Our daughter recently started at BIM. I am originally from Japan so I was looking for a full…read morejapanese immersion school and I have so far been impressed. BIM does an excellent job at incorporating traditional Montessori teaching methods with japanese language and culture. The children not only learn the language, they also get to experience the culture including holidays and other traditions. The educational team is excellent, a group of teachers who pride themselves on being warm and loving while encouraging the children to grow at their own pace. We have another baby on the waiting list, make sure to sign up early as it can take a while for your space to open up.

I had the great honor of working at BIM as an office admin and co-teacher for 3 years. Even though…read moreI had tons of teaching experience and ECE units under my belt when I started, BIM was the first and only Montessori program I worked at. I learned so much about the Montessori method from my fellow co-teachers and was always inspired by their hard work and dedication to their craft. Japanese is my second language that will no doubt deteriorate if I stop using it, so being able to use it daily in various situations at my place of work was also a huge benefit for me. The BIM community as a whole is extremely tight-knit and supportive. I had never felt so loved and appreciated by the families I worked for before BIM, and it was heartening to witness new bonds and friendships being formed among everyone firsthand. Of course, I really miss the kids most of all and the funny things they would say and do, but feel very lucky and privileged to have 3 years' worth of fond memories with them. BIM, iroiro arigato! Mata ne!

My kiddo finished her first year of after-school programming at Hanwen and is looking forward to…read morenext year. She's attended other Chinese-language programs in the past but shared with me that she's learned the most at Hanwen (from songs to zhuyin to full characters). On top of that, there's a great student community and they have fun activities like kung-fu, too. Thanks for running a great school, Ron and team!

Our daughter (5 yrs old) currently attends Hanwen's afterschool program and she loves it. In…read moreaddition to the Chinese language classes, she is also enrolled in a mindfulness class (her favorite), a kung-fu class, an abacus class,and a yoga class. The instructors and the founder (Ron) are all highly engaged, supportive, and friendly. The program is very well run and offers a wonderfully enriching environment and an extensive assortment of activities. Our daughter reports to us on a daily basis (in Chinese) about things she learned and things she enjoyed doing with her new friends. We highly recommend the school to all our friends and enjoy being a part of the community.

Very disorganize. Teachers very lazy and dress like homeless. Classes very confusing because no…read morehelp from teacher. Classroom too cold because no heat! Not worth the money!

Amazing instructors! It makes you want to engage with the language on an on going basis. The…read moreinstructor I had was Mattia. He was very knowledgable and helped to give the class a true feeling of Italy and the language. I've already signed up for my next class for the spring. Ciao, Yvonne

Just started the weekly Conversation class. Love the relaxed and encouraging ambiance of the place…read more- a very happy place. Alternating between classroom and front room, I like it when we sit around on couches, munching on a snack, without pressure, practicing our newly learned Spanish. Maria is great, gently correcting our grammar while prompting más, hablar y practicar español.

Maria's 'Study Abroad' tour of the Azores in 2012 was a rip off. The accommodations were awful,…read moreseveral of the rooms had mold/mildew, the tours of the islands were inadequate, and the language instruction was not taught by a licensed language instructor. More to follow once I 'recover' from this trip. Do not even consider signing up for her tour in 2013!!!

We could not have been happier with AIM preschool and elementary school. They have incredibly…read morededicated teachers and staff. Ernie Mahr is a great leader and sets the tone from the top down. He even did a home visit for us to help reinforce the learning our kids were getting on a Thursday night at 7pm (sometimes parents need help too)! We would get emails from teachers late at night keeping us updated on progress and ways to collaborate with them. I have only good things to say about this school and wish we could have stayed longer. Alas, the pandemic changed the direction of our lives and we moved away but if there is anything our entire family misses from the bay area, it is the AIM school and community.

The American International Montessori School is a wonderful school. They have a nice and clean…read morefacility for the kids to play in with lots of learning going on from the infant rooms straight up to first grade. The director and teachers have been very warm and welcoming to my family. I do not speak Japanese or Mandarin. They have given me a lot of CDs and books to help me better understand the languages. I also love that they have really made it a point to include diverse celebrations from the Latino culture and many others. I really feel lucky to have found such an amazing school for my son.

