Jayne was extremely patient and supportive with my 6 yo's struggle with reading. He didn't want to…read moredo tutoring but liked her enough to no longer complain about it as the sessions continued. She spent time to share with me her thoughts on techniques, resources and approaches we could use with him to identify and work with his learning and speech difficulties. I very much enjoyed working with her

Jayne has been my son's tutor for almost a year, and the progress he's made has been amazing. When…read morehe started kindergarten, he wasn't reading yet and now he's reading confidently, ahead in phonics, and even starting on math! Jayne is patient, kind, and truly talented. With her background in education, she's also given me great advice and insight as a parent. I really think having a tutor is one of the best decisions we've made, with all the hoops kids have to jump through at school, having such a seasoned tutor like Jayne gives them a real head start. We're so grateful for her!

Our Three Years at YYY -- A Full Journey Review…read more This review reflects our complete experience watching our son grow from a shy two-year-old into a confident, bilingual kindergartener, all within the walls of YYY. Choosing the School When we began touring preschools in Alameda, YYY stood out immediately. We loved the structure -- the cleanliness, the balance of learning and play, and the Montessori-based approach. The fact that they conduct live scan background checks on all hires gave us added peace of mind. Our only hesitation was the bilingual curriculum. Neither my husband nor I speak Mandarin -- we're an English-only household -- and at two years old, our son wasn't talking much yet. We worried that introducing a second language might confuse him. Still, something about YYY felt right, and we decided to take the leap. Year One -- Group 1: Finding His Footing When our son started at YYY, he had just turned two. He was still in diapers, not very vocal, and still getting steady on his feet. The first three months were the hardest. Every morning brought tears -- he didn't want to be dropped off, and it was the first time he'd ever been away from home in a care setting. By month three, however, something shifted. The crying stopped, and in its place, we began to see a little boy growing more independent and comfortable each day. The first year, we measured success differently. It wasn't about academics -- it was about care. Were the kids safe? Were they being guided toward potty training? Were they learning to feed themselves, follow simple directions, and transition between routines? On every count, YYY delivered. Our son became especially fond of his teacher, Ms. Emily, and that bond told us everything we needed to know about the warmth in that classroom. Year Two -- Group 2: The Emotional Roller Coaster Around the time our son turned three, Ms. Emily pulled us aside with exciting news: he was ready to be potty-trained. We were thrilled. We reinforced the process at home, and within a short time, he was fully trained. Shortly after, he moved up to Group 2, where Mandarin learning began in earnest with Ms. Du and Ms. Chen. At three-and-a-half, a new challenge emerged. Our son was struggling to manage his emotions -- when he didn't get what he wanted, he had a hard time expressing himself, likely because he was still working on his verbal communication. We found ourselves questioning again: was the bilingual environment too much for him? Were we doing the right thing? But the teachers met him exactly where he was. They worked with him patiently -- teaching him to speak up, take a breath, drink some water, and step away to calm down. We mirrored these strategies at home, and gradually, the tantrums gave way to something better: self-regulation. The turning point came in October. The kids were asked to talk about their Halloween costumes in both Mandarin and English, and when we watched the video of our son confidently describing his costume in both languages, we were genuinely amazed. We checked in with Ms. Du, who reassured us: he understood Mandarin well -- he might not always speak it aloud, but he could follow along and even sing songs. That was enough for us to commit. We stayed, and we're so glad we did. By age four, our son was singing songs in Mandarin, making friends, managing his feelings, and coming home to tell us about his day. Year Three -- Group 3: Exponential Growth The final year at YYY brought it all together. The focus shifted toward English readiness for kindergarten, and the growth we witnessed was nothing short of remarkable. One of our most memorable moments came when the kids performed on stage at a church. Our son -- the same boy who once cried every morning at drop-off -- stood up there without a trace of stage fright, belting out a Mandarin song at the top of his lungs, complete with all the dance moves he'd learned from Ms. Pearlie, Ms. Du, and Ms. Chen. My husband and I looked at each other in disbelief, the proudest we'd ever been. The rest of the year unfolded in the same beautiful way: daily journal writing, reading his first books, learning to count, drawing, coloring, and deepening his bonds with every teacher and assistant in the school. The graduation performance was the crown jewel -- every child had memorized speeches in both English and Mandarin and performed choreographed dances with joy and confidence. Talking with the other parents that day, it was clear we all felt the same thing: these teachers had given our children something extraordinary. Not just academic skills, but a foundation -- emotionally, socially, and linguistically -- that will carry them far. We couldn't be more grateful for everything YYY gave our son, and our family.

