Toastmasters has literally changed the way that I communicate professionally and personally, as…read morewell as enhanced and improved my leadership abilities. I thought that this was just a public speaking club when I finally joined 2 years ago! Little did I know that I would gain the courage to stand up and speak in front of my peers, thanks to the supportive environment in this club, as well as learn how to think quickly on my feet, and become a better leader. This particular club was a great starting point for me, as the people are friendly and nice, the membership base is a younger demographic than other Toastmasters Clubs in the area, and there is no pressure to speak if you do not want to get up in front of a small audience just yet. An added bonus is that I have made friends in the club, as well as recruited my friends outside of the club to join in the fun. Yes, it's FUN to give prepared and impromptu speeches, to give evaluations of other people's speeches, and to become a club officer to collaborate with fellow club members. The new location at The Kensington is stellar! It's no wonder that two other Toastmasters Clubs also meet here. It's clean, well-lit, has lots of seating and tables, a good speaking space, and its own side entrance. I highly recommend Toastmasters as an organization, and this club specifically. Don't wait to gain confidence! If you want to impress hiring managers at job interviews, learn how to respond quickly to questions out-of-the blue, learn how to give presentations at work, or just want to network and socialize while learning new skills, check out Toastmasters!

I have been a part of the Toastmasters community for the last 5 years and it has truly been an…read moreincredible ride. The fact that we have the opportunity to not only improve our communication skills, but also enhance our leadership capabilities makes for a valuable experience. The Walnut Creek Toastmasters club has been around for 10 years, and you can tell by the veteran members who have been with the club since its inception that it will be around for 10 more. These members are the ones who's passion inspires you to improve your communication and leadership skills to eventually meet their level. I agree that this club still has room to grow, but I feel confident in its future and I see a lot of new members coming in with a lot of enthusiasm to improve. I can't wait to see how this year pans out and I am excited for the future of this club! :)

My kids have been at this school for three years and are enjoying learning the language and culture…read moreof Japan. The tuition is low and there are many opportunities to attend events and to be a part of the community. Making and eating special celebration foods, singing Japanese songs and learning traditional crafts are some of the fun things we do together.

My two children have been attending this Japanese school for over two years. This year, they had…read morebaseball games often on Saturday during classes. Their teacher was very accommodating with homework, and they could keep up with the class. The school has lots of cultural events that kids would look for every year. Teachers are very passionate about teaching the language and the culture. It is a nice community feeling and parents also get to know each other and become friends.

My daughter is in the toddler class at kurumi and she loves going to Japanese class more than she…read morelikes going to preschool! The teacher to student ratio is amazing (like 1 teacher/assistant teacher to 2-3 students). Everyone speaks Japanese, so my daughter's Japanese improved significantly since she started taking classes there a year ago. They receive homework, so my 3 year old can write pretty well now! The teachers also are very thoughtful about curriculum planning and they always have crafting projects in class and they also teach students about the Japanese culture. I would highly recommend kurumi!

An Absolute treasure! Our son has thrived here learning his own language and culture. I rate the…read moreschool and staff 10 out of 10 over the four years.

An absolutely wonderful school. Both my kids have gone through this school, and by the end of this…read moreI'll have spent nearly 8 years interacting with the staff - all of whom are truly amazing. A huge part of who your kiddos become is influenced by the people who are teaching them that early on in life, and the JKA teachers really drive home kindness, curiosity, and being thoughtful, helpful kiddos. My son is going into elementary school already ahead of the curve, and I could not be more grateful for the love and support these amazing teachers have shown our family over the years. As for the logistics: easy drop off/pick up, great communication with parents through the brightwheel app, lunch and snack provided so takes the stress off, and staff is really open and communicative about safety and any other issues (we went through Covid here with an infant, which they handled really well).

Our two boys (4 and 1) have gone to Parkside for over a year and we are very happy. First of all,…read moreduring the pandemic, Karen (the director) and her teachers have done an amazing job of keeping our kids happy and safe. Our older boy has struggled with the realities of not seeing family, not being able to go playgrounds, and being afraid to go near people. Ms Pat and Ms Lisa have done a great job providing him with a sense of normalcy, while teaching him to read and write. Our little one thrives in an environment where he gets to draw and play outside with friends every day. As a scientist who work woks with covid, I really appreciate how hard Ms Karen has worked to follow all covid-safety regulations, reduce capacity, and keep our children safe. Additionally, we have moved around quite a bit and for our older son, this is his third preschool and it's by far the best one we have experienced. They do a great job combining play with learning. Both of my kids are excited to come here every day. Also, Ms Karen made the kids a full thanksgiving meal so that they could all experience it together, which is objectively amazing. I would recommend this preschool to all parents.

I recently completed the Beginning 1 Adult Class. It was definitely a fun, and productive learning…read moreexperience, and this wouldn't be possible without my teacher, Soran Min. She made the class very enjoyable, and organized. Most importantly, she was very supportive in and out of the classroom, making sure that students are getting the most out of the class through feedbacks and suggestions on how we can learn Korean more effectively. Weekly homework gave us the opportunity to practice the things we were learning in class, and we had quizzes every once in a while to further test our skills. At the end of the semester, I can say with confidence that I learned basic reading, writing, and speaking Korean. I highly recommend Light of Grace Korean School for those who are interested in learning this beautiful language!

I just recently completed the Adult Korean Beginning Class I. It was definitely a productive and…read morefun learning experience. Our teacher, Soran Min, made class enjoyable and was very supportive throughout in class and outside with our homework. She gave us positive feedback and suggestions to help us learn quickly and effectively. Classmates were great and friendly and so helpful when doing group presentations during class. All in all, a very family-oriented setting, which to me, was a plus in helping me succeed. I highly recommend Light of Grace Korean School.

