Little Tree Montessori El Cerrito

We send our two kids to the preschool there and have been happy. Things we like: Our kids didn't know Mandarin prior to entering, but they have been doing fine learning various parts of the Chinese language - counting, animals, continents, etc. The curriculum is very 'thematic' based, i.e. each week they are on a specific topic. This helps with getting the kids excited about 'dinosaur week', 'lego week', etc. My kids don't usually complain that they have to go to preschool, and they usually look forward to seeing their teachers and friends. We also like that the school has had a mask mandate all throughout COVID, and their policy did not waver even with the state's re-opening. Once, there was a COVID notification because a child's parent tested positive, and while worrisome, we were happy with how the school handled the situation (communicated with us clearly what had happened, disinfected the school grounds). The school did not close (the affected family had to quarantine of course), and there was no outbreak. I also like how the school frequently sends videos and pictures of what the kids have done. Things the school could do better: I noticed some staff turnover, and I was sorry to see that some teachers/staff that we really liked were no longer there. I asked once what happened, and the new staff member actually didn't know. I wish they would at least give us a heads up; perhaps we could've thanked the staff before they left. They also recently raised their tuition, and as this is our first year, not sure if an annual raise is typical, so you might want to just ask about that. Another thing - the thematic stuff can be saturating and a little too gender-stereotypical. This usually comes through in their communications for certain dress-up days (girls wear pink for Mother's Day dance, and boys wear white shirts), but honestly, we let the kids dress how they want to dress and we see pictures of other kids doing the same. This school feels very top-down in their management, in the sense that I don't know any of the other parents and I am not very involved with how the school runs its program. It isn't an intimate setting and often feels like I am just 'sending the kids to school', but so far, my kids are happy. Feel free to DM me if you have any more questions.

My kid has been going to Little Tree since mid-April (and before that, my kid had never attended any preschool/daycare).  We started with 3 full days a week, and transitioned to 5 full days a week last month (July).  I honestly didn't expect much when we started my little one there, because we didn't see much reviews anywhere.  We just went with our gut feelings (and the fact that they had openings at that time).  I had a plan to transition my kid to another school by September.  Little did we expect, my kid is having such a great time there that we decided to decline the other school (which we love!!)  The following are what we love about Little Tree:

1. All teachers and staff are fully vaccinated.  This is VERY IMPORTANT to us given the current pandemic condition.

2. All kids are required to wear masks all day long, except when they eat, drink and nap.  The kids' temperature is measured before they can enter the school.  The kids have to wear "indoor shoes" when they're inside their classroom.  Again, important steps that we appreciate during this pandemic.

3. The gate is closed during school hours, and anyone needs to be buzzed in to enter the campus.  This gives us a sense of security.

4. The teachers are all very patience and caring.  Each kid is different and difficult in their own way.  The teachers try to understand their unique needs/challenges, so they can work with the kids.

5. During the first few weeks after my kid started at Little Tree, the school kept me updated on how my kid is adapting by sending me emails and pictures.  They had also called to provide updates (especially on days that my kid was extremely upset during drop off).  This made me feel very good that the teachers are really paying attention to the new kid! :)

6. The other school that I mentioned earlier, that we were going to send my kid to, is not a montessori school.  Now that my kid is at a montessori, I really appreciate this teaching methodology.  My kid has grown so much in this short period of time, even the grandparents are surprised!

7. I love the fact that it's a bilingual (English/Mandarin) school.  My kid could only speak one of these two languages before starting school.  After 2 weeks of school, my kid began to use the other language with us.

Hope this helps.  Best of luck in finding the school that your kid will enjoy!