Black Pine Circle School

2027 Seventh Street

Berkeley, CA 94710

13 Reviews

School District
Grade

K-8
Type

private

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Reviews

Submitted by parent on September 20, 2022

Our son started BPC one year ago when he was in 6th grade. Black Pine Circle is the perfect school for him. The teachers are kind and caring, and the administration is experienced, thoughtful, and highly engaged. The parent community is full of interesting people who are supportive of the school and each other. In my experience, BPC is the perfect mix of rigorous academics and supportive encouragement (unlike several other east bay private schools that have gone soft on academics). I would highly recommend this school, and we are so grateful to be there.
Submitted by parent on January 22, 2018

Our daughter started BPC this year, in 6th grade. She's greatly enjoying her new school, in no small part because of all the hard-working adults who are there every day. The intelligence and enthusiasm of the teachers, the socratic philosophy that permeates the school, and the very welcoming kindness shown by everyone at BPC has been deeply appreciated. The leadership is truly exceptional—thoughtful, communicative, and inclusive, evidenced by an environment that truly nurtures and supports students intellectually and emotionally. Like other reviewers, we really wish they had a high school! Thank you BPC for making the start of middle school such a positive experience for our daughter—and therefore, us!
Submitted by parent on January 19, 2018

Words cannot express how much my daughter has loved being at BPC. She has blossomed as a person and student under the guidance of great teachers. Her relationships with her teachers have motivated her, given her strength, and taught her how to learn. As her mom, I have been so happy to see her confidence and ability to self-advocate grow by leaps and bounds, and those things have happened because she was cared for and nurtured along the way. We wish there was a BPC high school to move into--because we would in a heartbeat.
Submitted by parent on January 17, 2018

Words cannot express how much of a difference my son's kindergarten teachers have made in his life. When he started at BPC, he was shy and lacked a particular kind of confidence, and was very socially anxious. Through their kind guidance and support, I have watched him bloom into a confident, outspoken, friendly boy who has learned how to speak to new people, and to look after those who are younger than him. My son has learned how to DANCE from his teachers, he has learned how to READ, draw an actual picture of himself that looks like more than just an amoeba, and most important, he has a sense of his place in the world and in social justice from all those who have supported and encouraged him. He is flourishing because of all of his teachers - music, art, aftercare, and all the rest. Words cannot express how grateful I am for how much BPC has changed the course of his life.
Submitted by parent on October 20, 2017

I have two kids at BPC. We love the academics, teachers, and community. BPC has recently expanded their learning services so that kids who need extra help get it, and kids that need to be challenged more are. The things my kids have learned at BPC are remarkable, and they come home every day and tell me about something fascinating- Antarctica, the layers of the earth, Greek mythology, extracting DNA, etc. I also love how friendly all of the kids are- the older kids say hi to and look out for the younger kids, new kids are made to feel included, and there is virtually no bullying. The administration is very open to hearing suggestions from parents. I've never seen a school where the administration is so approachable. It's an all around inclusive environment- everyone has a voice. We couldn't love BPC more
Submitted by parent on October 11, 2017

BPC is an amazing community of devoted teachers, dedicated staff, curious students, and engaged families. Students are treated with respect and encouraged to take risks, make mistakes, and discover. BPC offers a supportive environment, helps our kids find their own voices and turns each learning moment into a memorable experience. And it is a fun school! Our daughter is at BPC almost ten hours a day and she loves every moment of it! She enters through the gate of the school skipping in the mornings and is frustrated if we pick her up early in the afternoon.
Submitted by parent on May 18, 2017

A GREAT SCHOOL!BPC has everything kids and parents need, from a great education to great lunches, from great aftercare fun to fine strings tunes. Everyone knows that BPC is academically strong, and one can meet many kids from BPC at, for example, the UC Berkeley Math Circle But the real strength of BPC is the community: with families from different backgrounds and ethnicities (yes, BPC is as diverse as Babylon), we raise kids together and support each other on major projects and everyday routines.Everything at school is organized wisely (not surprising, as they’ve chosen the Socratic approach): PE after math almost every day; outdoor aftercare where kids of all ages play together (great way to progress socially and emotionally!); delicious hot lunch from Nourish You - every picky eater finds something interesting to eat. Teachers are bright and engaged, everyone is a character you would never forget or confound with someone else. Mr.B., Mr. C., Mr. G. to name but a few. Our favorite is certainly Coach Michael! We were pretty sure our daughter would learn to read one way or another, but PE was a challenge. We can now enjoy the results of his amazing work.There is, however, one issue with BPC: it’s difficult to take kids home after school! So, prospective parents, don’t come early and waste your time waiting, your kids will always ask for 15 minutes more!
Submitted by other on December 07, 2016

