.

It was a Okay school. I learned mandarin there and it helped me quite a bit but it was so boringgg…read more I spent 3 hours of my childhood sitting there and I was in 6th grade at the time and in a 2nd grade level class. You can just imagine me just sticking out. Although definitely make friends if you don't you might as well die of boredom.

As my grades slipped in Mandarin class in high school, my mom found it in HER "best interest" to…read moreenroll me into Nam Kue the summer between my freshman and sophomore years. (NOTE: Yes, I was doing so poorly -- but cut me some slack, will ya? I come from a background of not even pure Canto -- my family has roots in Toishan, so I can't even speak Canto properly. I can't even speak Toishanese either! So of course pinyin and the sounds made no sense to me! The only thing I could really speak was English! I did try to get out of taking Mandarin in high school, but my mom forbade me to do so.) So yes, I did a quick reading test and they put me in...the 3rd grade. Yes, the 3rd grade with the little kids. I was about 3 feet taller than all of the class. My teacher for the year was an old guy who was supposedly the "calligraphy master" of the school. It was in this class I learned to "cheat" calligraphy writing, haha -- where you do every single stroke painfully slow. In the 4th grade, I had a teacher I liked a lot, because she, well, she gave me 4th rank despite me not doing a lot of the work -- purely because she liked me, hahaha. However, it was in this class that one particular fat boy I had to sit next to the entire year kept bugging me. He was rude, obnoxious, and a slew of other Chinese words. The only upside of this year was I made a lifelong friend who's suffered the process with me -- haha. Always got 1st rank in the class, and was the same grade as me in high school. Overall, I'd say I learned a good amount of things, but most Sundays, it was just pure boredom. I spent most of the time watching the clock tick. And the burning question -- did it help my regular Mandarin class in high school? I guess to an extent it did. It was crazy though, because that meant I had school 6 says a week, on top of swimming and violin lessons. +1 For the nice teacher I had in 4th grade. +1 For the friends I made. -1 For the assemblies. -1 For the boring ineffective ways of teaching. -1 For the fat boy.

Sterne is a great school for kids who have learning difference! The teachers are very supportive…read moreand understanding.

Our daughter is an eighth grader at Sterne, and we are glad we made this choice for her education…read more As a teacher, I am impressed with lessons I hear about. From teaching students about marine life with the Marine Mammal Center, learning about the Innocence Project and reading about a child's experience with her father's incarceration, to reading about a migrant family and their experience in the U.S., Sterne's teachers are amazing, not shying away from challenging work and topics, despite student's academic struggles. They encourage critical thinking and empathy for all people. With dyslexia and dysgraphia, she has consistent support from her teachers, making big gains in reading. Formerly a reluctant reader, she goes to the library most weeks. The teachers and staff know my daughter as a unique individual, with strengths and talents. The school's motto is "start with strengths" and I have seen this enacted many times. She explores her interests in music, digital arts, theater and studio art with dedicated teachers creating wonderful performance opportunities: playing in a rock band, participating in a unique fairytales play, or building a carefully crafted art show. We look forward to these events each year, and there is a newfound confidence in our daughter, who was shy in the past. Additionally, the administration handled a difficult situation between our child and another student, with kindness, compassion and respect, with nearly immediate contact with me. The staff made her feel safe and empowered to speak up for herself, and I am grateful for that. We also appreciate the kind and attentive staff at the front desk and office, who always help her out. Working in public education myself, I do not take for granted the opportunities the students at Sterne have for field trips, interest-based lunch clubs, and experiential weeks. These opportunities take an incredible amount of planning. I am impressed at what they do for students who could easily become disenchanted with school. The students are lucky at Sterne. We look forward to her continued growth, and eagerly applied for the high school this past year. We are grateful to be part of the Sterne family.

