San Francisco, CA
The Little School

Parents' Comments

Parent #1
Little School is a warm, nurturing environment that finds kids exactly where they are and helps them grow.

Parent #2
The school is still pretty homogenous, although it is trying very hard to overcome that. One of the barriers is cost. Despite generous financial aid, it is hard for less affluent families with two working parents to send their kids to a part-time program. These families would still have to cover the cost of additional childcare for the days the child is not in school. The parent community varies from classroom to classroom. In the younger classes it is particularly hard for new parents to connect with the other parents. That's because the younger classes are almost entirely comprised of younger siblings. These parents became a part of the Little School community when their older kids attended and no longer have the time and energy to go out of their way to schedule playdates, etc. They might have had the inclination to do that with their eldest, but by the time they have their second or third child at the Little School, they are too busy to bother. That having been said, the overall community at the Little School is incredibly warm and welcoming. There are so many different ways to get involved, too, depending on your time availability and talents.

Parent #3
Overall excellent. No criticisms.

Parent #4
The Little School is truly like a family. My friends whose children have graduated miss the school and miss their daily interactions with the staff.

Parent #5
We have looked extensively at most of the preschools in the San Francisco area, and I can say with the utmost confidence that, for us, this is the ultimate pre-school. The teaching philosophy provides such an important, compassionate foundation for children: the teachers focus on helping children to navigate the social world, the be respectful of each other, to describe their feelings. When you see kids on the playground who have been to this school, they are always respectful and caring kids. It is truly a wonderful place.

Parent #6
I just can't say enough good things about the quality of the program at the Little School. The individualized approach benefits a very wide range of children. The focus on building strong, positive relationships goes beyond just child-teacher and extends to the whole community- teacher to teacher, parent to teacher, children to children. It has been a wonderful resource for developing parenting skills and strategies to cope with challenging situations. I have learned so much about early childhood development and have enjoyed being a part of this community.

Parent #7
Very thoughtful program. Wonderfully child-centric. And best of all fantastic teachers. This school makes children fall in love with 'going to school' and learning.

Parent #8
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Parent #9
The school has a wonderful philosophy, great programs, wonderful teachers and a very involved and cohesive parent community. My children can not wait to go to school. They love their teachers and their friends. Every day, they learn something new and they have fun. You can not ask for a better preschool.

Parent #10
The strengths are: great parent community, focus on the education of the parent, focus on the individual child, efforts in economic and racial diversity of the student body, and the teachers are amazing and very experienced.

Parent #11
The teachers at The Little School honestly do aim to know each child as an individual, and to adapt every part of the program as needed.

Parent #12
Little School has the most cohesive and well-functioning culture of any organization I have seen and it starts with the head of school. Teachers feel empowered and turnover is low. The school strikes a balance between addressing needs of students, teachers and parents that is really a model.

Parent #13
I cannot imagine a more caring teaching staff or a warmer environment for children than the Little School. The teachers pay so much attention to the individual needs of each child that they absolutely thrive there. It's fantastic!

Parent #14
Little School is a warm welcoming place. Concept is play based, but teachers and director are all very well educated and versed in early child development. Thus, they have a sophisticated and subtle way of dealing with children and their social and emotional issues. I'd give it a very high rating on that scale. This fact plus all the evening 'talks' really makes LS stand out. Parent community is strong and very affluent. (10 families raised over $250k this year alone.) As for academic preparedness, I think they'd score fairly low.

Parent #15
This school is absolutely fabulous; it deals w/ what I believe is the true purpose of preschool, i.e., helping your kids learn essential socialization tools and essential ways to deal w/ their emotions and to deal w/ others; the school fosters creativity, self-awareness, respect of others, a strong sense of community and friendship. While helping to create loving, happy and considerate children, it allows them to develop their strengths, including the fundamentals of academics for elementary school. The teachers and administrators are incredibly dedicated and are there to answer any questions regarding your child at home or at school. If you seek them out, they can be a wonderful resource for parenting. The school also is very focused on building a wider community among parents and families. This can at times be daunting as there are so many ways to be involved. Although there are many diverse family structures w/ 2 parent working families or single parents, sometimes it feels there isn't enough time to be as involved as other families.

Parent #16
Strengths: My daughter's preschool teachers have 20 plus years experience teaching 2 and 3 year olds and are still excited about teaching. It's great to drop my daughter off and know that she is in a safe and creative environment. My daughter loves feeding stick bugs and building worm boxes. She has learned so much this year in a non-pressured atmosphere. Challenges: still trying to find my own sense of place with the other parents.

Parent #17
The tour captures the essence of the school philosophy. The Director is such a great asset - a very wise woman with a firm grounding in child development. Her passion, commitment to teachers, and to maximizing the school community make for an excellent program. She offers a play-based, nurturing, child-centered approach. Transitional Kindergarten is the icing on the proverbial cake - a cultural exploration of San Francisco!

Montessori? Waldorf? Play-based?

What school type is right for your child? Is one model better than another? What does the research say?

View an example from the Savvy Source guide to learn more.

Trace around your child's foot, with shoe on, on a piece of white construction paper or card stock. Have child cut out the shoe print and add a spooky face. Glue it to a popsicle stick and you have a ghost stick puppet!

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