Adda Clevenger School

180 Fair Oaks Street

San Francisco, CA 94110

19 Reviews

School District
Grade

K-8
Type

private

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Reviews

Submitted by other on July 22, 2023

As an Adda Clevenger alum, I beg of you to not send your child here. The teachers and staff constantly tease and taunt the students, and the head of school does nothing to stop it. My experience at this school was horrible, and even as I was bullied in the younger grades, the teachers and heads of school only stood by and watched. The staff does not care about your kids. Send them somewhere else.
Submitted by parent on April 13, 2023

I am so glad we moved from public to Adda Clevenger. The school's advanced academics (with great teachers) and its focus on the performing arts were just what our child needed, as she was becoming very bored with the slower pace of the former school and has always been interested in music and dance. The small size of the school ensures that the students all get individual attention. At our public, school, even as late as December, the teacher was calling my child by the name of another child in the classroom-- but not at Adda Clevenger! The students' performances are so impressive, and the upper school kids especially have such composure and self-assuredness after so much practice being up on stage. The intensive (daily!) choral program and the rigorous music theory education is stellar. We also like the extended day schedule, so the arts and movement can be integrated into the day instead of being relegated to after school extras elsewhere. For afternoons when a student has a regular extracurricular activity such as a team sport or an instrument lesson, they can be picked up at 4:00 to attend it, as the last hour of the day is devoted to fun electives, and you can choose to take an early Thursday or Tuesday off for example. The parent community is also great, and my child has made some wonderful friends. We'd highly recommend Adda Clevenger--even to children who don't think they want to continue on in the performing arts, since learning performance skills will serve anyone well throughout later life, for example when they have to give a presentation in front of a group or do a college or job interview. It's an excellent school, and we are fortunate we found it!
Submitted by other on January 05, 2022

As a former student of this school, don't send your child here. All of the good reviews on this school are from parents who pay zero attention to the well-being and mental health of their children. Going to this school is like being put into isolation. Even children of the age of 6 have to put up with the tedious 8 AM to 5 PM schedule. You don't have any friends outside of school because of the amount of time you are forced to spend with them, whether you like it or not. Please, give your child a normal elementary and middle school experience and send your child SOMEWHERE else. My mental health was at it's worst and I was growing up in an environment where my ENTIRE life was circulating around those long school days. I couldn't make any friends, I couldn't see any people, I didn't have any time for myself or bettering my own good.
Submitted by other on December 07, 2020

As an alum to this school, I can say that you and your children should stay far away from this school. Even after I have left, I have heard stories of horrible management and terrifying censorship. From my personal experience, I have seen students yelled at and berated by staff in all different positions, refusal to help with or work with students with mental health disorders, and actively ignoring physical bullying by students. I truly have nothing good to say about this school.
Submitted by other on December 07, 2020

I recently posted a similar review on Yelp!, but I'm coming over here as well, just to get my message across. This school is toxic. Yes, I was well-prepared for the academics of high school (I'm currently a junior - I graduated ACS in 2018), but other than that, it is detrimental to the mental health of nearly every student. The school days are 8-5, which exceeds most schools, and a 9 hour school day, plus rehearsal that goes until 7, plus homework is incredibly overwhelming, especially at the ages of 12-14. I was bullied some of the students, and the administration retaliated with "kids are just being kids." Speaking of the administration, I was told at the age of 9 by the current principal "you're not the girl I admitted into my school" when I got in trouble for something minor... I think it was talking in class, I'm not quite sure. I've had years of therapy for depression, anxiety, OCD, ADHD, and an eating disorder, a lot of which stemmed from this school, and I will continue to need therapy for the rest of my life. I was constantly invalidated and suppressed. In eighth grade, the principal pulled me aside and asked me which high schools I planned on applying to. When I told her my top three, she told me to be real with myself, and that I wouldn't get into two of them. The third, she said, I might have a chance, but I would have to work way harder than I was at the time. She also told me that I should start looking at public schools. Currently, I am at my dream high school, the school she said I had a little chance of getting into, and I'm here with honors. I would advise you to send your child to a different school.
Submitted by student on July 23, 2018

