We could not be more happy with our Marin Montessori Middle School experience. We transferred our…read moredaughter in mid year and have been thrilled to see her engagement and interest in learning return. The staff are incredibly lovely and caring professionals who have the deepest respect for each student. We were met with openness and warmth and the turnaround for her academics was pronounced. She looks forward to going to school and loves getting to have choice in her own learning. Marin Montessori has truly created a culture of kindness and it has made all the difference for our family!

My oldest child is completing his first year at MMS, and I couldn't have dreamt up a better…read moreexperience for the equivalent of his pre-K year. He has always had a tough time with transitions until he made the transition to MMS! The school thoughtfully welcomed him in such a way that he walked in on his first day with no hesitation, making me feel at ease sending him to school everyday. The mixed age Montessori classroom environment nurtures his curiosity, giving him the opportunity to learn from his peers and practice leadership skills. The school's administration and guides are incredibly supportive of my child, meeting him where he is while ushering him to the next level. When my son's guide checked in with me after his first two days of school, the words she used to describe him were spot on. Beyond the school's administration and guides, the parent community has been an excellent resource to me and my growing family. My family moved to the Bay from the East Coast a few years ago, and I greatly appreciate that many parents are from other states and various non-US countries with diverse cultural backgrounds and experiences that their children can share with my children. I am looking forward to my second child starting in the fall!

Brightworks is a truly magical school! It has been a place of complete transformation for my child…read more As a seasoned educator who has taught in public and private schools in both the U.S. and internationally, I can confidently say that the Brightworks ethos and pedagogy embody what children need to thrive and succeed in our ever-changing world. We came to Brightworks when my older daughter was in 4th grade (also known as the Quartz band). She had previously attended another wonderful school--where my younger daughter continues to thrive--but it simply wasn't the right fit for her. By 3rd grade, she was taking three half-hour "bathroom breaks" each day, essentially the equivalent of cutting elementary school. She was being bullied by peers, had grown to hate the process of learning, and was beginning to believe that she was "dumb." She was also nearly two grade levels behind in reading. After exploring many schools, we discovered Brightworks. It wasn't flashy, but it immediately felt like the right place for her. Our first day was challenging. Although she had struggled at her previous school, she also found change difficult and was resistant to starting somewhere new. She refused to enter the classroom and instead ran up a tree in tears. The teacher (collaborator), Shirvan, responded with remarkable patience and warmth, reassuring me that my daughter could join the group whenever she felt ready. The administrators were equally phenomenal, offering compassion and support when they could see how embarrassed and overwhelmed I felt with my "spirited" child. About four hours later, she finally joined the class. Within just a few days, she loved school so much that she was sad when the day ended and disappointed when holidays approached. After each winter, spring, and summer break, she was thrilled to return. Within a year, she progressed from reading at a 2nd-grade level (e.g., Dog Man) to devouring upper elementary and middle school novels such as the Wings of Fire and Warriors series. She came to love school, the process of learning, her teachers, and her peers. She transformed from a wilted flower into a blossoming tree. The ethos of Brightworks is to meet children where they are and to approach learning through real-world contexts that spark their interests. Science and math are taught through hands-on exploration and authentic problem-solving, while reading and writing are developed through both personal interests and guided learning around social justice topics. Students gain genuine critical thinking skills alongside practical experience using shop tools. The multi-age, schoolhouse model allows older students to care for younger ones, fostering responsibility, empathy, and meaningful mentorship. Every collaborator is dedicated to guiding each child to become the best version of themselves. I only wish that all teaching and learning could be approached in the way Brightworks does.

Our son is 8 and in the middle of his 3rd year at Brightworks…read more We couldn't be happier about how the school has supported his learning, both socio-emotional (he is high energy and we were worried he'd be seen as a 'bad' kid at a traditional school) and academic (particularly reading, where he's been a bit slow, but now is right on track and loving reading). Brightworks' approach is project based. Not just doing projects *in* classes--like the science class doing a science project about earthquakes--but doing interdisciplinary projects *instead of* classes, with a greater degree of fluidity and flexibility in time and approach. The school has a strong maker and tinkering culture. We also don't have things that more traditional schools have, such as tests or grades, though we do have parent conferences and documentation of progress in several key areas (like a swim school report card). The kids do NOT sit at individual desks. A lot more time is spent outdoors, and we're in the Presidio, so there's tons of nature to explore. The kids aren't organized into typical grade levels, like K, 1, 2, 3. Instead they're in "bands" of up to a dozen kids each, giving the school more flexibility in placing kids in the group that they'd most benefit from being in each year, with less stigma if a child is "skips" a grade or is held back. The school's approach is naturally well-suited for kids with different needs. E.g. the focus on meeting every kid where they're at, individual learning trajectories, and being able to take the time that the kids need rather than being tied to a fixed daily or weekly schedule with lists of specific learning objectives. We've gotten great and entirely non-judgemental support for our son. That said, as a small school and as a private school, not every need or circumstance can be accommodated and we have seen a couple classmates over the years with, e.g. dyslexia or autism, move on to more specialized schools. (If your kid has special needs, I would ask about it; we do have many neurodiverse and other kids with particular needs that are doing great and seem well supported.) One thing that exemplifies the school is our annual Maker Marketplace where anyone in the community can sell things-like crafts, food items, gifts, or even carnival games or other experiences. It's entrepreneurial and community-forward, and there's a fair amount of open-endedness in what is possible. Maker Marketplace is a bit chaotic and a lot of fun and learning, and to me that really is the Brightworks way.