Our son has been going to the after school program since TK and he loves the STEAM program (STEM +…read moreART)! He enjoys the van ride from Bay Farm to the big island with the other kids and now that he's in K, he spends about 2-3 hours after school there - playing with new and old friends, learning more coding, math, reading, and science and experimenting with art methods. It definitely fills in the gaps of public school with the stronger focus on academics. We are very happy with his progress. And of course, he loves his STEAM teachers, Ms. Yuan and Ms. Jamila, as well as the coding, art and math teachers (Mr. Francisco, Mr. Patrick, Ms. Emily, etc.). That being said, this school isn't for everyone and parents have to be open to finding the right school for their child (which can change over time). For our family, I appreciate that this school respects the learning environment best for kids who are ready and motivated to learn on their own. This means that the kids are ready to learn and appreciate the lessons prepared (not yelling, standing on tables, napping, or other disruptive behavior), responsible/sensible to sit in a van full of kids and listen to the teacher, get along and be respectful to others, etc. To keep the kids on schedule with the van and different subjects requires tremendous patience, planning and care from the teachers, staff (Mr. Long) and Director Sunny - we appreciate you! If your kids can focus and manage at YY, they can sit through movies, dinners, airplane rides, etc. - self-managed discipline is what I appreciate the most. The staff communicates well in advance and also is very responsive and accommodating (e.g. if I have to pick up early, miss school, have another parent pickup, etc.). They also have parent-teacher conferences twice a year with a newsletter about your child's class with photos. Also, when we first signed up for TK when my child was 4, I was worried about the transportation, but that's one of the best part that our kid looks forward to when he goes to YY with his friends - it's safe and the van is there early for pickups (and the fee is very economical for us working parents!). We also have friends in the Mandarin program whose parents are very impressed with their children's language and writing skills and enjoy their class performances! We also have a friend who moved their child here due to allergies. Our kid also has a mild allergy and Yuying is very good about keeping everyone safe with allergies (making sure there's no nuts in anyone's lunchbox, no sharing, educating kids about allergies and keeping everyone safe, etc.) and also keeping up with the parents for updated EpiPens and meds.

I am not very good with math. She helped me make it through my class so I could move on. Thanks…read moreNicole you're great.

Nicole is very good at adjusting her style to match the student's ability and understanding. She is…read morepersonable and works well with a variety of ages and abilities.

Bay Area Tutors, Inc has played a significant role in supporting my daughter's math journey since…read more6th grade. Their service is exceptional, with excellent tutors and flexible scheduling. Daron and his team are very professional, and I highly recommend their tutoring services.

We couldn't be happier with the results! Daron connected us with Jillian who worked with our son in…read moreHonors Biochemistry and helped him build both his understanding of the material and his confidence in the class. Thanks to Jillian's expertise and ability to explain complex concepts in a way that made sense, our son earned an A in the class! Daron is very easy to work with, flexible and rates for tutoring are very reasonable! I'm sure we'll be working together again in the near future as our son advances to physics and sports medicine courses.

I've been taking lessons with Damon for a little while now and it has been a great experience. His…read moreteaching style does not seem to revolve around a routine or lesson plan, but each lesson adds just the right new element to help me progress to another level I did not think I'd be able to understand or do. As new elements or techniques are added, he focuses on ways to learn them without being overwhelmed and to make it manageable. If I need to miss a lesson for any reason, Damon offers the chance to switch to an upload lesson, where I am able to make a video of what I am working on, and he responds with a video. These video responses are gems where he might go deeper into how I can work to improve my technique or understanding of the thing I am working on. Overall, I highly recommend Damon and Axes of E'ville.

Damon is a fantastic teacher - he puts so much thought into finding the perfect balance between…read moreteaching songs I'm interested in and the theory behind them, so I actually improve with each new song we work on. I've been taking lessons with Damon for a year and half, and it's had a huge impact on my playing. I've gone from fumbling through tabs in my living room to feeling totally comfortable playing in a band, and he's tailored our lessons to fit my abilities and interests. Beyond the music, Damon has also taught me a ton about guitars, pedals, and amps, and is an incredible font of knowledge in the quest for tone. He helped me select and test drive my new amp, and even taught me how to work on my guitar - including meeting in-person to teach me how to replace pickups, install copper shielding, and generally spiff up my guitar. Can't recommend lessons with Damon highly enough!

Jasmine is a wonderful tutor and we highly recommend her! In fact, I've already referred her to two…read moreother families. She's smart, responsible, and easy to work with. She's engaging and makes the sessions fun for our daughter. Jasmine is local, but given the current environment she teaches our daughter online. Unlike other online programs where there may be a language barrier between the teacher and student, the ease with which Jasmine switches from English to Chinese and vice versa makes the lessons so much more effective. Moreover, the students feel heard and understood so there isn't a lot of time wasted on misunderstandings. During the lessons, Jasmine always stays focused and gently keeps my daughter on task. She has learned more with Jasmine in the last 6 months than she did in the last couple of years at Chinese school. If you want your child to learn Chinese, I strongly recommend you reach out to Jasmine!

I grew up speaking Cantonese and Toisaan. As it is with most languages, if you don't use it, you…read morelose it. I am well into my adulthood and was yearning to practice and continue using Cantonese again. It's cute to understand but I wanted to be more active with it. It is incredibly useful in my profession. I have basic sentence structure down and some vocabulary. I found it difficult to practice with family because they tend to be impatient, and realistically, judgmental. I found Jasmine and was so glad I did! We had twice weekly Zoom sessions and she was very well worth it. She was patient with me and walked me through a workbook. While most languages can be learned through an app or book, the tonality of Cantonese is VERY important. Are you saying horse or mother, the number four or dead. Tones matter so having a teacher to give you feedback right on the spot is so valuable. I went back to school and still work my full time job so I don't get to have as many lessons as I want. I HIGHLY recommend Jasmine for her patience, knowledge and teaching style. Need to learn Cantonese? Get a hold of her!