I have depression because of this school and everyone apart of it. Spare your child the pain of going here, i beg you.
Submitted by parent on March 17, 2018

I'm so grateful for everything Adda provided to my son!
Submitted by parent on February 13, 2018

The perfect school for my daughter and for us as parents. We wanted to move our daughter from a school she liked a lot -- but which served her ill. She was unengaged academically and nightly homework was a tribulation. We toured a few schools. All seemed quite professional, but either they lacked heart (said our vague intuitions) or they just didn't work for other reasons. In the end, we gave up on moving our daughter for the year, thinking we would hold off until the next. But then, we finally visited Adda Clevenger and saw some student performances there and attended a morning assembly (Performance is a big part of the school's program -- for all students, not just the particularly natural performers.) We were immediately sold on the fitness of the school for our bright, extroverted, sensitive -- and yet apparently inattentive -- child. The experience between this and her last school has been night and day: she is attentive and engaged; she tackles her homework without prodding; she is connected to her whole class, not just a clique or a favorite student within the class -- and inclusive community is a hallmark of the school; her class is small and she gets a lot of attention; the 8-5 (or 8-5:45) schedule has dramatically lowered stress levels in our house -- and yet she likes being there that whole time; the academics are solid; and important for us, the parental community is down-to-earth and genuinely nice and interesting. Honestly speaking, we feel as if we lucked into a perfect situation. We got what we wanted without know what we exactly wanted: a place where fine academics were melded with a compassionate and engaging community. Said one administrator: "it's as if your daughter has been here for years."
Submitted by parent on October 23, 2017

Our daughter loves this school. The 8-5 school day is really convinient for working parents. The small classes are great, and teachers really care about the kids here.
Submitted by parent on August 31, 2017

The head of school has no empathy for kids that are going through a tough development period. This requires leadership, support and partnership, all of which were lacking, and the impact was damaging to my child's self esteem.
Submitted by other on April 25, 2017

Unprofessional setting, unqualified teachers, weak academics. This school has no curriculum, which leads to aimless classroom instruction.
Submitted by parent on February 13, 2017

Adda Clevenger is a special place. The small class size and packed academic schedule mean that the kids get way more instruction in the academic subjects than they would get elsewhere, even if you don't count the arts classes. The school has said in the past that they try to teach about one year above grade level and we have found that to be true, but the key is that with such small class sizes they are able to execute on individualized education in a way that other schools couldn't. The creative arts focus isn't set up to turn the kids into professional performers but it builds a sense of community in so many ways. The kids start the day singing and work together on projects and performances that they take real pride in. Everybody in the school knows everybody's name, and in any given class the families also know each other very well from all of the co-curricular engagement.
Submitted by parent on February 07, 2017

This is a great school in so many ways. The academics are solid and engaging. My daughter does particularly well in reading and writing, and her teacher was able to keep her engaged and challenged and work closely with parents to ensure she's well supported inside and outside the classroom. The focus on performing arts is another great benefit for students and parents alike. Students do not need to demonstrate particular talents in any of these areas but participating in these classes, activities and performances truly helps them grow into rounded and confident youngsters. For parents, an 8-to-5 school day means no need to worry about planning after-school care or activities and logistic headaches that often come with it. It's everything you can ask for and get! We absolutely love the school and wish there were no winter/spring/summer breaks!
Submitted by other on February 01, 2017

This school Rocks! Truly, there is a student rock band for the upper grade students and the kids are really talented. Our kindergarten daughter started last year as a TK student and is now thriving in K, ready to read. Adda Clevenger has a very special program that allows students the necessary academic preparation, while balancing academics with opportunities to run, jump, play, dance and exercise. Math, Science, English, History, etc are all well covered, but in addition to the basics, students get the opportunity to take tap dance, a foreign language, arts and crafts, music, gymnastics, ballet, and Physical Education. Every day students get 2-3 hours of being active and exercising their minds in a physical manner. Our daughter loves the diversity in her day and when we pick her up at 5pm, she says she could go another hour. The Kindergarten curriculum is spearheaded by a passionate and very talented Ms. Reed, whom the kids absolutely adore. As a parent, one of my favorite parts of the Curriculum is the Civility course where K-8 students meet together in small groups and work on community issues, collaboration, treating each other with respect and many other topics. The application process and discovery of the school was at our own pace, with little pressure. We appreciated the low key nature of the process and found it a relief from the rat race at many other schools. Visit and consider, you won't regret it!
Submitted by parent on July 20, 2016

