St Matthias Pre-School

My daughter started at St. Matthias when she was 3 years old in the butterfly classroom. She loves it there and has made so many great friends. The school is very organized, they involve parents every step of the way and even allow parents the opportunity to come to certain events and activities to enhance the child’s development. The curriculum is very detailed and structured with creative activities for the kids to do every day. I would definitely recommend this school to other parents and their children.

St. Matthias is an excellent preschool! All three of my kids have gone there and it has been an excellent experience for all of them. The facilities are wonderful. Great yard with lots of different play areas. And they always do a nice job with varying the outside play time — sometimes they bring out blankets and books and kids can look at books on the grass area, they have a lower yard with sandbox, and often bring out special toys or bubbles to keep things fun. The classrooms are very spacious and they do an amazing job of rotating in new toys and centers. They do have structure and rules, but have a nice balance of keeping things play-​based. The teachers are wonderful and many of them have been there for many, many years. And that is pretty amazing considering the usual high turn over of preschool teachers. I’ve always had great relationships with all of my kids’ teachers, and my daughter hugs them goodbye almost daily. What’s even better, so many of the kids are local residents so my kids have always gone to kindergarten knowing a lot of kids from their preschool class. It is hard to find such a high quality full day preschool in Redwood City. While I can see that some of reviewers had bad first impressions, that’s not what the school is about. Yes, they are a bit more structured than some preschool environments, but I don’t think that’s necessary a bad thing. The kids learn to talk things out with each other when there is a problem, and they learn how to sit in circle and listen. Once you get to know the staff and the school routines, it’s a wonderful school and friendly environment. And not every school is going to be perfect for every child. But of the many, many families I have known to attend St. Matthias, they all have a special memories of preschool.

St. Matthias is a great place for kids. My daughter has been there for this past year in the butterfly class and she has had a great experience. Her teachers are great at communicating with me her needs and funny stories that may happen in a given day. My daughter has made great friends and has brought home many projects that she has done in class. It is good to see that they are touching on many subjects within her classroom. They do a bit of religion for the kids as well as science, and language. In addition to the every day lessons, my daughter receives music and story time by the local librarian. They also have special events at the preschool roughly once a month. Those special events range from petting zoos, to guest speakers coming to a man that does BUBBLES with the kids. They also provide the kids with a morning and an afternoon snack. Once a month they also provide a special lunch for all the kids which is usually something that my picky daughter will eat! We love St. Matthias for many more reasons than stated here. Give it a try… Possibilities are endless!

Not a good environment for children. Very unfriendly staff and teachers. Specially not a good place if your child’s first language is not English. Head management is awful, and I found the school to have very poor values, specially for a school associated with a Catholic Church.

Definitely not a nurturing environment for kids. They never smile and are just downright bitter and grouchy all day long. If you child is even the least bit strong minded and has to be told more than once not to do something, this is not the place for them. They have absolutely no patience with the kids, they never smile, they are mad that they have to tell kids more than once to do or not to do something. They cater to robots who don’t require any kindness or nurturing and don’t require any real teaching or guidance. Definitely not a great foundation for kids to build upon…

After visiting the school one morning with my child, I would never EVER send my child here. They are condescending, cold and completely intolerant of a child who has not been with the school since birth. Look elsewhere, for a place that actually wants to nurture a child and teach them how preschool works, not heap expectations on them in the first two minutes without explaining the rules. No one took the time to make my child, or us as parents, feel any type of welcome, at all. They did, however, mention several times that if we wanted to secure a spot, we could pay $ 350 fee, which would be NON-​refundable. No thanks!!!

My daughter is currently in the bluebirds class and loves it. The teachers are great and she has made some wonderful, life-​long friends. I think the school offers more structure which my child needs and a good balance of academics and play. There is some religious studies in class, which I think is fine. We are not super religious but the amount they teach is alright. I like it so much I plan on sending my son there next year.

