Tehiyah Day School

2603 Tassajara Avenue

El Cerrito, CA 94530

31 Reviews

School District
Grade

K-8
Type

private

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Reviews

Submitted by parent on May 22, 2017

Before we transferred to Tehiyah for third grade, my daughter used to come home from her previous school tired and lethargic from the noise, the slow pace, and the large classes. After enrolling in Tehiyah, I immediately noticed that when I picked her up she was energized both socially and intellectually. Now in middle school, I'm so thankful for Tehiyah and how it supports my daughter's growth.As a small school, I find that the teachers really know the students and can really tailor their classes to fit the individual student needs and preferences.I'm also really appreciative of the social and emotional support that students receive - and how well the students interact with each other. We've never had problems with bullying.If you are interested at all in Tehiyah, I'd encourage you to visit the school and take a tour so you can see for yourself. When you go, be sure to visit Janet Lipkin's art room, an amazing place with a dynamite teacher.
Submitted by parent on May 19, 2017

My 12-year old daughter has been at Tehiyah since bridge kindergarten. She has grown up in a warm and supportive educational community. This year, she was diagnosed with learning disabilities, and we are very pleased with the way the school has helped to support her new learning needs. I highly recommend Tehiyah.
Submitted by parent on May 16, 2017

our son started Tehiyah as a kindergärtner and its almost nearing to school year. He is thriving very well there, made some friends, never like to miss a single day. His Teachers are all excellent and he has been very outspoken and gaining more confident. Being as a non Jewish family we feel school as welcoming for us and other friendly parents there as well. This isn't school about religion but more of teaching values of our life integrated with strong academics and we're very proud to find one of these schools in East bay.
Submitted by parent on May 15, 2017

Tehiyah is an extraordinary school, and our daughter is thriving there. She had been at the local public school, which is also a great school (10/10), and yet we felt that she would benefit from the Tehiyah community and the school's strengths in science, art, and music.
Submitted by other on June 02, 2016

Our 8th grader thrives in this small, warm, and supportive community. She developed meaningful friendships at the school over the past 7 years at Tehiyah. Many of her teachers inspired our daughter in ways that our daughter became confident and a motivated learner. The school's new head of school, Deb Massey, is phenomenal and charismatic. She is leading the school to a new chapter. The school is a reformed Jewish day school. It is open and welcoming to everyone.
Submitted by parent on April 25, 2014

Review of Bridge-K: Can you keep twenty 5-year-olds engaged for 6 hours a day? Can you teach them science (with experiments), math (including graphing), two languages (Hebrew, American sign-language), reading skills, writing skills, some history and culture and tie it all together? I don't think I could even keep control of all that kid-energy but the teachers in Tehiyah's Bridge-K are pretty amazing. The key metrics for me: - Our son pushes me out the door when I drop him off. - He comes home knowing more about certain topics (e.g. carnivorous plants, birds, dinosaurs, etc.) than I do (I am a Ph.D. scientist). He's learning not just facts, but the relationships between things (e.g. *why* do birds migrate?) - Our parent-teacher conferences lasted 45 minutes each. Teachers Susan and Inbal provided incredible insight into his behavior, his relationships with the other students, his academic interests, and what makes him tick. - The teachers are careful to pay attention to the social interactions between the kids and balance out the class nicely. They articulated perfectly the need for both social and academic development and I think they work hard to achieve this in Bridge-K.
Submitted by teacher on April 19, 2014

Tehiyah is a school that raises children to be academically confident, with a very diverse, bi-lingual curriculum: students are encouraged to write, reflect, debate, create, challenge and reconsider from the earliest grades through middle school. I went to Tehiyah for 10 years as a student and chose to return as a teacher. I am amazed that this school, even after 30+ years, still has the charm and warmth that made it my true home-away-from-home as a child. I owe my Jewish identity and active involvement in the Jewish communities of the Bay Area today to Tehiyah. The stories I was told as we sat eating bread and drinking grape juice during Friday Shabbat sessions are still stories I tell to my students. I owe my interest in foreign language and my facility and comfort with Hebrew specifically to my Hebrew teachers at Tehiyah, and the way that Hebrew is woven into every part of school life. I played sports in High School because of the inclusive athletic education and after school sports program at Tehiyah, and still play basketball recreationally today. Although I teach in middle school, I know almost every child's name because big kids are buddies to little ones: we are a family.
Submitted by parent on April 17, 2014

What you should know about Tehiyah: it is a huge and wonderful surprise tucked away up in the beautiful El Cerrito hills! A Jewish Day School that emphasizes VALUES not religion. The luxury of having the values you teach at home be reinforced and extended at school for the entire day....worth gold and every cent of tuition. Kids from all sorts of backgrounds and families love our school and my children truly have become international citizens over the years. The teachers are very smart. The curriculum is smart. The kids are smart....and individual. I never, ever would have imagined a Jewish school for my kids but it has proven, thus far, the best investment I have ever made!
Submitted by parent on April 15, 2014

