Presidio Knolls School

We love this school. This is our son's second year and he is in the 3 day 3 year old class. The teachers are amazing and on the days he doesn't go to school he pines for them. Teacher Meiying has a wonderful animated way of engaging, nurturing and teaching our son. The facilities are top notch and the way they embrace technology is fabulous. We get photos throughout the day, weekly newsletters and everyone is so giving of their time. We have been thoroughly impressed with this school. We speak Chinese at home and our son was a late talker but since he's started at Presidio Knolls he has truly found his voice and his Chinese vocabulary is constantly expanding.
—Submitted by a parent

Our son has been at PKS for a little over a year, and we love the school. Our son has learned a tremendous amount, including the ability to speak in Mandarin. On top of that, he has established amazing friendships that will last a lifetime. The faculty and staff of PKS strive for excellence in every capacity, and the attention to detail is amazing. The lesson plans, songs, athletic programs, and art lessons are always done with planning and a goal in mind. The students learn the subject matter while participating fully the various activities. We know that this school will profoundly shape our son's life in a positive way and can't recommend it enough to prospective families.
—Submitted by a parent

Our son recently started kindergarten and he has very much enjoyed the experience. The teachers have been very caring and communicative in addition to having a talented and very hands on head of school and administration. We are in the first month and our son has already started to pick up Mandarin, which is a new language for him (we are non Mandarin speaking). He recently started writing down characters and repeating their names. We were amazed this was happening so soon given this was all new for our son. In general, we have noticed a jump in the level of his other languages as well as in his reasoning, confidence and overall maturity. We think he is being challenged and it has affected him more broadly. Most recently, he told is grandmother how much he loved his new school. We get detailed weekly updates from his teachers and they are very accessible. In addition, the teachers share pictures of our children throughout their day. We feel we have a good idea of what goes on in class and how are son is doing. We feel the families and community are very strong and feel fortunate to be part of PKS' first kindergarten class.
—Submitted by a parent

Our son has been going to school here since he was 3.5. We are not Mandarin speakers at home and it was amazing to see how quickly he learned Mandarin and became comfortable, first in understanding, and now in speaking. Today he even makes Mandarin jokes with us! He attends full-time and is also enrolled in extended-care activities so we have had a chance to gain a lot of exposure to the school, teachers, and other families. PKS focuses not only on academics and Mandarin immersion, but also in creating a well-rounded child ready for the world we live in. We are continuously impressed in not only the teachers' accurate assessment of our child's strengths and needs, but also ways to challenge him and help him grow. We also enjoy the strength in the parent community and are impressed with how committed everyone is to not only their own child's education, but ways to better the overall school and community. Our son does not want to go home at the end of the day and we are really enjoying the joint play dates and events we have had outside of school. PKS feels like an extension of home for us and in this busy world, it is wonderful to have such a partner to help raise our child.
—Submitted by a parent

My 4 year old daughter has been going to Presidio Knolls School (PKS) for 1 1/2 years, and I can't tell you how much she loves it. She transitioned easily into the school despite the fact that she knew no Mandarin at all. Now, she understands most of what the teachers are saying to her and is even conversational in Mandarin. She loves her teachers and they truly are exceptional in every way. They are caring, creative and aware of each individual student's needs - both emotionally and in terms of their language acquisition. When I ask how my daughter is doing in class, I get a very detailed response as to how she is getting along with other children and how her Mandarin is progressing. As a parent, I feel very connected with the daily activities and the ongoing events at the school through weekly classroom newsletters from the teachers and bi-monthly newsletters from the head of school. I never imagined that we could feel so intimately connected in a large school setting. The school is made up a culturally diverse mix of families that share an interest in, not only mandarin immersion, but also providing a progressive and inspiring educational foundation for their children.
—Submitted by a parent

My son has been attending the preschool program at Presidio Knolls since August 2011, and the experience has been great! We were initially drawn to PKS because of the mandarin immersion, but we've really been impressed with the progressive Reggio Emilio curriculum. The teachers get to know the kids so well and pay careful attention to all of the aspects of their growth and development. The kids are encouraged to pursue topics and activities that interest them. They are encouraged to be themselves and are allowed to develop at their own pace. This program really does foster a healthy independence, creativity and curiosity. A word on the parent experience-- we love the community! The parents are engaged (in a healthy way) in their kids' lives and are involved in the school. We really enjoy spending time with the other parents in our classroom and the parents we've met volunteering.
—Submitted by a parent

Our son is in the inaugural kindergarten class, and while the school year is still young, here's what I love: creative, passionate and highly educated teachers who don't hesitate to have fun with the kids (for example, "dance time" to get the wigglies out before classtime); articulate communications from teachers and Head of School about what's happening each week (including regular photos emailed over the course of the day); diversity of backgrounds / languages / family structures, but strong feeling of shared commitment to global learning.
—Submitted by a parent

