We truly cannot fully express the amount of joy, comfort, and confidence we feel leaving our…read morechildren in the loving hands of Meher Schools. When searching for the perfect preschool, we had very clear priorities - and White Pony/Meher Schools was the only preschool that checked every box after extensive research, visits, and interviews. After falling in love with White Pony preschool, we decided to stay for The Meher Schools elementary school - also, one drop off for kids if you have one in preschool and another in elementary?! Yes, please! The Meher Schools met our top priorities in choosing aas did the White Pony Preschool: 1. Teachers who genuinely practice kindness, patience, and love, creating a safe, nurturing environment that mirrors the care we provide at home. 2. A strong focus on kindness, emotional and spiritual development alongside academics, using the Nurtured Heart Approach to teach leadership, right from wrong, and strong values - something that truly matters in today's world. 3. A calm, organized, clean, and open learning environment inspired by Montessori/Waldorf principles, filled with music, dance, art, nature exploration, and joyful activities that spark curiosity and a love of learning. 4. Low teacher-to-student ratios with consistent, dedicated staff and minimal turnover. 5. The ease and convenience of reliable daycare availability and consistent school hours, which is invaluable for working parents and provides tremendous peace of mind. Our children have grown into calm, patient, loving, socially and emotionally intelligent individuals. They come home happy - singing songs, performing dances, and confidently demonstrating leadership skills such as speaking up, standing up for others, self-regulating ("resetting"), appreciating nature, and truly loving life. We are incredibly grateful for the dependable, efficient, and communicative staff and teachers. Watching our children's growth, confidence, curiosity, and joy throughout their time at Meher Schools has been nothing short of amazing. We wholeheartedly and highly recommend Meher Schools to any parent looking for the very best for their child.

I want to start by saying this is a long time coming, and this is just my experience…read more We first looked at Meher after learning our son's previous preschool prioritized moving kids up to open seats, over real development. He was three, and his old school, though called Montessori, felt like just unstructured play with no guidance. We wanted better for him, so we applied to Meher. When I spoke with the administrator, she was initially hesitant to transfer him but ultimately accepted our application but in hindsight it felt influenced by where we live and work more than our child's needs. On our tour, we learned about the school's "legacy" tradition: multiple generations attend, and one teacher is even an alumna. It struck me as both odd and charming--I wondered if our son's future children might go there too. They want you to stay on his first day (and as long as needed) to help him adjust. Since we both WFH, one of us could be there until he settled in. We appreciated the school's structure: clear work time and play time, unlike his old school's laissez-faire approach. Fast-forward to his transition: he struggled with the new routines, having mini-meltdowns when he couldn't do things his way. On day one, another child cried for an hour over a forgotten jacket. Day two, the same child sobbed over his beanie. Then our son had his first major meltdown screaming and crying. Concerns arose when a parent complained her son was negatively affected by our child's outburst, even though her child had cried extensively before our son had any issues. We were also told one of the girls in the class reported the meltdowns to her principal father. During one episode, the teacher scooped our son up facing her; he flailed and knocked her glasses off. I don't think what he did was right, but at age three, kids sometimes lash out in fear or frustration. After just four days in class, the school questioned whether Meher was right for him. They cited the legacy parent's complaint, the report to her father, and the incident with the glasses. This happened just before Founders Day; a big celebration we didn't know about and weren't part of. When I picked up his things, I saw the pomp and realized the decision had more to do with "show" and pleasing established families than supporting all students. In the end, I learned two things: 1. In the school, legacy families hold sway, and compassion is in short supply. 2. The administration cares more about appearances for legacy parents than the well-being of every child. They promised to "follow up" and welcome him back, but we never heard from them again. If you're new to the area (we moved to Saranap in 2021) and lack connections, think twice before choosing Meher. Your child won't get the same grace as those with legacy ties, and the school won't invest in you as much as you'll invest in it.

We completed the full application process with Sonder Creek Academy, including paying the $100…read moreapplication fee. Because we applied a bit late, we were placed on the waitlist, which we completely understood. What was disappointing was the total lack of follow-up after that point. Despite reaching out directly to the admissions officer to inquire about our waitlist status, we never received a response -- not even a simple notification that a spot was no longer available. When a family pays a $100 application fee, there is a reasonable expectation of communication and transparency throughout the process. To add to the frustration, we continued to receive marketing emails about summer programs despite never hearing back about our child's application. The disconnect between their marketing outreach and their admissions communication was striking. We can't speak to the school itself, but based solely on the application experience, the lack of follow-through left a poor impression.

