Our son entered Woodland School at 6th grade three years ago and graduated this Spring as…read moreWoodland's Class of 2017. He is now a 9th grader at his first choice of high school (i.e., a highly selective Bay Area independent school with a strong STEM focus). He has made a good number of friends throughout his middle school years at Woodland; many continue to keep in touch after graduation. We are particularly appreciative of Woodland's dedicated teachers who had nurtured our son's social, emotional, and intellectual growth throughout his middle school years. Mr. K deserves special credit for directing our son's advanced math education (i.e., our son has been placed into pre-calculus as an incoming 9th grader at his high school). Woodland's technology program is well-regarded and more than adequately prepares our son for pursuing his robotics interest at his high school (where he is now a member of its FIRST robotics team). Woodland's athletics covers many sports; the school's small size encourages wide participation at all levels, i.e., one quickly learns to lose graciously and also to celebrate every small win that comes once every so often! The parents in the Woodland community are active and resourceful; always generous with their help. Woodland School is a good fit for our son; and its community, our family. We're really glad we made the decision three years ago for our son to come to Woodland for middle school.

We cannot say enough good things about the community at Woodland School. From the moment we began…read morethe admissions process, we felt like more than just another application. The Admissions Director, Melanie, is truly exceptional. She went above and beyond to support our family, showing incredible flexibility and genuine care throughout the process. Beyond the administration, the school itself is impressive. We fell in love with the beautiful, sprawling outdoor campus--it's such a rare and refreshing environment for kids to learn in. One of the most striking things we noticed was how confident and articulate the students are; their comfort with public speaking is clearly a testament to the school's curriculum. We also spent a lot of time admiring the Maker Lab, which is easily one of the best we've seen. While our family's personal circumstances shifted and we couldn't enroll this year, Woodland remains at the top of our list for any family looking for a balanced, high-achieving, and supportive environment

Trinity has truly helped my kids find their place in a warm, caring community. The teachers each…read morebring something unique, and the staff are always present and ready to help. The parent community also plays a big role in the school's operations. Kids feel heard, supported, and of course, academically challenged. If what you see on the school's website aligns with your vision for early education, chances are you and your kids will feel right at home here.

Our child is currently in 1st grade at Trinity, and we love the school's heavy focus on whole child…read moredevelopment and SEL. The academic focus is strong without the high pressure typically seen in Bay Area Schools. The Math is differentiated to be challenging and engaging. The teachers are very nurturing and truly care about the children.

Our daughter attended Sharmila Montessori from 2023 to 2026 and graduated recently. We are quite…read morehappy with the care and would recommend it to other families. The campus is well spaced, with three or four large mixed-age classrooms and two large playgrounds. The school focuses on social-emotional learning through mixed-age group play, teaching children to take care of their own needs (folding their blankets, cleaning up, looking after their belongings, etc., ), and art/creative learning. On a typical day, kids spend time reading books, doing fun activities with their teaches as well as outside play and often times singing or preparing for fun school events. Over the three years since we joined, Sharmila has grown this school through word of mouth and expanded her staff and school facilities. The student to teacher ratio is impressive (about 1:6) and kids get individual attention from their care-givers. Our daughter misses her teachers and the experience. Throughout the school year there were plenty of events for parents to take part in and to connect with other families. Whenever we needed help managing a challenge, Sharmila was always keen to work with us and accommodating. She has a good understanding of the individual nature of each kid and what would enable them to overcome a challenge. It is evident that Sharmila has years of experience and understanding in nurturing young children.

My son attended Sharmila Montessori for the last 2 years and recently graduated to TK. We had such…read morea great experience at the school and will truly miss Sharmila and the whole montessori family. I transferred my son from a nearby larger daycare where he would not strop crying for almost a month. I finally pulled him out and thankfullly found Sharmila. Teacher Linda provided such a warm environment he didn't cry from day one, it was such a relief. Sharmila, her husband, and all the teachers really go above and beyond to make sure the students have beautiful memories in their time there. I could not believe how much love and effort the whole staff put into their little first graduation. We felt so cared for and loved and will carry lots of treasured memories from his early years of life there. Thank you Sharmila and all the teachers and lovely family!

Reached out to possibly join a class, owner felt very dismissive. No people skills through e-mail…read more Turned me off right away. Shared this with a mom group and they shared that they had stopped going because it was very catered to a certain demographic. Ok, no thanks. Dodged a bullet. Going to look elsewhere.

I had gone through the Mandarin Immersion programs with both of my sons when they were 2-3 years…read moreold. I would definitely recommend Tiny Treks to any parent who wants to take their kids outdoors and learn about nature in a safe and social environment. My kids loved learning about the different bugs, trees, and seasons. It's a good way to exercise and bond with the little ones. Storytime was always entertaining with Teacher Hsi. The founder of the program is also very organized and responsive -- she definitely listens to feedback and recommendations. My kids have now outgrown the program, but they still talk about the fond memories of their Tiny Trek journey.

