LOVE Shu Ren! Michelle, Alyssa & Yi Que made applying easy! Amazing communication & follow-up. Enrolled my daughter a couple weeks into the school year & they made sure Olive was well taken care of. Everyone was at the gates on her first day, welcoming us & making her feel at home. When we picked her up she raves about her teacher Vivien & all teachers. She shares with us all the lessons she learns - from washing her hands, sharing & so much more. Her Mandarin is getting stronger each day & couldn't be prouder of her. Beyond appreciative of the care, attention & thought that goes into her development. The Head of School, Rebecca is very present & the entire faculty is friendly & sincere. read more

Update: More staff have left/been fired, particularly the good ones that were left.... incompetence is the word here. Administration is near impossible to communicate with to find concrete answers with. Not at all happy with how the head of school has made her choices, they seem uninformed. read more

Theyre looking for another head of school/CEO AGAIN. Rotating cycle of failure as an educational institution. Glad I pulled my child out at the start of this year for Yu Ming. Not work $35k/year only to have the school change what it is every year. My child had a teacher new to school every year before we left. Staff rotate and don't seem to care, Admin seems like it doesn't know what it's doing at all. Head of school refuses to communicate clearly with families and does not make herself as available as others in the past. read more

Love Shuren! Our girls have been going there now for the 3rd year and when I had my baby boy, there was no question that we would be enrolling him as well. Now all 3 of our kids happily go there and we plan on continuing all the way to the 5th grade. The children get individualized attention and it is very easy to reach the teachers/administrators with any concerns. The IB mandarin curriculum is great and the teachers are extremely dedicated. You can see that they are invested in each child. The parent community is very cohesive and helpful. There is alot of diversity within the school community, which is important to us. We researched many mandarin immersion schools in the community and we are so glad with our decision! read more

Our family had a very negative and traumatizing experience here. Our preK-er started being sent home the first week. Within the month she had been pushed out. The school communicated frequently to send her home, seemingly with the intent to escalate the situation and absent of any real solution or patience. She had been in a daycare since and infant where we were accustom to teachers that worked collaboratively with parents on solutions. It appears Shu Ren would prefer any challenging children to leave. There was no effort to work with us and the suggestion we were "not a fit" was within a month. Please be aware that their primary goal as a new school is recruitment. I am writing this because I am still spammed by their need for reviews. I also continued to be on the emails of the parents so I know that another child in the class left the first semester and was also better supported by a different school. Even if your child does not have behavior differences, do you want them in an environment that cannot support children of all temperaments and abilities. Please consider elsewhere. It took a lot of time to rebuild her confidence and have her feel comfortable in a classroom again. We are in public school now where our child is not treated as different and the teachers can manage her fine. read more