We are overjoyed to be part of this amazing school and community. Our son (5) started at the preschool in 2009 and now is in the 1st kindergarten class after a year in preschool at CAIS. Our daughter (3) joined preschool in 2011 and now is in her 2nd year. Although our son s experience at CAIS was good, when PKS decided to add an elementary program we were immediately interested because we d had such a magical experience with the preschool and were inspired by the vision for the elementary school and excited about the opportunity to play our part in building a unique school. We are now a few weeks into the school year and the experience has already exceeded expectations. At drop-off, it is a challenge to stop the children from racing from the car into school to see their teachers and friends. On holidays/weekends, it s not unusual for my daughter to demand to be taken to school. When I ask my son how he s spent his day he says something like, I played in the morning then we had lunch and PE then I played until pick up. This doesn't reflect any deficit in the curriculum but rather the school s success at making learning a joyful and fun experience for all its children.
—Submitted by a parent

This school is amazing....and very unique. I love the combination of Mandarin immersion coupled with a contemporary child-centered approach to learning. The school follows educational best practices when it comes to early childhood development and language acquisition, and the teachers are constantly working to improve their craft through ongoing feedback and training. My daughter loves going to school, adores her teachers and now regularly does spontaneous pretend pay in Mandarin at home. She enjoys writing letters and chinese characters, and also loves to draw. The program fosters true creative expression which shows in the unique art projects my daughter creates (not the cookie-cutter projects where every kid's artwork looks the same). I also love that the teachers are very attuned to the social and emotional development of the kids...so critically important for young children.The school also provides a nice variety of enrichment and extracurricular activities including soccer, kung fu, gymnastics and calligraphy. Parent community is wonderful -- very diverse, internationally-minded, supportive and highly engaged. Plus, i'm super excited about the K-8 expansion!
—Submitted by a parent

We love this school. My wife, my daughter and I love Presidio Knolls School. Our daughter's been attending since the Summer of 2011 and we intend to keep her enrolled through eighth grade. Neither my wife and I speak Chinese or are Chinese by heritage, but we recognize that the most opportune time to become multi-lingual is early. The toddler years are when the language centers of the brain explode, and not only are children more quick to pick up specific languages than adults, doing so at an early age improves their capacity to learn additional languages later in life. That said, what brought us to the school was their values. The school focuses not only on Mandarin but on communication in general, putting as much attention into emotional development as intellectual development. Through my daughter's time at PKS, she's learned to understand her feelings and how she chooses to express them. She's learned to look at learning as an opportunity to make decisions and see the results of the decisions she chooses to make. Her interests are free to guide her and the teachers follow up with relevant information, teaching her independence to pursue knowledge and a love for doing it.
—Submitted by a parent

Our daughter has been at PKS for year and we could not be happier with the quality of care and education she is receiving there. Finding a Mandarin immersion school was important to me. But what sold me was the Reggio inspired progressive approach. The teachers and staff genuinely care about her and all of the children. The environment is happy, warm, encouraging, and nurturing. I am also impressed with the team spirit of the parents community at the school. We are delighted that our daughter is receiving a world-class education and keeping a happy childhood.
—Submitted by a parent

Agree with other viewers' points. When I first started looking for a preschool for my daughter, my vision was a place that foster curiosity and creativity, encourage respect and responsibility, and develop meaningful friendships. After spending a year in the 2's class, Presidio Knolls has exceeded my expectation. My daughter has blossomed into an independent individual yet shows great care for others. She loves her school, her teachers, and her classmates. The parents are all highly educated and professionally successful people who share the passion of creating the best education environment for our young kids. The school cares about their teachers and really focuses on continous education for the teachers. The core teachers have set aside time everyday to review today's children progress and adjust the curriculum. In general, we are incredibly happy that my daughter is in Presidio Knolls and we are excited that with the new development of K-8, she can continue to blossom in this environment while mastering mandarin.
—Submitted by a parent

My daughter joined PKS a year ago in their 3 year old preschool class. She has really thrived at the school. The program is based on Emilio Reggio so is very child centric and inquiry based, which places a large demand on the teachers since they are developing new curricula all the time to match the kids interests. It is also a Mandarin immersion program. When my daughter goes on playdates with some of her friends, they speak to each other entirely in Mandarin the whole time! I have found the teachers to be excellent. There are three teachers in the classroom, so she gets a lot of individual attention. She has grown more confident, has developed her vocab and general language in both Chinese and English, and can now add and subtract in context. Simona is a very capable head of the preschool and Wendy is a visionary and charismatic founder. The school just hired a new Head of School who brings deep educational experience to launch the Elementary school. He founded a school in China, ran a Mandarin immersion school in the US, and holds a PhD in Education from Columbia. They fill me with confidence.
—Submitted by a parent