The Ecole Francaise of Greater Boston (EFGB) opened its doors in Cambridge in the fall of 2017 and…read moremy daughter was lucky enough to be in its first promotion. The school outperformed my highest expectations. The teachers are top-notch, and they bring students the best of American and French educational systems -- with an emphasis on creativity matched by structured activities and clear rules. The students in our year came from a mix of cross-cultural families, representing 14 countries. The Cambridge campus, which is on the ground floor of a luminous building with warm, bright colors, welcomes kids aged two through six, while the Watertown branch of the school is open to older children. The school's location in North Cambridge was convenient to us, as we work at Harvard and MIT. They also have built in pre-school and after-school care to allow flexibility for working parents, like us. I envied my daughter's activities, which ranged from yoga, expressive dance, singing, painting, reading and numeracy to scrambling in the school's playground with a mix of kids of all ages. The crafts she brought home -- pictures of baobabs, an ant made of an egg carton, an aquarium in a shoe box -- are unique pieces that I treasure. Furthermore, the teachers created a lively Facebook page so we could stay engaged with our child's activities, for example, watching a caterpiller grow and hatch, or witnessing the joys of a group of toddlers getting their first taste of honeycomb. Whether your family are native French speakers or not, you would not regret sending your child to the EFGB. I can't imagine a better school.

I posted this on the original EFGB review page; it applies to EFGB Cambridge, since that's where…read morewe've been sending our children. We've been at EFGB in Cambridge with our two children since September 2017. It's been a wonderful experience. All the teachers are native French speaking and the children are completely immersed in French. They spend their days drawing, playing, singing, reading, and everything you would expect in a high quality preschool. There's even a weekly yoga session! The teachers are warm and engaged. The class sizes are small and the teachers know all of their charges very well. There's a playground attached to the school and they go out every day, even in bad weather. It's been great to get involved with a Francophone community. The parents are engaged and we see each other for holiday parties, birthdays, and playdates; we hope to still be in touch with French friends even as the children grow older and graduate to public schools. The schedule is a little less convenient than a typical daycare for working parents (more like a school schedule, no food provided though that may change soon) but for us, the loss of convenience is more than made up for by the quality of the school and unique ability to have our children's early years be completely bilingual.

My teenage son has attended Art School 99 for nearly two years, first in one-on-one instruction and…read morenow in group classes with Alexandra Rozenman. The growth in his artistic skill, confidence, and portfolio has been tremendous. Ms. Rozenman is an exceptional teacher--deeply knowledgeable, hands-on, and thoughtful in how she balances instruction with creative exploration. The atmosphere she creates is both calm and inspiring. This has easily been the best instructional experience our son has had in any activity. We are incredibly grateful to have found Art School 99 and would wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone exploring or seriously pursuing art. A. Dorfman

I took Alexandra's Art Lab class for three session. I learned a lot and at the end of it, I had a…read moregreat painting that far exceeded my expectations! Alexandra taught us about color theory, color mixing, and a bit about composition. I'd definitely take a class at Art School 99 again!

This is an awesome community resource with very unique classes. I'm looking forward to taking more…read moreclasses there!

I find the Academy convenient because there are many classes under one roof and saves me time from…read moredriving around. My child also went for the summer camp and had a great time. The instructors were super friendly. They give her great tips with her artwork and allowed her to add her own personality to her art work. My friend's kid did the children's theater and we loved going to watch their production of Wizard of Oz. My kid and I took Bollywood dance exercise classes which was fun. This is hands down one of the best places around! Plenty of parking and very convenient location.

GISB is not only our three kids' school, but it is also our family's cultural home. All our…read morechildren started in GISB preschool, and by now, our oldest daughter is studying neuroscience at Boston University, our son is writing his "Abitur" right now and will decide if he wants to study in the US or in Europe, and our 8th grader can't stop talking about how excited she is to go for a school exchange with Oslo next school year. Over the 16 years at GISB, our kids have always been taken care of, both emotionally and academically. The teachers are young and committed, the principal is competent and visionary, the parent community is strong and supportive. The German International School Boston has that name for a reason. The curriculum is German based but also covers the American highschool curriculum, and our families are international. Last year we had 39 different nationalities at our school. The annual turnover is hard, many families come for a predefined amount of time to Boston and then leave (some also stay!). But that also means that you have friends all over the world since GISB by now has a worldwide network of families who help each other. Our graduates finish school with the International Abitur and the Massachusetts High School diploma, opening doors all over the US and Europe. If you want your child grow up in a warm, nurturing setting where he/she will be raised with excellent academics and a strong focus on character-building, then you should consider this truly wonderful school!