Shu Ren is a Chinese Immersion School that is in the midst of going through some changes. They are planning on adding middle school grades and relocating the preschool campus. Here is a detailed list of pros and cons to consider if you are thinking about sending your child to Shu Ren: Pros: 1. It is a play based program that gives students daily opportunities to play outdoors with friends. They learn to play and grow socially. Although there are various indoor toys, students don't typically spend too much time playing indoors. They spend at least two hours outdoors everyday. 2. The IB Program teaches them themes such as friendship, transportation, school, senses, imagination. Teachers lead them through different activities related to their current unit of inquiry. 3. Students go on around 3/4 field trips each year, but parent volunteers provide all transportation. 4. Teachers take around 40-50 daily photos of the class, so you get to see what your child is doing each day. 5. Students learn presentation and public speaking skills by doing 4 show and tells in the 3 year old class per year and more show and tells in the 4 year old class. 6. Fun playground at the Jefferson Campus, but the Early Childhood Campus will relocate to 1422 San Pablo Avenue which is still under renovation. My child has picked up some Mandarin. How much your child will pick up depends on their linguistic ability. Most children from non-Mandarin speaking households won't really pick up the language. There are exceptions. Some children that are linguistically behind do not benefit much from this program. 7. Teachers are good at communicating class happenings to parents. In addition to the daily photos, they send out a helpful Friday update with vocabulary and songs that were learned that week. 8. Shu Ren hosts fun events throughout the year: Winter Festival, Chinese New Year, Mid Autumn Festival, Intercultural Festival and Talent Show. Cons: 1. Rigid nap schedule for their early childhood program. Students are expected to nap for around 2 hours each afternoon whether they are in the 2 year old class or the 4 year old class. This can be difficult for your child if you child loses their nap at 3 years old. Around half the class stopped napping in the 3 year old class. Most kids stopped napping in the 4 year old class. Despite trying, parents of non nappers could not persuade the administration to make alternative arrangements. Non-nappers are expected to lie down quietly or do something quietly for the entire duration of nap time. 2. The Preschool program and elementary program are not as academically rigorous as some of the other local Mandarin immersion programs, including Yuming. If you are hoping that your child will be able to read/write/speak Mandarin by the time they enter Kindergarten, then you might want to look for alternatives. 3. Shu Ren festivals are less student centered. This year's Winter Festival had the Preschool classes sing one simple song. The Lunar New Year Festival had no student performances at all apart from a lion/dragon dance by the 4th and 5th graders. The Intercultural festival will only feature 2 elementary grades performances as well. These events are fun, but disappointing if you were hoping to see your child sing Chinese songs. 4. Communication with administration can be difficult. Most recently, parents in the Preschool program were not asked which campus they preferred to re-enroll in (Jefferson or San Pablo) for next year and many parents did not realize they had to enroll immediately for a chance to stay at the Jefferson campus. Other families that preferred the San Pablo campus were automatically enrolled at the Jefferson campus. On top of this, we had to pay enrollment fees without being told which campus we were assigned to. The school also failed to disclose to parents that the school heater broke down in late January. Parents found out about the broken heater in late February but by then the Preschool children had already been playing and sleeping in cold classrooms for a month often wearing minimal clothing, with windows fully open throughout the day for COVID safety measures. The school outfitted the classrooms with heaters one week before we found out the heaters broke. If some parents had not asked teachers why the classrooms felt so cold, we probably still would not have found out about the busted heater. Legally, the school is mandated by state licensing to keep room temperatures to at least 68 degrees, so all parents were understandably extremely upset that their children's health was put at risk. 5. Has expensive aftercare/aftercare classes options. Cannot enroll in after school classes without enrolling in aftercare first. 6. High teacher turnover in the elementary grades. read more

I am a very happy parent of two children in this school. My daughter started in PreK 2 with nearly zero chinese. Although initially reluctant to speak in school, she quickly blossomed within a few months - at home, she would proactively use Chinese vocabulary (naming animals, etc.) and later started to initiate conversation with me in Chinese. This is one of the biggest signs that the school's teachers and curriculum make learning in Chinese fun and it's become something she wants to do. In addition to the language and the inquiry based approach, she genuinely loves her teacher and friends. She takes extra time to chit chat with her teachers at pickup and has formed many strong friendships with the other children. My son, who has development delays, also started at Shu Ren this past year. The teachers and school administrators have been very supportive, for example spending extra time in the classroom initially to ensure he was settled in well. He is very happy to go to the school and has learned many new skills such as following routines and starting to pay attention at circle time. Finally the staff are very experienced. They always listen to parent feedback and are very thoughtful in how they respond and in the school policies (covid protocols, etc.) that they set. We have been very happy to have our children in the school. read more

This is the first year in seven years our kids won't be going to Shu Ren, having recently graduated. We started there (ages ago!) in kinder and 1st grade, respectively. Being at Shu Ren has been one of the most transformational and memorable events in our lives. Neither my wife nor I are Chinese, but we wanted the children to have a strong foundation in a foreign language and thought Chinese was a good one for them to be well versed in. Well, after years of being an involved parent there, I can say that we're glad about the decision we made. We also got much more from Shu Ren than we expected. We came for the Chinese but stayed for the IB. The International Baccalaureate (IB) program at Shu Ren has been so amazing that i can't begin to state its praises. We never thought such a well rounded education was possible in the elementary years, and IB and Shu Ren have exceeded our expectations. On top of the amazing education, the staff and parents have made Shu Ren all that much more special. From Jie and Tony--the founders--to Rebecca, the current head of school, to the parents, everyone is special and wonderful. We've made life-long friends through the school and parent community and are so lucky to have had the school as a part of our lives. Every once in a while you have to make a decision you're not sure about--whether it's worth it or whether it'll pay dividends. Sending our kids to Shu Ren was not such a decision. Sending our kids to Shu Ren was an investment, and one that's paid us back (and hopefully will reward society) multi-fold. We couldn't have made a better decision. read more

