Scott is a very positive person. From the initial consultation to the in-home visit, he was…read moreattentive, professional, a great listener and created a sense of trust right away. He took the time to understand our concerns as the school system can really be a lot stressful. He responds to emails quickly which makes the communication a lot easier and reassuring. We look forward to working with him through the IEP process. Highly recommended.

Navigating the school system can be intimidating, but Scott gave us our voice. He is professional,…read morecalm, and super responsive. He helped us secure a solid 504 plan as well as crucial Home Hospital instruction for our child that was so crucially needed during his recent post surgery recovery. If you need someone to fight for your child's education, he is the person to contact. We are so thankful to have met him!

My two daughters have attended OOS, and we love it! I want to say a big thanks to the…read moreadministration, they are just great! Any concerns or questions which we ever addressed to them were always resolved. No matter what question we had, we always saw friendly staff which is open, ready to help, and resolve any situation in the best way. Academics are great, which is big deal for us. After OOS, kids attend highly selective high schools, and doing great at rigorous classes; which is again a great compliment to OOS teachers for good preparation. OOS does a great job at helping their 8th grade students with the high school admission process. The school community is wonderful, great families, many of which became our close friends. The classes are small, allowing each student to grow. There are always lots of opportunities for parents to be actively involved in school life, but it is not mandatory if your busy life does not allow you to do it. Highly recommended this school!

I was a student at Old Orchard from Kindergarten to 8th grade and I can confidently say it played a…read morehuge role in who I am today. The OOS community is incredibly warm and welcoming, and the teachers are dedicated to helping every student succeed. OOS deeply values students' social-emotional wellness and provides a space for students to explore their interests and grow beyond the classroom. Some of my best memories include working alongside classmates on community service projects and bonding through school trips ranging from historical museums in the Bay Area to hand-on archaeology in Colorado! I My experience here was truly unforgettable and I highly recommend Old Orchard School.

Tamara did amazing work with my son. He started when he was approximately 3 years old with severe…read moreapraxia. He was only able to say a few words at that time. He started to make progress immediately, and his progress continued until he graduated from speech therapy. Due to the severe nature of his disability, this did take a few years, but without Tamara it would have taken far, far longer, and he may not ultimately had the positive outcome that he did have. I have had many school speech therapists over the years, but Tamara is far, far better, and is worth every penny. She also helped us with the IEP process and our insurance company, which some therapists are reluctant to do. I cannot emphasize how good she really is.

From the owner: We provide speech & language therapy for children of all ages. We see kids who have communication…read moredifficulties related to autism, Down Syndrome, CP, and other developmental differences. We see kids for basic articulation therapy or stuttering help. And we see some toddlers who just need a little push in the right direction to get talking. Most importantly, we strive to make therapy fun for kids, so that they will be motivated and make progress on skills that are important and useful to them.

