Beacon Day School

Our son had a miserable experience at this school — do not be taken in by the tour or the promises of an individualized, developmentally aligned academic program. The reality we discovered was a fairly boring, staid curriculum, and a reactive and incompetent main teacher (the science and art teachers were great). Her primary method of handling what she considered disruptive behavior (pencil tapping) was to send him out of the classroom. As a result he spent too much time alone and became alienated from fellow students. Our son’s self esteem and confidence were quite damaged by the time we finally withdrew him. He is now a happy, confident honor roll student at our local Public Middle School. Our son is African American and we are not, and we cannot stress enough how important it is for black boys and young men to have the protection from arbitrary disciplinary measures that the California State Educational code affords them. We feel chagrined that we chose so badly for our son in sending to Beacon, but are so grateful that we found a great fit at Bret Harte Middle School.

Our daughter is in her 8^th grade at Beacon and started there at the beginning of middle school. It has been an excellent experience for her. Beacon is a small school with great passionate teachers who really get to know the students. A new Head of School (who came from Head Royce) took over this summer and her leadership and enthusiasm has made the school even more special.

We are in our fourth year at Beacon in the Lower School and are so happy we chose it. Beacon might not be the fanciest private school but it has truly happy teachers and kids. My child loves school and wants to stay every day as long as possible. We have had great teachers who are kind, attuned to each child, and understand the importance of socio-​emotional development in an academic environment. Beacon’s year round program means no scrambling to cobble together summer camps and the no homework policy in lower grades is in concert with current research about homework not being meaningful for younger kids. We love the music and art and outdoor gardening and phys ed and appreciate that Beacon can have all these components that publics so often struggle to fund. With a max of 18 kids per class teachers naturally have the patience and ability to meet each child’s needs better than with higher ratios. Every child is treated with respect, kindness, and welcomed to their education every day by the staff. They are teaching my child to love school, that school is a place where adults care, where your friends are, and where you learn interesting new things every day. In the brave new world, Beacon is respecting the individuality of students and teaching them to be leaders. Thank you Beacon! I am grateful every day!

Buyer Beware!
Our daughter has been in the early childhood program for a year and a half now. Two years ago, I would have rated Beacon with 5 stars. In the last 2 years, there have been some changes in the administration that we feel have been to the school’s detriment. We have found the current administration of the early childhood program are poorly qualified and dishonest to boot. While the preschool teachers are wonderful, and the children seem to love them, dysfunction in the administration has spilled over into the classroom this year.
The board and administration recently announced (after the annual fundraising campaign and after asking families to re-​enroll by submitting a financial deposit) that the preschool will be closing at the end of the summer. We do not intend to stay at Beacon for Kindergarten. In addition, the elementary school also seems to be facing enrollment problems, and is planning to combine the Kindergarten and first grade classrooms in the fall.
It remains to be seen whether the newly hired head of school will be able to pull what was once a wonderful school out of its nose dive. I wish Beacon well, but would not advise families to take a chance on the school at this time.

I don’t normally write a review, however I really want to share information about Beacon Day School. My kids have attended Beacon for seven years. They started in preschool and now one is in Middle School and one is in Elementary. I first learned of Beacon from a Learning Specialist and went to a school orientation to see for myself what the school was about. From the minute I heard Thelma Farley (one of the Founders of the school) explain her reasons for starting the school and the Development-​Based approach to educate children, I knew Beacon would be a good fit for my children. I have never regretted that decision.
I could go on for hours about why the school is fantastic and why every child should be able to go to Beacon. However, that is just my opinion. The real confirmation has come from Learning Specialists, Tutors and Neurophyschologists that have told me how impressed they are with Beacon and what a wonderful job the school has done with my children. One child has some learning disabilities and the other child does not have any learning challenges and the school is a good fit for both kids.
I encourage anybody who is looking at Pre-​K to Middle School to take the time to attend a Parent Orientation at Beacon and see for themself what the school is about. Beacon is an absolute gem and I will be forever grateful for the wonderful education the school has provided for my children. My children love to learn and that is a gift they can carry with them for the rest of their lives.

My children have both been at this school since pre-​K. The oldest is now in Middle School, and the youngest is in upper elementary. There is no other place we would consider sending them. This is a school that puts children and their needs first. If there was an ideal place for children to learn, it is Beacon. This is a school where children are cherished and made to feel good about who they are, as they are, instead of pathologizing them for not fitting into the norm. One of my children is far ahead of the curve, and the other is slightly behind. Beacon has managed to accomodate both children, and allows them to feel competent and good about themselves. My kids love going to school, and often will ask to stay at school if I pick them up early. Beacon understands working parents. The year-​round model, the no homework policy, the seamless before and aftercare… makes you wonder why no one else has gotten the memo that this is what really works best for everyone in the family.