This review is way overdue. Sorry I am going to try to give the right level of specificity in the areas I hope will help parents decide on choosing this school for their child or not while obfuscating some details relating to my family to help with our privacy. Hope that makes sense. This school and just as importantly, the community at this school is AMAZING! My children are flourishing beyond my highest expectations here. My personal criteria for selecting a school was that it have: 1. Good structured curriculum 2. Expert and caring instructors and administrators 3. Aligned with my personal values to help shape future citizens of this world who can contribute something positive back to their communities 4. Mandarin or Cantonese language focus Shu Ren is outstanding in all the above criteria. In regards to the school values, it is an IB school FIRST that happens to teach its curriculum in Mandarin. Mandarin is not the main focus. The learning process and academics are the first focus. All my children go here and have attended this school for multiple years. The staff CARES about their students. Teachers will know students in the school by name and interact with those who are NOT in their class instead of just their pupils. Parents will know other students and greet them by name. In the mornings and afternoons you will hear the sounds of discovery and joy by students as well as see parents talking to teachers, parents talking to other parents, administrators mingling with everyone, etc...That's what I mean by the amazing community. Another example I remember is that I got a phone call from the school informing me that one of my children was ill and when I went to pick them up, one of the co-instructors explained that she knew my child wasn't feeling well because she noticed that my child brought spaghetti for lunch and she wasn't eating it. She knew my child LOVES that spaghetti and that something was odd so walked over and inquired if she was feeling ok and did a diagnostic. That's how much they care about their well being and know my child! My children speak and express ideas in complex phrases and understand Mandarin impressively. They are outspoken and infinitely curious. They are constantly asking deeper questions and wanting to understand the underlying reasons for how the world around them works. I believe deeply that the intellectual curiosity encouraged by the curriculum and culture at Shu Ren has a major hand in that. This school is AMAZING and its administrators, instructors and all its staff should be proud of what they've created and are sustaining every day. Thank you! Quick EDIT: One of my children previously attended a Mandarin Montessori school nearby for a year and then transferred here. The difference is night and day! That school was controlled and quiet and children were only encouraged to speak when spoken to. Here at Shu Ren, they interact comfortably with their peers and adults and I see acts of positive encouragement literally every minute when I'm there. read more

Our son started Kindergarten at Shu Ren in September 2019 and has absolutely thrived here. Knowing we wanted him to learn Mandarin, we'd initially tried to get into Yu Ming, but were 250+ on the waitlist, so then started to look around and luckily found Shu Ren. Here's what we love: The curriculum: Not only does Shu Ren offer Mandarin immersion, it is also centered around an engaging inquiry-based curriculum with an emphasis on problem-solving, entrepreneurship, and global appreciation. Their approach to teaching and the teachers: What we've appreciated most is the fact that our son's teachers have really gone out of their way to find learning methods and routines that work for him. He's VERY active and has trouble focusing at times, but his teachers have really worked with us to find an approach that works for him. They keep in touch regularly on his progress, which helps us encourage and support his growth at home as well. The parent community: Parents are very engaged, down-to-earth, and supportive. The school has hosted several fairs/functions in the 6 months we've been there and it's always been nice to see a group of parents participate in the activities as well--from teaching others about their cultural heritage to selling the products that they proudly make. The school itself is also really nice--full of natural light and with a great outdoor play area. I highly recommend any parents looking to provide their child with a Mandarin immersion education that will foster a strong love of problem-solving and curiosity to attend one of Shu Ren's open houses. read more

My daughter enjoy daily life in Shu Ren's summer camp (San Jose) in 2022. She always told me she had lots of fun there and the teachers are so gentle and kind to her. As a native Chinese speaker, she is very comfortable staying there. We are also glad to know start from K they add the English program and in 3rd grade, they will have a Spanish program. A multilingual environment really helps enhance communication and multitasking skills. Look forward to her further progress in her continuing studying. read more