Below is my experience and the only reason I write it is to help others understand what they MIGHT…read moreexpect. I do not get paid in any form in relationship to dyslexia. We have tutored our child starting KG with several personal tutors (1-year each) and in a Sylvan Center (I reviewed it too). Our child also went to Reading Intervention specialist at public school. He read out loud to us every night for several years. In addition we read to him endlessly starting at infancy to the age of 9 (to give you an idea - I personally read 5 books of Percy Jackson when he was in 3rd grade), however it was not sustainable, he was falling behind in development, public school taught nothing, we were desperate. In the middle of 3rd grade (age 9.5 - years old) we felt something must change. We stopped private tutoring, enrolled into a new school for the 4th grade and in March of 3rd grade my spouse started tutoring. While public school had no homework, we did tutoring March - August 3 times/week. The new school has daily HW, so we now tutor San and Sun only, not ideal. Our son has almost classic dyslexia - reading is a problem and it spills out into other parts of life; nothing is easy and fast. We're less than a year into Barton and finishing level 6. Considering the cost and time investment, it is 5+ stars. Susan's instructions are very detailed. It is much better that the non-dyslexic parent does the tutoring if you don't go to professional, however I feel that while not ideal, even dyslexic parent could do it. It is a Material Sacrifices on your part, but it is very realistic to do for everyone, even for working parents (both of us have careers and another child). Today (end of Jan, ~ 10-11 months into Barton) our child read to me a chapter from "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe", which is a book they read in his literature class right now. If you check Lexile, GRL, DRA, it's approx 5th grade book, but clearly advanced 2-3rd grader can read it. Our son is in 4th grade and attends private school. The reading was not fast and not similar to Audible, however it was not painful to listen to with very few errors. Unfortunately, our child still doesn't enjoy reading and his spelling is poor (that is consider that his school teaches very advanced vocabulary), however I feel that Barton contributed to our child being able to read long words. He knows how to break the words down and the rules to read them. Daily practice is helpful for short words to remember. I feel that reading for children is an extremely critical skill. If the child can't read, the development is not happening as it should. Since there is not enough time to do everything we want to do, we also use Learning Ally (Susan Barton helped us with) and kindle (with Text-to-Speech) feature. Our son wouldn't read Harry Porter on his own; it is too hard, but he can listen to it, which might not be the best thing, but much better than what most other 10-year olds do in their spare time. We made many mistakes with our child. If I had to do it again, I would have started Barton in KG or 1st grade the latest. I also regret not looking into Armstrong (or other) schools. We were very set on going the public route, which was a significant error. Public schools know nothing about dyslexia. I also didn't suspect that I might have learning disability, so we never suspected our child would. We're also currently investigating the issue with vision. I think our son gets tired much faster than he should and tests seems to confirm it.

Our family has had such a wonderful experience at the Winchester campus. My daughter has been here…read morefor two years now from Pre‑K, Summer School, and TK, and the experience has been consistently positive every step of the way. It is a small school with a true family feel. Every teacher knows the students by name, and that sense of care is felt daily. The office staff is very responsive. Any time there has been a question or issue, we have always received a quick response and prompt action. The elective teachers deserve special recognition as well. Ms. Jeannie (Science), Ms. Edith (Spanish), and Ms. Zoe (Music) have all done an amazing job creating hands‑on, engaging lessons that truly keep the kids excited and involved. Most importantly, we cannot say enough wonderful things about my daughter's TK teacher, Ms. Weiss. My daughter absolutely loves her, and when I asked why, she said, "Because she listens to everything." That alone speaks volumes about the level of care, respect, and attention Ms. Weiss gives her students every single day. She is incredibly engaging, warm, and thoughtful, and she goes above and beyond to make learning fun by celebrating all kinds of occasions, decorating the classroom with her own amazing props and costumes for all the children, and going all out to make the school year special. Ms. Weiss is truly one of a kind. We have seen tremendous growth in our daughter under Ms. Weiss's guidance. Academically, she is excelling in reading and math, and her writing and reading skills have made huge strides. Even more meaningful is how genuinely interested she now is in reading and writing outside of the classroom. We have also seen amazing growth in her interpersonal skills such as confidently greeting others, engaging with new friends, and learning how to reason and communicate thoughtfully. All of this is thanks to Ms. Weiss and the strong foundation she has helped build during these critical early education years. We are incredibly grateful for the lasting impact she has had on our daughter's growth. While we are so sad to be leaving Ms. Weiss's class soon, we know the lessons, confidence, and love of learning will stay with our daughter for life. I also want to give a special thank you to my daughter's Pre‑K teachers, Ms. Sonal and Ms. Gauri. They did an incredible job setting a strong foundation in phonics and helping her transition from daycare into a more structured school environment. The early support was crucial to her confidence and success at the school in the beginning, and we are so grateful for the role they played in shaping her learning journey. Lastly, we are also so grateful for the extended day teachers who have been such a big part of our daughter's experience. Ms. Holly during Summer School and Ms. Hibah during TK have been absolutely wonderful. They keep the extended day program fun and engaging with creative arts, activities, and fresh ideas, which makes it feel less like "extra hours" and more like an extension of the school day. As parents, it gives us so much comfort knowing our child is in caring, creative hands even after regular school hours.