A few reasons why this school is a hidden gem:My kids love it so much I have to tear them away at the end of every school day. And they've had a 9 hour day so that's impressive.For kids with energy to burn, a schedule that enables them to mix up the academics with exercise is ideal. It's a very full, well rounded experience that also doesn't mean we have to drive them all over the city every day for extra curricular activities.The teaching standard is excellent. Both my kids have reading and math skills above their grade level thanks to the focused skilled instruction they receive.The kids that graduate in 8th grade are some of the most communicative, self assured and caring teenagers you will ever meet.
Submitted by parent on June 25, 2016

My son started at Adda Clevenger in third grade after attending public school for a few years. At Adda he is learning high-level math, science, history and language arts with engaged, dedicated teachers in small class sizes. We are thrilled that we found a solution for his boundless physical energy, which now has an outlet in the exemplary dance, gymnastics and performing arts curriculum. He is working hard and learning by leaps and bounds, and he is excited to go to school each day. Adda has rekindled his true love of learning that was suppressed in his previous environment. We could not be happier with his progress in his academic, arts and physical activities, as well as how much his confidence has developed over the past few years. Adda Clevenger School is truly a hidden gem for families looking for a small school that values learning through doing. As my son told me recently, "I didn't know that school could be this much fun!"
Submitted by parent on September 23, 2015

We absolutely love this school and feel so fortunate that we have discovered this hidden gem in San Francisco. When we started, we just wanted to find a school where our daughter who missed public school cutoff age by 1 day to be able to goto kindergarten and had every intention to transfer her to public school later on. But we have completely changed our mind ever since she started at the school. She is so happy everyday and she is doing great academically. But best of all, she has gained a lot of confidence about herself after a year at the school doing concerts and shows. I love how every kid gets a chance to get on the stage to perform regardless their talent level. It really helped our daughter to come out her shell. Every time I visit the school, I'm always impressed by the 8th grade students since they can interact with adults with great confidence. I can see why most 8th graders had no problem being accepted by top private/public high schools.
Submitted by parent on May 16, 2015

We have 2 boys here. My oldest comes home and talks about science, history,and is getting exercise in school!They are learning gymnastics, dance and music, which is providing him another whole depth of his personal growth.We have toured ALL the independent schools in SF Adda is different. Most schools in SF are alternative, which makes them all the same. Adda encompasses everything from academics to the arts. It is an all day school.The main reason we chose Adda was the remarkable difference in the students. Adda by FAR had the most articulate, well-adjusted, confident students speak.These children I knew would have a strong start in life. It doesn't have all the bells and whistles, but don't let shiny objects fool you, this is because this school spends money where the students benefit the most, into the curriculum and the teachers. The curriculum is a Major point of difference that one should look at.The teachers are incredible and you can see that through the students. If you have boys don't get scared off by dance and theater, it will teach your boys to be comfortable with themselves and the confidence they convey already in the 8th grade is mind blowing.
Submitted by parent on January 08, 2013

My daughter attended AC for 2.5 years before we left California. She loved it, and so did I. But I realize only now how special it is. When my daughter was assessed at her new (and top-rated) elementary school, she was two years ahead in English and a year and a half ahead in math. This has everything to do with the motivated teachers and the creative environment at Adda Clevenger. The combination of intense academics and kinetic play (through the performing arts) is a really good one. It is also a scientifically proven formula for the development of a flexible and strong mind and body. You don't have to be a genius to understand that schools where kids are sedentary, subjected to formulaic teaching, and offered little creative outlet are failing. AC flips that disastrous formula on its head. AC has so-so facilities. I thought my daughter would be blown away by her school's playing field and playground. Her response: "At Adda Clevenger, all we had were two parking lots, but the way Mr. Dimitri used them was WAY more creative." Now instead of being instructed every school day by a former Olympian gymnast, she hangs out in state of the art playground chatting with her friends.