HeadsUp! Child Development Center

We moved our two year old here from another Palo Alto preschool — in part because we were unsatisfied of the previous school and in part for Heads Up’s combination Mandarin /​accredited Montessori program (you can look them up on the official Montessori listing). At the previous location there was frequent turnover of teachers and over-​dependence on temp agencies, which resulted in our child never feeling a sense of connection with his school. He would be there and play with the toys and saunter around, but never seemed excited to be there. A completely different story with Heads Up — he sprints inside every morning, and the first couple weeks he fought us when we picked him up from school — after we finally negotiate and get him in his car seat he would sing all the way back home, something he never used to do at his last school. We have noticed significant language development and increased willingness to communicate, a self-​desire to use the potty, and most importantly, he just seems much happier every day. It’s hard to quantify these things but I think most parents reading this will understand that sense of pride in your child’s growth and of yourself when putting him in a position to thrive — we feel it much more these days.
Some things you don’t notice about a school during tours and only after you’ve enrolled for a while — one thing that really stands out for me here is the individual care and attention each child gets. In the words of Fred Rogers, «you are special and I like you just the way you are» — I see this reflected in the actions of every teacher, every day. Teachers look at each child in the eyes when speaking to them, and address them with care, love, and respect — I believe this is such an important part of building a child’s confidence my wife and I are so happy our child is able to spend his days at a place that holds these values and puts them into action in everything they do.
Another thing I really appreciate are the «eagle eyes» of the teachers — I don’t know if it’s some innate ability to track motion, the training received, oversight and «lead by example» of director and head teacher, or just the fact that teachers take 100% personal responsibility for the safety and care of every child (I’m sure it’s a combination of all those things), but wow it makes me feel secure knowing that such teachers are watching after my kid. More than just safety — one day at an parent open house event, one child’s parents didn’t show up until much later, but even with all the activity and bustle of some 18 kids and 30 parents walking around, I noticed the teachers pay extra attention to her knowing that she might feel left out. It’s moments and details like this that have my wife and I frequently high-​fiving each other for the choice we made to apply to Heads Up and the luck our family had for getting in.
Other schools might have bigger playgrounds, a newer campus, or fancier toys, and I can’t speak to the quality of life and education at other schools because we’ve only experienced this one and the previous one (4+ stars on Unilocal), but in the end, the TEACHERS are what matter, and the ones at Heads Up are superb. These teachers are being put in a position to excel at their jobs because of the work of the head teacher and director — and when all parts are working together like they are here, you end up with a great environment for kids to grow up in.

(This review is for the Room 4 — Mandarin immersion program.)
I’m writing this review with mixed emotions. My daughter just graduated from HeadsUp. While we are happy that our «baby» is growing up and heading off to «big kid» school, we are sad to be leaving the wonderful HeadsUp family, which we have been a part of for 2.5 years.
We have two other older kids, so using those past preschool experiences as data points for comparison purposes, we can say that HeadsUp has provided the best overall experience for us. Here are the reasons why:
— Great mix of Montessori-​based independent project time and play time. All of the kids are given some quiet time to focus on projects of their own choosing. As the energy in the classroom builds up through the day, the kids gather in clusters the work on art activities, play puzzles, or build structures. During circle time, all of the kids sit and learn together as a large group. Each day at HeadsUp is filled with a variety of activities, including Spanish lessons, singing, and art. Memorable moments include Stone Soup, St. Jude’s Trike-​A-​Thon, art showcases, Carnival Day, Mother/Father’s Day breakfast, Chinese New Year showcase, camping week (camping-​themed week at school with tents set up in the classroom), and crazy hair day.
— Excellent teachers and supporting staff. The Room 4 teachers provide a lot of consistency and stability; they guide with firm, but loving hands. The caliber of staff at HeadsUp extends beyond Room 4. All of the administrators and teachers at HeadsUp exhibit the same warm and caring personalities, and my daughter speaks fondly of them all. At the helm is Principal Tracy, who is extremely hands-​on. In fact, most mornings, you will find her roaming the halls, greeting all of the kids by name.
— Prepares the kids for kindergarten. Over the past year, our daughter learned to embrace phonics and reading! She can now read Curious George and Berenstain Bears books with very little help. As a bonus, our daughter comprehends a significant amount of Mandarin. Given the fact that we aren’t a Mandarin-​speaking family, this is quite an amazing accomplishment!
— Teaches the kids to be responsible. Throughout the day, the kids are reminded to clean up after themselves (wash their hands, fold their mats, clean up their work areas, put away their projects, place artwork in their folders), and treat everyone with respect. Conflicts inevitably occur, and when they do, the teachers coach the kids to resolve the issues in a fair and cordial manner. Major issues are quickly elevated to the necessary levels.
— Prompt and transparent communication. Questions or concerns are always promptly addressed, and the school welcomes them in any form of communication — chats during drop-​off/​pick-​up time, phone calls, email messages, and enquiries at the front desk — whatever is most convenient for us.
— Friendly to working families. HeadsUp understands working families and how hectic their schedules can be. We are a family of five with two working parents and countless afterschool activities. Need I say more? ;o)
Every morning, when I dropped off my daughter, I was confident that she was in good hands, learning a lot, and loving it at HeadsUp! They say a child’s first five years are their most formative ones, and we are certainly glad our daughter spent a good chunk of those at HeadsUp!