As per San Francisco Unified School Distinct standard practice, graduating elementary and middle…read moreschool kids from within the district have the option of filling out forms that allow you to select your top preferences for the school you'd like to attend. Apparently, my parents selected Washington and Wallenberg as the preferred schools for me to continue my education. Since i didn't get my school of choice coming out of Elementary school (Marina being #1 choice) I expected to at least get my selection this time. Wrong. I was assigned to Galileo, at the time a school known for students and their shenanigans, suspected gangs roaming within the school, and not really recognized for any type of academic achievement. Day 1 of Galileo went without a hitch. As I suspected, I attended a school with a vastly dominated Asian population with groups of other minorities spread out among the student body. This is typically the basic make up of a SFUSD public school, with at least 2000 students attending this school. When I first attended in 2004, the school was somewhat showing signs of wear an tear but when I graduated in 2008, they made significant improvements and remodeled certain aspects of the building. A new artificial turf football field was installed, there is better accessibility around the school for physically impaired people, and they completely changed the courtyard. Course wise they offer classes that you'd expect to see at other schools from your basic science courses to honors courses to AP courses. They had good teachers while I was there an generally it wasn't too challenging for me as High School should be rather easy seeing as how you can easily graduate by doing the minimum and maintaining C's as getting an F really requires work and dedication to failing. Being called Galileo Academy, you are also able to choose to enroll in a 2 year program such AOIT, The Health Academy, a Hospitality program, and others such as the four year AVID program. I was in both the Health Academy and AVID as one helped learn some basic EMT techniques, which counted as 9.5 college units, and AVID meant to help prepare you for college and assisting in the application process. All the teachers i had class with were nice, helpful and of course there's always a couple who make it interesting. Galileo also has a tradition in Sports being the most winning full football program in SF and excelling in a couple of other sports. Sports are a must to gain a good high school experience and the school staff such as counselors were all very helpful. By the time I graduated, Galileo was on it's way up rivaling Lowell and Washington in Academics. This school is also located right by the Pier for an excellent experience during lunch (or if you decide to skip out on class). With so much around, it's tough going to school everyday. Yet It is a school worth attending and will leave you with a good High School Experience. Any other school in SF is a joke. G-House is the place to be.

I went to high school here for two years, freshman and sophomore year. I felt like a lot of the…read morekids here don't care and it causes other students to not work as hard. The school is actually really nice and I love LOVE how it is right by the water. Teachers here are nice.

I am a Cantonese speaker, so learning to read and write Chinese was my goal. I thought the school…read morewas very effective. There's really only one way to learn new characters, which is by mindless drilling. It's not a phonetic language. For Chinese as a second language, maybe full immersion is not the best way in the U.S.. the kids mostly communicate in English during recess, so they're not practicing the language outside of class. They probably don't understand enough Chinese to really understand the lesson in the book since the teachers teach in Chinese. I wish they had a Cumberland Chinese School in the South Bay. There aren't that many options for Cantonese speakers.

Despite knowing very limited Cantonese and struggling through 6 years of Mandarin classes taught in…read moreexclusively Cantonese, I still feel like I learned a lot from my experience at Cumberland. Maybe not Chinese itself, as I can barely read, write, or speak, but I learned life-long skills and values that have influenced who I am today: things like independence, hard work, cultural appreciation, and creativity (I redrew a lot of good textbook art, and I think it inspired me to pursue art as I got older). Maybe I wish my mom let me quit after about 4 or 5 years, but I don't really see my time here as a total waste. The teachers, especially in K-4, were strict but meant well. They encouraged me to work hard, and even when I didn't understand the languages in the classroom, I remember I got an award one year because I worked so hard to memorize a passage phonetically and almost ace my final. Granted, it was in second grade, but I still have fond memories of going here. Also, my Chinese writing skills are quite nice. I took Japanese in high school, so I had some of the best kanji characters out of the whole class. I used to tell my mom that Cumberland was absolute torture and a waste of money, but I guess I've somewhat changed my mind.

Like others who've shared their experience, I agree this school offers the best overall education…read more The community of parents and staff is very engaged. We're happy that our child has been able to learn French and take piano lessons from Kindergarten to middle school and have the opportunity to participate in the school's sports teams.

the middle school is more like military camp. the rules are too insane and I wish I would have…read morepulled my child out. THe school is not child centered.... it is a dogma and not enough french is taught! Not enough french culture is provided.

I felt that I needed to write this review of Fusion Academy because the school has made a huge…read moredifference for my son when he really needed a hand. I should start out by saying that I have serious concerns about education options in San Francisco, particularly at the high school level, for children with learning differences and executive function problems. Both public and private schools serve self-motivated, focused children well, but some children, particularly those with learning differences and social anxiety, do poorly in these environments. I'm sure that there are success stories, but different children have different needs. The question is, if a child does not fit into the school system, did the child fail the system or did the system fail the child? I believe strongly that the system fails some children, and, given this, it is important to have options that will fit the children who are poorly served elsewhere. In our case, our child was dropped from a prestigious $50,000 year private school that told us that they simply could not accommodate him after he fell behind in multiple classes just as he was being diagnosed with ADHD and social anxiety. We needed an alternative that would build his skills and his confidence rather than simply giving up on him. The Sterne School is an excellent resource for children with learning differences and I would strongly recommend exploring this as an option. The people there are kind and I have heard numerous success stories from multiple parents. Tuition is also relatively modest compared to some private schools and it is a non-profit. Although we were deeply conflicted about the choice, we ultimately chose Fusion, though, because there were more course options so that our son could pursue his strengths and interests. This is at the expense of the more traditional classroom approach at Sterne that might make the transition to college easier. All instruction at Fusion is one-on-one so our son has had an easy time remaining focused. There is also supervised homework time so that he has an easier time completing all of his work while he learns to structure his own time. He can also move forward at his own pace and he will complete multiple honors level courses as a junior. Fusion will also help him to prepare for the corresponding advanced placement tests so we will have external validation that he is at the same level as others who have taken these courses at more traditional schools. As far as I know, there are no other schools in the Bay Area that will provide this level of personalization and accommodation. Our son's stress level his way down and he is much happier overall. I think some of the concerns from the reviewer above could be addressed through complete disclosure. The one-on-one instruction in the for-profit model at Fusion is expensive. Could this be better if this one-on-one model was being run by a teacher's cooperative in a nonprofit framework? Yes, and it would be great to see such a school, but I am not aware of a nonprofit school following this model currently. Adding to the expense, at Fusion, you pay for a course and then, if your child does not master all of the content in the allotted time, they tack on additional mastery sessions at about $100 an hour. This is an alternative to giving your child a failing grade due to lack of completion. Personally, I don't think that it makes sense to tell a child, "time's up, you just didn't learn this fast enough"? I would say that we've had to pay for about 10-20 hours of mastery sessions in the past year. It's really been worth it to give our son the extra time that he needs. So, I think it's a valid criticism that this is a costly, but the costs are similar to other private high schools and Fusion is far more flexible. For those concerned about equal access to education, it would be great to starting not for profit school on a similar model, but, until that happens, Fusion offers a unique alternative that may be just right for some families.