Tehiyah Day School was an amazing experience for both of my daughters, who attended from Kindergarten through 8th Grade. My daughters couldn't be more different in personality, yet both found the caring and nurturing they needed to thrive alongside an excellent academic education (each went on to do extremely well in high school). Even better, they understood that they had an obligation to think beyond themselves and their needs and take responsibility for making the world a better place.
Submitted by parent on April 10, 2014

We are new to the Tehiyah community and have been totally blown away by how inclusive, welcomming, and kind everyone has been to our son (as well as to our entire family). My son transferred to Tehiyah mid-year and immediately felt 'at home.' Thanks to the thoughtful staff and teachers, and the kindness of his peers, it was the easiest transition we could have imagined. The teaching that goes on at this school is exciting, creative, stimulating, and challenging. After only a few weeks, he is doing work we did not know he was capable of under the close watch of his teachers. Our only regret is that we did not find Tehiyah ealier in our child's academic career. We looked at many schools in the East Bay and feel incredibly fortunate to have found our educational home at Tehiyah Day School. It was, by far, the best decision we haver ever made for our child.
Submitted by parent on April 09, 2014

Tehiyah is a wonderful place for children to flourish, not only intellectually, but also socially, morally and spiritually. The teachers are superlatively caring and a lot of emphasis is placed on teaching the kids to be respectful of each other. Speak to any 8th grader there, and you'll see a level of poise and respect that is pretty rare in children that age. The academics are excellent too, of course, and Tehiyah is one of two private schools in California to be awarded the Blue Ribbon Award for academic excellence from the Dept of Education. Raising children can be hard and who your child grows up to be depends as much on the community you surround them with as on what you teach them at home. So, it has been really great to have a place like Tehiyah in our lives.
Submitted by parent on April 09, 2014

Tehiyah has been transformational for our initially shy and anxious daughter. She has blossomed into an outgoing, confident and joyfully curious girl during her bridge-k year. I am sure that the warm community and the teacher's nurturing focus on social development and concrete skill building have made a crucial difference for her. I am thrilled to have found such a wonderful place to send my daughter to school.
Submitted by parent on April 09, 2014

Tehiyah Day School is a true educational community. The students are at the core of the spirit while the active parents, teachers and staff are there to nurture it. Stellar academics, bilingual focus, solid values, and a fun atmosphere make it an excellent Bridge K through 8th grade East Bay private school education offering.
Submitted by parent on April 08, 2014

An excellent environment for a great education, jewish values, jewish traditions and a supportive community enviornment. Middle school is very strong, great teachers and programs.
Submitted by parent on April 08, 2014

Tehiyah has been a great environment for my daughter, not just academically, but also socially. A child who does not adjust easily to change, she came into the school in first grade, after we moved here from out-of-state. Members of the community went out of their way to make all of us feel welcome, and to help her difficult transition go as smoothly as possible. Now in 6th grade, her first year of middle school, she is really thriving on multiple levels. The element that has impressed me the most is how this group of kids has bonded over the past 7 years. The small class size (30 / grade, approx 15 per classroom) enables them to know each classmate very well, and they've grown to embrace and be accepting of each others' individual traits and quirks, rather than critical of them. At least some of that is likely attributable to the Jewish values taught and reinforced throughout their schooling. My daughter has also expressed many times on how safe she feels at the school, commenting that even teachers whom she didn't have for class know her by name. The campus IS beautiful, nestled in the hills, student artwork displayed everywhere.
Submitted by parent on April 08, 2014

Tehiyah Day School is truly an amazing school! Our family feels so grateful to be part of this extraordinary community where a positive Jewish identity is fostered along with an outstanding academic experience. The teachers really see each child for who they are, meet each child's unique academic needs, and inspire a love of learning in a non competitive way. When my son (first grade) was going to miss 1 day of school to go on vacation he burst into tears about missing school! He then proceeded to share all the parts of his day he loves at Tehiyah. To me this says everything. I can not recommend this school enough!
Submitted by parent on April 07, 2014

Tehiyah is an absolutely wonderful place...not just for academics, but for the caring values it upholds and weaves through the entire curriculum. Our children thrive here!
Submitted by parent on April 07, 2014

Our daughter is thriving in Tehiyah's nurturing community. Her teachers are dedicated and thoughtful about meeting children's individual needs and creating a supportive, values based learning environment. It is wonderful to see her grounded in a school where she can grow academically while also connecting to her heritage and identity.
Submitted by parent on April 07, 2014

Tehiyah Day School is a fantastic school! The teachers are amazing - dedicated, thoughtful, devoted, and caring about each individual student. The academics are outstanding, and the students receive a very well-rounded education across subjects including Hebrew and Jewish studies. The community makes Tehiyah a very special and supportive place. Our family has had a very positive experience and would highly recommend this school!
Submitted by teacher on April 07, 2014

My school is Tehiyah Day School- a ' Blue Ribbon school of excellence' that truly understands what exemplary academics is aligned with character values based on thousands of years of strong Jewish tradition.