Wildwood Children's School
Oakland, CA
- Jan 2019: capacity has increased from 30 to 57
- See also Oakland Garden School which has the same owner
Parent Q&A
Parent Reviews
Parents, please Sign in to post a review on this page.Wildwood Children's School has really stepped up its game. The new director, Anita Lee, is awesome. She is organized, responsive, knowledgeable, accommodating, warm, wonderful and loving with all of the kids, and overall just a really competent director and early childhood educator.
My daughter started in the infant classroom (Roots) with Teacher Lesleigh and is now in the toddler classroom (Flowers) with Teachers Jill and Emma. My daughter has really thrived here. The environment has just the right amount of stimulation to inspire curiosity and play, yet doesn't overwhelm. The indoor and outdoor spaces are really nice and encourage imaginative play, allow for independent play, or group/peer play. The teachers communicate well what they observe in my child throughout the day (in the app and at pickup/drop off), they share stories and observations, and I really feel like they know, love, and care for my daughter.
My daughter is learning a lot every day. She comes home with new skills and new words, and the social interactions she is getting with the other kids and adults is definitely helping build her SEL skills. The activities and themes are well thought out, the teachers provide opportunities to do art, dance, climb, read, observe nature (putting a lemon on the table and asking the kids to draw it, planting seeds and observing growth, etc.), "brainstorm" (they have little meetings where they discuss a topic and brainstorm thoughts and ideas), etc.
Now about the teachers: Ms. Lesleigh, Ms. Jill, Ms. Emma, Mr. Devon, Ms. Marisol are all wonderful teachers, and wonderful people. They care, they are present, they model good social interactions, they model curiosity and wonder, and they support positive interactions between kids. It seems to me that they know the importance of their work and the impact they are having on so many kids, and they take their role seriously and do an amazing job (and I've observed a lot, I tend to spend some time during drop offs and pick ups chatting and letting my daughter say "goodbye" to her friends).
I am very grateful to Wildwood teachers and the director Anita Lee for making my daughter's first school experience so positive (and mine!) and I am very happy with my decision to send my daughter here!
Our son currently attends Wildwood and loves it there. The teachers are very nurturing and create a fun and safe environment for growth. Since he started there, we have seen his language, independence and creativity explode. The school does a wonderful job of putting together thoughtful activities. They are even working to solidify the community of families. We are very happy with our experience at Wildwood.
We’re a longtime Wildwood family who is moving out of the area, so I wanted to post a recent review of this wonderful little school in case people are looking for recent reviews.
We’ve sent both our kiddos to Wildwood and have been committed to the school and the special community around it from the start. The physical space of the school is incredible—big trees, thoughtfully designed spaces, and all sorts of neat areas to explore. During COVID, the school redesigned its outdoor space so each cohort had its own wee, fun play space, and it was as delightful as ever despite that the kids didn’t get to roam the whole yard.
Beyond the school, the kids get to engage in the neighborhood, visiting local parks like the Rose Garden and other little spots in walking distance. They learn to be out in the world and community, and we always delighted in hearing about their local adventures.
The school has a wonderful emphasis on play and child led learning, and my older son was more than adequately prepared for kindergarten. The school also very much adapts to a child’s readiness and lets them grow as they age.
The other key highlight for us has been the parent community. Pre COVID, and hopefully again, Wildwood hosted lovely potlucks to let families mingle. It’s where we built our village that is key to our lives to this day.
Has there been staff turnover? Yes—sadly, that’s common in the industry. But there are also teachers who have been there since the day the doors opened, and the director and owner are committed to a nurturing and loving environment, as are the teachers, and they have been throughout our five years there.
Long story short, we’ve been very happy at Wildwood and are sad to be leaving this delightful little school.
My son started at Wildwood the 2-3yr program this year in April, and as the youngest of the bunch, I can't say enough good things about this school! He loves going to school everyday and I drop him off happy, which is so important to me. In less than 2 months, he has learned so much and has a visible connection with his teachers! They play outside several times a day, every day, which is so important to me and something he didn't get with other preschools we've tried. He describes his day every day with "play" and "fun". The teachers are wonderful, they communicate regularly with me through lunch box notes and at drop off and pick up, and the director is extremely responsive. The other kids are also friendly and have been welcoming to him. I also like that they don't play with plastic toys all day, they have nice wooden toys and use natural items and creative ways to entertain the kids. Drop off and pick up is easy and payments are made easy online. We need to take a bath every night because he does get dirty, but it's a constant reminder that he had fun that day! I have no worries at all that he gets really good care while he is at school!
