Wildwood Children's School

Oakland, CA

To see Department of Social Services records on this facility, click on its DSS Facility License # below.

Type:
Childcare Center
DSS Facility License #
Owner:
Oakland Garden School for Children, LLC
(510) 922-9197
Location:
Oakland
94610
Maximum Capacity:
57
Language(s) Spoken:
English
Editors' Notes:

Parent Q&A

Select any title to view the full question and replies.

  • Hi! I am considering sending my child to Wildwood, I did a tour and loved the space. Everything seemed really great. However, Id like to do some more research. Anyone open to sharing? Thank you so much!!

    We have been consistently happy with what Wildwood provides. The principal, teachers and enrichment are all wonderful.

    Best to you in your decision making,

    Wildwood parent

    I am also very interested in hearing feedback about. Wildwood Children's School. It looks fantastic, but I am concerned about the citations and reports from the  Department of Social Services. You can look at the reports and complaints as they are all public -- https://www.ccld.dss.ca.gov/carefacilitysearch/FacDetail/013422034. There are reports of rodents and also staff yelling in front of children. Do any parents have experiences they can share?

  • We toured and applied to Wildwood last year and got pretty delayed replies, never acknowledged receipt of our deposit/application (or cashed the check that I dropped off in person). I guess they have a new director. Any current feedback or updated reviews? We love the proximity, like the size, property, etc. and hope it works out, but discouraged by the communication and possibly turnover?

    No responses received.

  • We are moving to the area from Washington, DC and have struggled to find childcare for our 2 and 4 year olds. Wildwood has a spot for our 2 year old starting in the fall and I was hoping to get a recent experience with the school. I looked at the citation reports with the state and 2018 didn't seem like a great year for that school. Have they fixed the problems?

    Thanks in advance!

    No responses received.

  • Due to the upheavals of Covid, we are looking to make a change for our 4-year-old daughter's preschool (she will be starting her final year of preschool in the fall). There don't seem to be many reviews out there for WCS, so hoping we can get some current info here. In particular, we are wondering about the circumstances surrounding the departure of the previous director and the arrival of the new director (who started 9 days ago). We are also surprised that they seem to have many open spots right now, which suggests that a number of previous families have chosen not to return. It would be helpful to know if that was due to bigger Covid-related issues... or the school itself. Thanks in advance!

    No responses received.

  • I see a few posts in 2019, but anyone else have any information they can share about Wildwood? We toured and it looks great, but I have not been able to track down many people who have heard of it or have any experiences with it. Thank you!

    My son is currently at Wildwood. Happy to chat if you would like. Contact me via my username.

    -Lauren

  • Like another parent that posted a few months back, I’m looking for more recent experiences with WCS. We toured the school and it seemed good for our soon to be 2 year old, but would like to hear about some more recent experiences. Thanks. 

    Hi there. I have a 3.5 year old at Wildwood currently. He started there when he was 2.5. We absolutely love the environment and find it to be such a beautiful space. We also really love the other families and have made good friends with them and their kids. The teachers have been wonderful. One unfortunate piece is that since we have been there there has been some turnover with the teachers and the communication from the school could have been better around the teacher's leaving. All that being said, we are very happy there and so is our son. I love that they take the kids on walks to the Rose Garden often and I appreciate the family potlucks twice a year. If you have any specific questions feel free to contact me!

  • Hi, 

    I have an almost-two-year-old and we are looking for preschools for fall 2019.  I live near-ish to Wildwood and the program looks great (we are scheduled to go on a tour in February).  But, like many before me, I am wary because of the past problems with the director that I've read about in parent reviews.  Any thoughts from parents with more recent experience there? Thanks! 

    No responses received.

  • Wildwood Children's School?

    Sep 9, 2016

    Does anyone have any recent experiences with Wildwood Children's School? I haven't been able to find any reviews online. Thank you!

    No responses received.

Parent Reviews

Parents, please Sign in to post a review on this page.

Wildwood Children's School has really stepped up its game. The new director, Anita Lee, is awesome. She is organized, responsive, knowledgeable, accommodating, warm, wonderful and loving with all of the kids, and overall just a really competent director and early childhood educator. 

