Current feedback on TRIS primary or Children’s workshop Oakland
My son will be 3 in July. He has been with a loving nanny and us his whole life, and can be shy or slow to warm around other kids, particularly rambunctious toddlers. He is highly verbal and self-directed. We do not speak Spanish at home. We know he needs socialization, but preschool is going to be a big adjustment from his current situation and it’s hard to know what will be the right fit. We are looking at two different preschools for the fall, and would appreciate feedback from parents who currently have children at either school. We were just accepted for a Spanish language primary classroom at TRIS and must accept by next Friday. We are on the waitlist at Children’s workshop Oakland.
TRIS: the program is really impressive and I’m drawn to the music and language immersion. When we visited, we liked the classrooms and outdoor space a lot and wondered if a quieter Montessori classroom would be a more natural fit for a kid who is slower to warm to others, more comfortable with older kids, and anxious around super rambunctious kids. I did have concerns around the student/teacher ratio, though. What does that look like day-to-day? Do parents feel their children get enough attention and nurturing? I also wondered about all the weeks off, particularly given the cost of the program. What on earth are families doing with that many school breaks? Finally, the vibe on the tour was pretty intense. Do you feel like your kid plays enough?
Children’s workshop Oakland: I loved the tour here, the classrooms where the children were so present even in their absence, chickens, description of the program, teacher-student ratio, fact that meals and snacks are provided. It’s also somewhat closer geographically. That said, we are currently waitlisted. I’m also concerned about a recent inspection from January 2024 indicating the school didn’t have background checks or vaccination records for teachers. That gives me pause both on how carefully staff are screened, as well as on general administration of the program, particularly as it’s looking to expand in the next year. I’m also wondering about what the school feels like when kids are there, since it was a weekend tour. How do shy kids do when classrooms are full and busy?
Parent Replies
Hi! I'm a current CWO parent and we LOVE it there; our son attended from 7/2020-8/23 and our daughter started there in 8/23. Jessica, the director, was very communicative about the background check thing and it was done before hiring, it just didn't go fully through the systems the way they thought it had or something. We received multiple emails about it a day as the issue was getting resolved. They are meticulous about hiring, safety, health, and the general well-being of the children. Our daughter started just after she turned 2 and I was really worried about her because she'd been with a nanny since 6 months and didn't have many words to express herself. Our son was in daycare since 9 months so when he started it was just a new school after his shut down at the beginning of the pandemic. Both kids thrived there. They teach the kids to be kind, loving, inclusive, and really let the group interests drive large group projects while also teaching basic preschool stuff like counting, the alphabet, songs, and later, basic reading. They have a mixed 2/3 cohort with 4 full time teachers, and my daughter's language and confidence has expanded so much since she's been there. She calls all the kids in class her "best friends" and enjoys each and every one of them. Every teacher (and we've had them all at this point) is warm, loving, and amazing. The community is lovely and we still get together with the families my son went to school with. Feel free to message me if you have other questions!
I'm a parent of a 3.5-year-old who started in the TRIS primary program back in September. My kiddo has a history of shyness and social anxiety. We initially put him in daycare at 18 months, but he seemed so unhappy there that we switched him back to a nanny. With the nanny's help, he became much more social with other children and learned how to assert his boundaries. We decided he was ready for preschool, and chose TRIS because of their focus on language and early independence. My son was trilingual (English, Portuguese, and my native language) and we thought he would pick up Spanish quickly.
Alas, he had a very hard time adjusting to TRIS. He cried at dropoff and refused to do any "work" for months, and he was too shy to talk to anyone at all -- even in English. At home, he's a happy, rambunctious kid with a huge vocabulary. But at TRIS, none of his classmates knew he could even talk. Fortunately, things started turning around in January. He began saying "Buenos Dias" and "Adios", repeating Spanish words at circle time, engaging in lessons, and even started talking at Show and Tell and singing in Music class.
