Mulberry School

While at Mulberry, the splendor of belonging and being included did not happen for my child.
I was disappointed because the hype on Facebook etc. didn’t come close to the actual day-​to-​day social interactions in the classroom.

This is going to be a long review but one that you want to read if you’re considering Mulberry’s preschool program. I am a parent of a 3 year old boy at this school and I am beyond happy with this school and the amazing teachers. My son was going to a different preschool prior to Mulberry and I had to pull him out in September once his baby brother was born because he was having a difficult time with all the changes and the staff at that school could not deal with my son’s separation issues and crying at the time. I toured almost all the preschools in the area in early September and chose Mulberry. When touring all the preschools one thing that stood out to me about Mulberry was how happy the children seemed. The teachers, working parents, and the children all seemed relaxed and happy.
Now after having my son in this school for five months I cannot tell you ENOUGH positive things about this school.
1– When we first started here I spoke to the teachers about my son’s separation anxiety and the recent changes in the family. I also brought up some of the sensory issues he was starting to develop. The teachers here actively worked on the areas my son struggled with and reported back to me almost weekly. Now we have no more tears or sensory problems. My son also did not play with other children and now after 5 months at Mulberry he has so many friends and he enjoys playing with them.
2– Your children will learn to LIKE school. This is a great first school experience for children. My son loves his classroom and his teachers so much that he wants to go to school even on the weekends :)
3– The staff here is CARING. They truly care for the children and their well being.
4– The adult-​child ratio here is GREAT. Not only does your child learn to communicate with teachers but s/​he learns to use other adults as resources.
5– Their curriculum is backed up by research. As a child educator myself I was so happy to see all the research that backs up Mulberry’s preschool program.
6– The children here are HAPPY. Kids get to be kids here. They get to learn through play and many other creative ways (cooking, gardening, music, library time, literacy corner, science, fine motor activities, gross motor activities, sandbox, etc). The classrooms and the playground are huge and there is SO much to do. Your children will never get bored.
7– They are big on independence here. Ever since my son started here he has developed essential self-​help and personal responsibility skills.
8– They don’t push your children here like some of the other preschools do. They look at each child as an INDIVIDUAL and set their expectations based on where that child is developmentally.
9– They have parent meetings where they discuss your child’s areas of strength and also talk to you about what skills are developing. They give you tips to help your child develop in areas that need improvement.
10– They have the BEST teachers! My son loves every single one of them. They’re all genuinely caring teachers and teacher substitutes.
LESLIE– She is so KNOWLEDGABLE. She has worked with children for a very long time and knows everything about child development. When I asked her about Mulberry’s play-​based program, she sent me research articles and helped me understand the Mulberry way. She is my go-​to person any time I have a question.
AMBER– She is so approachable. She has been very CARING and has really helped my son grow in many different ways. She has spent so much time in the past few months observing my son and teaching him social-​emotional skills that he will use forever.
DEBBIE– She always has a SMILE on her face. Seeing her brightens up my son’s morning. She loves music and gardening. She brings so much to this preschool. My son knows all about gardening and vegetables now because of teacher Debbie.
BONNIE– She is so warm and friendly. Her voice can CALM any child down. She is so great about getting back to me about my son’s day. She is a mom and has a child in the preschool as well so she can empathize with the preschool parents. My son loves her.
SOPHOIN– She is so LIVELY. She is always in a great mood. She has that upbeat personality that every preschool classroom needs. I’m always learning from her when I work in the classroom.
HODA– She CARES so much about the children. My son feels very comfortable with her and talks about her all the time. She will go out of her way to help the children and make sure the children and the parents here are happy.
JENNINE– She is a student teacher and she is such a NATURAL with children. The children love playing with her on the playground and she is great at redirecting them when they are having difficulty with other children. She is always HELPING the children do their best.
My son has grown SO much in just 5 months; if I could give this preschool experience a 6 star I would :)

