We decided to withdraw our children from The Academy after ongoing concerns about bullying, lack of…read moreaccountability, and weak leadership. Our son faced repeated exclusion and inappropriate comments from classmates, including remarks that he was disliked "because he is Turkish." Despite our repeated reports and requests for support, the school minimized the situation and stated that "there was no bullying." Yet even during classroom assignments, our son expressed in writing and drawings his deepest wish for a world without bullying -- something no child should have to feel so strongly about in the first place. We tried for months to collaborate with the school, to have meaningful conversations, and to trust that the situation would improve. Unfortunately, it did not. Two students -- one acting as the leader and another following his lead -- consistently targeted him, and there were no real consequences. The administration's responses were consistently dismissive, suggesting a lack of understanding of the emotional impact such behavior can have on a child. Our son's sense of safety was completely eroded. Leadership at the school often acts in denial rather than taking responsibility. Communication is reactive and defensive. We also learned later that the administration offered us a $6,000 refund in exchange for signing a non-disparagement contract -- essentially asking us not to talk about our experience. We declined. Families deserve honesty, not silence. Academically, the school claims to be "one year ahead" and to follow a rigorous curriculum. After transferring to another school, we learned this was not true. Many concepts were skipped or taught superficially, creating learning gaps. Teachers are inconsistent -- some are good, while others frequently absent or disengaged. The third-grade environment in particular suffered from poor classroom management, inappropriate peer interactions, and a lack of supervision during recess and lunch. Conversations among students included inappropriate topics such as smoking and alcohol, even at this young age. This reflects serious gaps in oversight. The school also advertises a French program, but in reality, students only learn a few isolated words throughout the year -- far from the language exposure and learning that parents are led to expect. This is one example of how the school's marketing and actual classroom experience do not align. The only staff member who genuinely helped us and consistently supported our child was the inclusion and belonging teacher. She truly cared, followed up, and tried to make a difference when others didn't. To our shock, after leaving the school, we learned that she had been laid off. It's hard to understand how a school that claims to value inclusion could let go of one of the few people who actually embodied it. Adding to the concern, we later found that in the 2024-2025 school year, the administration encouraged families to post positive reviews online to boost enrollment numbers, as the kindergarten class had only six students enrolled. That context makes recent glowing reviews highly misleading. I would advise anyone considering this school not to rely on those reviews, as many were written under pressure to improve the school's public image. When The Academy was founded years ago, it had a strong reputation. Sadly, under the current leadership, it has lost its integrity, its sense of community, and its educational quality. For us, both the financial cost and the emotional toll were high. We are writing this review not out of bitterness, but out of responsibility -- so that other families can make informed decisions. Our new school has shown us how dramatically things can change when children feel truly safe, respected, and supported. Every child deserves that.

In credible school and incredible community. We've been at the school for 5 years and have two…read morechildren at the school. Both children have grown and thrived. We highly recommend The Academy.

We love Maybeck! It gives students a rigorous education that is based in deep reading, thorough…read moreresearch, considered discussion, labs and experimentation. The school has the principles of honesty, integrity, and democracy. The staff gets to know the students well and the students form lifelong friendships. Many annual school trips and camping trips help the community grow close. Social justice and democracy are foundational principles at the school. It doesn't just talk the talk, it walks the walk. It's one in a million.

I've been trying to think of what to say about Maybeck for a long time now. In honor of my 100th…read morereview, it's about time I share with you what an amazing place this is. The problem is, I'm not really sure how to say it. I don't know if a single review can adequately convey just how much Maybeck changed my life. I was bored by my classes at Piedmont Middle School, and wasn't getting enough individualized attention from teachers to actively engage my interest. I didn't fit in with the other Piedmont kids, and clearly wasn't going to thrive at PHS. Maybeck saved my life. The teachers at Maybeck are so passionate and patient with the students. They take the time to make sure everybody succeeds. I got involved in bicycling, even getting PE credit for commuting to school by bicycle each day. I participated in the French exchange program, which led to me spending my Junior year of college in Paris. The open minded accepting environment they create means that nobody is made to feel like an outcast, and that was huge for learning self-esteem. Being across from the Cal campus means easy access to lots of good resources. Not to mention being able to have lunch on Telegraph every day. It is definitely an alternative Berkeley hippie school. The student population is gloriously diverse. The teachers are kind, open minded, and passionate about the students. The school year is nicely book-ended by the beginning and end of the year camping trips, with the whole school spending a week in the redwoods. At the same time, it's also a serious college preparatory school. The classes are challenging, and much of the work I was doing at Maybeck was as difficult as anything I found when I first got to college. I was well prepared to enter the public university world, with a strong base of knowledge and skills to get me started. I love everything about Maybeck, and know that this review doesn't do justice to what a special place they hold in my heart. If you have any questions, I'm happy to chat with you about it. If you're curious if this is the right school for you, visit for a day and see what they're all about.

