So we haven't officially started yet, but I am beyond impressed with Woodroe Woods already!! I never write reviews but I was compelled to write this because of the exceptional service I've already received. I visited 5 other preschools before landing here. I was looking for a place with experienced, loving teachers and I felt comfortable the moment I walked in. Unlike other places I visited, the teachers here are 100% engaged with the kids (playing on the floor, sitting in the tiny chairs doing a craft, talking to kids on the playground, etc). I was also looking for a place that allowed a lot of physical activity as I feel that is super important for the developing brain. This place has a huge yard where the kids can run around, ride bikes, play in the sand, etc. On top of that, the office staff and director genuinely love children and understand all the fears of a parent sending their kid to preschool for the first time. When I took a tour, I was amazed at how the students ran up to hug the director and she knew them each by name!! The staff are super accessible and have let met visit 3 times with my daughter so she is familiar with her teacher and the environment. Even though I know she will probably still cry the first few days, I can tell she's going to thrive here!! Besides the atmosphere, experience, and quality of care these people provide, I am also impressed with the different schedules they offer! When I was searching online, a lot of places had set days for 2 or 3 year olds and would often make you pay the full 5 days even if you only wanted 3! This place is ideal if you have a part-time or per diem job because they offer a variety of different schedules for part or full days. This place has been a God-send already. Looking forward to hearing about my daughter's fun adventures here! UPDATE - 10 stars!!! Yes, this place has proven to be exceptional. My daughter did cry at first but now loves it. I've seen her totally come out of her shy shell and she's learned to make friends and become more adventurous. I'm amazed by the crafts she comes home with and even though this is not "academic" based she is learning plenty of life skills which I think are more important at this age. She knows the seasons, days of the week, spelling, simple math, patterns, etc all through play, crafts, reading, and fun activities! The teachers continually prove to be flexible, caring, and enthusiastic. A few perks I didn't think of before is that it's on a large campus so on rainy days they have access to a big multi-purpose room so they can still run around! They also only use their own subs (which are mostly retired teachers from Woodroe Woods or veteran parents) so even the subs are familiar to the kids! The staff here are tight-knit and supportive... they never appear burnt out or apathetic like I've seen at other places. This is a slam dunk!! read more

Amazing large classrooms with light filled rooms. Large play yard with swing, slide but not much shade. All but one teacher we had were decent and kids stations are fun, creative and play based which we appreciated. However, little to no communication channel between teachers and parents, sub standard old school discipline used when kids misbehave, very outdated shame based (office visits, labeling them as "if you do one more bad thing", separating kids), defensive attitude when problems arise from head of school, and teachers. In particular try to stay away from Teacher Masami's class as she is well known to be very strict and just mean. read more

Looking for a place where your kid can thrive both in and out of the classroom? Well look no further! At Woodroe Woods you immediately feel a sense of 'home' when interacting with Maria and a Becky in the office. They make registration easy and hassle free! In the preschool rooms the focus is on developmental and age appropriate explorative play in a safe, warm and encouraging environment. When you reach the Pre-K rooms, you know that your kid will be set up for success in life by creating a space that encourages learning without any pressure, but while also teaching social skills and setting boundaries. Focus is on imaginative play, freedom of choice in activities, lots of outdoor activities and each week has a clear goal. This year's art exhibit turned FUN-raiser was amazing and showcased the various styles of art and famous artist they had been studying. Special shout out to our fantastic pre-k teachers Julie and Tori for an incredible year and an amazing summer program with a new focus each week from great outdoors, to pirates, to bikes and bouncy houses and more. Can't wait to be part of the and experience the elementary program! read more

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Wonderful staff! I can't thank them enough for helping us all create wonderful humans! Their support for our son and family has been wonderful. They really care about the whole child, providing stability, structure, and in a fun play based environment!! Thank you! read more

My daughter has attended this pre-2nd grade school since 2 years of age, and she LOVES this school, her friends, and all her teachers. This school is always doing creative projects and utilizes play-based learning that has had a tremendous impact on her in so many ways. I haven't seen too many schools where the kids are anxious to see their teachers Monday morning and won't leave before giving them a goodbye hug at the end of the day. These teachers are so caring and nurturing to our girl its beyond what words can describe. And now that Woodroe Woods has recently left their old home in Hayward by Don Castro and opened at 750 Fargo in San Leandro, I hear the waiting list is a little shorter right now to enroll others wanting to join this family, including the summer camp (up to 4th grade). read more

My son is currently in preschool Bear class at Woodroe and we love it! The teachers and staff are so warm and caring. I'm especially impressed by the teachers' creativity for activities and projects to engage the kids each day. My son is happy, and his development is steadily improving (social, behavioral and educational). I feel so grateful to be a part of the Woodroe community. read more

My kids are currently attending the preschool program and the summer camp program for the summer and they absolutely love it. They have different activities everyday and the teachers are all so loving and interested in helping them acclimate to the new environment. My oldest loves that she can go swimming everyday. read more

Beautiful environment for children. Loved their child center and empathetic philosophy. Caring staff and very reasonable cost.