Shu Ren International School - Preschools Near Me - Berkeley, California

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I wrote my first review back in 2009 when my first boy enrolled in this wonderful Mandarin/English immersion school program. Now it's my younger boy's turn. He started preK3 last week. As well, we love the school, we love the staff, we love everything about Shu Ren. Shu Ren family has grown since then. More wonderful kids and staff to work with nowadays. We are so pleased to see more non-mandarin background families to be part of this excellent school program. My little boy loves his teachers and his little friends. He will learn a lot at such an early age. Totally worth of wait till he's potty trained. You cannot compare any daycare or Montessori to this proper dual language immersion school. Chinese is considered one of the hardest languages, so starting them now makes the learning experience effortless. Having Mandarin as an extra language skill will for sure add great values to my boy's future career. We are very fortunate to have this wonderful school in our neighborhood. We highly recommend this great school. read more

The best decision we made for our kids. We love the school. It provides a caring environment for kids to learn and thrive. My son walks in the school every morning and says hello to everyone. It is like home. Before selecting Shuren, we also compared several private schools, such as BPC and Berkwoodhedge, in Berkeley and Yuming in Oakland, but decided Shuren is the best. Kids only have one chance, a good education experience is what we as parent could offer. read more

Excellent school with caring and knowledgable staff! I am very impressed with their philosophy and IB Mandarin immersion curriculum.

I went to visit the school twice for their pre-school program. I was disappointed both time. I went the second times hoping some improvement would have been made. No. I saw only five old tricycles in the school yard where the children play, I asked the interviewer what can the rest of the 50 children play with, she told me they can play with tires. There were about 10 tires there. Two children on tricycles were bickering, teachers standing by did not interfere, they were not even watching their way. Shu Ren charges each child a tuition over $1800 per month, if the parents pick up their children late for even five minutes, there will be a penalty. All in all, I believe an education institution should not be run like a profit generating center in every corner. read more

We are a first year family at Shu Ren and come from a non-Chinese speaking family. Our oldest son is in the Kindergarten class and we are so happy with his education and the overall experience with Shu Ren. His Mandarin is amazing for only having four months exposure to it. He speaks with little to no accent and has excellent character recognition. I know immersion programs can worry parents as many fear it will put their child behind other children who are not in immersion programs. We haven't found this to be the case at all. Our son skills are progressing exactly how we'd hoped they would, in English and Chinese. The school has far exceeded our expectations on a number of levels. The class size is small and my son gets lots of individualized attention. His kindergarten teacher is amazing and has helped my son feel very comfortable and excel in his learning process. Our son is a little shy, and his teacher has really nurtured him and encouraged him with his Chinese. He is doing so well, that he is now teaching his mother Chinese! The inquiry-based method they use for teaching is excellent. As a matter of fact, the school is striving for accreditation with a very well known International education method and currently uses their system to define the curriculum. We can already see how it has encouraged our son to be an independent thinker and look at the world from a more global view, even at 5 1/2. Additionally, our son attends the aftercare program for one hour, three times a week. During this time, he is able to work with another great teacher, who assists him with his Chinese homework. Something my wife and are not able to do. The Aftercare teacher is great about helping him with his homework first, with lots of play afterwards. Overall, we have had no issues with the fact that we are unable to help our son with his Chinese homework. The founder and head of the school, Jie Moore, has done an excellent job of providing a learning environment that is attentive to the emotional well being of the kids while still providing academic excellence. She is attentive to the issues that arise and is truly dedicated to providing the best education for all of the students. Overall I would rate Shu Ren an A+ and highly recommend this school. read more

My older son has been at Shu Ren for two and a half years now and has been thriving in the kindergarten program this year. My second son also started in the preK program this January and after the initial week of adjustment, has also shown tremendous growth socially and just loves all his teachers. In fact, when I ask him, he can't decide which one is his favorite and tells me he likes all three... in Mandarin, of course. The parent community has grown to become such a warm, generous, and inviting group, and I was very impressed with the strides that the headmistress has taken recently in their site search and in the business aspects of running a school to keep it functioning in the future. I continue to be a proud Shu Ren parent. read more

My child has been at Shu Ren for three years now, and is currently in 4th grade. We couldn't be more pleased with the quality of her education. Yes, she speaks, reads, and writes Mandarin fluently (and we are a non-Mandarin speaking household), but more importantly to us, she knows how to think critically from multiple points of view. One of the powerful gifts of bilingualism, is understanding how language and culture affect the way we view the world. Learning Mandarin in the context of an IB framework, which emphasizes inquiry and reflection in the learning cycle, makes the language come alive. Mandarin feels useful and relevant to her as she communicates and takes action in the world around her. I always tell people, we came for the Mandarin but we stayed for the IB. As a parent, it is everything that I could wish for my child in her education - to have the academic freedom to explore and discover her passion and the academic discipline to pursue those passions with excellence. I highly recommend Shu Ren for parents wanting a school and education that will prepare our kids for a world we can't even imagine. read more

