Castro

Unfortunately, the San Francisco campus has significant management issues. This review is specifically about the Kibili program and does not reflect the elementary grades.In our experience, teachers are not well supported and often don’t have the training, resources, or bandwidth to meet children’s needs—especially when behavior is challenging. Challenging behavior tends to be met with strong consequences, but without enough coaching or skill-building to help children learn better tools. Over time, this can create shame and escalation, resulting in a negative cycle in the classroom. I don’t believe the teachers are the problem; they seemed stressed and stretched thin, and the program appears to struggle with retention as teachers burn out and leave. We also found the academic and enrichment offerings limited. For children who are advanced or highly curious, the program may feel unchallenging. There were few engaging projects—very little art, no science projects, and no music or dance. It often felt more like a large play space, and German immersion did not feel consistent (closer to partial immersion than full). The school does offer optional afternoon activities for an additional cost, but these also felt geared toward younger children (roughly ages 3–5) and weren’t especially engaging for older kids or kids who need more challenge. They are cancelled as well if enrollment minimums are not met, which did happen to us a few times. A new Head of School has been brought in, and the school’s public communications have become more polished. However, the internal management issues we experienced did not seem substantially improved during our time there.

Wonderful, nurturing school. Energetic Spanish infusion program. My son loves it! Best kept secret in SF independent schools.