We have been at Wildwood for some time now and gone through many changes, upheavals, growth and difficult times. I am writing now because I feel that the school has really turned around since August 2016 with a new director and many new teachers, all of whom are wonderful. Communication is now clear and consistent. Pick-up and drop-off are smooth and I am confident that the children are being properly supervised. The age groups are better separated into 2-3 yr old toddlers and 3-5 yr olds, with appropriate activities and lots of outdoor play, weather permitting. They often take walks to the rose garden and small park nearby. I really enjoy the art projects they do and the music and songs they learn. Most of all though, my child is excited to go to school each day and play with friends. I often hear about fun times with teachers and the comfort level has improved dramatically. In the fall they will be opening up the upstairs of the home the school is in to more fully separate the age groups which I think will improve things even more.
I admit to still being wary because the ownership hasn't changed and that interference is truly the main problem overall. However, with a very strong director on board who seems to really get these issues and committed teachers, I think the school is doing great.
Archived Q&A and Reviews
March 2015
Hi BPN, I am also hoping that someone would provide some general feedback on Wildwood Children's School? Would love it if you would include comments about stability, teacher turnover, curriculum, etc. Thanks! Anon
It's difficult to post negative comments about a place, when we truly loved some of the teachers at Wildwood Children's School. However, as a parent looking for a school, I would have liked to have had this insight, so I feel compelled to post about our experience.
For six weeks after opening in Sept 2014, Wildwood was lovely - a small setting with a talented, cohesive and engaged teaching team. Kids (some very young, in their first away-from-home experience) bonded with these teachers.
Unfortunately, at that point things unraveled. A classroom at Wildwood's sister school, Oakland Garden School, disintegrated as all three teachers quit within a month. The administration abruptly pulled the most experienced teacher out of Wildwood to plug the gap at OGS, and seemed genuinely shocked that Wildwood parents were upset. Turmoil ensued, with teachers back and forth between schools, a rotating series of subs, and kids not knowing who would be greeting them each morning. Our attempts to engage honestly and directly with Tae, the owner, were ignored or deflected to onsite staff. The day-to-day uncertainty took its toll on our children in very visible and worrisome ways. Tae told us we were letting our negative feelings stress our children, and she attempted to prohibit us from communicating with other parents about the subject.
Dec 2014
I am looking for an exceptional play-based preschool for my four year old son. A friend
mentioned Wildwood Children's School. I know it is new and run by the same owner as
Oakland Garden School. I have read recent mixed/negative reviews of OGS. I would love to
hear from current families at Wildwood. What has been your experience with the place,
teachers, and administration? How supportive is the environment for your child? I am most
interested to know about the quality of communication between parents and staff. Thanks
in advance.
Oakland Mama
I am a current Wildwood Children's School parent, and unfortunately cannot recommend
the school. The poor communication between the administration and parents and the
director's failure to prioritize the well being of the children outweigh the
positives of the outdoor environment, child-led and nature based learning, and even
the teachers themselves. We overlooked the negative reviews of OGS, hoping that
Wildwood, as a smaller school, would be insulated from the upheaval there.
Unfortunately, the opposite has been true. Only six weeks into the year one of the
two lead teachers was taken out of her full time schedule at Wildwood to spend three
days a week at OGS. This was extremely disruptive to our child, who had become
attached to this teacher and now only saw her occasionally. She was not replaced
with another certified teacher, but with several part time, less trained staff.
This led to a situation where my child didn't know on any given day who the
caregivers might be. In addition to the disruption itself, the way that
communication with parents was handled was very poor, and led to an erosion of
trust, with commitments being made and then not kept. While we like the two lead
teachers very much, we feel like we can't count on them being around for our child's
preschool years, and we can't rely on the director to make decisions that are good
for the children, or to treat the teachers well enough for them to stay. I urge you
to take the negative reviews seriously.
Wildwood Parent
We have been consistently happy with what Wildwood provides. The principal, teachers and enrichment are all wonderful.
Best to you in your decision making,
Wildwood parent
I am also very interested in hearing feedback about. Wildwood Children's School. It looks fantastic, but I am concerned about the citations and reports from the Department of Social Services. You can look at the reports and complaints as they are all public -- https://www.ccld.dss.ca.gov/carefacilitysearch/FacDetail/013422034. There are reports of rodents and also staff yelling in front of children. Do any parents have experiences they can share?