This school sounded like a great, local option. My son had a fair experience in the Butterflies class, and then had a HORRIBLE experience in the Bluebird class. The Director, Ms. Mary, was very condescending and punitive to our 4 yr old, and extremely rude to us as parents. We left after a month in that class, and are still suffering from their maltreatment of my son. I wouldn’t wish this school on any young child.

This place is not one of the ultra high prestige/​status preschools that can be found on the Peninsula, but in my opinion it is a gem with a good combination of emphasis on play, social/​emotional learning and academics. Additionally, it offers a full-​time schedule (7:30 — 5:30) in addition to a part-​time (9 – 1), schedule, which is a boon for working parents. The school offers an optional year-​round calendar, too. They call the summer program, «camp.»
When we bought our house in Emerald Hills, a realtor turned us on to this place. His kids had gone to St. Matthias and had been very pleased with the program.
I was initially skeptical about it being a good fit for our family as we are not Catholic, much less religious, and the school is affiliated with the St. Matthias Catholic church. However, religion is not taught at the school. Examples of the low-​key, age appropriate nods made to its religious affiliation are the school having the kids sing the Johnny Appleseed Song before lunch and having parties to celebrate Christmas and Easter. In fact the school has parties at most holidays: Halloween, Valentine’s Day, Fourth of July, etc. A lot of the best of human values, such as concern for your fellow classmates, kindness and empathy are also part of the program, although not wrapped as «Christian Values.» The children are, in general, well-​behaved and nice.
The are three classes. The Butterflies, which starts at age 2.5 for those kids who are potty trained. Then the Dandelions, ages 3 – 4 and the Bluebirds, ages 4 — 5. Bluebirds is a pre-​kindergarten program.
Both my husband and I were working full-​time when our son entered as a Butterfly. Poor guy, at the ripe age of just 3 was the first one dropped off in the morning and the last picked up at night — by the babysitter. Nonetheless he really enjoyed school. The Butterfly teachers are very sweet and he had a lot of fun.
Now that our son is a Bluebird, I am no longer working and he’s in school five days a week from 9 – 1. He can read and write simple words and count well past 100. Academics were never forced, but progressed at each child’s pace. He can sit still and pay attention as well as finish what he starts to his own satisfaction. And his social skills are great — good sharer, loves imaginative play and has great empathy for other people. I credit the school for much of this.
When I talked to the principal at our local elementary school, Roy Cloud, she mentioned that in her opinion the preschool at St. Matthias was one of the best around and that the kids coming from there always did very well in kindergarten.
The facilities at St. Matthias preschool are first-​rate. There is a huge playground with great play structures and a sand box. The class rooms are large and well maintained and are filled with a rotating selection of toys. There are guinea pigs are rabbits at school. There is a lunch room.
The school has the local Redwood City librarian come in each week to read the children stories. Additionally, there is a music teacher who comes each week to sing with the kids. They also arrange evening family get togethers and educational programs for families.
The school provides a morning snack and an afternoon snack, but parents are responsible for sending lunch with their children. The snacks are reasonably healthy (cereal, popcorn, bagels, etc.).
One of my complaints about the program is that the enforced nap seems excessively long, ranging from 2.5 hours per day for the Butterflies to 1.5 hours per day for the Bluebirds. My son was never a napper, like many of the other kids, but those «devilish non-​nappers» were required to lie in their beds for the entire duration of nap-​time which is pretty tough for wiggly toddlers. Now that my son gets picked up at 1pm, nap-​time is no longer an issue for us.
The teachers are very dedicated and have relatively low turnover. The school is accredited and has been in existence for 30 years. However, the program is well thought out and executed.
Because it is a non-​profit, the tuition is much less than at other preschools in the area. I think it is about $ 900 a month for completely full-​time. We pay about $ 750 for five half-​days. The cost depends on how many days and how many hours you choose. To raise funds, the school is almost always engaging in fund-​raising of some sort or another (cookie sales, auctions, etc.), which parents are expected to participate in.
We have been very satisfied and plan on sending our younger son here as soon as I can get him potty trained.