this school is the worst my friend got hurt by a ball and the principal (Mukta Sambrani)she told my…read morefriend to take off her jacket and she told me and my other friend to leave but the original idea was to get a ice back but I guess we weren't getting a ICE PACK BECAUSE THE PRINCIPAL STOPPED US AND TOLD ME AND MY OTHER FRIEND TO GO BACK a day later she had a bruise. There would be no problems if she just got a ice pack. Wow Ms.sambrani great job

The teachers at Lincoln really show how much they care about their students and they teach in ways…read morethat no one can't understand but the principal ( Sambrani) is very disrespectful. She once pressured my child into a false confession by holding them in her office while it was a potluck in my child's class. She always goes back and forth and whenever we disagree on a topic she turns it into an argument. Another thing you all should consider before you send your child to this school is that she is incredibly sexist. One time my child got into a fight with a girl, he got in trouble while she faced no consequences despite being the one who started it. That's all I have to say, so if you are willing to send your child to a school with an unjust, petty, arguemental principal this is the place to go!

Hi I give James Madison 5 stars because its an amazing school teachers are great and passionate…read moreabout teaching

I was a little apprehensive to put my child in a San Leandro school because I always heard negative…read morethings about the area. I grew up in Orinda which has some of the highest school rankings in the state, in my head I thought that san Leandro would never compare. I will say that my fears/ doubts got put to rest when my son started attending James Madison. Right away my son felt included and like he was part of the community.. I will say the reason that my mind changed was because of Issac's teacher, ( Mr. Baird) and ( Principal Grotke)! Principal Grotke is the kindest man, he smiles at you and has conversations with you.. he really cares about his students and the families of his students. He would also look out for the school and ask parents if they could volunteer or help in any way. Principal Grotke is a very caring, loving person... he's a very peaceful guy. He radiates peace and good energy... I know his job is tough.. I see some parents who break rules and don't follow school procedures... He has always had an optimistic disposition though... Mr. Baird has also made me appreciate this school. He is really nice, mellow, and patient... my son has learned so much from him.. My son now cares more for the environment and animals... This school is so lucky to have Principal Grotke and Mr. Baird.. it is so important that children have supportive people who can help them foster their dreams and help them aim for the stars. My son is lucky that he has crossed paths with these two wonderful people... and that they have helped him build such solid foundations.

they don't keep very good records at all!! very unprofessional!! there are a handful of great…read moreteachers in this school but over all my children will not be attending this school again if I can help it! PLEASE DO NOT automatically side with the staff if your child gets in trouble investigate the situation yourself or things can get ugly for your child and your child will be labeled by all staff!! GOOD luck !!!

Mills College Children's School is an absolute gem and a truly transformative environment for…read morechildren and families alike. The teachers and staff are incredibly supportive, creating an inclusive and diverse community where every child and family feels welcomed and valued. Their ability to meet each child where they are--both in terms of needs and abilities--is unmatched. The educators here are first-rate, highly educated, and deeply dedicated to their craft. They foster an environment where children can blossom socially, emotionally, and academically. Every child is seen, supported, and celebrated, which allows them to build confidence and thrive in all aspects of their development. The care and thoughtfulness that go into every interaction and every element of the program are evident. I feel so privileged to have my child--and myself--be part of this extraordinary community. Mills College Children's School is a place where children and families grow together, and I cannot recommend it highly enough!

My child is in their first year here and we are blown away by the thoughtfulness the teachers put…read moreinto every detail of the students' surroundings and the variety of creative activities my kid gets to choose from in following their interests to see where it leads. This school really does feel like a community that's aligned with our values as a family. I also appreciate that parents at MCCS are encouraged to participate in making learning fun and helping in different ways. I've guest read books to the children and am planning to lead a craft activity in a few weeks. My kiddo looks forward to those moments together. I also really appreciate how I can tap my kid's teacher for advice on how to handle different challenging behaviors when they arise (as a fairly newbie parent). I'd recommend the school again and again.