This school is awesome !!! The teachers are the BEST... The directors are heavenly .. Children are happy...ultimately,it's a very nice atmosphere for children!!! EXCELLENT...Our kids loved it and never wanted to go home :-) read more

SUMMER CAMP REVIEW: I'll start off saying the staff were really nice and understanding. There was actual staff who took me to the side and said she agreed with my concerns. She too felt there were too many campers in the groups and that the pool time was rediculous. Tried this camp last summer and didn't even last 2 days. There were way too many children packed inside one room for the morning meeting time. Actually there were just too many kids in each group as far as I'm concerned. Maybe because I'm used to private schools with lower ratios that spills over into their summer programs. My son sat down and the kids knees were touching sitting criss cross apple sauce. That's crazy to me. Hopefully the pool time has changed as well. One group sits baking in the hot son while the other groups swims than they switch. I will say the camp instructor the first day was really nice but then they switched and the new instructor didn't even introduce herself properly to the kids or parents. Not to mention I enrolled my son in this camp because they said he'dhave all this interaction with the animals which is why we chose this camp. Well we were told the second day that the goats weren't good with the children so they couldn't pet them. They only told me because I asked when they'd interact with the animals since I was told was the main focal point for the camp. I guess to try to make it up to the kids they took them to feed the goats through the fence. Wow! I was livid and my son was super sad. They told us what we wanted to hear. Very dissapointed and my friend who had her daughter enrolled to begin the next week also didn't do it. If you are looking for a real animal camp, this isn't it. Probably best for older childre for sure but not for 5 year olds who are used to or like less chaotic environments when children are kept an eye on better. Once again this is a CAMP REVIEW, not a review for the actual school! I have heard nice things about the actual school. read more

I'm so happy that my girls attended this pre-school. The teachers are amazing, and truly care about the kids. It is a very nurturing environment, fostering growth and learning. Gem of a school! read more

My daughter has been in this school for a year now, she loves it. The teachers are really caring and loving. Almost every time we pick her up from school she brings some craft, I bring this up because in the last school we had her all she ever did was just play, and we were paying the same tuition amount as this school. They already have them practicing writing their names, this is preschool!! I just love this school too much! read more

I went to preschool here! It's been a while, but I do remember having a fun time. It was close to home and sometimes I would walk with my mom or dad. The llamas were always cool and fun to watch. The playgrounds were alright from a child's perspective. I remember one of them always making me feel like I was in danger for some reason-maybe there were rocks there or the tire swing was just too big for a kid to handle. I loved my teachers and visited them during elementary school and visited the place before I went to college. It's changed a lot since I was a student, but it's a good preschool in a neighborhood. read more

Our daughter started at Woodroe Woods preschool in 2011 and stayed through 2nd grade, the end of the 2016 school year. At that point, the school moved to it's new location in San Leandro. The amazing staff stayed together to continue the school in its new home and I'm so excited because now our son can keep going there. They are in the midst of their first summer in Woodroe Woods' new home and going strong for the coming school year, with preschool, prek, K-2 and planning to add 3rd grade for the 2017-2018 school year. read more

This place is amazing I am so pleased we got in here. The staff and director are amazing on top of amazing! There is so much to do and see on this campus my kids love it and so do I! Thanks so much to Ms. Kerrie she is extremely warm and GENUINE! Have you ever gone to a school with its own Alpackas? Well this school has them as well as roosters and a heated pool! Most importantly the curriculum is full and kids are active in so many activities all day. This is definately not the type of school where babies are parked and rarely interacted with or left with their needs unattended as there is a very large staff. read more

Wow! I was just browsing around while on the phone and I landed on the summer camp review below. I feel like I should say something... Knees touching? Can you imagine the drama of 5 year olds knees touching? I can barely breathe after learning that! Not sure where this mom lives, but in my world, kids are on top of each other (lovingly or not) no matter how many square feet (or yards) they have. My daughter attended the same summer camp, in the same age group (and I have a 4 year old that was there all summer too)... here is my experience: Every week is a new theme, with teachers dressing up and having as much fun as the kids. We've had pirate week, wacky week, tropical island week, tie dye week... and many many others. Every week there was a new professional form of entertainment: once we had a magician, then a musician, then birds, a bouncy house, a climbing wall, and the list goes on. There was a special teacher who did movement and the kids loved coach Briant. I am still singing some of the silly songs he taught the kids: "Why I ate the cake - say it - why I ate the cake"... can't get it off my head! Music is incorporated throughout the program, with the highlight of one special song made up for each one of the groups. Greg (one of the owners) took the kids to the garden to plant vegetables, and occasionally fed them snacks coming directly from the garden. The majority of snacks include a portion of fruit. Donna brought her rooster - yes in a cage (they have fun, but also common sense) - several times for a few hours a day to let the kids watch and listen to him. Every day they went swimming and my whiny daughter never complained about it being too short or too long. And after swimming there even was quiet time in the early afternoon to replenish some of the energies expensed playing and swimming. Lots of crafts were available every single day. Kids went home dirty, smiling and tired, and that to me is a very good sign... And, did I mention THE campout? A whole day at Woodroe, culminating with games under the stars, songs, treats, and a campout on the lawn?? There is just too much to say about this summer camp, and I didn't even mention how caring, watchful, experienced and fun the teachers are. About the class size - yes, the school population increases in Summer, but have you noticed how many teachers are there?? The teachers' population also balloons for the season, to the point that I seriously doubt another private school would have a lower kids to supervisor ratio. About the goats (and alpacas) - If you are interested in animals, and an animal lover, I am sure you understand that having close to one hundred kids descend on two mama goats with babies and two alpacas is not only not practical, but probably dangerous to both the kids and the animals. If you are interested in an animal related summer camp, check out Sulphur Creek in Hayward. You'll find out that even there, where they are specialized in animal care and education, most of the time is dedicated to crafts and talks about the animals, as opposed to real interaction with them. There is too much liability involved with animals both for the animals and the humans, and safety is a major concern. At Woodroe everybody is allowed and encouraged to go "talk" to the animals, and you'll find many parents stopping with their kids either on the way to school or on the way home. You get to pet them, and say hello, even though it's through or over the fence. Obviously, everybody's idea of the perfect summer camp is different, I understand that, but I find it really hard to fathom that there is something not to like about Woody Woods's Summer Camp! read more