A place where critical thinking and empathy are nurtured. Academically rigorous but not excessively competitive. High teacher-student ratio and a place where I could see that my kids were both known and appreciated as individuals.Both my kids started in K. One is now in 7th, the other thriving at Maybeck High School. Here's what I see: their most challenging subjects became strengths. They are well-rounded, creative, heartful, articulate and confident kids, and so are their classmates. BPC kids learn to listen to each other, and they practice taking viewpoints different than their own and defending them. In this red state vs blue state era, we need more people who can do that.
Submitted by parent on January 23, 2016

There are a number of things I wish I would have known before enrolling our children in the Lower School. Berekely and Albany public schools are wonderful and the curriculum is almost identical (my children still have math and science labs, mindfulness exercises, PE four days a week, drama, gardening, and they actually do much more reading and writing in public school). I still pay extra for my children's music education, just as I did at BPC, and now my children are happily learning piano in their after school program. With the exception of the wonderful kindergarten and fifth grade teachers, I found many of the head teachers to be indifferent and in a few cases unqualified to be around young children. Many teachers are not credentialed. These teachers are no longer at the school but I feel like my daughter lost several years of education. The diversity the school touts is almost non-existent. While people at the school are very well-meaning, the lack of diversity comes through in missteps and insensitivity. I wish I would have known that the financial aid numbers they showed us were made up mostly of the sibling and early payment discounts. Tuition was raised by a minimum of $1000 per student every year we were there. I was told more than once that as long as they are charging less the Prospect Sierra I shouldn't complain.I wish I had known the needs of our daughter in fourth grade who is gifted would be ignored. We had to fight just for her to have access to more advanced reading materials. Just as the needs of our youngest son in second grade who needs additional help would be put back on us as a family to address. Now all of our children are thriving in Berkeley public schools.If you live in Berkeley or Albany, my advice is to do your research. There are some good people here. The school has many kind, smart staff. But if you don't have enough disposable income to cover tuition (with yearly increases) for the next 9 years and if your children need anything other than a "teach toward the middle" education, you might consider public schools instead. Based on our experience, do not count on the school giving your financial aid or willingly helping your child.
Submitted by parent on September 03, 2015

This is our third year at BPC.Great academics, teachers, and community.Kids that need extra help get it, and kids that need to be challenged more are.The things my kid has learned at BPC are mind blowing considering she's only eight. She comes home every day and tells me about something fascinating- Antarctica, the layers of the earth, Greek mythology, etc.I also love how friendly all of the kids are- the older kids say hi to and look out for the younger kids, new kids are made to feel included, and there is virtually no bullying.The administration is very open to hearing suggestions from parents. I've never seen a school where the administration is so approachable.We couldn't love BPC more.
Submitted by parent on January 14, 2015

We were disappointed by teacher quality and the lack of insightful assessment and differentiation. This is a school that is ok for average bright kids but not great for gifted kids or kids with any learning challenges. The best part was many nice parents and kids.
Submitted by parent on March 02, 2014

Our daughter went here for two years but we were dissatisfied enough to leave. First, school does not have a good handle on social/emotional issues and bullying/social exclusion seem to be recurring problems. It was definitely a problem in our daughter's class, and five families left out of a class of 19, largely because of social issues the administration refused to take seriously. Differentiation was very limited, and the general attitude of the school was that everyone there was gifted and could be served by the same curriculum. I also thought their approach was not terribly developmental and there was a lot of pressure to have kids reading early, and more homework in the early grades than we thought was developmentally appropriate and more than even schools like Head-Royce. On all of these issues the school administration was not interested in really working with parents, but rather in just explaining why they thought they were right. The middle school program seems better than the lower school program, but we didn't feel inclined to stick around.
Submitted by parent on January 24, 2014

My daughter is in 6th grade. This is her first year at BPC. She loves the teachers and school culture. As a parent, you couldn't ask for a better educated, prepared faculty. The middle school isn't very racially diverse; however, my daughter feels like she belongs and is treated well. The curriculum is solid. The first thing a sixth grader learns is organizational skills and accountability. Teachers are involved and more than willing to help a child who asks for it. Their P.E. Program rocks! coach Vince works those kids like Jillian Michaels. My kid is not athletic and is pretty thin. She's learned to do regular push ups, squats correctly, play baseball, run the Cooper, etc. My daughter is performing better at this school than she did at her last public school. She is becoming more of a reader and used to hate writing preferring math and science. She writes poetry now. Since September she's already read, analyzed and written about six major texts like "Call of the wild" , "Green Glass Sea", "weed flower", "Esperanza Rising", etc.. It's amazing to watch her mature. Great school.