I am the parent of two kids at Mulberry and I can’t say enough good things about this school. My kids did not go to preschool here so I cannot review that aspect of Mulberry. The preschool is on the Mulberry campus, but is through Bright Horizons.
The staff at Mulberry is phenomenal, the teachers are great, and the atmosphere of caring for the children is contagious. This school understands children’s needs AND wants, and blends the two together to create a learning environment that is rich with hands on, service-​oriented instruction the kids can have fun with. My kids have been going to Mulberry since first grade and are now in 5^th grade, and they still wake up every morning, get ready for school happily, and can’t wait to go. There is only one class per grade and class size is limited to 18 – 20 students. Parent volunteers are everywhere, along with a teacher’s aide for each class. There are no grades, but rather a number system at shows where your child stands in relation to expectations for her grade. The homework is very minimal and manageable.
Prior to the current principal, some parents left because of issues that were ignored and not dealt with, such as a couple bullying incidents that were denied rather than addressed. However, there is a new principal, Kara, who is a wonderful principal, and some of those families have returned after she transitioned from 5^th grade to principal. She listens carefully to your concerns and then works together with you, your child, and the teachers to resolve whatever problem you may be having. Our son has dyslexia and ADD and her efforts at helping him feel successful at school in spite of his challenges have made our family extremely grateful for her kindness, respect for, and caring for the children. If there was an award for best principal in Silicon Valley we would nominate her (I looked… there is none).
The parents at Mulberry have the same goal in mind for their kids: non-​violence, a fun learning environment, and social emotional adeptness. Yes, there is the usual drama among parents and kids that you will find at every school (along with different teacher personalities) but the ultimate goal of everyone involved is a fun, safe learning environment that takes the kids’ feelings into consideration, as well as the academics, allowing the kids to learn how to articulate their feelings and to listen to other kids’ feelings through regular class meetings and problem resolution.
Mulberry’s objectives are to teach kids to be kind to each other, to stand up for and advocate for themselves, to think for themselves, and to be creative while still learning academics. That’s not to say the kids are perfect, but together with the support of involved parents and staff, they learn some of the other important aspects of life, along with getting an education. The kids are comfortable interacting with younger and older kids, as well as with adults.
I am thrilled that Mulberry is now adding a middle school. The care and thoughtfulness with which they are approaching the Tweens’ needs reflects their understanding of children’s development and their need for a more structured and mature learning environment, the importance of being a part of the larger community around them, along with the continued fun of being a kid through sports and extra-​curricular activities. As usual, parents input is valued and sought out in developing a successful curriculum for their children. Some of the anticipated subjects and activities the kids will be learning are women’s history, wood working, yoga, mindfulness, archery, community service, public speaking and debate, etc.
I thoroughly reviewed and assessed all the schools in the surrounding area in the hopes of finding an alternative school that truly cares for children and that teaches a holistic curriculum that includes life skills. Mulberry provides this with academics, social emotional learning, drama, music, Spanish, gardening, cooking, morning traffic patrol, extracurricular classes, mentoring lower grades and being mentored by upper grades, mindfulness, P.E., and field trips. Children who have graduated and gone on to other middle schools adapt well and thrive, but many miss the warm, fun, nurturing environment of Mulberry and want to return.
I’m not sure why the few negative reviews are at the top of this list, but keep scrolling down and you will find many positive reviews. No school can have all positive reviews. All I can say is, I am truly glad we found Mulberry!

Our girls just started with the summer program and my youngest has never wanted to get up and go to school until now. They both love it!!! The staff is so warm and friendly. Hugs all around and if you have a child with food allergies they take it very serious. Very affordable summer program with lots of camps to choose from! Must try.

The preschool and lower grades are tolerable for students who are slow or emotionally not ready for a real school. It really starts to suck in 4^th grade. I wished I had pulled my child out after 3d grade. 4^th grade has been abysmal, the students are behind in language, science, art and math. At this point, we have to do so much extracurricular catch up, why bother with a private school?
The vaccination rate is terrible (check it here:
for 2015 it was 11%, for 2014 is was 19%), but $diety forbid you have a nut, seed or soy based product in your lunch bag. This illustrates the fact that most of the parents only care about their child and fuck herd immunity.
For all the sunshine enemas this place gives itself about Mulberry Magic and social/​emotional learning, they are not effective in dealing with bullies. Additionally, the suck at diversity — by the 4^th grade my child has learned shame in her family values. We are not Christians, but the staff lets the Christian children bully her about our different beliefs.

What is going on at Unilocal?Who is running this show. It seems like the great reviews hang at the top for awhile and then get dumped. My very positive review is missing. Who decided to delete it?
Folks, check out the school for yourselves and then decide. Don’t let the negative and downright nasty reviews at Unilocal dissuade you from seeing it in person. Someone at Unilocal is filtering these reviews. Beware.

Just as an update, my son will be moving on to Kindergarten next Fall and I feel very confident that he is prepared for an all-​day Kinder program after the 4-​day Mulberry program. He is doing well in the academic areas you would hope (e.g., spelling, writing, word recognition, numbers, adding, etc.) but also in the social/​emotional areas. He still loves school and his teachers. My daughter is also blossoming in the 2-​day program and I anticipate keeping her at this preschool.
My experience with the teachers, directors and head of school have all been positive. I have found constructive parent input to be well received and incorporated as much as possible. The administration takes feedback well and strives to create a cooperative and enriching environment for children and parents. We would still recommend this preschool program.