Our kids, aged 8 and 10, just started at Shu Ren this fall. They had been in school in a San Francisco school that was Mandarin immersion and progressive for the prior two years. What a difference! They come home bubbling with excitement to talk about their learning. The curriculum is incredibly well integrated, rather than a hodge podge of the latest learning fads poorly strung together. As an example, they had a project that was about the human body and they integrated learning about large numbers, like comparing the length of the small intestine vs. the length of a bus and how many miles of arteries your body has. There appears to be the perfect approach to homework, with distinctions of "must," "should" and "may" to give kids the option of doing more, but a pass if they have a full plate of activities competing for their time. The teachers are phenomenal. They are incredibly warm and caring, and they truly know how to engage the kids. The classroom sizes are small (some are combined, which we like), which enables very individualized attention. But we wish the school were recognized for being as good as it is, so that more kids would join. The only downside right now with this hidden gem is that not enough people know about it, so the class sizes are smaller than ideal for social development. You, dear reader, can change that. The best part about the K-8 school, in my opinion, is that they have embraced the IB (international baccalaureate) standards, which at the kid's age, is the PYP (Primary Years' Program) and MYP (Middle Years' Program). If you're not familiar with it, check it out at http://www.ibo.org/contentassets/fd82f70643ef4086b7d3f292cc214962/learner-profile-en.pdf . The language of the IB Learner Profile infuses their day, and the kids will self-evaluate their behavior according to this profile, "Reflecting" on whether their actions were "Caring." The fact that "Risk-Taking" is part of the profile is really helpful to push bright, but risk-averse kids. We've had the kids in 3 IB schools over their lives and absolutely love the way it pushes the kids to be incredibly well rounded. If you're looking for a school that does that, and helps them learn Mandarin, there are only three options in the entire country, and only one in the Bay Area. That's Shu Ren. read more

We have had one child at Shu Ren for seven years, and another who started two years ago. Our experiences with the school have been exceptionally positive, and our only regret is that it does not continue into the middle and high school grades. The combination of an International Baccalaureate curriculum, Mandarin immersion, outstanding and dedicated teachers (with high teacher:student ratios in classes), and a diverse and global perspective on all matters educational, has been for us without peer in the Bay Area. We strongly recommend this school. read more

This school is absolutely phenomenal. We have a 3 y.o. and 6 y.o. enrolled here and they couldn't be happier. My 6 y.o. says that she wants to go to Shu Ren for life. There are lots of reasons (elaborated below) that my wife and I highly recommend Shu Ren but the most important one is that my kids love the school and their teachers. It is such a happy and warm place and it really instills a love of learning and going to school. This sentiment is universal amongst the other kids and families. In addition: 1. The teachers know my kids. Over our 4 years of experience with Shu Ren, the teachers have always been spot on with what the needs of my kids are and they customize their approach around each kids' learning style and abilities. Kids who are more advanced are challenged more / given more complicated assignments. I could give lots of examples but trying to stick to the highlights. 2. The curriculum is amazing. It's incredible that my 6 y.o. Is fluent in Mandarin now but the language learning is really just a bonus. The IB program is both rigorous and engaging for the students. Not only do the kids develop a love of learning at Shu Ren but they are far ahead academically than some of the top rated alternative schools (this claim is mainly based on anecdotal evidence but I've heard so many cases of kids being bored / way advanced when switching schools that I have little doubt about the academic excellence of Shu Ren). 3. The overall school culture + administration is very warm. Some may have stereotypes of strict Chinese teachers but Shu Ren is not like that at all. I've seen the school deal really well with kids with behavioral issues - they take responsibility upon themselves to help these kids rather than just put it on the parents or throw the kid in detention. 4. The wider school community is great and morale is high. Finally, it's not in my best interest to admit this but the school is underpriced. It is on the low end of the tuition scale. The school's biggest drawback is that it doesn't do more to market itself and it lacks a certain polish of some more elite private schools. But that is part of the charm to me. The school is also starting to offer need based grants and scholarships. They don't have a large endowment or slush fund and so they lack certain enrichment activities that other schools may offer. On the other hand, the kids get to take a field trip to China. They are making strides to improve on enrichment and I have seen large advancements over the last few years. In short, I would say Shu Ren provides as rigorous or better educational experience than your top private school in the Bay Area but for a nice discount AND with the bonus of Mandarin (and Spanish starting in 2nd grade) AND with a global perspective. My wife lived abroad and attended an international school as a child. She feels that Shu Ren provides a comparable experience (but without being abroad) so if that's your kind of thing, then I can't imagine a better school than Shu Ren. read more