My daughter started in the infant classroom (Roots) with Teacher Lesleigh and is now in the toddler classroom (Flowers) with Teachers Jill and Emma. My daughter has really thrived here. The environment has just the right amount of stimulation to inspire curiosity and play, yet doesn't overwhelm. The indoor and outdoor spaces are really nice and encourage imaginative play, allow for independent play, or group/peer play. The teachers communicate well what they observe in my child throughout the day (in the app and at pickup/drop off), they share stories and observations, and I really feel like they know, love, and care for my daughter. 

My daughter is learning a lot every day. She comes home with new skills and new words, and the social interactions she is getting with the other kids and adults is definitely helping build her SEL skills. The activities and themes are well thought out, the teachers provide opportunities to do art, dance, climb, read, observe nature (putting a lemon on the table and asking the kids to draw it, planting seeds and observing growth, etc.), "brainstorm" (they have little meetings where they discuss a topic and brainstorm thoughts and ideas), etc. 

Now about the teachers: Ms. Lesleigh, Ms. Jill, Ms. Emma, Mr. Devon, Ms. Marisol are all wonderful teachers, and wonderful people. They care, they are present, they model good social interactions, they model curiosity and wonder, and they support positive interactions between kids. It seems to me that they know the importance of their work and the impact they are having on so many kids, and they take their role seriously and do an amazing job (and I've observed a lot, I tend to spend some time during drop offs and pick ups chatting and letting my daughter say "goodbye" to her friends). 

I am very grateful to Wildwood teachers and the director Anita Lee for making my daughter's first school experience so positive (and mine!) and I am very happy with my decision to send my daughter here! 

Our son currently attends Wildwood and loves it there. The teachers are very nurturing and create a fun and safe environment for growth. Since he started there, we have seen his language, independence and creativity explode. The school does a wonderful job of putting together thoughtful activities. They are even working to solidify the community of families. We are very happy with our experience at Wildwood.

We’re a longtime Wildwood family who is moving out of the area, so I wanted to post a recent review of this wonderful little school in case people are looking for recent reviews. 
 

We’ve sent both our kiddos to Wildwood and have been committed to the school and the special community around it from the start. The physical space of the school is incredible—big trees, thoughtfully designed spaces, and all sorts of neat areas to explore. During COVID, the school redesigned its outdoor space so each cohort had its own wee, fun play space, and it was as delightful as ever despite that the kids didn’t get to roam the whole yard. 


Beyond the school, the kids get to engage in the neighborhood, visiting local parks like the Rose Garden and other little spots in walking distance. They learn to be out in the world and community, and we always delighted in hearing about their local adventures. 

The school has a wonderful emphasis on play and child led learning, and my older son was more than adequately prepared for kindergarten. The school also very much adapts to a child’s readiness and lets them grow as they age. 

The other key highlight for us has been the parent community. Pre COVID, and hopefully again, Wildwood hosted lovely potlucks to let families mingle. It’s where we built our village that is key to our lives to this day. 

Has there been staff turnover? Yes—sadly, that’s common in the industry. But there are also teachers who have been there since the day the doors opened, and the director and owner are committed to a nurturing and loving environment, as are the teachers, and they have been throughout our five years there. 


Long story short, we’ve been very happy at Wildwood and are sad to be leaving this delightful little school. 

My son started at Wildwood the 2-3yr program this year in April, and as the youngest of the bunch, I can't say enough good things about this school!  He loves going to school everyday and I drop him off happy, which is so important to me.  In less than 2 months, he has learned so much and has a visible connection with his teachers!  They play outside several times a day, every day, which is so important to me and something he didn't get with other preschools we've tried.  He describes his day every day with "play" and "fun".  The teachers are wonderful, they communicate regularly with me through lunch box notes and at drop off and pick up, and the director is extremely responsive.  The other kids are also friendly and have been welcoming to him.  I also like that they don't play with plastic toys all day, they have nice wooden toys and use natural items and creative ways to entertain the kids.  Drop off and pick up is easy and payments are made easy online.  We need to take a bath every night because he does get dirty, but it's a constant reminder that he had fun that day!   I have no worries at all that he gets really good care while he is at school!