Well, we drive all the way from Santa Clara to Los Gatos each day to take our daughter to Mulberry. That’s how much we thought about it.
We are there because we believe that social and emotional development is JUST as important for elementary school students as academics. As a mind-​body psychotherapist (in training), I really appreciate that Mulberry is an embodied learning experience. For example, when the kids learned the ABC’s, they learned a sign and an animal character for each one. The kids also have plenty of exposure to nature, cooking (from the garden) and art.
The positive discipline encourages children to learn to do things for themselves and to be OK with making mistakes.
I just asked my kindergardener what we should say about Mulberry. Here is her answer, «It’s a fun school and there is parent participation,»

My two sons currently attend Mulberry and both are doing fantastic. My second grader spends his spare time writing and illustrating his own books because he loves it. My fifth grader is at an 8^th grade reading level and excelling at pre-​algebra & geometry. The teachers are amazing and loving, and I am so grateful that they care and nurture the students. They prepare the kids by setting that strong foundation, not just for school, but for life. When you don’t have much money choosing private school is not an easy choice to make, especially in this Valley when everyone seems to have so much. But, are glad we chose Mulberry. So very glad.

My two children (ages 14 and 12) attended Mulberry from preschool through to 6^th grade. Both of my children loved going to Mulberry everyday!!! They thrived in the authentically warm, supportive environment. Both love learning and thinking things through and they were inspired to do this there. They are both also very socially conscientious and I can’t help but think that all of the «Peace Tables» where they worked through issues in a positive, healthy way (and yes this means talking about your feelings) had something to do with it. Yes, they were heard! — all of the children were/​are heard and subsequently leave the school with not only good self-​esteem, but a strong sense of their own individual uniqueness. Ultimately, what makes Mulberry a remarkable place is it’s faculty. They are a seasoned group of intelligent, forward thinking individuals who effectively facilitate learning and who genuinely care about children. We will always be on Team Mulberry!!!

We have had multiple children at Mulberry over the years. Some years have been better than others. Some years have been excellent, others not so good. I highly recommend Mulberry for the average or bright student. It is a good school in general, but as with most schools there are pros and cons.
Pros:
— Good hands-​on and project-​based learning in most K-​5 classes
— Teachers are very caring and want to do the right thing for the child.
— Good diversity for the area, different cultures and traditions are celebrated.
— Positive Discipline program is great.
— Good social emotional learning program for all grades.
— Good integration of subjects across the curriculum.
— The school has some good initiatives under way, such as Design Thinking and a learning lab in the common area.
Cons:
— There isn’t much difference between Toddler, 2-​Day, 3-​Day and 4-​Day. It’s pretty much the same class for all 3 years with a couple of hours added each year. Many of the activities, table set-​ups and songs are the same for each level. Would love it if they could differentiate these classes so that there is a clear progression at each level.
— JK is the equivalent of PK at most schools in my personal opinion. There is a lot of dot-​to-​dots, worksheets, tracing, cutting, gluing, putting stickers on things. Not a lot of creativity in this class. Not a lot of original artwork being done in this class either. However, they do start phonics in the second half of the year.
— Language Arts and writing program could be much improved in the upper years.
— Science program could to be strengthened in the upper grades. Typically taught by parents.
— A service learning program would be a nice addition for all grades.
— The after-​school program is OK. Wish they has more engaging activities or projects to do.
— The summer camps are hit or miss — meaning they’re great if you get a real Teacher but not-​so-​good if you don’t. Many are taught by alumni (college kids, HS students) or parents. Judy’s summer Art class was a favorite.
— Overall T/​PK-​5^th program is not set up for highly gifted children. If you have a seriously gifted child, I would recommend a gifted school instead.
— Mama drama is very real at this school. Many of the school staff are parents as well, so the boundaries can be blurred at times. (parents first and then hired by the school.)

My 3 kids have have been at Mulberry for 4 years now, and I cannot imagine any other school being such a good fit for them all. Each learns in a different way, yet they are all engaged and love going to school and learning for learning’s sake. How many kids ask when they can go back to school over breaks? Mine do! They love the challenges and enriching environment of the classrooms and extra experiences. From the integrated gardening and cooking, art with glass and clay, music, drama, Spanish… the list could go on and on.
The 4 years haven’t been perfect, but I can say that this year has been our best year yet. The new HOS is a Godsend. Just what Mulberry needed to launch the next 50 years. She has cultivated the sense of community and the parents and kids (as well as faculty and staff) are thriving. It is a wonderful place that truly feels like an extended family.
My kids are doing great academically compared to friend’s children in other public and private schools, and do not have the anxiety or dislike of school that some of them do. I wish everyone could experience the Magic of Mulberry.