Sonder Creek has absolutely been the best school for my child. We were looking at a wide variety of…read moreschools (public, non religious private, and religious private) to see what would be the best fit and I can tell you from the moment we reached out with interest, to the tour, to our child having his first 1/2 day visit there, we knew this was his school.  Staff is knowledgeable and knows my child to a depth that truly sets him up for success. It also makes me feel comfortable that they are doing everything in their power to help my child succeed and thrive. I love that they allow him to excel academically (even past his grade level) as well as support him with challenging subjects (teachers stay current with where he's at and are skilled at providing support very quickly if the child needs it while also keeping parents in the loop so we can help when needed too) while allowing him to stay with his grade level of peers so he's not only being cultivated in the classroom, but also learning to be social amongst peers his age. A big concern of mine was coming out of covid, my child wanted to so desperately make friends, but I know sometimes kids show no mercy. At Sonder Creek, overall it's been way over my expectations. Very involved parents, attentive staff that keeps you in the loop, and students who are open to connecting to one another.  My child has loved the STEM programs at school (especially the after school robotics class) as well as learning both Mandrin and Spanish (coming from an English speaking household, it's been amazing seeing him now speak another language which we will continue to encourage moving forward). He also is asking to do the after school Art program and this is coming from a child who started off barely wanting to hold a pencil correctly.  The community here is so special and you get to see that when everyone comes together. This was our first year we participated in Trunk or Treat with his school and it was such a blast; we will be doing it again next year. The international potluck is a family favorite to attend (combo of incredible foods from all over as well as mini performances from the language programs with the students is so darn adorable) and the Christmas Concert is absolutely precious. Sonder Creek is our child's school and we cannot recommend it enough.

School sucks! Teachers don't kno what's going on. If your child has a IEP they will not get help…read morethey need. They do nothing for IEPs

This might not have been everyones' experience, but Cocospa was VERY accommodating and exactly what…read moreI needed when I went there. Every school has its issues, but the overall community and environment made by all of the teachers/admin. It makes me sad to here that it will not be here again next year. I was able to learn new things and be exposed to so so many things I wouldnt have otherwise known about here and met many cool people. It is sad that people will not be able to graduate from the high school that they started at:/

Orinda Academy has been a great fit for our family. The teachers and staff really get to know each…read morekid, and the students are kind and supportive of each other. It is college prep and the work is tailored to each students academic ability, so they are always being challenged to learn. It's a calm environment with great staff.

We moved to the East Bay from NYC during the pandemic to be close to grandparents. It was…read morechallenging for everyone, particularly our children, 16 and 12. We found Orinda Academy, the lovely and healing environment we needed. Our 16-year-old entered in 11th grade, made friends, and excelled academically. OA's combination of nurture and rigor was just what we needed! The parent community is open and supportive. We also value an environment where teachers, administrators, and the entire school community know and care about our children. Our daughter is now 18 and in college and our younger one, now 14, just entered 9th grade at OA. So far so good! They are making friends and love their teachers. Our second time around and we could not be happier!

I have been meaning to write this review for a while now. My 3 year old and 5 year old have been at…read morethe preschool for a year now. This school is absolutely amazing. So full of love and happiness. The teachers go above and beyond to make my children feel right at home. School functions are fun and always leave me and my husband feeling proud of the school we choose for our children. We are just so grateful that they offer an Academy that goes all the way to 8th grade!! If the preschool is this fantastic, I cannot imagine how awesome the Academy will be.

My son started in the Preschool program at 18 months old and almost a full year later I am still…read morevery glad we found this school. He is SO happy at drop-off each day, which makes me happy. The school building itself is older but the Preschool Staff work hard to keep it clean and updated as best they can. I can tell that the teachers care about my son and that is reassuring. The Preschool Director, Ms. Haris, and other staff are always responsive to emails.