We have been at Wildwood for some time now and gone through many changes, upheavals, growth and difficult times. I am writing now because I feel that the school has really turned around since August 2016 with a new director and many new teachers, all of whom are wonderful. Communication is now clear and consistent. Pick-up and drop-off are smooth and I am confident that the children are being properly supervised. The age groups are better separated into 2-3 yr old toddlers and 3-5 yr olds, with appropriate activities and lots of outdoor play, weather permitting. They often take walks to the rose garden and small park nearby. I really enjoy the art projects they do and the music and songs they learn. Most of all though, my child is excited to go to school each day and play with friends. I often hear about fun times with teachers and the comfort level has improved dramatically.  In the fall they will be opening up the upstairs of the home the school is in to more fully separate the age groups which I think will improve things even more. 

I admit to still being wary because the ownership hasn't changed and that interference is truly the main problem overall. However, with a very strong director on board who seems to really get these issues and committed teachers, I think the school is doing great. 

Archived Q&A and Reviews


March 2015

Hi BPN, I am also hoping that someone would provide some general feedback on Wildwood Children's School? Would love it if you would include comments about stability, teacher turnover, curriculum, etc. Thanks! Anon


It's difficult to post negative comments about a place, when we truly loved some of the teachers at Wildwood Children's School. However, as a parent looking for a school, I would have liked to have had this insight, so I feel compelled to post about our experience.

For six weeks after opening in Sept 2014, Wildwood was lovely - a small setting with a talented, cohesive and engaged teaching team. Kids (some very young, in their first away-from-home experience) bonded with these teachers.

Unfortunately, at that point things unraveled. A classroom at Wildwood's sister school, Oakland Garden School, disintegrated as all three teachers quit within a month. The administration abruptly pulled the most experienced teacher out of Wildwood to plug the gap at OGS, and seemed genuinely shocked that Wildwood parents were upset. Turmoil ensued, with teachers back and forth between schools, a rotating series of subs, and kids not knowing who would be greeting them each morning. Our attempts to engage honestly and directly with Tae, the owner, were ignored or deflected to onsite staff. The day-to-day uncertainty took its toll on our children in very visible and worrisome ways. Tae told us we were letting our negative feelings stress our children, and she attempted to prohibit us from communicating with other parents about the subject.

I would encourage anyone seeking information about Wildwood to read reviews of OGS on BPN. We have been parents at both schools, and the issues are the same. The schools are held together by the dedicated teachers (while they are there) who put on a brave face so the children are impacted as little as possible by the constant drama. The tension created an environment we didn't feel good about leaving our child in every morning.
Disappointed parents

 


Dec 2014

I am looking for an exceptional play-based preschool for my four year old son. A friend
mentioned Wildwood Children's School. I know it is new and run by the same owner as
Oakland Garden School. I have read recent mixed/negative reviews of OGS. I would love to
hear from current families at Wildwood. What has been your experience with the place,
teachers, and administration? How supportive is the environment for your child? I am most
interested to know about the quality of communication between parents and staff. Thanks
in advance.
Oakland Mama


I am a current Wildwood Children's School parent, and unfortunately cannot recommend
the school. The poor communication between the administration and parents and the
director's failure to prioritize the well being of the children outweigh the
positives of the outdoor environment, child-led and nature based learning, and even
the teachers themselves. We overlooked the negative reviews of OGS, hoping that
Wildwood, as a smaller school, would be insulated from the upheaval there.
Unfortunately, the opposite has been true.  Only six weeks into the year one of the
two lead teachers was taken out of her full time schedule at Wildwood to spend three
days a week at OGS. This was extremely disruptive to our child, who had become
attached to this teacher and now only saw her occasionally. She was not replaced
with another certified teacher, but with several part time, less trained staff. 
This led to a situation where my child didn't know on any given day who the
caregivers might be. In addition to the disruption itself, the way that
communication with parents was handled was very poor, and led to an erosion of
trust, with commitments being made and then not kept. While we like the two lead
teachers very much, we feel like we can't count on them being around for our child's
preschool years, and we can't rely on the director to make decisions that are good
for the children, or to treat the teachers well enough for them to stay. I urge you
to take the negative reviews seriously.
Wildwood Parent