Mulberry School

220 Belgatos Road

Los Gatos, CA 95032

4 Reviews

School District
Grade

PK-8
Type

private

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Reviews

Submitted by parent on May 09, 2019

My children have attended Mulberry for the past two years and are going into 3rd and 4th grades for the 2019-2020 school year. We have thoroughly enjoyed watching the social and emotional growth take place with our kids and have been able to experience the magic of Mulberry time and time again. Whether it's the sheer joy seen on their faces by watching their seeds grow or working in the garden, cooking exotic foods in the kitchen, coming home head-to-toe with an exuberant school project ( these kids get messy and they love it!) , or the incredible field trips to Hidden Villa, Tall Ships, Cal Academy of Sciences, and everywhere else the teachers can think of to incorporate their thematic instruction. The small class sizes allow for a very intimate bond to take place between teacher, student, and extended family. Everyone will love your child at Mulberry because, as a parent participation school, we are all invested in the ultimate success of all of the children. I fully encourage anyone reading these reviews and considering Mulberry to check their website calendar and look for an open house opportunity. You will be able to see for yourself - as my family did that there is magic here.
Submitted by parent on April 28, 2019

This is long overdue...A few initial thoughts come to mind when I I think of our 3 (soon to be 4) years at Mulberry, beginning in JK and now almost at the end of 1st grade...I can write about how this school absolutely destroys the very concept of academic-y schools where study after study show these kinds of schools do not help (arguably irreparably hurt) children short and long term.I can write about how our well-placed friend at Bellarmine, an elite boys’ private high school in San Jose, tells us that when they see that a child has been a student at Mulberry, they by default give a thumbs up to their admissions application.I can better write about my daughter who began at Mulberry in Junior Kindergarten and is now finishing first grade. I can share how her self-esteem and joy for learning has gone from zero to infinity. I can share how her teachers know her like the back of their hands, thanks to their absolute dire love for each child, along with the student teacher ratio and stellar support system at Mulberry. I can share that our decision (after an exhausting, year-long, OCD-level picky search for the perfect school) to attend Mulberry has transformed our daughter into a confident, polite, and empathetic human being. I can share we care nothing about her drawing inside the lines, writing, reading or calculating to “perfection” because we understand it’s the joy and actual pursuit of being imperfect that throttles her forward. Speaking of perfect, I feel like it’s been drilled in parents’ heads this notion that there is a “perfect.” I can’t stand that word. It reminds me of a very important little story I overheard Teacher Jennifer repeat a few times during snack time in Kindergarten. She would laughingly tell our daughter and her classmates she makes at least 10 “mistakes” before lunch, otherwise it’s not a good day! For my daughter, who used to be so frustrated with any thing “wrong” she did pre-Mulberry, this has been a complete and an absolute game changer. I can’t tell you what a priceless lesson this has been for our daughter. She makes a mistake now and laughs it off. I would die to have had this instilled in me at her age!
Submitted by parent on April 27, 2019

10! This school changed our lives. I’m a better parent because of the school and my daughter is thriving- a true critical thinker not just memorizing to get through a test
Submitted by parent on March 27, 2019

The school attracts and admits many children with behavioral and learning issues, but has no support structure in place to help these kids, the way a public school might. Therefore, the classroom teachers end up spending a majority of classroom time with kids who are behind or who are disrupting the class. Consequently, very little is accomplished and classes are performing below grade level. The building is in need of major maintenance. Enrichments, like Spanish and music, seem to come and go as they lose interest or volunteers to run them (there is a fantastic cooking and gardening teacher, however - a rare highlight). They use positive discipline as an excuse not to deal with real problems. Teachers are defensive and cagey with their communications, and since there are no tests or homework (something I thought would be a plus), it can be difficult to know how your child is doing, or if they are falling behind. On many days, the main activities seem to be recess and silent reading of any book you like - super fun, but this poses a problem after, say 2nd grade. I will say that the Kindergarten teacher is fantastic, and runs a tight and effective program that incorporates plenty of hands on, in depth group learning. I wish the rest of the school would follow her example. The concept of this school is great, the execution is severely lacking.
Submitted by principal on October 19, 2018

I have two children who are Mulberry alumni. The older just graduated with honors from Cal-Berkeley and the younger just started Fordham University with an academic scholarship. Mulberry set the foundation for success in school and in life, and helped them develop into the wonderful human beings they are!