Comparing top preschools in Oakland for 2-year-old

I'm not in Oakland, but in Berkeley. I would suggest contacting the schools directly. Every parent has different priorities when it comes to picking the right school for their child. You are mentioning some more facility type preschools but smaller home base preschools are also great options. Most preschools I have spoken to do not accept children at age 2, typically they look for closer to age 3. Usually 2 years 9 months is the starting age for preschool. Some larger facilities offer a toddler daycare program and you can transition to their preschool when the child is older. My daughter is a July birthday and will be 2 this year. We won't send her to preschool until the fall of 2023 and have been told by most schools that touring or waiting until the fall of 2022 to tour gives ample time. Preschools tend to have more openings in the late summer/fall and many I speak with do not determine enrollment based solely on your position on a waitlist; they often select based on balancing age, gender, schedule (full time versus part time), etc students. 

Hi there! 10 months old isn't too early to be thinking about it but you can't really think of preschools as "the best in the area" when really it is the best for your and your child. You'll want to visit and see what the environment feels like, talk to the directors, learn about their programs, and understand their teaching methodology. Your kid might not be a great fit for, say Montessori, for example, but you won't know that just by going off of "the best preschools" in Oakland. Different schools have different enrollment age requirements, so you might also find that the school you think is the best fit might not be accepting kids your son's age until later or sooner than you're thinking. Good luck! 

There are a lot of fantastic schools in this area that would probably be a good fit. Application deadlines vary by school. For the independent preschools it can be year-round rolling or with a set time (often Jan-March for the following fall) and the preschools associated with private elementary schools are more likely to have set admission times but will take rolling apps if they have space. Checking websites or calling schools will be best. The more affordable schools and those without application fees will be harder to get into. For my family, the "best" school (in order of priority) is

1) one we got into (limited availability, apply to a bunch. Our first time applying we applying to 4 schools and got offered a spot at 1)

2) one whose schedule fit our needs ( do you want half day? whole day? 3 days a week? Before 8 or after 5? What is the vacation schedule?)

3) a convenient location (how far are you willing to walk/drive to drop off?)

4) clear communication from the administration ( I applied to one of the schools you listed, including submitting an application fee and they never got back to me even when I enquired about waitlist and my status. When I got an automated email to apply this year I wrote them that I would not as their previous lack of communication was unacceptable. Maybe they've fixed that, but if a school is not responsive to your inquiries in the admission process, I would suggest taking that seriously.)

5) has bonuses I care about: nice outdoor space, language immersion, warm teachers, whatever is important to your family

So considering all that, I have friends with kids at lots of schools having great experiences and we are actually switching from one school we've had a great experience with to another school that has a more convenient schedule and will reduce our commute time. Do not undervalue that in your search! Especially if you're driving somewhere every day, make it easy on yourself. 

You can call schools and ask when they start accepting applications. Some don’t even take an application till your child reaches a certain age, and some open the waitlist when your child is born. As for “best”, I agree with the other poster that it’s not what’s best in city, but best for your child. When my son was 2 I enrolled him in what I thought was the “best” preschool in town. I sent my husband to stand in line at 7am to turn in his application when enrollment opened! In the end none of it was best for us. The school was too far and the drive was killing me. The hours were inconvenient. The structure was too rigid for my son. It was Montessori and he just wasn’t ready for the activities they wanted him to do. I switched him the next year to a much closer school with better hours and more outdoor play time, and he was so happy there. So definitely explore your options and keep an open mind.