We started Jan 2024. I had a kindergarten boy and a 8th grade girl that started at Marin Christian…read moreAcademy. I see a huge changes in both of my children for the better. My son is now in 1st grade: He loves his school and looks forward to hearing about God and reading his bible. His reading and math skills have caught up as last year he was behind when we started at Marin Christian. We are so grateful to see how great he is doing and my son is so proud of his achievements here. My daughter was only at Marin Christian for Jan 2024 to June 2024, then transitioned to high school. She says what she learned in those few months have stayed with her and that she is much closer to God and this has helped her find her way at high school. She also was behind as she was home schooled over covid. In these few months this school was able to help with confidences and taught her what she was missing to do great in high school. She loved the middle school and we wished that we find this school sooner. Thank you Brenda

Fantastic local school that offers an alternative to public school. Great teachers and the school…read moreadministration is top notch. My children are very happy here and I feel they are receiving quality academia and being well-cared for. The MCA parents association offers ample opportunity to meet other parents and support the school.

Well... my review may be a little skewed. I'm 24 years old and I went to Sun Valley Elementary…read moreSchool. Maybe its a little late to review it? I think there's a sweatshirt (or a mug?) you can buy in cheesy shops that says something like "everything that I know, I learned it in kindergarten". Well, at Sun Valley, its true. Everything I know, I learned at Sun Valley. I have some really great memories here. I drove by the other day, and they have a lot of new buildings and a bigger parking lot. But let me tell you that twenty years ago, this was a great place to get an education, and a safe place to be. And from what I hear, it's still that good.

I have two daughters at Sun Valley School at the moment. One in first and one in second grade. My…read morewife is quiet involved at the school as well working in the class rooms when she has time. We (my wife, my kids and myself) absolutely love this school, the teachers and the Principal, Julie Harris. What an amazing place this is. I wish I had something even close to it when I was a kid (and maybe I had turned out right...?).

Academically single sex but socially coed - the best of both worlds. Convent (girls school) and…read moreStuart Hall (boys school) have separate classrooms but share the campus and resources. Really amazing administration and leadership - very active in building connections and on going projects between the boys and girls. They all know each other. My children have so many resources - reading specialists, math specialists, etc - that allow for differentiated learning within the classroom. For example, it is common for children in the same class to be learning at different math levels. While we are not religious, my favorite thing about the school is their global approach. The children are very educated about current events, world religions, world languages (Spanish, French, Mandarin, Latin), art, and music (Music Conservatory program). While academics and teachers are top notch, the global approach and emphasis on school community is very impressive. We love the school and all our kids are thriving! Also, great sports program!

I volunteered at the Stuart Hall for boys, a Catholic School of the Sacred Heart, as part of Bay…read moreArea Scientists in Schools in 2017. Two of my fellow graduate students from the Earth and Planetary Science department at UC Berkeley and I prepared and gave an interactive lesson and experiment on earthquakes and geological faults to a class of boys. Students interacted with the handout we prepared electronically via tablet technology and we broke the students into three groups, one with each of us volunteers. The students in my group were well behaved, contributed to group discussion, and not afraid to partake in the hands-on experiment. On the whole I had a good experience. One of the other volunteers was male, the other female, and I am female. I had no issues getting the male students to pay attention, nor did the other male volunteer, though we were both geophysicists and earthquakes fell in our realm of graduate studies. The other female volunteer, a geochemist, said she had a little difficulty with the students in her group, but not bad. Our conclusion was maybe it was related to our knowledge background and area of study in graduate school and how that translated into our teaching style, though there were lingering concerns it might have been related to her being female.

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!

I have been fortunate to have grown up in two different unified school systems. The Oakland Unified…read moreSchool District when I went to Crocker Highlands for 1st-6th grade, and Piedmont Unified for kindergarten, middle school, and high school. Like many parents, mine had a dilemma of sending me to private school in Oakland, or using my grandmother's address who lives in Piedmont to give me a first rate education. My parents chose the ladder. I didn't realize what a great education I had recieved until I went to college in Atlanta, GA and noticed how ill prepared many of the students where for college. Overall, if given the chance you should definetly send your kids through the Piedmont School System.

I had a nun tell me in 2nd grade to go fly a kite--that's as authentic as one can get no?…read more They also had me doing long division by the time I was in 2nd grade vs my younger sister who went to public school in 2nd grade (she was starting single digit multiplication). She switched over to private school for grades 6-8th.

My husband graduated from this school and now our son attends it. We love it. It's a small school…read moreand very community based. The principle and teacher's are wonderful.