Tru School

625 Hamilton Avenue

Palo Alto, CA 94301

18 Reviews

School District
Grade

K-6
Type

private

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Reviews

Submitted by parent on December 17, 2023

We transferred into Tru at 1st and 3rd and saw an immediate uptick in academic engagement and progress - reading, writing, math, and science. At the same time, Tru is a place where childhood is preserved and the importance of play is revered. Children are deeply understood and respectfully engaged by every single teacher, staff member, caregiver, and community member. No odds. You know every teacher that you’ll have for every year. The schedule of the day is structured around the energy of the kids. Breaks for cartwheels help bring focus to math. The class sizes are small, like 12 kids per, and for us, this has helped tremendously with care and attention. Their approach to integrating learning into play and real-world experiences is super effective. Our kids are so inspired by the content that they’re getting at school. And vice versa the teachers take so much inspiration from the kids. A recent interest in gymnastics was choreographed into the school play. The curriculum is super dynamic. What starts to emerge from the kids as engaged fascination (like mealy bugs) turns into projects, inventions, and experiments. The whole school is a big group of friends. You see it in the variety of dress, the confidence with which they carry themselves, and the kindness that they display to one another - taking turns, asking questions, and holding eye contact. This is methodically built and maintained by a thoughtfully aware teaching team who pair up walking partners, assign project teams, and masterfully mediate conflict. Students switching in are folded in with warmth. The calm vibe of the regular meditation practice, songful rituals and routines, all contribute to a sense of shared intention and purpose. The kids work hard but without notable stress, rewards, or competition. No homework. Through and through a teacher-owned and teacher-led school where kids are happy, especially conversational, and encouraged to ask audacious questions.
Submitted by parent on September 08, 2019

We are very happy with the school and my son has been thriving there for the last two years.
Submitted by parent on August 22, 2017

Our experience was highly positive. Our daughter blossomed and for her, every day was a exciting experience to look forward to. A threat of "You're not going to school tomorrow if you keep this up!" was enough to get her to fall in line.
Submitted by parent on June 03, 2017

I have two children who are currently attending Tru and this school has honestly been amazing not only for their academic and intellectual growth but also their emotional growth. From what we see, our children are exposed to so many interesting things in math, science, history, literature, music, culture, art, theatre and also public speaking. The teachers really take the approach of fostering genuine thinking around topics and self motivation around learning and exploration and building self confidence. My children take so much pride in their various projects and are honestly excited to share the things that they have taken an active part in learning or creating. Each of my children have very different personalities, areas on interests/strengths, needs and I feel that the teachers are very sensitive to each child at the school. The children regularly participate in yoga and mindfulness and there is a real effort to teach children how to be self aware, to balance emotions, and also how to practice kindness and empathy with others. I have seen so much growth with my children. This is a small school currently with two classrooms of mixed age - a younger class (K and 1st) and an older class (2nd through 6th). We love the small school environment and it works well for us. The children also often go on field trips and recently my older child went on an overnight trip with his class. There are regular parent teacher conferences and it's clear that the teachers really care for the children there and take the time to understand each of them. We really feel that this school has done a lot for our children.-annie
Submitted by parent on May 29, 2017

Both my children have attended this school, and they are very different—one highly self-motivated, the other requiring lots of teacher guidance. The teachers are able to build personal relationships with every child and adapt to different learning styles. The math curriculum is pretty unique, teaching conventional skills while developing concepts in open-ended ways. My third-grade son loves to write as a result of the creative approach. The performances are beyond normal expectations for a children's show. Beyond all this, we feel we are part of a family that cares about us. It may not be for everyone, but it's definitely right for us. You should see for yourself.
Submitted by parent on May 04, 2017