I wanted St. Perpetua to be a great fit, but our experience was disappointing…read more The school may work well for families looking for a very traditional Catholic environment, but if strong academics are the main priority, I would look closely before assuming this is a better option than the local public schools. In our experience, the administration seemed much more focused on uniforms, skirt length, Mass, and rule-following than on whether students were actually being challenged. There are some genuinely good teachers there, and I don't want to take away from them, but overall the academics felt inconsistent. It also feels like the diocese does not invest enough in teacher pay to consistently attract and keep top talent. And unfortunately, that shows. I'll also just say that the overall leadership of the parish/school gave us an uncomfortable feeling at times. The pastor in particular gave off a strange vibe that made the environment feel less warm and welcoming than we had hoped. For what families pay, I expected St. Perpetua to feel meaningfully stronger than the public school option. For us, it didn't.

We enrolled our kids in 2019. One of our pediatric colleagues highly recommended St. P. He, along…read morewith others, said that St. P really goes the extra mile to serve each student and their family. Another parent reviewer said, "As an educator, I am always impressed by the lengths to which the faculty works to meet the needs of individual students. Creating a triad consisting of student, parent, and teacher is the framework in which they set the goals and objectives for student success." For the above reasons, we enrolled our kids. We found that in 2019, the triad existed. It was wonderful!! We really felt welcomed, our kids were cared about, and we quickly settled. Fast forward...COVID. That spring was a disaster - no two ways about it. No one to blame at all. In the fall of 2020, we quickly noticed a distinct shift in staff attitude, and the school's overall mood changed. Suddenly, things that were "no big deal" became huge deals. We felt like we were constantly "in trouble" for some unrecognized infraction. By 2021, fall, I recognized what went wrong (likely). The administration's response to COVID and the public school shutdown was to allow over-enrollment at St. P. We went from 15 -23 students per classroom to over 30 with one upper grade at 38. So, in short - we were paying a premium for a crappy public school experience! YAY US. Within a year: The support staff for "student success" left or went very part-time. We were suddenly getting calls from other parents asking for our thoughts on how we felt about the school, the principal, and certain teachers. Then, the Principal, an office staffer in charge of admissions, and the parish padre - all retired or left the building. We began to look elsewhere. Nothing is perfect, however, when a solidly performing educational program changes so significantly that its change negatively impacts students and their opportunities - one has to walk away.

As a parent, choosing the right high school felt like one of the most important decisions for our…read morefamily and I can honestly say that Carondolet has exceeded our expectations in every way. From the very beginning, the sense of community stood out. The teachers are not only knowledgeable, but genuinely invested in their students' success. They go out of their way to support each student individually, whether it's academic help, college guidance, or just being there as a mentor. My daughter feels seen, encouraged, and challenged in the best possible way. Academically, the school offers a strong and well-rounded curriculum with plenty of opportunities for students to explore their interests, whether that's advanced classes, arts, athletics, or extracurricular activities. There's a real emphasis on developing confident, well-rounded young adults, not just good test-takers. What I appreciate most is the environment. It's supportive, inclusive, and motivating. Students are encouraged to be themselves while also striving for excellence. There's a healthy balance between academics and personal growth, which has made a huge difference in my daughter's confidence and independence. Communication with parents has also been excellent. We always feel informed and involved, and it's clear that the administration truly cares about both students and families. If you're looking for a high school where your child will be challenged, supported, and inspired, I highly recommend Carondolet. It has been a wonderful experience for our family.

My time spent at this school was so informative. I learned that I was " less than" the boys…read moreattending the school associated with Carondelete, De La Salle. There was a distinct difference between how the boys were treated and how the girls were treated during my stay at Carondelete. I was a student there a long time ago. Far before Yelp! however I feel that my experience needs to be shared with prospective students and their families.. I would never, as an alumni send my daughter to Carondelete. Save your money. This school will teach your daughter that she is less than her male schoolmates. For example, during a coed civics class the boys claimed that the woman victim in the famous Miranda case (the case that enshrined the right for every suspect to be informed of their legal rights in a language they could understand) should have been raped if she suffered such an offense! This conversation was glossed over by the school administration. No pupil or instructor suffered any disciplinary action. In fact, by being offended by the assertion that the female victim in the Miranda case should have been raped rather than have her purse stolen, I was made to feel like an outcast. I can not stress it enough. If you value your daughter's autonomy and her sense of self, do not send her to this school.

Top notch school and really excels in working with Special Needs children if you are so lucky to…read moreget Ms. Prado and her team and Dale is exceptional.

Burton valley is the best school i have ever been I just finished 5th grade and I going to miss my…read moreteachers and friends I was always welcome education was always the best I really like this school