It's been a few years since both my kids have been going to this school and they love it. All the…read moreteachers and staff have been excellent and we've gotten to know other families who all have a similar experience. All the students are here to learn and the families all have similar values. Our kids are always being pushed outside their comfort zones and growing as a result. The Odyssey of the Mind had many parents involved as coaches for the kids and the kids performed so well in competition. A few teams from CCS even made it to the international competitions. Overall an amazing school with a nice campus, great curriculum and dedicated teachers and students. After the pandemic though they've lost some extra curriculum activities and I hope they can bring more of those back soon.

As we are getting ready for our 8th grader's graduation ceremony, I can't help but reflect back how…read moremuch CCS has been part of our family's life especially our children's intellectual and spiritual growth. I want to sincerely thank the CCS teachers, staff for making the past 9 years such a wonderful experience for our kids. We are excited to see our 8th grader enter high school soon as we also have a 11th grader who is doing well in high school (AP and honor classes) thanks to the great foundation for learning habits built at CCS. We would like to leave this message for future parents who are researching for their kids' school just like we were 9+ years ago. Why CCS? CCS is a more than a school. It's a close knit community between the teachers, staff, students and parents where we supported each other especially throughout the COVID-19 years. Because of the strong adherence to the county health policy and implementation of well followed processes (daily morning temperature check, etc), CCS was able to open back up in-person learning consistently and earlier than other schools in the area. During this tough Covid period, the constant communication from the principal, VP and teachers have kept the parents informed while taking the parents input into planning out the school curriculums. Founded on strong Christian values and rigorous academic disciplines while embracing a world-wide view of diverse cultures of our community, CCS is a great place to prepare our children to face their next challenge in high school, college and beyond. Having just finish middle school with our 8th grader, we also really appreciate the dedication the teachers and coaches put into the sports and creative programs. It was great to witness the kids playing flag football and soccer on the new community-supported turf field with team spirit and enthusiasm after 1.5 years of no sport. It was wonderful to see the school bring back the spring concert, play and musical this year. Your heart will melt too if you see those cute Kindergartners singing and dancing on stage. There are also spelling bee, math Olympics, speech meet, Odyssey of the Mind competitions where teachers, students and parents working together to bring the best out of our kids. In summary, attending CCS has helped not only shaped our kids' academic future, it also help shape the whole-person intellectually and spiritually. Because of CCS, ours kids are ready to face the next challenges in school and in life. Thank you CCS for cultivating the whole-person for our children. We look forward to continue to support and engage where we can even though the learning part of the journey is over for our kids here. 十年树木, 百年树人 灣區基督教學 (CCS) 是一所值得委託您孩子教育的學校

I was at Woodland Elementary this morning to participate in theOur Oakland Eastside Stories…read morecommunity storytelling day. wow thats a mouthful. Woodland School is BRAND NEW! and looks like a school./community center/daycare/playground facility. I wanted to go to the tetherball station and have a round but forgot Im an old merekat and might twist or hurt some valuable piece of me....

Top notch public elementary school with high achieving student body. Has had a series of excellent…read moreprincipals over the decades. Very involved PTA. Only problem here is that the school is large and located on a dead end street, making auto access - especially on rainy days - difficult and time consuming.

My teacher is awesome and their chicken nuggets are so yummy they have movie nights and more…read moreawesome school 5 star.

Gee, go figure, the devastating principal who destroyed morale is now gone. Guess the "drama…read morequeens" (ie the majority of the community) had a legitimate complaint, after all. Revising my review now that the Wicked Witch is gone. With her out the door, I truly believe JM will thrive and the community will heal from the damage she caused. Well done drama queens! The rest could learn from their dedication to making JM a better place.

The school has so much going for it, and mainly was a great place when my kid attended more than…read moreten years ago. However, an excellent and beloved aftercare, Adventure Time, was forced out under false pretenses in 2014. Their contract was broken so another aftercare could slide right in. It made me wonder back then. Makes me wonder even more now.