Toddle is truly such a special preschool that sees and nurtures the whole child. Our son attended…read moreToddle for two years, and every single morning he walked into the classroom, he would absolutely beam - both from excitement to play with his teachers and friends, and also with pride knowing he was seen as an important part of the community. The school is intentionally small to maintain an amazing student teacher ratio, and the entire little school is thoughtfully designed for independent, creative, collaborative, open-ended play - with a beautiful outdoor space as well. Very Montessori in feel. The curriculum at Toddle is student-inspired, evolving based on the children's' interests (from anatomy to forests to outer space), and hands on. The lessons are creative and engaging - My son has brought home handmade treehouses, a paper model of the lungs (complete with straws to inflate), a miniature planet diagram, just to name a few. When the students were learning about forests, the teachers introduced this idea that the kids could earn a paper leaf for doing an act of kindness -- by the end of the quarter the ceiling was covered in leaves. It not only transformed the classroom into a beautiful forest to match the curriculum, but the students had a physical reminder of all the kindness they had showed to one another. Most importantly, to me, is how Toddle has bolstered my son's confidence through the respect, independence, healthy challenges, sense of community, and belonging the school offers. He is greeted with such warmth from the teachers each morning, the students are respectful to one other because that is the clear expectation, and my son takes pride in his daily jobs and responsibilities-- it's all added up to giving him an incredible baseline for his schooling for years to come. I can't say enough positive things about the Toddle ethos and approach to preschool education.

I can't say enough good things about Toddle. Both of my children have attended from the time they…read morewere 2 all the way until they graduated to TK/Kindergarten, and honestly, leaving this school feels like leaving family. It is definitely not your "standard" daycare setup--it's a deeply nurturing preschool that is 100% invested in making sure kids are emotionally and academically ready for the big transition to elementary school. What really sets them apart: - The Head Teacher is a "Child Whisperer": She is essentially a child psychologist in disguise. She has this amazing ability to understand each child's unique personality and meet them exactly where they are. - Incredible Hands-on Projects: They do the coolest activities I've ever seen. My favorites were when the kids made actual paper from wood chips and a project where every child picked their favorite food and the whole class learned how to cook it. - STEM & Music: They do a ton of anatomy lessons through play, and they even have a dedicated music teacher who comes in weekly. - Deep Parent Involvement: They hold regular family conferences to discuss how your child is doing both at school and at home. You never feel out of the loop. - The Community: Between the parent meet-and-greets and the sweet student gift exchanges at Christmas, we've made real friends here. If you are looking for a place that treats your child as an individual and makes learning feel like an adventure, Toddles is it. We're going to miss them so much!

The most magical place. My daughter (4 years old) currently attends Bing and I went there a million…read moreyears ago. Think butterflies and bunnies, paint and clay, natural materials and wafting laughter. It's a multi-acre campus with rolling hills designed to suit a child's line of sight, endless options for engagement and activities, lots of art and play, play, play. Teachers are like education fairies - knowledgable, kid-centric, know how to talk to a kid at their level. Community events are bucolic and laid back. Cannot say enough wonderful things about this very special and unique experience.

Cannot say enough good things about the school, the staff, and the administration. The parent…read morecurriculum is also so helpful.

Choosing a school for your little one is such a stressful experience, but Harper makes it very…read moreeasy. We've been with them for two years now and have had nothing but good experiences. The admin staff, especially Ms. Lopez, is amazing and really cares about the students. Ms. Lopez is "on the ground" enough that she knows the kids names and they all say hi to her when they see her. The preschool teachers, Ms. Gwen, Ms. Margaret and Ms. Kim, are phenomenal. They approach any issues with kindness and sensitivity. They are also firm with the kids and set good boundaries and routines. Finding that balance is typically difficult, but they do it with finesse! The curriculum here, even with the preschool class, sets the kids up for success in higher grades. It balances play and fun with learning. From letter recognition to name writing to "STEM" - via tiny science experiments - music and Spanish, outdoor play and story time, they do it all. Since day one, my child has been excited to go each day and has thrived in the Harper environment. The learning progress I've seen, especially at such a young age, is astounding. We love Harper and appreciate all the staff very much! We hope to be a Harper family for a very long time to come!

Highly, highly recommended for elementary school! A lot of…read morethese reviews are for the daycare/pre-k programs, but I'd like to review the Elementary program, which is newer and smaller. Our son joined the Kindergarten program halfway through the year in Jan '25. He had been at a well-regarded RWC public school, but unfortunately he struggled there with behavior, academic, and motivation issues. Basically, he was slipping through the cracks. He was regressing academically, and most worryingly to me, he was starting to hate going to school. He started at Harper at the mid-year break. There was certainly an adjustment period - the Harper kids were *so* far ahead academically. But, the curriculum is individualized and the support was tremendous. It was amazing how quickly he improved on all fronts: behavior, academics, and motivation. He literally sprints from the car to class each morning. He is so excited and talks about what he learns constantly. He has developed a positive attitude, curiosity, and emotional maturity beyond anything we could have hoped for. Ms. Shaynee, his teacher, is an absolute rock star. We feel so lucky to have had her as his teacher. The class size for elementary grades at Harper is absurdly small right now. Like, 5-10 kids. At first, I thought it would be weird. But it's actually a wonderful number for this age, and it makes Harper such an incredible deal. It's obviously a new school and a new program, and I'm hoping it grows with him as he progresses through the grades. Overall, if you are looking for a private elementary, I just can't recommend Harper enough. No private school in this area is cheap, but I feel we get incredible value for our dollar. The fact that the aftercare is so affordable helps. Also, we hear that if you have multiple kids there then the cost goes down a lot.