We have been at Tru for this academic year, where our daughter has been happy, is thriving, and is growing beautifully (parental bias acknowledged!). As parents, we have also been happy with the level of attention that the school can uniquely provide. The school’s new name signifies what it best represents – it is genuine, the people are genuine, the education is genuine. I asked my daughter what her favorite things were about the school, and she said, “we basically get to play all day.” About daily, she excitedly shares with us the many things that she learns: challenging math tricks and games; interesting facts about authors, history, and scientific phenomena; insights into herself and other people; and is reading and writing excellently, through her own motivation. As she describes her days spent working through a rich multitude of mediums (physical tools, conversations, art work, reading, real-time observations, body movement, internal reflection, writing, acting, etc.), it is quite evident what the concepts, knowledge and skills are that are being creatively and memorably taught across them. Having a scientific PhD, I can attest to the rigor in independent thinking and deep level of inquiry and experimentation that the school encourages, and how my daughter applies it in our conversations together. She is also supported in expressing herself and engaging meaningfully with her “play” – it is evident in the projects she puts together at home. She picks up the school’s positive worldview, including a great respect and appreciation for differences in backgrounds (they had visits this year with construction workers, ethnic and religious representatives, software engineers, mailmen, grocery workers and many more). Importantly, she experiences a positive and healthy social environment, as the school is truly like a family, with close, supportive, and cooperative relationships akin to those I had on my collegiate athletic team. The teachers bring their seriousness and passion, as well as genuine understanding of each individual, and caring attitude, which is emulated by the children, as I have seen, especially at its peak in their recent performance. I consider this social and emotional learning in its most natural form. Tru is the real deal for an all-around education and for a deep and meaningful life experience. – Erica Savig
Submitted by parent on April 30, 2017

My daughter has been attending Tru since she started elementary school and we have seen a lot of positive changes in her both behavioral and academic. She is much more aware of her own feelings and also cares about people around her. Academically, she was always good with reading and writing but the school has helped her to flourish even more. She was quite averse to math but the teachers have customized the learning to each child's individual capability and have managed to boost my daughter's self-confidence to an extent where she does not shy away from math problems but rather tries different ways that she has learnt at school in order to solve the problem.The children also get to perform on stage twice every year which being fun for the kids also helps them with their public speaking and stage performance skills. We have parents from other schools who attend these performances and they have spoken very highly about what the kids have achieved on stage.Last but not the least, I would like to highlight that the staff is very proactive in reaching out to parents if there is something that they want the parents to be aware of regarding their children and to come up with a plan to help the child overcome any issues that they are facing.Attending the Open House events at the school is a couple of hours well spent in understanding how the teachers in this school are truly invested in providing the children the tools for excelling in their lives and careers.
Submitted by other on April 25, 2017

PLEASE NOTE - The school changed its name to Tru School in 2016-17 however nothing about the school was changed. As other reviews mention, the philosophy of the school does not match what happens in practice at the school. We loved the philosophy of the school and if the school actually operated accordingly we would have been thrilled. The quality of instruction in math and language arts is very poor. It is so sad as the class sizes are tiny (they are a maximum of 12 children, but the school is only half enrolled), so the teachers could personalize the instruction, but they don't. The Kindergarten is combined with 1st grade and the teacher is scattered, even with such a small group. The school has a very high attrition rate. Communicating with the principal is very challenging and he has personally offended many parents.
Submitted by parent on October 07, 2014

My child has attended this school from its beginning. The program has been excellent for her academic and emotional growth. By being part of a community of learning across many age levels, exploring science, literature, history as disciplines of knowledge, performing on stage twice a year in very sophisticated productions, and being asked constantly to exhibit her learning, this child has gained the best experiences from school and avoided the worst. I couldn't imagine her gaining more wisdom, trust, awareness, and confidence than she has at The Children's School of Art and Science.
Submitted by parent on September 23, 2014

There are no school like this school. This is truely about the whole child. Value system, creativity, academics are all address in great detail. I am so glad to find them. If you look at this school and what it has to offer, you will not be dissapointed.
Submitted by parent on September 12, 2014