Ten stars! It's that time of year and we are seeing our preschool friends in school admissions…read morepanic mode. We like many Oakland families went to numerous school tours searching for the best school for our child. Not even halfway through our tour at Redwood Day we knew this was where we wanted to be. It was the first school where the tour did not feel like we were being shuffled through with the same questions and answers from administrators. We had parents and students speaking to us about the school! The admissions team is great and went above and beyond to make sure they got to know our children and that they were a right fit for each other. We've now been at Redwood Day for three years, with our oldest in second grade and our youngest in kindergarten. First, we are a mixed race family and diversity is very high on our school checklist. Diversity was hard to find in a private school when we were on our search for a school but Redwood Day felt different. Now that we've been at Redwood Day for three years, diversity is definitely a priority for Redwood day. They have created equity and inclusion groups for parents and students, they study and celebrate achievements of various backgrounds throughout the year, and make, at least, our kids feel safe to take pride in their mixed background. (They also take the initiative in these groups and in the classroom to teach our kids to connect with their own feelings and the feelings of other students. In our experience, they create an environment of inclusion and empathy). Although they may not be as diverse as some of the public schools we looked at, for private school they are making a huge effort to make the school as diverse and inclusive as possible. Next, our oldest daughter who is now in second grade was painfully shy. Not only with adults but also kids. She started at Redwood Day as a kindergartner. Our hope for her was to come out of her shell and at least talk in small groups in her class. By the end of kindergarten she was speaking in front of the class and performing in front of the whole school in the student showcase. The social emotional aspect and learning groups of Redwood Day has been fantastic for her. Fast forward to now and she is thriving in second grade. Any question or concern we have had has been addressed and handled the same day by her teachers. Our youngest daughter is a kindergartner this year. She is completely different than her sister and we had different concerns for her. She makes friends easily and is outgoing but reading and writing are not her priorities. Her teacher Jennifer has gone above and beyond to keep us in the loop and offer suggestions to help her focus. The school also offers a specialized teacher in reading and writing that provides the extra help my little one needed. With all the investment the school has given my daughter, and us, we can certainly say that the school has been very attentive to the needs of our child. The small classroom size is definitely a benefit in this regard. Our little one is slowly growing out of her resistance to reading, and she loves working with her teachers. I could go on and on with the school, teachers and their enrichments programs. Every morning my kids log onto the app and see what classes they have and pick their outfits out from there. They love when they have gardening, they wear clothes that can get dirty. P.E days they need their comfy dancing clothes. Design and innovation lab days my kids fight with each other because it's not fair one gets to go. All in all it's a great school that keep the kids excited to learn and be involved. Bottom line is that we think Redwood Day is great and most importantly so do our kids.

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.

I think that the new principle has definitely changed things for the better. I'm excited to see…read morewhat else he comes up with that is new and creative. The parents and community have been really reacting well to him....very good thing. I went here, my middle sister went here, my best friends went here, my youngest sister goes here, my younger cousin as well. Its just a really good place to raise your kids. Not just because of the school, but the community around as well. Laurel district ROCKS

We sent our 5 year old to Laurel for kinder mainly just because it was the local school, but it has…read moreturned out to be a great experience. The teachers and staff and principal all seem to genuinely care and be good at their jobs, and it shows in the happiness of the kids. As an example, my kid for some reason we may never know was scared to go into the lunch line at the cafeteria, and therefor wasn't eating lunch. I mentioned this to the principal who happened to be outside before school and he took us right at that moment to go meet the lunch lady and practice going through the line, and then when we got to class I told the teacher why we were a couple minutes late the teacher said he would walk with my son into the lunch line that day. He's been eating school lunch every day since. He plays better with other kids than he ever did in preschool. Oh, he also reads at a 2nd grade level (but I get part of the credit for that!). They have a pretty awesome brand new playground, a garden, fieldtrips, music class, (optional) parent meetings and volunteer opportunities, and a pretty good budget for a public school. We'll be sending our second kid here in a few years once she's old enough