Sending our daughter to HeadsUp in Palo Alto is one of the best decisions my husband and I have made in our lives because this education center provides children the best education we can ever hope. My father-​in-​law is a retired medical school professor and he always says the most important development time happens during the first three years. That was why he is very comfortable about our decision of sending Ellen to Heads Up every day. He has been impressed by the quality of the child program and passion of the teachers and staff after visiting the center several times. The children are so happy and cheerful, and the teachers are so passionate about their pupils.
Given the fact everyone in my husband’s family is a MD or a PhD (or both), we trust my father-in-law’s education philosophy very much and always look for the best children education center. We truly believe that people can confidently, independently, and successfully resolve challenges in their live if they grow up with the best education before becoming three. That was why my husband diligently interviewed several child education centers this area before enrolling Ellen at Heads Up!
The outcome is amazingly great! Ellen becomes one of the best kids everyone can dream to have. Our friends and families love hanging out with her because she is so courteous and intelligent. We attribute this great work to the efforts the teachers provide to the students. We also become friends with many parents who share the same philosophy, and they, too, are happy with the education provided in HeadsUp!
Of course, kids fights and misbehave once a while, but the teachers will immediately address the issues with the parents and seek for the solutions together. Ellen had difficulties getting used to Room 5 during the first month, but the head teacher, Rona, and the director, Tracy, spent so much extra efforts to assist her and other new students to transit into the new program smoothly. Now Ellen and her classmates play and laugh happily every day when we pick them up, and we as parents can’t ask for more.
We also rely on the teachers and Tracy when we née advices on child education. After all, these teachers have spent so many years and efforts on fostering the best children in the world, and their experiences just work like magic all the time. That is something you will never get from the book. Who knows sending the kids to HeadsUp will be beneficial to both parents and children, right? :-)

We attended a tour, and have positive feeling about the director Tracy; decided to arrange the observation section before we submit the application for the coming fall; and we were so glad we did!
Maybe my expectation is wrong about the observation? It was an exceptional disappointed experience:
We checked in at the front desk, and was instructed to walk in to the room 5, where the 2 year old class room is. We then saw #1 teacher/​staff, so we told her that we are here for the observation, she said «sure, you may go in». We then go in to the class room, it was about 9:40 in the morning, one group was doing art, most of them were playing. No one greet us, nor to ask my boy’s name of course! We then just to find a space where we can sit and «observe». The guideline is not to ask questions, and not to interfere with teachers, just sit and watch. There are 2 teachers/​staffs inside the class room.
My boy started wondering around, and finding toys to play. Very soon, the kids were old the playtime is over, everyone need to put the toys back and sit on the line. Again, my boy was not invited to sit down with the class, and «we» have to tell him to put the toys away, and it was not quite successful in the first couple attempts.
After the kids sit down, the teacher #4 (I believe she is the lead teacher) came in and started calling names of the kids who should go out for potty and doing activity outside. While the kids were being separated, we continued sitting in the corner, yet, my boy started climbing up to the bookcase; we did not react to it right away, as we thought we should not base on the guideline we were given. Then we were told «please bring him down, I do not want my other kids to see it». We did. My boy again was not invited to sit down with the circle, of course, he started looking for toys — he is not even 2, and he is excited to be new environment! This time, we were sent out the class room «this is very destructive and disturbing for my group, you guys should go out, the group outside is doing activity». — It was a loud and clear order!
We then sitting outside alone, again, there was no one to greet us nor to invite my boy to the circle, to join others kids doing things together; there were couple times my boy went to the table uninvited and wanted to do things with them; but the teacher/​staff (the older one) was not even welcoming him; instead she started starring at us, no smiles, gave us very aggressive and sharp look while my boy start looking for toys to play. It feels our visit is more a burden for the whole team, and they really did not want us to be there!
At this moment, I already feel very uncomfortable to stay longer. It was just an unwelcoming, unfriendly and cold experience! And unfortunately, I have to say it is not professional at all! Again, my expectation of «observation» can be totally differently how the school conduct the section. Yet, this is not the first school we have visited, we have some references how things should go as well!
It was a complex feeling after we left. Part of me really glad we learn and know this is not the place for us; yet, I have to admit that I felt certain level of rejection how my little guy being treated.

