Holy Name School, San Francisco | Fees, Rankings, Address, Admission, Vacancies, Reviews & More

Holy Name Preschool offers both full-time and part-time programs, and is part of the “Big School” Holy Name School (K-8). Their facilities consist of two large classrooms, a huge school yard, and a playground. Kids are divided into Red Fish (2-3years) and Blue Fish (Pre K). The classes are large but there is a lot of staff to make sure kids are safe and looked after. My daughter has never felt lost in a crowd or overlooked. During class time, they hold “stations” where kids are assigned in small groups to different parts of the classroom for various activities such as painting, blocks, dramatic play or math. Early reading is gently introduced at PreK level and kids are fully prepared for kindergarten.

In the three years we have been here my daughter has flourished academically, developmentally and socially. There are many things to love about this school. The facilities are clean, bright and filled with activities, toys and tools that challenge kids and encourage collaborative play. The dedicated staff here is nurturing and caring. All meals are included with tuition and are healthy and balanced. The enrichment program cannot be beat: music 2X week, soccer 1X, Movement/Dance 1X, basketball 1X, art and painting pretty much all the time (all included in tuition). However, what I love the most about this school is it’s philosophy on learning which their director, Alice Seher, takes full credit for. This relatively new little school has just taken off under her leadership. She believes in looking for new ways to keep the kids excited about learning and to nurture their sense of wonder and discovery. Even though academics are a strength here, kids learn through playing and doing instead of by rote. I wanted my daughter to have a positive “first” experience of school and she absolutely has. We are treasuring our last few months here before she goes to kindergarten in the fall.

After two years here, we are still very impressed and thankful for all that the teachers, staff, and principal (Mr. Miller) have done. We started last year with distance learning and continued that for a few more months, even after the school returned to in-person. The school was so organized and the teachers worked so hard having to teach the in-person and distance learners at the same time. My child struggled a bit distance learning, but despite all this, my child made so much progress in math and ELA. The staff worked with us to help address any issues he’s been having. Now that we’re in-person, he loves going to school everyday.

As school returned to “normal”, I am more impressed than before, excited for various activities and functions that we missed last year due to the pandemic. My kid is still learning so much academically and socially. The parents are awesome and friendly and so involved. We’re very happy we chose Holy Name!

Most days, our middle-school student comes home from Holy Name happy and excited about her school day. She tells stories about funny interactions with teachers and classmates. The teaching styles run the gamut–from relaxed to rigid–but most teachers appear to lean toward relaxed and fun. While religion is a part of the school experience, it does not appear or feel too dogmatic. The school’s annual tuition is a good value. The school requests “service” or volunteer hours from parents and students. The school handled remote learning and the transition back to in-person learning well. The indoor facilities are mostly modern and clean. The campus has a gym but not much outdoor space for play and exercise and sun.