Fusion Academy is a franchise of one-on-one schools with built in systems to ensure that they…read moreover-charge your student. In addition, their staff is a revolving door because they simultaneously over-charge their students and under-pay their teachers. The positives are that the education is decent and there is some flexibility if your student needs it. But even that is buried in extra mastery sessions that always seen necessary and a built in TWO WEEKS of tuition that you have to pay (then pay again in mastery (make-up sessions) if your child gets sick or takes a leave of absence. Meanwhile they are constantly pushing the next academic contract on you to lock you in further financially. My advice, use them only if absolutely needed for as short a time as possible.

I used to come to this school every day, and it became a big part of my life. I remember walking…read morethrough the doors each morning, seeing my friends, and getting ready for another day of learning. At first, I was nervous because everything was new and unfamiliar. Over time, I became more comfortable and made many great memories. I enjoyed spending time with my classmates, learning from my teachers, and participating in different activities. Looking back, I am grateful for all the experiences I had at this school

The school sucked, the food gave me food poisoning, I got bullied constantly, they made me feel…read moreunworthy, teachers showed favoritism, they were racist to the other kids, after leaving that school I realized how bad my mental state was, there would be rats everywhere, they would also be cockroaches everywhere, they would make fun of mental disabilities, and they would make it look like everything was perfect and fine but it was all a show.

One of the biggest problems with this school is that some teachers seem to think they can treat…read morestudents however they want and then hide behind the excuse of "being strict." There is a huge difference between being strict and making students feel embarrassed, singled out, or disrespected. What makes it even worse is that when students try to speak up about how they are being treated, their concerns are often brushed off. Instead of listening and trying to understand why a student feels uncomfortable, people immediately defend the teacher and say they're just doing their job. This sends the message that teachers can say or do whatever they want without being held accountable. A school should be a place where students feel safe, respected, and supported. Unfortunately, it often feels like student concerns are ignored while teachers are automatically believed, no matter what happened. Respect goes both ways, and if schools expect students to treat teachers with respect, then teachers should be held to the same standard. Overall, this school needs to do a better job of listening to students and taking their concerns seriously instead of dismissing them as complaints about "strict" teachers.

My experience with Marina Middle has been disappointing. Many students feel unsupported, and some…read moreteachers come across as harsh or unkind instead of encouraging. There's a sense that student concerns aren't always taken seriously, which affects the school environment and makes learning stressful. The administration could do much more to ensure that teachers treat students with respect and create a safer, more positive atmosphere.

We have two kids at Sherman, and have been part of the school community for 4 years now. The…read moreteachers are excellent. coming from Montessori preschool, our oldest could not read at all, and by the end of first grade, she was reading grade levels ahead. The parent community is also wonderful and very involved, from fundraisers to soccer teams, it's a great place to find your tribe.

We toured seven elementary schools in San Francisco, and Sherman Elementary was our first choice…read moreand we couldn't be happier with our decision. Sherman has such a wonderful community of parents, teachers, and staff who are genuinely invested in creating a welcoming and supportive environment for every child. There is a great balance between academics and activities, giving students opportunities to learn, explore, create, and have fun. What really stands out to us is the inclusivity of the school. Sherman really embraces the idea that every child and family belongs, and that sense of community is unmatched. We've been so happy with our experience and feel very fortunate to be part of the Sherman community! FYI - they have a great Lost & Found as well as a Stop, Drop & Go program at the school... it's also the little things that make Sherman so great!