The middle school has lost four core teachers in the past month– the science teacher, the math teacher, the lead language arts/​history/​social studies teacher and a second language arts teacher. Technology teacher is also not returning and that subject has been folded into other classes. Lower school still seems solid though

Our niece and nephew (who we raise) attended Beacon for the past four years and we couldn’t be happier. They were enrolled in a less than ideal public school while living with their grandmother in San Jose, and we jumped at the chance to take them into our home and have them begin attending school up here in Oakland.
Our niece has a fairly severe documented learning disability, but makes fast friends and loves social interaction. Beacon served her well in getting her the academic support she needed while giving her a wonderful and diverse group of friends. (Her challenges were large enough that Beacon worked with us to find an even better fit for her for middle school — Raskob — but we are very happy she was a part of the Beacon community for 2^nd-​5^th grade.)
Our nephew is a bit of his sister’s opposite, excelling in most all academic areas but struggling sometimes with social interaction amongst his peers. He is blossoming on both fronts as a 4^th grader now, and we hope to keep him enrolled all the way through 8^th grade.
It is a credit to Beacon that they were able to provide the academic support for our niece, while providing the needed social support for our nephew — while challenging them both in the areas that they excelled. The staff are skilled and caring, and we are so happy we were able to find this school.

Wow. So here we are, half way through 8^th grade. Its been a really great 4 ½ years, so far. Our son is shining in academic stuff, he gets to boast about how awesome his teachers are, he has great friends in school (and in other schools, not everyone stays at Beacon), and they still ‘get’ him.
Turns out Ann Meyers is the executive for upper elementary school (3−4−5), while Donnell Thomas is the XO for preschool-k-1−2, and Steve Baker runs middle school 6−7−8. Like I said, depth. They have depth. Thelma Farley retired, though she still makes ceremonial appearances. Richard Hof has done a superb job in the thankless task of being the second head of school and I have every confidence that Donnell, Ann and Steve will keep the torch going, as will the consistently remarkable teaching staff, and the next head of school, and the next and so on.
Individual teachers come and go, students too, but here on the last lap in a 5 year run, its clear that Beacon has something very special to offer. We just had a ceremony commemorating being half way through 8^th grade (and the end of high school application submissions). As the 8^th graders got up and the assembled parents and grandparents applauded, I realized how fond I was of this class, and their families, and their teachers, and the school they go to. Fond of those who aren’t there too, for one reason or another. The whole really is more than the sum of its parts.
Our son has had vivid debates, acted in a play, done flat and 3d art, dance, music, gone to the school dances, gone on field trips to the Exploratorium, Angel Island. He’s worked in teams, worked alone, even some rope course stuff at Westminster Woods. His high school placement tests are too high to mention, politely. He’s got the five paragraph essay format locked in. He’s enjoying algebra and graphing, and he and one of his friends are looking at calculus. Because its cool.
How cool is that?
Doing your best, being studious and getting good grades are all positives at Beacon’s Middle School. The teachers really enjoy the kids for who they actually are. We’ve made friends I expect to be in touch with the rest of my life.
I used to think that Montessori pre-​school and early elementary were the best decision I had the opportunity to make for our son’s education. But even though the Montessori approach from pre-​K to 2^nd or 3^rd grade was just perfect for him, and I envy some of what he got to do, I think Beacon was an even better choice. Woohoo!

I cannot recommend Beacon Day School’s Early Childhood Program. The other reviews listed are for the K-​8 program, which I believe is the primary focus of the school. The Early Childhood Program does not receive the same attention and focus that the elementary and middle school programs receive.
While the school is ethnically diverse, it does not provide a focus on creativity and innovative ideas for learning. The classrooms are small and the classroom equipment is outdated. My child’s teacher has been there for many years and was not interested in new ideas.
The children did the same art project each week — the letter of the week. They used a specific medium and the teacher did not deviate. The school has a beautiful garden that the class rarely visited. Also, the class rarely explored music, cooking, gardening or dramatic play.
The program was standard, rote, regimented and uninspiring. My child’s teacher did not appear excited about teaching and was often distracted and not engaged with the children. You were not warmly welcomed each morning when you arrived to the classroom. While there were three scheduled parent-​teacher conferences throughout the year, daily communication from the teacher was lacking.
I was more impressed with the front office staff, who were always warm and welcoming, as well as the part-​time teachers, who were genuinely interested in the children. I also enjoyed the music teacher, however, that was limited to ½ hour a week. (That was the only day my child came home singing).
In addition, the school recently closed one of it’s classrooms due to lack of enrollment.

We enrolled our daughter in middle school here, 6^th grade, and have had a great experience, after attending 2 other schools.
The classes are small, the focus on academics is very solid, is very compassionate, and the «whole student» is considered with the teaching.
The staff is very well organized and attentive to the quality and well being of the student. Very highly impressed with this school and how it is run.