It was a great experience for us and our son. He started at PAM when he was 3.5 year old and…read moregraduated in 2026. Our son loves all teachers there. They have been the same teachers, so my son knows really well each teacher's personality and nurtured good relationships with them. Even after the graduation, he occasionally wants to go back to say hi to them and his younger friends. PAM is the first Montessori school established in Palo Alto. The principal, Dinesh's mom was the founder. Dinesh and his brother were two of the first students at PAM when their mom started the school. It has a lot of history and pride. Academically, the preschool exposes the kids to many learning opportunities in the Montessori style. Kids learn to draw, count, identify and write numbers and letters. This is done with curiosity, and not by lesson plans. Generally, the kids want to learn new things when it is available to them, and they do. We saw our son's self confidence grow over 3 years at PAM. When we expressed Dinesh our surprise about our son's sudden growth and self confidence, he said "children naturally bloom, we just need to wait and support." PAM provides that type of environment. Children get all kinds of good morals and lessons through their everyday life. But my favorite that my son repeats often to us is "You get what you get, and don't complain." This is expressed in a very loud, pragmatic, and fair way. They also have plenty of play time. We have a single child, so the environment which generates a lot of social interaction was very important. At the end, he made good friends. Dinesh hold semi annual updates with the parents to let them know how the child is doing. The feedback sessions are useful for discussing the child's development along with the parents' development as well. We found that we learn a lot from Dinesh with their deep knowledge of child development and experience. I highly recommend to choose PAM for the authentic preschool experience.

Our daughter attended Palo Alto Montessori from age two until she was nearly five. We are grateful…read morefor the nearly three years she spent there. Our daughter enjoyed and bloomed in the mixed-age classroom and made friends of all ages. The school's teachers, who are super observant and caring about the kids' experience at school, mentioned to us that our daughter played as a peer with kids her age, but showed a more nurturing side with younger kids. This was the kind of detail we may not have noticed ourselves, as she is an only child. She formed close friendships with both younger and older children, which we credit to the way the classroom brings ages together. At PAMS, our daughter was working on projects that matched where she was rather than a fixed pace for her age. Consequently, her language skills and reasoning grew noticeably during her time at the school. While fluent in English, she also started speaking a bit of Spanish!! She surprised us by counting numbers in Spanish at home, and mentioned her teacher (Ms. Isidra) taught them some Spanish words and numbers. Our parent-teacher conferences with Dinesh were direct, specific and grounded in examples. Dinesh came to the conferences with a lot of notes, guidance and book recommendations to share. Dinesh was also always generous with his time, often going over scheduled time to cover all the topics we wanted to. Dinesh's observations were detailed, and we relied on them as we chose our next school. We are especially thankful to Ms. Dayani, Monica and Isidra, as well as Tony and Monique for their patient and loving attention to every child. They have continuously educated kids on how to be independent and how to handle friendships and activities, and we saw the results outside school. Cynthia's weekly dance and gymnastics classes were a blast for all the kids as well. We will miss the school performances, International Day, Halloween and the other school celebrations. Our daughter was well cared for and well taught at PAMS, and we recommend the school to any family considering it.

We just wrapped up our first school year at WPNS and are heart-warmed (and relieved) we found this…read morejoyful, caring, creative community of teachers, parents/new friends and children. WPNS is intentionally small. The teachers know each child and meet them where they are, incorporating their interests into the classroom, assuaging their fears and celebrating their achievements. WPNS is the first place our child learned to trust (and love!) an adult outside the home and family, and we feel lucky it was in such a safe and nurturing environment. After day one, our child came home singing new nursery school songs and asking to go back. Classrooms are clean, age-appropriate and set up to enhance discovery and play. The teachers guide toddlers with warmth, but don't miss a thing. Their patience, expertise and energy is astounding. The new campus, among the redwoods, is calming. The snacks are healthy and filling. (These elements may seem small, but our experience at a different, renowned preschool doesn't compare.) We have complete faith that the director and staff make decisions that are best for the children and their development. They do not compromise curriculum to drive enrollment or appease trends. Though we were unsure what to expect, we came to champion the welcoming nature of the co-op model and the opportunity to play an active role in our child's school while learning parenting tips along the way. The time commitment has been accommodating, reasonable and fun. WPNS gets the highest recommendation!

This is a wonderful preschool that I can't recommend highly enough (provided you are able to commit…read moreto the co-op duties). Between our 3 kiddos, we've experienced 2 other preschools and this one is by far the best run--with great communication, thoughtful and creative curriculum, and a warm, welcoming environment. Diana does a fantastic job as director, and Susan is such a lovely, loving teacher.