Best teachers and staff from Administrators to Counselors to coaches and best of all really…read morecommitted and dedicated teachers. Great experience for my kid so far.

girl this school is messy and the drama is crazyyyyy... the teachers are okay but the food is nasty…read moreasf

If you are still at BHS or just graduated you will be shocked to learn that my class is having…read moretheir 65th reunion next week. Yes, we graduated in 1960. It was one of the top schools in the US in those days. we won the Bellamy award in 1959. It saddens me to read these reviews with one star. Most of the content of the poor reviews seems to center around lack of organization and social problems. I hope the academic aspect of the school is still high.

This school has gone completely down hill. There is absolutely no safety or control in that school…read more The staff are only there for the paycheck! The dean of students is completely useless, they swear they are here for the students but they don't care at all. SAVE YOUR KIDS!!! DON'T SEND THEM TO THIS HORRIBLE SCHOOL

The most brilliant staff in the bay, led by an incredible admin team supports some of the brightest…read moreminds in this Oakland haven.

CPS is the pre-eminent high school in northern California and competes with Harvard Westlake as the…read moretop secondary school on the west coast. At last check, something like 3/4 of graduating seniors were National Merit semifinalists, finalists, or winners. Historically strong programs include English (world class), forensics (world class), foreign languages, arts, history, and math. Historically under-resourced programs include advanced sciences. Secluded from the freeway in a gully, the campus looks like an idyllic, architecturally balanced ski village, a fantasy of rolling floral slopes and cascading, homey classroom buildings. Like Yelp, CPS has succeeded in cultivating the delicate balance of social norms and incentives whereby the overwhelming behavioral tendency is a joyous contribution to the common good, both within the campus and without. You can't put that in a bottle -- but you can put it in a gully.

I graduated from Berkwood Hedge this year and I did not have a good experience. I went to Berkwood…read moreHedge from 6th to 8th grade. When I joined this community I did not feel accepted. A couple of months ago at the end of the year, there was a shadow student that tried to sit down and eat lunch with Berkwood hedge students, and the kid was told don't sit with us!! We don't want you here!! And the teachers didn't do anything about it. I think that is a pretty common experience for new students at Berkwood Hedge. I definitely had similar experiences happen to me. The academics are pretty good, but the math levels are not based on grade so it can make people in lower levels feel bad because some people from the higher levels brag about it. The sports are good because everyone gets to play and there is no tryouts but for most sports Berkwood Hedge doesn't win games because they are playing more inexperienced players. Some traditions that Berkwood Hedge has are strange to me like the blessing song and the sound baths. My family chose not to send my brother here because I didn't have a good experience, so I don't recommend this school.

The process of looking for a new school is overwhelming due to the sheer number of options. You…read morecome up with a comprehensive list of 10-15 schools you are considering and try to knock any of them out for even random reasons so that you can focus on touring and applying to a more manageable list of schools. Berkwood Hedge was on my long list - and when I read some of the negative reviews, I almost just crossed it off of our list. I am so thankful that I kept my mind open and saw Berkwood Hedge for myself. My son joined the 4th grade class this past Fall and it has been truly transformational for him and our family. After years of unhealthy social situations in his past schools and lack of attention to his learning needs, due to the care from Berkwood Hedge, he is now starting to come out from a haze of low confidence. His teachers, Olivia and Elisa, have been invaluable in helping him grow in confidence. Before you make any decisions about schooling for your child, I implore you to just attend one community meeting that happens in person every Wednesday morning at 8:45 on campus. It really does take a village and Berkwood Hedge has set up just that - a loving village around our children. When you hear the head of school, Love Weinstock, speak, you know that this care for the whole child is everywhere in the school's culture. You will definitely see the intentional approach in your child's classroom but you will also see it with restorative justice with Silver, music with Ajayi, learning with Edie, art with Laura, school operations with Kris, and the list goes on. We will be moving to Berkwod Hedge's upper campus next year and we are really looking forward to it. They have really been able to increase the diversity in the upper grades. Furthermore, Love leads with so much clarity that I look forward to seeing that come alive in middle school.

I am a little biased. I only spent three years here. But I even remember my teachers' names…read more Mr. Meadows for Kindergarten, Class A. Mrs. Barnhart for 1st Grade, Class A. Mrs. Klitza for 2nd Grade, I forget which Class I was in. I have fond memories of sitting on the stone walls with my best little friend and pulling the aloe, breaking it, and watching the clear goo ooze out of its veins, sharing a red delicious apple, pulling string cheese and wrapping it around all of our fingers. We often broke into the locked art closet to steal cat's eyes (plastic ones), climbed into the fenced garden to pick mint leaves, climbed over the stone walls to trespass into the neighbor's manicured back lawn, played hide and seek around the portable class rooms and permanently locked swimming pool. I collected dead bees and live caterpillars from all over the playground and showed my teachers. Both of my parents worked long hours, so I had daycare and afterschool extracurricular classes: stamp-making, ceramics, and book-making. I swung on the jungle gym bars, doing cherry drops - once I fell flat on my chest, which knocked the breath out of me, and for the first time in my young but conscious life, I realized I was mortal. I have almost endless memories of the part of my childhood that occurred here. Even at the beginning of summer, at the end of my 2nd grade school year, when I knew I wouldn't be coming back the next year because we were moving, I sat by the yard looking out over the playground with my hand-writing and math papers, and some craft I had made in art class, warmed by the sun, and feeling infinite (yes, children especially feel infinite), I cherished my time here. Education (one word for such a great thing?), good teachers (and good meaning sees to the children in their intellectual, emotional and spiritual development in school), good parenting, are the most important part of a child's life in their young years. A nurturing, creative environment it was, with fun, fair and disciplining hands to keep the mischievous ones in check.