My daughter attends Kindergarden at Shu Ren and just loves it. She's very proud of how much Mandarin she has learned to speak, read, and write (and sing, of course). She also continues to read in English well ahead of her grade level. The IB cirriculum, built around themes of inquiry, makes so much sense - it seems like the most natural way for kids to learn all the basics plus math and science and art, etc. I can't say enough about the teachers and staff of Shu Ren. Our growing parent community is actively involved and the children have developed lovely social and play habits. We love Shu Ren! read more

We are a first year family at Shu Ren and feel that the school has far surpassed our expectations. Our son is in the Kindergarten class and he is loving it. He is in a small class, with an excellent teacher to student ratio. His teacher is well educated and provides an excellent learning environment for all the children. She is warm, artistic, and in tune with what our child needs. Our son comes from a non-Chinese speaking family and after three months he is adjusting well and can follow the teacher in Chinese (he responds in English, but their is no pressure to respond in Chinese, only encouragement). The curriculum they provide for the children is challenging and fun at the same time. I am saddened by the negative review from Stephan J., as we have found it to be the exact opposite and couldn't be happier how much emphasis is placed on creating and maintaining a nurturing and calm environment. To reiterate, this school far exceeds our expectations and we highly recommend this program. read more

Update for 2012. Happy to say that the school definitely has improved from my former 4.5 stars. See my previous review for the details, this is just an update. * The new assistant principal and IB coordinator knows what he is doing and has helped the school adopt best practices. It no longer feels like great new school, it feels like a great school. * The curriculum has been tailored to these high performing kids, there are 12 children in my son's class and all of them get personal attention. * The best teachers have been retained, and we have seen some additional highly qualified teachers. * The Parent Teacher organization has gelled and the community is great. It's great and I would highly recommend it to anyone who is looking for a private school, International Baccalaureate (IB) or a mandarine immersion school. read more

My son started going to Shu Ren last fall and he loves it. We love it! My son didn't speak any mandarin and now he can say little phrases to me and he understands so much more. He also was a bit shy and unsure about a new school. We were concerned about how he was going to adjust, but the teachers there are so nice and welcoming and patient. There are 3 teachers in his pre4 class, so they are able to spend extra time with the kids who have more needs. Love the preK program! I can't say enough. The founder, the staff, facility is excellent. read more

My older son started in PreK3 3 years ago and my younger son this year. We have been so pleased with the teachers, administration and IB curriculum. We are a non-Chinese speaking family and weren't sure how to measure progress. Much to our delight, my son passed a Mandarin fluency exam at age 4 thanks to his tremendous learning experiences from Shu Ren. The IB curriculum has made the boys very curious and they can constantly link ideas and concepts because of this global style of learning. The teachers are warm, compassionate and knowledgeable and have helped my sons become more confident. Initially they would never speak out in class and are now able to raise their hands and feel comfortable speaking in front of the class. I love how the teachers teach the kids the skills necessary to solve problems rather than solving problems for them. I remember seeing my son struggle with a puzzle and instead of stepping in to solve in, they helped give him tips so he could solve it himself. We are so fortunate that the social, emotional, language and interdisciplinary subject skills the boys are learning at Shu Ren have given them such a strong foundation that will provide them with so many options in the years to come. read more

Our daughter has been at Shu Ren since she was 2 1/2 years old. she is now in her third year there and it's been amazing to see how she has grown and developed. She can speak mandarin fluently (on a 4 year old level) and she has no accent. We are very pleased with her social and creativity skills and we like the diverse learning environment. We couldn't be more pleased with her teachers and the staff. They do a lot of activities such as field trips, guest activities, teaching of different cultures and backgrounds, and more. Our daughter always seems happy and excited to go to school. We highly recommend this school. read more

