Peninsula Temple Sholom

This preschool is amazing. They have a huge array of programs for the children and the teachers clearly love what they do. Our daughter would come home with all sorts of projects and tales about the things they did in class and outdoor sports. Large and secure preschool, chaotic during drop-​off and pick-​up but the teachers are trained to keep an eye on everything. Highly recommend.

We are in our 5^th year at the preschool — 5 years, need I say more? We have had a wonderful experience there. Both of my kids love it. While a play-​based school, I have found that there are activities based around developing fine motor skills (like writing and drawing) for the 3 – 4 y/​os and the Pre-​K and TransK classes did work on letter recognition and writing projects. It is a wonderful blend. Another fabulous resource is a childhood development specialist named Stephanie Agnews, she is available to help teachers (and parents of PTS kids) on Monday mornings. When an issue came up in my daughters classroom arose, she was able to observe the class and give both me and the teacher constructive feedback on how to rectify the situation and created a constructive teaching moment for all. Great Transitional K program if you are looking, it was a perfect year for my older one to mature and gain confidence. While Jewish-​based, the Jewish themes are woven in to a value-​based education. The school is almost 50% non-​Jewish which speaks to the comfort level for children of all backgrounds there.

I was extremely disappointed at how this school (particularly the director) handled a situation where my daughter was being bullied. The bullying was ongoing for over 5 months, and it was affecting my daughter’s emotional well-​being. We tried to talk to the director, and as my 4 year old daughter was trying to talk to her, she dismissed her and said she was busy. Then she turned back to chit chat with another parent. When I entered her office to talk to her, she basically told me my daughter was overreacting, and while my daughter had been punched and pushed repeatedly, it wasn’t happening that often and my daughter was probably making this up to get attention.
Overall, if your child is not bullied, then it’s fine to send them to this school. But if there are any issues that come up (i.e. bullying), the school will not address it and will instead accuse your child of making up things to get attention.

PTS Preschool is actually in Burlingame. My five year old twins have attended for the past two years, and I can’t say enough positive things.
The facilities are beautiful — the classrooms are well stocked and they have a great outside play area. Teachers are all accredited and incredibly nurturing and caring. True, it is a jewish school, but children from all backgrounds are embraced.
All drop off — no parent work requirement, but plenty of opportunities to volunteer.
Tuition is midrange. Temple members get a sizable discount. We pay about $ 10,500 per year for two kids attending 5 days (9−12AM). Extended care runs about $ 8-​$ 12hour, depending on whether you enter into contract.
Things we love about PTS Preschool:
1) Play based curriculum
2) Flexible extended care options
3) Great afternoon enrichment programs (e.g., Science, Woodworking)
4) Music and movement class each week (so I don’t have to shell out extra for classes)
5) Great parent community
6) Transitional kindergarten for «young 5s»

What a lovely Shul!
I had the great honor of attending a wedding ceremony and I was impressed by the space, the Oneg Room and the sanctuary.
A pearl sitting upon the hills overlooking SFO.