While bullying from other students is always a concern, Bentley School has the unique problem of…read morehaving one of its teachers bully her students. Over the course of the year (school events, play dates, birthday parties), without prompting, classmate after classmate informed us that our child's teacher constantly put down our child and those other students who were not favored by her. Weekly, often daily, she would demean and certain students in front of the class. And yet while fellow students saw the problem, and the matter was brought to the school's attention, the school administration did nothing. Enabling bad people is what bad schools do. This is a bad school.

Our Journey with our son's learning issues began in elementary school. As time progressed he fell…read morefarther behind. In middle school we put him in a one on one school where he could be succesful as he could learn at his own pace.( Tilden prep). He had gained confidence in that time and was ready for high school, but we could not find a high school which combined working on how to deal with his learning disability and to provide the academic rigor necessary to get him into a college which is what he wanted. He came out of the school with confidence and with skills for self advocacy which has enabled him to be independent in college. His entire demeanor about learning changed in Bayhill as they showed him that he was able to learn and to enjoy it. The staff and director were extremely supportive and tailored to his needs

Bayhill is an amazing school! In my 13 years working at the school, I've witnessed so many success…read morestories, students who arrived with little confidence in their abilities become lifelong learners ready for college and so much more!

Not sure where to start. Mentoring Academy changed our lives in such a positive way. Gone were the…read moredays where I had to nag my 2E son to do homework. The mere fact that there isn't any homework makes a huge difference. My son was less stressed and so was the ENTIRE family. It's amazing how one unhappy person can change the dynamics of all involved. My son's relationships changed with his siblings as well as with his parents. Public school was not a good fit for him. He transferred to Mentoring mid-way through sophomore year. The family noticed a difference in him almost immediately. His second week of school at Mentoring was in Tahoe. During my son's first semester at Mentoring, they went to Tahoe, Washington DC, and So. Cal. Boy did I get what I paid for by sending my son to Mentoring. Over the course of the next two years, they also went to Poland and Costa Rica to name a few of the bigger outings. They also do local "field trips" as well. Students work at their pace and are encouraged take courses they are interested in. I've yet to meet a teacher/mentor at Mentoring that I didn't like. The school is full of students who march to the beat of their own drum and they are embraced. Each student is allowed to be who he or she is. Another added bonus is the college search support they receive. I didn't have to help my son with his essays nor did I have to help with the college search and application process. That was worth a lot for me, too. They helped my son apply to schools that were a good fit for him. They made sure my child took all the necessary courses to get into good colleges. I'll admit, I was a bit worried at times. However, unfortunately (or not) for me, my child is now away at college in another state. I believe if my son hadn't gone to Mentoring, he'd still be at home either attending the local state school, or community college (not that that's a bad thing, but just not a good fit for him). He is the kind of student who thrives in a smaller classroom setting. I could go on, but see for yourself and go see what Mentoring Academy is all about. It has been the best parenting decision my husband and I have ever made. Absolutely worth it!

Not the best, but Mentoring Academy started to give me a lot of believe again. I wish I could do a…read morelot better but over time, I started to have hope once again.

I had went to John Muir elementary for 6 years and I will say it was a amazing experience nice staf…read morenice teachers and everything I love the campus and like I always said slay baddie queen

Caring staff and awesome grounds. Great place to work at if the current principal personally likes…read moreyou and your opinion matches hers. I was there this past year and quickly noticed how true this was. I had a very challenging class and was only given negative feedback, and then just ignored. So I thought, "Okay, maybe I'm not all that great of a teacher." Then after getting to know the staff better, I learned that many staff members were unhappy with her. There was one teacher there who taught 1st grade for many, many years To try to get her to quit, she moved her to 5th grade. That position could of been filled by anyone who actually wanted it. She also suggested to a staff member that she should retire. When she said she wasn't ready, the principal immediately got her transferred to another school. After being on medical leave for most of the school year, the secretary returned. Before she returned, the principal announced that she was coming back. By her announcement, it was clear that she didn't want her back. After getting to know the secretary, I learned that she wasn't liked by the principal. The principal interactions with her are all negative and now the union is involved. One day a student in my class was pissed off and yelled, "Fuck you! " the student didn't know the principal was standing right behind him. The principal took him out of class and he returned in less than 5 min. Apparently the principal told him that she understood that he must be having a difficult day, but we must choose different words when expressing anger. I was dumbfounded and thought the student would be suspended and not given a 5 min therapy session. What a horrible school year it turned out to be. It's sad because this principal isn't at all the leader who I thought she was going to be. There's more but I've said enough. Getting rid of her would definitely move my star rating to a 5.