For the best learning experience of a new language of Mandarin Chinese come to COCOCS or Contra…read moreCosta Chinese School to learn and excel your language skills.

My son has been coming to CoCoCs since Kindergarten and this is year 2 for him. We love the school…read moreand the community. It is a non-profit and run by veteran educators and people who are passionate for Chinese/Taiwanese culture. It takes a village to run education and my top reasons for staying at this school are below. 1. The curriculum: It is well thought out and one of the teachers actually designed and wrote the textbooks! I absolutely love it. They also offer Traditional or Simplied textbooks so parents can pick their preference. 2. No affiliation with religious groups: Some Chinese schools in the area are affiliated with Churches or other religions and my family isn't religious. So this school makes the most sense for us. 3. Parental involvement: We love parents here help out, volunteer and chip in to make the school run better. The principal and his wife have dedicated their life to run the school and parents/volunteers help bring the school forward. What is most important to us is my son enjoys learning and can understand Chinese. He has picked up quite a lot and enjoy coming here every Saturday. When I just recently took him home to Taiwan, my parents were impressed with his Chinese and can communicate with him. To me, that is a major plus!

Our child loved ELA and Math tutoring. The teacher's attention and character, along with the…read moreevidence-based curriculum, have shown good academic results. Highly recommend!

I had been thinking about putting my kid there for a while. then a sudden passing of my autistic…read morechild's father suddenly, made me postpone our first session until recently. Guess what, the Director of Lanies Learning and the school associated didn't really care about my kid learning Math. Even though it was a bit sketchy how they charged me more because I won a district settlement and charged me the "district rate" vs. the cheaper family rate, although both come with the same work involved. I questioned that at our final meeting. So here I come on the first day all the way from Piedmont to Concord, and I barely get a "hello" and no official introduction to anyone or condolences. I had to ask for a little sit down before my kid went the tutor. Then when I picked him up, I peaked at where she was having the tutoring of multi-sensory tutoring, and he was on the floor w/ many desks all around him, squished. When I brought this up to the Director in an email. She was so offended, she tore up my check she said and would give me that lesson for free. She apparently didn't like me questioning what I saw or what I expected from a "round up" after a first session. I was so excited too, but it seemed it was about conforming and not asking too many questions, than really helping my child. We since got a very amazing tutor who is amazing and trained in the exactly what he needed. I was saddened that the Director of this center and the Core Academy that it is associated with would treat a widow this way. So disappointed that they acted in such a way, after they accepted my kid, then said "he wasn't a good fit," after I had a few questions about the first session. Then to make matters worse, they let him go and tore up my check as they let me know in an email. How cruel. I really hope they don't respond, but it did happen and nothing they say, will make it ok. accept an apology.

My 8yr old has been in Mandarin Immersion since she was 2yrs old. She's been taking once a week…read moreZOOM lessons with Mei since February 2024 and it has been super helpful! My husband and I don't speak or read Mandarin and it's nice to have a little bit of help outside of school. My daughter loves Mei and scheduling has been super easy! She just started 3rd grade and told me that she feels her Mandarin has improved and that she's feeling super confident. I highly recommend. Mei and KaiXin Language School!

KiaXin Language School has been a really interesting and fun way to learn the basics of Chinese. I…read morehave participated in the first two levels of Mandarin taught by KiaXin's Jennifer Bai. Jennifer is extremely kind and patient. I strongly recommend her and think she is a very effective teacher.

I wanted to actually say thank you. Not only are my teachers amazing and go OUT OF THEIR WAY to…read morehelp me individually, but the staff and the ladies in the office are awesome. I keep coming back and recommending this school to others and can honestly say I do not have one bad thing to say. The campus is clean, the bathrooms are always available, and even the maintenance workers are kind and helpful if you lose your way on campus. I actually enjoy attending here, and I can honestly say I've never said that about a school. Thank you ALL so much, for everything. It's because of the programs and extremely helpful teachers that I am that much closer to my diploma as well as my goals. Keep up the GREAT work Mt. Diablo Adult!

If you're thinking of starting your career or want to learn a new skill then this is definitely the…read moreplace to do it. They offer a good variety of programs for a pretty affordable price in comparison to other schools I was looking at. I'm in their dental program and loving it, the teachers are helpful and supportive, you can tell they genuinely want you to succeed. Don't hesitate, just enroll!!

I've been taking lessons with Ina once a week for several years. I learned Spanish as a child, but…read morehadn't taken more than beginner lessons. Ina has gently and very patiently helped me to break some bad grammatical habits that I'd previously picked up as a result of not having had much formal training. My comprehension and vocabulary in Spanish have increased through practice speaking to her. I'd still like to work more on my grammar especially verb forms like imperfect subjunctive, but I'm confident that Ina will help me improve in that area as well.

I was excited to find someone who teaches Spanish and offered zoom plus weekends. I contacted Ina…read moreletting her know my availability would be weekends. She proceeded to take my call... before the call I messaged her if it was okay to call her at the time agreed. She said yes, as soon as I called her she was ending a session and was so very rude and dismissive.. she told me that she wouldn't have availability and to call her next month. I told her I am Mexican and pretty much know some and have people around me who speak Spanish.. she rudely rushed me off the phone and said no sorry nothing available and hung up in my face. I think these reviews are paid because my experience off of a 3 minute phone call was unbelievable! So sad, she sounded like she hates what she does. :/