I wish I could say something good about this school, but I can’t ! It’s not a personal response because they were very nice to my kids, but educationally they are bad.
.
It’s a place where lazy people call their work Art!
My local public school is a way more organize, CLEANER than Mulberry.
So if you are looking for a creativity, clean and artistic pre school for you child, you may be better offer looking at Stratford or Challenge school than Mulberry! They have a piano on the classroom :)

Because of reviews on here, I waited to tour this school until I had toured One World Montessori, Casa di Mir, Morning Glory Waldorf inspired school, and our local public school. I also worked on the Discovery II charter school formation for a while to try and get my children a quality education in a public school setting.
Finally, I toured Mulberry. I was wary of «mama drama» and controlling parents since I had heard from other moms at parent participation schools that it was rampant. What I found was completely different. The campus is in a beautiful neighborhood. Deanna, the admissions director, was so warm and patiently answered all my questions. Every single teacher took time to speak to me which was different from all the other schools I had toured. I didn’t even expect to speak to the teachers but they all warmly introduced themselves. The kids were so engaged and happy. Parents stopped to introduce themselves and talk to me.
I decided to drop out of the Discovery school formation because I loved Mulberry so much. We weren’t even sure we could afford it but we loved it so much that we took a leap of faith. So far this year has been absolutely amazing.
Our child is in Kindergarten. I have witnessed her blossom in such a profound and beautiful way. She has become so self-​directed, so confident and so excited about what she is learning at school. She absolutely loves Mulberry school and is upset on the weekend because she can’t wait to get back. It is a big family for sure. There is some sense that we are «all in this together». Other parents go out of their way to do what they can for the school and the children because they are passionate about this approach to education.
I didn’t want to enroll my child in a parent participation school as well because I didn’t think that I had the time now that I am working on an advanced degree. But now I can tell you that working with these children is one of the highlights of my week. Last week I helped them plant bulbs in the garden for spring. I am so pleased that I have this time with my kids. The school goes out of their way to have the parents work in a way that can fit in their schedule.
As far as the «mama drama»…so far I haven’t witnessed anything. It seems like we are all doing our best to implement the positive discipline method and are able to make mistakes and it is totally okay. The teachers are absolutely fabulous and do a wonderful job directing the parents to get what they need for the best of the classroom. I have already become super close with some of the other moms. Parents from other grades will see me around campus and stop to introduce themselves and welcome me to the school since we are new this year. There is a feeling of trust among the parents, we are all watching each others kids while someone goes to run an errand or work on something for the school.
It sound like everything is perfect, right? Well of course there are children that have more energy, or might say something rude to another child. What I love about our Mulberry school is that without shaming the child we all work to find a way that makes the school safe and loving for everyone. As a former teacher in a public school, I know that this is not the norm. In a public school, many of these parents would be told that their kid has adhd or behavioral problems, when in reality, they probably just learn in a different way.
This school is very conscientious about food allergies as well. We have a few kids in the class with severe allergies. My child has minor allergies, but they really work with us to find viable solutions.
Another reason we chose Mulberry is that we wanted to be able to transfer our kids to a more conventional type school if my husband got transferred out of the country for work. While utilizing creative methods for teaching, they are still «normal» enough that my kids wouldn’t be totally shocked at a conventional learning institution. They are really up to date on all the research about learning and all the methods that work. If you want you kid to memorize time tables, this is probably not the school for you. If you want your kids to understand math, and why it is used, and what its applications are in the real world, then this is the school for sure. My husband and I went to very academically competitive conventional type learning institutions for high school and undergrad so I am very aware of the difference in performing and in actually learning.
I really wanted to offer a review here to validate what we have experienced for other prospective parents. I truly believe in this school and am so proud to be a Mulberry parent.

What makes Mulberry? The teachers! The teachers rock! A special celebration honored 3 exceptional teachers each with over 20 years of service to the children and families in the Mulberry community. Dedication, belief, commitment, passion, experience, wisdom and knowledge, there is none like it!

Mulberry is a great school that teaches kids creative and critical thinking, a sense of community, responsibility for other kids and acceptance of differences. The teachers are outstanding and look at the whole child’s development and not just academics.
It nourishes all kids and allows them to develop strong self esteem and confidence. Our kids love the school and are very knowledgeable. Having a kid that wants to go to school and enjoys being there, while learning is the best evidence.

