Sport L.'s experience doesn't reflect the Redwood Day School that I send my kids to. Redwood Day is…read moregreat in so many ways, from the teachers, administration, the beautiful campus, and a true sense of community. I have two kids at the school, and I am grateful that I made the decision to send them here for these very important years of their education. For math, the school uses a hybrid form of Singapore Math, which for most parents seems very different from what we learned, but it works (and has success metrics - students in Singapore have one of the highest math mastery in the world). They use a different model in the Middle School for the 6-8th span that equally prepares students for higher level math in High School. Redwood Day has ways for kids who need or seek more in math - my kids are always challenged. They also have a Math Olympiad program and programs/staff to help students who may need additional support. I have never found Redwood Day to be lacking in helping my kids learn, grow, and master math. Culture and celebrations are also very integrated at the school - which celebrates everything from Latin, African American, Asian American, and Jewish Heritage months to Women's History. The school is having something for Ramadan, and I know they have also hosted a Shabbat dinner in addition to other cultural celebrations. All to say, Redwood Day is super inclusive, and my kids come home learning a lot about their friends' cultural traditions - just a couple weeks ago, they did a Holi event. No school is perfect, but I believe that Redwood Day is always evolving, changing, and listening to the parent community. For discipline, I'm thankful for the social and emotional learning that starts in K and goes through 8th. Even as 5 year olds, kids learn about choices, options for dealing with conflict, and what and how to make different (and better) choices when there is conflict. I don't know what the prior post means about authoritative discipline, but long gone are the days of that type of discipline model. My kids (and these next generations) need to learn self-awareness, self-regulation, critical thinking, and agency in working out their own differences - with the guidance and oversight of teachers, coaches, mentors, and role models. Personally, I much prefer that my children talk through issues with their friends, take accountability, practice humility, and have the support of trusted adults to help them navigate challenges. Not everyone is the right fit for any school - and as a parent, it is absolutely on us to ensure that we find mutual synergy with the school, teachers, faculty, and community. For me, Redwood Day was the absolute right choice for my kids - and I know they are more because of it.

Sometimes I get parents who reach out and ask me more about redwood day school to them I say we…read moreleft here and went to Berkwood Hedge School in Berkeley where my daughter thrived. We made it though covid with an amazing pivot to outdoor classrooms and my child didn't miss a beat. She's now in a public middle school: wise, self assured, kind. confident and getting straight A's. I believe her courage and strong sense of self come from the education she received at Berkwood Hedge School. If you're looking for a truly inspiring progressive independent education check them out. Not as many Bells and whistles but what matters is there the heart and the academics.

Ms. Adams spent an hour talking to us, she was engaged, helpful and thoughtful. She went above and…read morebeyond in this simple discussion and we were very grateful to her for it. She seems to have a lot of knowledge and a passion for her area of law.

I highly recommend if you have a child with special needs. They're wonderful. Please reach out to…read morethem if you need help.

Brilliant tuition with expert teachers. They really know how to craft engaging lessons that are…read moreacademically rigorous, playful and holistic. The teachers here know how to teach to the whole child. Could not recommended higher.

From the owner: I am an elementary teacher and reading specialist with over 15 years of experience. I offer one on…read moreone support for children struggling with literacy and math. I specialize in supporting kids with learning differences, IEPs and 504 plans. I offer in school support as well as family advocacy.

A magical place! My 6-year-old son is autistic and it was such a relief to be welcomed by a team…read morethat just gets it. The space is super clean and feels like a kid's dream. There's so much to do, climbing, building, exploring, getting wiggles out, and even a quiet room to chill. You can tell the folks behind it really thought through everything. The vibe, the décor, even the website feel so neurodiverse-affirming. They have tech to help build community around members too. We live in Novato so the distance makes a membership tough right now, but I'm hoping we can join in the summer when school isn't in the way. I'd love to see Spirited Play Labs expand to more places as this is the future IMO (please come to Novato, I'll help!). For families like ours, where typical play spaces can feel stressful or isolating, this place is a true gem, welcoming, thoughtful, and hopeful for the future. Thank you!!!