Stratford Winchester has been an amazing experience for both my kids. My daughter has been here…read morefrom Pre-K to 2nd grade and my son was here for preschool. All of their teachers have been amazing, caring and made sure the right values were passed on to all the kids. We loved the small family feel in this campus where we know all the teachers and the leaders of the school know every family and genuinely care for the well being of all the kids!

First, there were 75 reactions to my original post plus I received many messages from families who…read morefelt mistreated. I just want to express my deep sorrow for every family who has been mislead and mistreated by this school. It has been devastating to get a glimpse of the dark reality. Final update: this school is even worse and more corrupt than before, in my carefully considered and humble opinion. We had a deeply concerning and disturbing set of interactions with the new director, Luthern. I remain proud of the way that we handled our interactions, and very bothered by the way he treated us. Furthermore, we undetstand that they are removing and/or drastically reducing the nature campus component of their program which was a huge part of the draw in the first place. We are thrilled that this chapter is permanently closed for us. We finally found the most outstanding school for our children, and we will never look back. Good riddance to a poorly run institution with what we believe is an unethical and corrupt administration. And by the way, the "Gifted Qualitative Assessment" is manipulable. It's largely based on parent surveys, and which parent searching for a school for gifted children won't see their kids as gifted? We all do. Your best bet if you're not a founding family is to make sure you have a ton of money and that you are willing to part with in their capital campaign, and always tread cautiously when it comes to expressing yourself authentically.

Having a preschool aged child, I speak to many families about their interest in Tessellations, so I…read morethought it'd be helpful to share my experiences with children in both the K-8 and preschool programs. When my son was struggling in a more traditional education setting (with boredom causing other issues), and as we thought about the skills and traits to nurture in an evolving world, we found what we wanted with Tessellations. "Challenging experiential education" is a core part of Tessellations' mission, and I see it everyday in the projects, conversations, and enthusiasm for school. I've seen the growth in my children's capability and confidence in tackling new problems, and their continued curiosity. It's amazing to me that in 4th grade, my son and his friends can talk excitedly about the latest non-fiction book they are reading, which could span many subjects. One of their favorite games just involves taking turns talking through imagined adventure scenarios. (And that's when they're not being active - I hear that most of their recess and lunch is spent playing dodgeball across many grades.) Video game addiction is pervasive in these times, but I feel we have a haven from it here. The kids have so many interests that gaming is just one of many. Social emotional learning ("SEL") is a priority at Tessellations, and though many schools now say they focus on this, it can be an elusive goal. One evidence I see is how kids (K-8) play together across many grades: this requires empathy and adjustment. I believe that this is promoted by the general culture, the kinds of kids here, and mixed grade classrooms. The preschool program, called Tessellations Children's Center (TCC), started just last year, has been equally wonderful for our younger child. The teachers, who are engaging and observant, supervise almost a full day of free choice time, play-based learning, and novel activity options. Recently they planted vegetables, learned about space, drew self-portraits, and experimented with pendulums. Note that TCC is separate from the K-8 school, and kids must go through a separate admissions process for Kindergarten. Although my kids have loved the school, I'm giving 4 stars since it's been a bumpy ride, and I feel for those who've been affected. We've had growing pains and changes in leadership as we've grown to Pre-K through 9th in just four years. Many admin (and parents) have felt stretched thin as they balance competing needs. As we evolve from a startup to a larger, more established school, there will continue to be bumps. During this time, I'm so grateful to the amazing teachers, and staff, including our new & experienced Acting Head of School, pouring their hearts into the school and mission. Even though Tessellations has grown incredibly quickly, it is just one school, and not enough to handle the tremendous demand for progressive and gifted education, especially in the Bay Area. I hope we will see more schools that cultivate the love for learning and holistic development like this one.

