Berkeley Hills Nursery School, Berkeley | Fees, Rankings, Address, Admission, Vacancies, Reviews & More

Our daughter is in her second year at Berkeley Hills Nursery School, and we feel so grateful she has been able to have such a wonderful preschool experience. In our mind, the quality of the teachers makes BHNS stand apart. The teachers treat the children with kindness, fairness, and do so much to help the children learn to interact with each other in socially-appropriate ways. The teachers are all consistent in their guidance, and as a result the cohort of children understands expectations and thrives at the school. There are so many fun activities for the children that span a diversity of subjects, from sensory art projects to science explorations to walking trips around the neighborhood for the older children. Our daughter has relished her time at BHNS from the very beginning, and somewhat to our (selfish) chagrin, weekends are sometimes met with disappointment because preschool days are so beloved. The facilities at BHNS are idyllic; the school has expansive outdoor play areas in the front and back, with many fun options for gross and fine motor exploration. There are three rooms inside school, giving the children ample space. The views of San Francisco Bay and the city add to the somewhat magical, treehouse feeling of the space. Additionally, the back of the school is connected to a city park (with appropriate security for student safety) which allows children to play together after pickup, enhancing the sense of community. Our daughter couldn’t be happier in preschool, and we are so glad to have found BHNS!

Berkeley Hills has been the perfect place for our son. He was lucky enough to go for two years and enjoyed the love and learning from each of the groups of teachers. The school does an amazing job meeting kids where they are and fostering love, respect and independence. There are so many things both large and small that they think of to help the kids grow from toddlers to school age. For example, they even thought of having the older kids start to walk the path to class on their own the last few months to prepare for kindergarten.

I researched many different kinds of programs for preschool and am so thankful we landed at Berkeley Hills because they perfectly blend the best of all methods. The kids play freely and hike but also learn the alphabet and the sound of letters. They do science experiments, take note of bugs and plants and spend time listening to stories. They even learned some Spanish and yoga. The updates and photos help to foster conversation about the day which has been amazing. They were so helpful through the various challenges that come with raising toddlers. They’d give suggestions on how to tackle typical toddler challenges or just be a patient ear when you needed someone to talk to.

I have an endless list of amazing memories from our time at Berkeley Hills and couldn’t recommend the program enough.