We've been coming to SPL for years, and it has always been such a positive experience. The play…read moresessions with Lia mean so much to us. we truly appreciate her patience, guidance, and support. Every visit, we notice progress. My daughter used to play only by herself, but now we see her becoming more independent and interacting with Lia, which fills our hearts. As a mom of a child on the spectrum, I know how hard it can be. My daughter doesn't have friends, but when we come here, she has one. In other spaces, the stares that come with her stimming can be so difficult to ignore, but here at SPL, we feel safe, accepted, and not judged. That sense of belonging is rare for special needs families, and we are so grateful to have found it here. I love how the staff embraces inclusion and acceptance. it shows in everything they do. I truly wish there were more places and programs like this for our kids, because families like ours need community.

I could not do my job without the support of the Seneca staff…read more Ms.Erica, Rob, John, Mr. C love the kids and the kids know it. I teach at an expulsion high school. The teens come with so many social and emotional problems that education is often not foremost on their minds. The Seneca staff meets the needs of the students so that they want to come to school where they are encouraged, supported and loved. Thank you Seneca

Soooo I was a student for them a in school program were it's a bunch of young people who are…read moreinterns and we called them counselor an it was like 4 in our classrooms and when I tell you they made my life for 4 years straight a living hell I'm not even being dramatic about it they always say they support when in fact they just nosy and wont do anything and I had a therapist who I told was homeless and she didn't do nothing about it she didnt even help me get into a shelter and they gave her information that the office gave her didn't even mind telling me the counselors just judge you and hate everything you do when you just sit down and do your work and they also get there pay check by writing about you and send it to medical also my therapist would gossip about my issues to the teachers and counselors and try to gang up on me with the 21 on year old counselor who wreak of weed and only pick favorites

I am an alum of NLS from a single parent home in East Oakland. From there I went to Marin Academy…read morefor high school, received a bachelor's degree in economics from UC Berkeley, last year I received my MBA from Stanford University, and I currently work at Google. I would not have achieved any of those things without NLS. I split my elementary school years between public school and private school, so I'll speak to what makes NLS special. From my perspective, many schools (public and private) can provide a strong academic foundation. NLS was just as good as my strong public school in that regard. What I gained from NLS is belief in myself that anything is possible. It came from the dreams fulfilled that line the walls, the stories told at morning circle, and from teachers and administrators truly caring about what I wanted to be when I grew up. And in a practical sense, the school provided access, access to the most elite prep high schools in the U.S. Before NLS, I had not even heard of the majority of them. NLS represents a turning point in my life in terms of building confidence, ambition, and knowledge of opportunities that were previously unknown to me.

It's so sad that I have to give this school such a low rating, but it is very well deserved when it…read morecomes to how they nurture 5 year old children. I am writing this review not to bash this school, but to make prospective parents and current parents aware of the principle and the kindergarten teacher Ms. Jennifer and Mr. Peter; the director of student affairs. These three people at this school support yelling and snatching from children. Now this school promotes anti -bullying and respect, however do not display this toward the children. I will give a brief on my particular experience. Ms. Jennifer is one of the kindergarten teachers at this school. She is an emotional wreck and has expressed that she gets very frustrated with the children when they aren't orderly and she admitted to snatching from my child and others. Her reasoning for this was because and I quote "It's the end of the day and I'm dealing with 15 5 year old's and your child has told me multiple times that snatching isn't nice". On this particular day, my child walked out of the classroom at the end of the day crying hysterically. Ms. Jennifer didn't tell me the whole story when I asked why my child was crying, she just told me that she told my child "no" and that made her cry. But the real story of why my child was crying at the end of the day, was because this lady yelled at her and snatched something out of her hand in front of the entire class. When I asked Ms. Jennifer about the incident again she said, " No I didn't yell at her, I just spoke to her in a really mean way and in a really loud voice, honestly I just got really frustrated and yes I did snatch from her". Now when is it ever appropriate as a kindergarten teacher to behave this way? That was rhetorical..... Not ever. I appreciate the honesty, but it's never OK to yell and scream at a 5 year old or snatch. I tried to have an additional meeting with this lady, to try and see if we could move past the situation. She walked out of the meeting like a 5 year old and her supervisor Peter is an enabler because he coddled her like a 5 year old. I guess she can dish it to a 5 year old, but can't take it from an adult. I reached out to the principle about the incident, she sent me some 5 paragraph reply which 3 of the paragraphs was a copy and paste. Non the less, she said she didn't think that the teacher acted inappropriate. She's a joke! Collecting money from the state, acting like she cares about our black babies, but really what their doing behind closed doors, is not what they're advertising. Just be aware!!! Their fraudulent and after 25 years, you would think this Michelle lady would be way more professional and know the difference between appropriate behavior and egregious behavior from her faculty. I definitely reached out to the organization that they are members of and filed a complaint and took my child out of this school. You get what you pay for. I'll take my $1,000.00 somewhere else. My child is so amazing and a blessing to me and so may other people that meet her. I will not let anybody dim her light or steal her sunshine.