Five stars doesn't feel like enough…read more My daughter has been attending PACE (Pacific Autism Center for Education) for almost five years now, and I truly cannot say enough good things about this incredible place. From the very beginning, we were welcomed with open arms, and we've felt like part of a caring, supportive community ever since. Her teacher, Miss Rebekkah, has been with her the entire time--and I honestly believe she is heaven-sent. The level of care, compassion, and dedication she pours into her students is something so rare and beautiful. She has made such a profound impact on my daughter's life, and by extension, on our entire family. I also want to recognize her amazing para, Isabel. She is an absolute gem--kind, patient, and so deeply committed to my daughter's growth and well-being. It's clear every day that she genuinely cares, and knowing that my daughter has both Isabel and Miss Rebekkah in her corner brings me so much peace and gratitude. Every staff member at PACE is wonderful. They go above and beyond, not just meeting the students' needs but truly seeing them--celebrating their strengths, patiently guiding them through challenges, and treating each child with dignity, love, and respect. We are endlessly grateful for the work they do. PACE isn't just a school--it's a lifeline, a safe haven, and a place where our children are empowered to thrive. Thank you, Miss Rebekkah. Thank you, Isabel. Thank you, PACE.

I've been living as a neighbor to this center. Sadly, I must depart my hometown hastily. I'm going…read moreto live in Cleveland. I am a doordasher. And one time I delivered 15-30 boba teas to the fine folks who work at the center. They left a STRONG TIP!! The students and their teachers walk past my window every day. The employees park in front of my house. When school lets out, a minor traffic jam hems up the intersection. It is because these fine folks are doing the best they can without the type of facility they want or need. They are kind, caring, smart, educated people who care about others and the community. The families that arrive to pick up their students are all nice. They don't want to be a nuisance. AND THEY ARE NOT! If you have a person on the spectrum, they would be in good hands receiving education from this fine center. They are good neighbors to have. They've brightened many a dull day for me by simply saying hello. I'm sad to leave this area, my home. I was born two miles from here. But leave I must. This corner is filled with great neighbors. They enjoy the sunsets looking down Pruneridge and also forest. They helped me out for my moving sale. But one of my favorite neighbors is the Autism center for education. It's because the people who work here and attend for education are good people making a difference in this world. This corner is nearly a paradise. I'm kissing all my neighbors goodbye. These people are the best!!!!! So long, wonderful neighbors!

If you are struggling to find a school that "gets" your neurodivergent child, look no further. We…read morewent from daily battles and school refusals to a son who now comes home beaming, sharing everything he's learned. The team here is incredible--think " true angels" and "big teddy bears" with expert teaching skills. They've replaced my son's frustration with pure confidence. Ms. Kathy in the elementary department is a true hero! We are forever grateful to Pine Hills for giving our son a place to finally belong and thrive. 5 stars isn't enough.

I'll admit, when our home school district first recommended placing my child at PHS, I was very…read morereluctant. I read some reviews online that were, frankly, horrifying. So with a lot of reservations and misgivings, I set up an appointment to tour the school and meet with staff. My initial, still somewhat skeptical reaction to the visit was that it "wasn't as bad as I expected." His shadowing days were rather mixed. The first day, a Wednesday, was "awful" according to him and he got in the car crying and refused to ever go back. But after a cooling off period, I got him to try again on Monday and he had a wonderful day and told me how much he loved it. That was six months ago (give or take) and my son has now been enrolled since the summer program in 2022. He is doing so well both academically but also in his behavior. I believe two things are the overwhelming contributors to this: 1) his class is quite small and he is finally getting the attention he craves (that has often prompted inappropriate attention-seeking behaviors in the past). 2) Negative behavior doesn't give him a free pass to go home for 2-3 days or a week (with a suspension). In addition to these, he is also rewarded, praised, and recognized (attention, attention, attention!) for good behavior. Importantly, he is gaining much-needed confidence and learning to ENJOY school. He also tells me that it is so nice to feel like his classmates "get" him. His teacher, Miss Kathy has done amazing work with him and is a great communicator with the parents as well. The other staff are wonderful as well. In particular, the Dean of Students, Mr. Wallace is deeply engaged and puts his whole heart into connecting with students and improving the school and its programs. I am so glad that I overcame my initial reservations (and my son's!) so that he's a chance to learn to be a better student and have a positive school experience.