Shu Ren needs 6 stars!!!! They are fabulous. My son LOVES Shu Ren!!!! He has been accepted, nurtured and is having a great time in the Pre-K. We couldn't be happier. He has 4 teachers in his room and all of the children are smiling in the morning, working on special projects, speaking Chinese!!!!! As a parent, I couldn't be happier. My son is also in after school enrichment programs that Shu Ren offers to ALL children! Suzuki Violin, Wu Shu Martial Arts, Chinese Brush Painting, Chinese Drumming. You won't be disappointed. read more

Both of my sons attend Shu Ren and we have been so pleased with their progress. I was raised in a bilingual household. My kindergartner has surpassed my fluency in Mandarin. He reads, writes, and speaks Mandarin flawlessly. My pre-K scholar loves to sing all the songs he has learned at school and yes, he is reading in Mandarin as well. We have been very happy as parents in a small intimate school. My kindergartner is one of ten students in his class and our pre-K is one of 18. They both begin each day full of excitement and love to tell me all the new things they've learned. Our kindergarten teacher uses inquiry based units of learning. She will present a concept to students such as weather or how plants grow and ask the students what they would like to learn. She then specifically designs the learning unit to address their questions within the larger scope of the subject. Kai Lao-Shi is an amazing teacher, she knows the learning style of each of her students and gently guides them each to reach their full potential. She told me that she can tell when my son is comfortable participating and when he prefers to not volunteer and she respects that. She wants to make sure each child is comfortable and confident learning in her classroom. The administration of the school is responsive and really listens to parent concerns and opinions. We have seen school policies altered to accommodate parent requests and the Parent organization is very close knit. Overall, I definitely feel our time and tuition was well invested. Happy Shu Ren Parent read more

Before we learned about Shu Ren, I was concerned about the options of Mandarin/English schools in the East Bay. I didn't feel comfortable with the Chinese schools that I looked into either because they were not truly immersion-based, which I am not convinced would enable my son to become fluent in Mandarin, or that I didn't resonate with the philosophy of the school, or that I wasn't confident that the school would provide an excellent education as a whole. I find Shu Ren's principal to be very dedicated to the quality of education for the whole child, not just the immersion aspect. I am impressed that she made it a priority to establish the school based on proven educational models. Furthermore, I am impressed with the quality of teachers that she has found. She has done a great job given the expertise needed to implement the curriculum. All of my son's teachers have been warm, enthusiastic, and communicative. So far, my son's Chinese has greatly improved and his English is at least on par with his public school friends in the same grade level. By the way, the school has employed the model of immersion where the children are completely taught in Mandarin in preschool and English is added in at each grade until a 50-50 ratio is reached. This is true language immersion, unlike other local options which don't use the full immersion method. This is the model proven most effective. I need to add that prior to attending Shu Ren, my son had refused to speak Mandarin but is now happily starting Mandarin conversations with me. There are also good enrichment programs there. Vincent really enjoys his music class, which is part of his regular curriculum. There is a outside teacher that employs the kodaly method, which all the kids seem to really love. They've also regularly ncorporated PE and art into their days. The small classes also ensure low student-teacher ratio. I agree with other reviewers that the school is going through growing pains as any new school would, and that it has been a learning process for the administration in terms of prioritizing and allocating resources to create the Shu ren environment . I wish that more effort had put into letting people know the high quality education children receive at the school so that they could have attracted more students. Having said that, I knew that it was a new school when we joined, and the situation was expected. Also, the principal is very intelligent and capable, in spite of her inexperience. Most importantly, she is passionate about her visions for the school (which her own daughter attends). Ultimately, my son is clearly learning and happy in a school with a philosophy that enables me to leave him every day with confidence. I don't know what would be comparable to Shu ren if it did not become available to us when it did. read more

We have been at this school for 2 years and love it. My daughter is thriving at Shu Ren! I love that they are 100% Chinese in pre-k whereas a lot of bilingual schools are only 50%. In K-3rd, there are less students and the kids get a lot of one-on-one time with the teachers that other schools don't match. The parent community is fantastic and really committed to the school and the kids education. The teachers really care about the kids and can I be the only parent that feels like they are taking a special interest in my kid? Her teachers seem to know her as well as I do, and find ways to teach her that take her personality into account. I highly recommend this school. By the way, my husband and I don't speak a word of Mandarin.. read more

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