Midtown

The special education department this year is doing a tremendous job and the kids feel very welcomed and happy to learn. The ELOP and other supporting programs from the district also help these in many ways. Happy to be here.

I am considering transferring my child out of Ohlone to the neighborhood school because he is being hit by another child for weeks and the school authorities have failed to take any action.Academically, I can see my child falling behind as well.

I highly recommend Emerson. We are entering our second year and couldn’t be happier. Our son thrives in the self paced but challenging classroom (Raji the lower elementary teacher is phenomenal)…he can slow his progress when he needs more time to learn a concept that is tricker for him, but speeds up when he’s ready to. It is a full day school, which means a rich curriculum can be (and is!) designed that links all the subjects (art, music, STEM, Spanish, Mandarin, daily PE, 4 field trips a year, and more!)! Also means all work is completed at school, frees our evening family time to just be that. Year round schooling means that we can take vacations when most convenient for our schedules (and when prices are reasonable!), a benefit that can’t be over stated, especially for families with two working parents. Finally, the community is incredible, we feel like we have found our people….parents who are dedicated to providing their children the best opportunities, and looking to create a supportive (not toxicly competitive) environment. Take a tour (which is refreshingly easy to arrange), you won’t regret it.

Our daughter and son are very happy with their Keys School experiences. Our daughter recently graduated from their 8th Grade and she has been very well prepared for high school. She told us that sending her to Keys was one of the best decisions we made. Our son has attended Keys since Kindergarten and still attends the Lower School. He has thrived there, enjoys school (including his teachers and classmates), and loves to learn. What sets Keys School apart is that they truly care about educating the "whole child" as they say. So, in addition to academics (which are very strong), they also focus on preparing students for life beyond Keys. It's difficult to capture what a resilient, kind, self-advocating, and courageous student is, but Keys somehow does it. Mistakes turn into teaching moments. Disagreements turn into opportunities to hear another student's perspective and find common ground. Each teacher knows each student, even if they do not have them directly in their class. The school asks for and welcomes, parent feedback. They may not always get it perfect, but they are willing to get it right next time.Also, their music and theater arts programs are fantastic! In many schools, these programs are electives and often fall by the wayside, but at Keys, they are interwoven within their curriculum for all students. Our son learned to play the recorder (which is like the flute) during remote learning music class. In just a couple of months, he learned songs and earned "belts" like in martial arts for each lesson he mastered. His recorder proudly has the colorful belts all around it! Each class from grades 1-8 puts on a theater production each year and they are wonderful to see. In addition, the Middle School offers a spring musical as an option for students wanting more. They also have dedicated art teachers in both Lower and Middle School campuses.The one thing we wished they had is in the area of school-sponsored sports teams for younger grades. The Middle School offers a variety of teams including cross country, flag football, tennis, swimming, basketball and soccer. It would be great if the younger grades had a couple of sports teams as well, so until our son reaches Middle School, we participate in our local sports clubs.