Mill Valley

Our twins have absolutely thrived at Crocker Farm Elementary's kindergarten program despite facing significant challenges! When they started, they only spoke Hungarian and had never attended preschool, which made us quite anxious about their transition.The teachers and staff at Crocker Farm were nothing short of amazing in responding to our unique situation. They created a supportive environment where our children felt welcome even with the language barrier. The ESL support has been exceptional, and we've watched in awe as our twins have steadily gained English proficiency while still maintaining their Hungarian heritage.The kindergarten curriculum strikes the perfect balance between academic foundations and creative play. Teachers have shown remarkable patience and adaptability in helping our children catch up on the social and academic skills they missed without preschool experience. I've been impressed by how they've tailored activities to match different learning styles, which has been especially valuable with twins who sometimes approach learning differently.The diverse student body at Crocker Farm has been another huge plus. Our kids are making friends from various backgrounds, which has accelerated their English learning and helped them feel less isolated. The school truly fosters a sense of community—both the parent involvement opportunities and the regular communication from teachers have made us feel connected to our children's education despite our own language challenges.We couldn't be happier with our decision to send our twins to Crocker Farm for kindergarten. It's been the perfect foundation for their educational journey, especially considering the unique challenges they faced at the start.

Every family is different and every child is different, but in 2024-l25 year in our preschool class alone, three families w/ very different children and different needs, were dealing with very similar problems that all led to the same issue— confusing decisions made by leadership at the school and the breakdown of consistent and clear communication between teacher, to families and to the administration. Basically in our case, our child was having a very difficult time with transitions in the class due to hearing loss, and instead of being given real opportunities to work on this together with the school, we were given an “action plan” that basically was a nice way of saying suspension.Throughout this process we were shocked at the level of lack of communication and administrative barriers placed on us as parents to have direct access to communication with the teacher. We truly began to self-blame that we were overwhelming the teacher in search of understanding what exactly was happening in the classroom for our child that left her often extremely quiet, upset and sad at the end of each day, complaining about being picked on.From what would slowly be revealed to us, was her struggling with the intense structure of the program— particularly requirement for staying on a mat for nap time. It’s only when we compared notes with other parents that we understood we were not alone in the experience of being miscommunicated to about what was happening for our child in the classroom. The Montessori pedagogy is not for every child but it’s worth noting that the school struggles with really being holistic and conversational in prioritize creating supports for young kids (our child was only 3.5!) who do not fit its cookie cutter mold. We would have plenty of conversations with administrators (the director) but she simply would not even know what was happening in classroom and yet be prescribing directives of new pick up times for our child. We are at a more social emotional learning centered outdoor oriented and play based school and our kid is thriving. Teachers are supported to have time to check in with parents regularly. It’s a breath of fresh air.We have run into one of the other families who left the school and their child is also thriving at their new school.Most generous read, they are understaffed, and need to not fill classrooms to the maximum teacher child ratio (we were 1 lead teacher, 1 support, 21 kids), even if they technically can.

Our family has had a wonderful experience with the Common School! The staff are so caring, committed, kind, and patient. I feel they really meet my son where he is, even on a day to day basis. My favorite part about this school is the close-knit community, where teachers and admin outside my son's classroom even know him by name, as well as the ample time outside and the preference for low/no-technology learning. Their approach to learning is student-led, adaptable, and personalized, so the needs of each student are met while also advancing the goals of group learning at the sane time. It is a lovely place that I wish every child could experience.