1. Josh is a math guru! It probably has something to do with his fancy Yale architecture and Cal…read moreengineering degrees combined with his experience working with middle school and high school math students. Thanks to his test-taking strategies and math tips and tricks, I feel prepared and confident to sit for the GMAT exam in a couple weeks. 2. Although a bit embarrassing to admit, Josh's experience teaching high school math really came in handy. He is patient and has a clear way of explaining the material to a lug like me. 3. He is a great motivator. He went above and beyond just tutoring math by pushing me when I needed that extra kick and even encouraging me to apply to Top 10 schools. Josh could be a life coach! 4. He works with your schedule and his rates are very competitive. Josh is a godsend! Highly recommended!

This is not strictly related to SAT or math, but it sort of is, so bear with me a sec. I've known…read moreWes for years, but until today he'd never "formally" taught me anything. He spent an hour today helping me learn to play the drums, and it was probably the most effective hour of instruction about *anything* I've ever had. And that's including 15 years of piano lessons, 6 years of clarinet/saxophone, and all kinds of other things I'd spent time trying to learn over the years. Why? The process sounds simple. First, he spent some time to figure out what I knew and didn't know. Second, he zeroed in on the areas where I was having problems, and broke them into a lot of smaller pieces. Third, he gave me concrete things to do to make each of those individual pieces easier to understand, and easier to practice. Fourth, he showed me how to start recombining those pieces, after practice, so I could fit the puzzle back together again having improved each individual piece. It *sounds* simple, but I think in practice it's quite difficult for most people to do in a way that feels constructive, positive, and encouraging. At each step, I felt like I was given the tools I needed to continue working on this on my own, and a clear path to improvement. I've been poking around trying to learn how to play the drums for a few years. In an hour, I learned more, and built up my capacity to learn more, than I would ever have imagined. Utterly spectacular. I think if you've got the chance to learn from Wes, regardless of the subject, you should take it. If you have a kid who's looking to learn math, or test prep, his approach is what I *wish* my teachers did when I was younger. It'd have helped me love the process of learning, not just focus on the test in front of me. Fantastic.

When it comes to virtual teaching, Wes Carroll is brilliant. In fact, he is so helpful that even…read moreother educators continue to benefit from his tutelage. As a teacher, Wes knows his audience and is always enthusiastic about the subject matter. In addition, he not only offers well-organized online courses but also video-conference tutoring. As one who has witnessed one of Wes's virtual sessions, I have seen how his expertise with technology can reach multiple students and help them remotely.

My granddaughter started going to this family childcare center when she was 12 months old, after…read morehaving gone to a different family childcare center previously. The difference was like night and day. She had no trouble adjusting to Ashok and Lalita and seemed to love going there. Every day when I would come to my daughter and son-in-law's apartment to take the baby to daycare, she would rush to get her shoes and jacket so we could leave quickly to go there. If I told her it was too early to go to childcare, she would cry. In addition to my granddaughter's love for Ashok and Lalita, I observed first hand what a wonderful happy loving place their childcare center was. I would come into their house every day to drop off and pick up my granddaughter. They always greeted us warmly and enthusiastically. The baby would rush to sit on Ashok's lap so he could take off her shoes and jacket. Then she would rush to play with the assortment of toys and books that they had put out that day in their large living room, while listening to children's music playing softly in the background. When I would come to pick her up in the late afternoon she was always happy, and appeared well rested, and well fed. If the weather was nice, I would find them in the backyard playing with outdoor toys in the shade of a covered patio. Lalita would then recount to me what they had done that day, how much time they had spent outside, and any issues with eating, sleeping, or diapering that had come up with the baby. Since the baby was under 2, I didn't expect Lalita and Ashok to teach her anything academic. But I was surprised and impressed to find that they had taught her some basic letters and numbers, and she seemed to recognize some children's songs which she had listened to or danced to at their house. Unfortunately, after spending 5 months at Ashok and Lalita's childcare center, my family is moving away from Berkeley. Otherwise, we would be delighted to have the baby continue with them. I cannot imagine a better family daycare. In fact, sometimes when I would take my granddaughter to a toddler playground and I would see nannies taking care of toddlers, I would notice that they didn't seem nearly as loving or attentive as Ashok and Lalita are.