My son is in the preschool at Mulberry and it has been a lovely experience. My son loves going to school! The teacher is energetic, and so good at meeting the needs of the individual children. She makes them all feel special.
The program a good mixture of circle time, free choice play, and adult directed small group learning activities. Cooking is incorporated into snack time each day and my son *loves* this. Since he is a child with a severe nut allergy, I was very nervous about this component at the beginning of the year. But the teacher is well trained in allergies and the parents in the class have worked extremely hard to make sure snack materials are safe for my son. It’s been so wonderful for our family.
If I could make changes to the program, I would make the art projects a little more ongoing and meaningful, and add a little more structure around snack time so that the kids have a time when they all sit together outside of circle time.

This is a school that needs to be investigated.
my son was there for a day and was hit by a rock by another kid
the situation was very badly handled and seen as an «unfortunate incident»
would not recommend at all.
kids with behavior issues seem to be enrolled in this school.

What an amazing place for children – and their parents – to learn and grow. We transferred our son here a few months ago after a poor fit with a different school, and it has been so positive. His teacher is creative, committed, and gifted. Most importantly, she believes in her students and has helped our son develop self-​confidence as a learner. The parent community is awesome, if you like that kind of hippie, over-​involved, vegan/​allergic/​takes-​a-​village kind of thing (which we do).

We did not have a positive experience in Mulberry’s play-​based preschool program, and that was our unique experience based on the classroom makeup, co-​op parents, and school leadership. I’m sure other families have had different experiences from mine: some better, some worse.
When we were attending Mulberry, there was no cohesive food allergy policy for kids with severe/​extreme/​life-​threatening contact allergies. It was decided that the decisions would be left to the classroom teacher, and there was just not enough leadership and followthrough by the time we got to the winter holiday season. After a semester, other moms were wanting quid pro quo for holiday party food, and one person suggested that the girl with allergies not attend.
At that time the teacher and school should have given the class some leadership and reminded parents that the holidays are not about excluding people. Not at preschool. There was no apology from the offending parent (s) or from the school, and the parent took her daughter out of the class. The whole situation was poorly handled, and I didn’t want to continue working alongside *particular* individuals who could be so cruel and thoughtless.
* * *
The other problem with our class setup and other co-​ops in general is that not all the working parents are on the same page with discipline, how to handle acting out, and scripts for handling 20+ individual kids. Sometimes some parents wouldn’t even see the misbehaviors; sometimes other parents from another class would say overbearing or inappropriate things. Consistency of positive discipline was a real problem that I had with this program, and the teacher didn’t seem to correct this at all over the course of four months.
Of course parents who had been at Mulberry for a long time explained that the teacher was caring and so forth; however, it takes more than caring to run a program. Consistency of discipline is extremely important for early childhood education, and that’s not what my child and I got out of this preschool. There were other instances of hitting, pushing, smacking, etc. that I saw on the playground — some happened to my own child who was out of reach — that weren’t noticed or followed up on, so all in all, not long had passed when my child told me he disliked the class altogether.
I expect a school to keep mama drama at low levels. It’s their job.
* * *
In addition, the introductory phase I received from Mulberry was lackluster. New parents were assigned a mentor, but mine barely functioned at all beyond the initial welcome phone call. Any of my later attempts to email her were met with very lazy email replies. That’s not what a mentor does. On top of that, the committees we were to join were poorly organized. I was put in charge of a committee as a new parent, and I was given no materials on what this committee was supposed to do. Furthermore, on our first committee workday before school started, I waited for my other committee mom to show up, but she never did. There was no one at the time who could look up her number and call her from school to ask her when she was coming for the mandatory workday or if she was going to show up at all. You have to put at least one person in charge of such a workday.
Then there are the hidden costs of a co-​op. Mulberry never told you up front that the additional money you’d be forking out would be that much. There’s the annual giving, there’s paying for food and supplies for parties, and there was buying ingredients for your cooking assignment for your class, not to mention all the extra hours you’d put in for volunteer staffing, evening meetings, reading assignments, covering for other parents who didn’t show up for work, etc.
* * *
I will say that Mulberry’s preschool has some of the best facilities around, and I’ve toured 15+ schools to date and seen a lot of lackluster classrooms and playyards. The rooms are spacious, the toys are clean, and the open space of the playyard is lovely with its really big sand pit, bike paths, garden, and green lawns. The curriculum is thought out and planned carefully, and in general the parents want to do a good job while transitioning their children to a school environment.