Pear Tree Community School

This school is absolutely amazing. My 2nd grader loves it so much. School is like an extended family. My son's teachers have been at the school for 5+ years and are excellent educators. He learns so much, the emphasis on Social Emotional Learning (SEL) is really strong and all students are made to feel included intentionally. The school's Covid precautions have been scientific, thoughtful and no kid got Covid during 2020 and 2021 so far, even with the school open more than many others. The social justice mission is thoughtful, age-appropriate and preparing the students to be activists who make a difference. We feel so fortunate to have such an amazing school for our child. 

We feel so grateful to have found Pear Tree!

We currently have a kinder girl and 2nd grade boy at the school who both love school, are thriving, and excelling academically. They have a love for math and truly have a deep understanding of the foundational principles from the Montessori materials. They love to tell me about the "work" they are doing. Through the hard work of their teachers, they now love to be challenged and try harder things. The thoughtfulness, dedication, creativity and love of the teachers and staff is phenomenal. The intentional social justice and precolonial curriculum is amazing, and I continue to be blown away by the things about history and the world that the kids are able to explain to me. 

The most amazing thing about Pear Tree is the community of educators and families - the love and support is unprecedented. 

It isn't often you come across a collective of people who choose to see the entire picture with unbiased eyes.

Pear Tree is a community I was blessed to stumble upon, and I know I can't go back to any other educational institution. Not only is our daughter excelling academically, but she is constantly validated by her peers and educators that her learning path is important, she is important, and the quality of her education should not be affected by her social status whatsoever. There is a great balance here between a vast Montessori based curriculum along with the practice of social justice and breaking the notion that our entire lives should be viewed through one man's scope. History taught is precolonial. Students are encouraged and engaged and are never forced into a preconceived box of gender, race, or pace. They are not pressured and stressed with constant testing or hours and hours of sitting at one desk, staring at one book, with minimal time outdoors. They are encouraged to learn by play, by trial and error without punishment for inevitable mistakes. Time is taken aside to praise the children for being good people, which leads to them naturally supporting each other. The vibes and acceptance here are unprecedented.

It's also important I note that all in our community: educators, students, and parents alike, have a genuine love for each other that is unlike anything I've experienced. Being an Oakland native and product of OUSD, I can tell you that my educational career was not the easiest path, and I almost never felt supported by our department of education. While my teachers were great, they could only do so much with what was given to them, which was overcrowded classrooms, a lack of supplies, and students whose home lives were inundated with constant trauma.

That ongoing history is being broken here at Pear Tree, and I can already see a light in my child that I was once so afraid of her never finding.

For any parents looking for a fantasic place to send your kids to school, look no further. While choosing a school and really everything to do with the journey of parenting is so personal, I will tell you a little of why I personally recommend Pear Tree. 

It kinda all starts with Michele, the owner. In getting to know her more over the almost 2 years our daughter has been attending her schools, I continue to be more and more amazed by her passion, strength, and clarity in her vision for children's education. 

We also really felt that the social justice foundation of Pear Tree was really in line with our values that we believe in at home. We love the diversity and amount of confidence we see the Pear Tree children growing into. 

The community of parents is amazing as well and it truly has a family feel that I imagine would be a little more difficult to find in a larger school. My husband and I both work a lot and we are totally ecstatic that our daughter can be with such amazing friends & teachers when she can't be with us. 

I feel like it is setting the base for our daughter to love to learn, and that is priceless.

At the Peartree Community School I have watched my daughter build a strong foundation in reading, math and science principles.  She is a strong reader and thinker and knows how to apply what she learns in school to trips to the museum, counting change at Starbucks, or picking out a toy at a specific price range.  I love that her school time is interactive, according to the Montessori practices.  She loves talking about the "work" she chooses to do, teaching us how the Big Bang Principles work, and discussing how a scientific explanation of how the world was created compares and contrasts to our cultural stories about the world.  Most of all I love that she feels comfortable and proud to be a dark brown-skinned Indian girl in her school.  She takes pride in sharing things about her culture with her teachers and friends and sees diversity as a true asset in the world.  I think many of us could benefit from a school like Pear Tree where learning is integrated with identity development and curiosity for the world.

As soon as we arrived at the Pear Tree Community School campus for an information session, we knew it was the school for us. We had originally planned to stop by and take our daughter to ice skating lessons, but we ended up cancelling all of our plans for the day so that we could stay. My daughter attended Monteverde Preschool in Berkeley, which we loved, and there are many things about Pear Tree that remind me of that experience.

I didn't know much about Montessori, and honestly I'm still learning, but so far it seems to be just what my daughter needs. I came to Pear Tree with concerns about my daughter's attention and it was clear she needed to be self-directed and self-paced in her learning. Any concerns about my daughter have been alleviated by the wonderful staff and environment at Pear Tree that takes into account her particular needs. The director was thoughtful enough to see that my daughter would be served with a slow introduction to the school, so we began by attending in the afternoons last year then attended summer camp, which is part of the regular school year at Pear Tree and has light academics. The social justice aspect of the school is also very important to us. Inequities in education are rampant, even in the progressive and wealthy Bay Area.  

This is a new school that is growing and evolving. It doesn't have the fancy brochures or some of the polish that established schools have. What it has in droves is hard work and heart; the curriculum is fantastic and what happens in the classrooms is magical. I love the fact that my daughter sees a diverse group of dedicated adults making their dreams happen. That she, too, can make the world a better place is possibly the greatest lesson that will take from this beautiful school.

I love Pear Tree, and just as important, my son loves Pear Tree. The staff works intentionally in creating an inclusive and caring learning environment. My son started in the Pear Tree Preschool when he was 3, and now he is 5 and just finished his first week at Pear Tree Elementary Community School. The wide range of academic content, practical life skills, cultural awareness, and social/ emotional skills the school offers ensures that they are helping with the growth of the whole child. My son is more confident in his reading, writing, and gets excited to work with numbers (math). He also often tells me to sit down in front of him and have a conversation with him, and very expressive verbally about why he is feeling sad/mad/happy. It's very heart warming to see how he growing into an amazing person, and I have Pear Tree to thank for helping. ❤️

Our daughter was lucky enough to be part of the founding batch of Peartree preschoolers.  We moved her from blue skies preschool, which we loved also, but were super excited to find a preschool with such a strong social justice analysis.  We are now at the elementary school, which Has an extremely culturally inclusive culture, a strong social justice curriculum, and rigorous academics. Through their intentional social emotional learning focus, my daughter has developed a strong sense of self confidence, can speak her mind, and is reading, writing and doing math at a level above her grade level.  We love this school.  It is a beacon for kids of color in oakland.  As an educational consultant, I understand how stressful the school search process can be.   I would be happy to answer questions or talk in person with any interested parents.