My children attended GISB for four years. Below is an honest review of our experience. I wish I…read morehad an honest review of the school before we had decided to enroll there. Hopefully this will help parents who are considering GISB make an informed decision. Location: The traffic in Allston is bad now and will only get worse as Harvard opens its new Engineering Campus in 2020. Facilities: Upper campus is an old Catholic school that is quite shabby in areas. There is no air conditioning in the summer. The heat fails in the winter. The paint is worn out in the stairwells. The parking lot has rusty twisted broken fences. Some specific spaces such as the library have been renovated recently and are OK. Lower Campus, where the pre-K and K grades are located, is a recently converted office building. The lower campus space turns out to be quite cramped when it is full of students. If you have a young active child that needs to move and get their wiggles out over the course of the day this will be a challenging environment for them. Tuition: The German International School of Boston (GISB) demands all the tuition upfront for the school year and there are no refunds for any reason. Buyers beware of any service that demands all the money up front and puts "no refunds for any reason" in the fine print. There are also a lot of various extra fees for the after school classes, ski week, vacation week camp, etc. School Calendar: The GISB academic calendar follows the German academic calendar rather than the American academic calendar. This means that there are two week breaks in February and April where parents must scramble for childcare. Teacher turn over: In the four years that my kids attended GISB they lost teachers every year (sometimes even mid-year) for a variety of reasons (disputes over pay with the administration, visa issues, pregnancy, health problems, etc.). There is no substitute teacher pool to draw on so when a teacher is sick it is a mad scramble to cover the classroom. Even when there is plenty of advance warning of a teacher's departure. (This teacher is pregnant. She will be going out on maternity leave in 4 months.) There was no planning on the part of the administration on how to cover the class room and it was an ad hoc assortment of people covering the class which was very detrimental to the students. Teacher's Credentials: Being a private school the teachers are not subject to the same credentialing criteria as public-school teachers. When I asked the administration if I could see the credentials of my kid's teachers, I was told no. What are they hiding? Why won't they share their teaching staff's credentials? Teaching style: Modern pedagogy acknowledges that students have a variety of learning styles and that teachers need to craft their lesson plans to cover different types of learners. GISB seems firmly stuck in the 19th century with one method of teaching and if your kid doesn't get it too bad. It obviously must be the kid's fault. My older child entered public school a full year behind in reading skills than his peers after we left GISB. Thankfully he was immediately identified as someone who needed some extra help with learning to read and after just one semester in public-school, he was up to grade level. Clearly there was no learning disability on my child's part. My child just hadn't been taught to read. I have talked to other parents who have left GISB for public-school and they have related similar experiences. If a school can't do something as basic as effectively teach kids to read... Social Environment: The small classes mean that the social environment is somewhat stifling. If you kid doesn't make a friend in the handful of other kids in their class, it will be a long lonely year. If your kid becomes the target of a bully, there is no avoiding the bully. The bully is right there all the time. The teachers seem at a complete loss of what to do when bullying is brought to their attention. The teachers and school administration at GISB clearly view the student's behavioral, emotional, and social development as not their responsibility. My experience so far in the public-school system is the complete opposite. The public-school system views its mandate as helping children grow as a whole person and this includes the academic, social, emotional, and behavioral development. Addressing of Concerns and Grievances: The GISB administration, parent council, and GISB board have no interest is addressing issues that are brought to their attention. There is a constant shirking of responsibility. The standard excuse they all give is "But you have to understand GISB is a young school." GISB has been around for 18 years and there are plenty of resources available on how to effectively run a school. The public-school principal of my children's current school has a clear "The buck stops here." attitude which is so refreshing after GISB.

CNS has been our home for the past three years, since my son started just before turning three. It…read moreis truly a magical place for early childhood, one that honors childhood for what it is and never rushes our kiddos to grow up. Today, we had the opportunity to experience CNS through a different lens, attending Heather Hauser's toddler group with my youngest daughter, who is almost two. I was absolutely blown away by the thoughtful provocations, the intentionality behind every experience, and how beautifully everything was aligned with the developmental needs of young children. What stood out to me most was Heather's modeling for us as caregivers. She so naturally demonstrated flexibility, respect for children's autonomy, and the importance of allowing little ones to lead their own play and exploration. There was such a beautiful balance of intention and freedom, something that can be difficult to capture but is so meaningful in early childhood. CNS is the kind of place I wish every child had the opportunity to experience. I cannot recommend the school enough, and if you're looking for a special way to spend your Thursday mornings with your toddler, Heather's group is truly something wonderful. We are so lucky to have this community!

We love this co-op school, its beautiful classrooms and playground, the staff and a deep sense of…read morecommunity. It follows a Reggio Emilia based curriculum which is tailored to follow the interests of kids enrolled. They also offer special developmentally appropriate classes such as yoga, cooking, music and art. We have been very happy at this school and highly recommend it to parents looking for a high quality thoughtful preschool experience for their kids.

My son was enrolled in this online school since covid. It is amazing with children and parents who…read morewant to learn Chinese. The teachers are professional,caring and supportive. The class is interesting and creative with lots of fun stories! I would definitely recommend this school to anyone.

it's a great dance studio kids are happy having fun and getting better it's a great space great…read moreteachers and the teams and classes are very good

I've been bringing my daughter here for 2 years. We love it! Miss Elizabeth is a fantastic teacher,…read morethe recitals are amazing, and the support staff are so helpful. The studio is clean and bright, and the waiting area is comfortable. The prices are reasonable too. We're very happy at ASD and plan to be here for many more years!

My daughter took a full day class here and she had a great time. I was worried it would be a long…read moreday but it sounds like it was broken up with art and park time which worked great. She was very proud of her work and is looking forward to coming back!

My family is so lucky that the Blue Mouse Gallery exists. Eva, the owner, knows how to let children…read moreexpress themselves through their own inner artist. She understands that creativity fosters calmness and has a positive impact on children. Far from having a top-down approach, she collaborates with her students. She is also a fantastic German teacher for kids and adults alike. Whatever your age, you can find your art at Blue Mouse Gallery.