We just went to Parent's Day to observe him doing his "work", and overall I was really happy with his progress. His fine motor skills have really leveled up -- he can paint/color within the lines, cut shapes out very accurately, and arrange freakishly tiny beads to make fun shapes. TRIS has also taught him a lot of life skills, like cutting up fruit, arranging and cutting flowers, washing dishes, and pouring water. He's also doing various math-related puzzles and learning his letters and numbers. But the really important thing is that he seems much more comfortable and confident in the classroom. He is learning a lot about music as well (tho we didn't see the music class) -- he jumps up for high notes, lies down for low notes, and can identify both on a piano. And he understands Spanish quite well too; we hired a Spanish-speaking babysitter for a few days and he understood her perfectly.
Given the progress he's made and how hard it is for him to make transitions, we decided to re-enroll him for next year. One big advantage of TRIS is that kids stay with the same teachers for 3 years. He still complains about going to a "Spanish" school, though, and I think we need to find ways to get him more interested in the Spanish language outside school.
As for playtime, it's true that TRIS seems to have a more intense curriculum than other schools. Our kiddo leaves at 3pm so he's only averaging ~3 hours of "work" every day right now. He gets a long lunch / recess from 12-1:30(?), then naps for 1-2 hours. There's also music (2x/week), art (1x/week), and cooking (1x/week usually), which are all fun breaks from the standard Montessori work.
Re. the TRIS schedule, yes they do get a lot of breaks! In the past, we've gotten babysitters or just gone on family vacations during the breaks.
My daughter did the Spanish immersion at TRIS for 3 years. Honestly, I was impressed by the language and music programs as well. Looking back, I am not sure it was the best choice. It was very strict and rule-based, and too much structure for a 3-year old. The teachers would not let my daughter leave until she had cleaned her shelf, which often delayed going home. I had a nanny for my younger one so could manage all the vacation time. My younger daughter went to a play-based preschool where they made bread, had a garden, were nurtured by the teachers and had fun. She was a happier kid. And she has done very well in school.
I don't think the focus on learning at such a young age is any predictor of future success and kids will be asked to be in structured learning environments their entire K-12 experience. I am really glad I realized for my younger daughter that TRIS was not the nurturing, warm pre-school my daughter needed. They were not that concerned about the emotional health of my daughter and more focused on being able to sing Kodaly method at age three. And play was not encouraged in my daughter’s class. I also felt the administrators were not kind when I chose to leave TRIS for kindergarten at another school. I chose to leave because my daughter was not getting enough socialization and the K-3 classes were even smaller. She was also getting anxious with all the rules in the classroom.
The Spanish immersion was great, but there are other ways to expose your child to language.
I'm the parent of an elementary school child who has been at TRIS since age 2 (so through pre-primary, primary, and now elementary) and I have a toddler who will be starting there soon. While the kids do do a lot of "work" in primary, I have certainly never gotten the impression that it was at the expense of their emotional health or that the teachers were not nurturing. I'm honestly surprised to read that from another TRIS parent, but then I can only speak to my family's experience. In my experience observing my child and others, the primary kids take great pride in keeping their classroom community running smoothly -- whether they are helping to cook on cooking day, preparing snack for their friends, or doing something seemingly mundane like folding small towels. Heck, my toddler thinks folding washcloths is thrilling, and she hasn't even started Montessori schooling yet! My point is that all of the daily workings of the classroom are very exciting to the kids, and they can often handle a lot more responsibility than we think.
My older child's primary teachers were absolutely amazing -- brilliant with kids, warm, nurturing, and extremely dedicated to their jobs. The music program is outstanding (I'm someone with a strong musical background) as is the language immersion aspect. With time and consistency you will see the extraordinary benefits of both.
The downsides of TRIS are the price, and the amount of school closures in the early years. I say early years, because they are much easier to deal with when your child is old enough for camps or can just play without needing much supervision. Also, if you start comparing to say, public elementary school, then it's much better! But when you have a toddler and are comparing the yearly schedule to a daycare's schedule then, yes, it does look bad. No sugar-coating here!
I would still heartily recommend TRIS, though. Good luck to you.