We joined TCSAS 4yrs ago when there were many uncertainties about the small student body, the future location, & even its ongoing existence. The wonderful teachers & their amazing approach to elementary education shined through & we took a leap of faith. The relationships the teachers quickly formed with students were amazing. Children who trust their teachers are confident in their efforts & more willing to keep trying. This was big for us as the fear of failure was a deterrence for our daughter. Instead of specific grade levels, the focus is on mindfulness, connections and interrelationships; fostering happy, thriving and engaged children. Our goal for elementary school has been for our daughter to develop a love of learning & to acquire skills to be a good student. On day 1, she saw herself as a scientist with questions to be answered! It is not which facts they memorize but their inquiries & quest for answers. Our daughter is a happy 3rd grader working in a multi age classroom where kids are at all different levels in an array of subjects & is focused on her own advancement at her own pace & loves her school. It was a leap of faith we would make all over again.
Submitted by parent on September 11, 2014

There are so many things we love about this school, but the most important is that our child looks forward to going every day. We love the focus on presentation skills, mindfulness, and curiosity.
Submitted by parent on August 24, 2014

The Children's School of Art and Science provides a place for my children to develop their curiosity and skills they need for a life time. The balance between child-led and teacher-directed activities and exploration has greatly served my children to be active learners and participants in their community. Each of my children are very different, and yet the teachers understand both very well and give them the structure or lack thereof for each to grow and learn. The academics are often integrated and focused on topics relevant to their area and surroundings. Exploring and performing the children's own scientific experiments as well as those discovered many years ago by famous scientists. I appreciate that this school incorporates mindfulness and social emotional learning throughout the day. This is a unique school and my family is thrilled to have found it. As every young school there are growing pains, but from our perspective so far the school has always come out stronger in the end!
Submitted by parent on July 03, 2014

I normally don't write bad reviews but I don't want other parents to make the same mistake that we did in sending our child to this school. We had a terrible experience-- from communications with the principal to the chaotic classroom environment, to my child not learning basic math skills or learning how to read and write. We regret sending our child to this school and urge other parents to look elsewhere. Another major downside is that the school doesn't have a good environment for play-- recess is spent in a coned off zone of a parking lot. It's safe, but not a place that fosters creative exploration. The teachers do try, but lack the skill set that it takes for the heavy lifting of starting a school.
Submitted by parent on July 03, 2014

The philosophy does not match what happens in practice at the school. There is a lot of focus on social/emotional development and performance and this is well executed. The quality of instruction in math and language arts is very low. Teachers struggle greatly with classroom management and the majority (more than 80%) of the kinder class is not returning due to major problems at the school and other students in the 1-3 grade class are also leaving due to internal problems at the school. The school rents space at a synagogue that is slated to be torn down and rebuilt in 1-1.5 years, so finding an appropriate facility for the future will be a major challenge for the school. Report cards included very little data on what students know and are able to do and it is not clear if the teachers are tracking this specific information for each student. Communicating with the principal is very challenging and many parents were personally offended by interactions with him.
Submitted by parent on February 17, 2014

We attended this school and found it not to be what was represented to us during enrollment. We pulled our child after a short period of time. Our child was being excluded from academic activities, while simultaneously being asked to pay for "tutoring" by the teacher at $80 an hour (on top of tuition). Please thoroughly research staff and histories prior to enrollment.
Submitted by parent on April 21, 2013

I have 2 children at this school and my oldest has been with the teachers for 2.5 years. This is the only place for our family, we are so happy with how the teachers care for and teach our children. Not only are the academics covered thouroughly, it's done in a way that accomdates our children's strength and weaknesses. We never thought we would be at a private school but the small class and individualized curriculum gives us the peace of mind that our children are being taught the fundamentals and so much beyond. They garden, try music, art, science, math and theater, all the while expanding their creativity and building their confidence. We couldn't be happier.
Submitted by parent on April 25, 2012

A new school! A wonderful school! I am very glad to know my children are a part of this effort to grow a school where The Teacher Knows Me! We have a growing active parent community and our student body is growing and growing. I hope you too will have a chance to attend.