I don't think the address listed is current. I'm at 746 grand Ave. This is where people need to go…read moreto enroll in ousd and change schools etc. the person who helped me was very kind. They offered to help me find the info I needed on my phone. It was very helpful to come down to this office.

I honestly wouldn't recommend sending your child to Oakland Unified schools. My experience with the…read moredistrict has been frustrating and disappointing. While I've dealt with a specific school, the bigger issue is the district as a whole. They weren't transparent, they were often disrespectful, and they rarely took accountability for their actions. If your child has special needs and you're the type of parent who advocates for them (as you should), prepare for a fight. The district doesn't make it easy--they operate with a "this is how we do things, take it or leave it" attitude. I experienced firsthand how real the discrimination is and how poorly privacy is handled by some of the staff. Communication is seriously lacking, and trying to get clear answers or basic follow-up was like pulling teeth. There's also a strong sense of favoritism--when staff mess up, others rush in to cover for them instead of fixing the problem. It feels like a system designed to protect each other, not serve families. That said, I won't say everyone is bad--there are some amazing staff and not all schools are the same. But unfortunately, the leadership and culture at the district level trickles down, and it shows. If OUSD wants to do better, they need to start with training their employees--especially the ones at the top--on the rights of students and parents. And they need to hold people accountable across the board. Until that happens, I'd strongly suggest families think twice. And let's just take a moment to appreciate the fact that Oakland Unified built themselves a brand-new, shiny district headquarters at 1011 Union St., Oakland, CA 94607--ground up, all the bells and whistles. Meanwhile, the auditorium seats at Oakland Tech still look like they're straight out of the 1950s. But hey, at least the admin folks are sitting pretty.

Update- kinder and 1st graders are combined classes due to small size of kinders this year. Also…read moresome of the 1st graders are with 2nd graders. Despite of the combos, we do not see any problems with it. I have a kinder and a 2nd grader. My kids love their school, their teachers and peers.

We love Garfield - our son is part of the first TK group to start this year and he's thriving. I…read morelove that the class sizes are small and he'll be in the community through 5th grade. The teachers + support staff are wonderful, they really give time and attention to the full student experience. Our kiddo had trouble transitioning to school-made lunch, so we worked with the teachers and staff to develop a food plan. We've also been invited to a number of school activities for kids + parents (and a few parent-only) and I love the community we're building. Garfield was recently fully renovated from the ground up, so even though it's proudly one of the oldest schools in SFUSD, it's also one of the schools with the newest infrastructure. Also? My kiddo tells everyone he basically goes to school at Coit Tower (and he's not wrong). For anyone worried about the hill: there's a VERY easy drop off and pick up process and the staff keeps it going, so much easier than the other two schools where we had to deal with odd parking/drop off and pick up situations!