We have been here almost a year. The teachers in room 2 and room 3 for preschool kids are awesome. They are loving, caring, and really pay attention to know and teach the children. The director Tracy is fantastic. She knows every kid and family in the center, which is amazing for a big center like this. They offer Spanish and Mandarin classes, as well as music and art. My kids love these classes and they have a good team of teachers. Class size is a bit large but not all the kids stay full time so whenever I am there, it looks organized and peaceful.

I have had my two children attend Heads Up over the past 4 years, and I simply cannot say enough good things about the school, the teachers and Tracy Bootz, the director.
Both of my children started in the infant-​toddler program, and progressed through the Two’s room, and the pre-​school room. Along the way, every teacher has contributed to helping my children grow, learn, play, and be challenged. They have gone out of their way to treat each of them like individuals, responding to their specific needs and interests. I have been constantly impressed by the level of professionalism, caring and thoughtfulness of every single teacher, and they always put my child’s best interest above everything else.
In addition, Tracy has been one of the most intelligent, dedicated, trustworthy, positive and inspirational people I’ve ever interacted with. While she is the director of the school, she takes the time to get to know every single child, and she knows my children as well as their teachers. Heads Up is truly lucky to have her at the helm, and anyone who chooses Heads Up will be sure to benefit from her immense knowledge of childhood education as well as her insightful perspective on their child.
Both of my children would rush to get ready for school in the morning, need to be reminded not to run inside to their classrooms, wave «bye-​bye» to me without a blink and head off to do a «job» in the morning when I left them, and at times refuse to leave when it was time to be picked up. To me, this is the biggest compliment a child can pay a school and their teachers.
A few more notes about Heads Up:
— While the school is close to 101, I have never noticed any excessive noise or other negative side effects. It is right next to Greer Park, which offers lots of grass and trees and play areas, and the school takes advantage of this.
— I found the inside of the school to be bright, open and cheery. There is a skylight which runs down the center of the school, and the classrooms are separated by 5 foot walls (ie, they don’t’ go all the way to the ceiling), so they all benefit from the light. The classrooms are clean (and they disinfect everything each night) and neat, and there is a place for everything, which the children are encouraged to embrace and respect. This has carried over for us at home, where toys get put away before the next toy is taken out.
— Complete Montessori-​based curriculum, which includes art, music, chinese, spanish, math, and language. This is the most comprehensive program I have found anywhere on the Peninsula, and I researched a LOT of programs before choosing Heads Up. The children are encouraged to do as much as possible on their own — this is part of the Montessori philosophy — and Heads Up provides a place for them to safely explore, practice their skills, and gain independence.
— Constant feedback and communication is a key part of what makes this program so successful. The teachers provide daily written updates, and they are willing to talk with you at drop off and pick up if you have any questions or concerns. In addition, there is a full hour long parent-​teacher conference where it quickly becomes clear that the teachers are paying close attention to your child and how they are developing, what skills they have mastered, and what needs some practice. The school staff is open and honest in their verbal and written communication about changes to the staff (which happen very infrequently) and to the program, and every decision is carefully weighed to make sure it is in the best interests of the children and families.
— Because the teachers are so in-​tune with my children, they were able to initiate the potty-​training process for both of them, and my younger was completely potty-​trained a few weeks after she turned two. Every child is different, and they keep a close eye on all aspects of their social-​emotional learning, as well as their physical progression.
Overall, Heads Up is a wonderful program if you are looking for a Montessori-​based curriculum, where your child will be encouraged and challenged to be independent, creative, inquisitive, respectful, kind and caring. I highly encourage you to visit the school yourself before taking some of the negative comments here at face-​value — it won’t be the right place for everyone, but it is certainly one of the most attractive, rigorously certified, and comprehensive programs out there.

I had two kids attend Heads-​Up between 2007 – 2012. They both were part of the pre-​school program. Overall I must say I am satisfied with the experience. They both attended the same classroom and had the same teachers. I felt the instructors were caring, helpful, and receptive to any concerns. My kids were able to grow and I felt they were both well prepared for kindergarten.
I thought the teacher/​kid ratio was good (about 3 adults in a class of 30) so about a 1 to 10 ratio. There were good resources in the classrooms, with a good mix of educational and fun activities. Everything was always neat and tidy. I thought the playgrounds were decent, and sometimes there would be excursions to a park next to it. There was a comment about there having no shade in the playground; there is a large tarp around the seating area.
It is close to the 101, though since it’s indoors and the playground is behind the building — I never felt it was an issue. I knew about the court cases — I noticed they were commercial litigation (not safety related nor criminal) — that’s par for the course as I am a business owner myself.
As far as high-​tension wires and generators — I didn’t notice that the school had any more then other buildings. I noticed a lot of criticism about the owner, Chuck Bernstein. I cannot comment on the criticism, as I spent the vast majority of my day-​to-​day dealings with the teachers and staff, which have always been a pleasure to deal with.
Overall, we were very pleased with Heads Up.

Both my daughters attended HeadsUp (including the Chinese bilingual classroom) from when they were 3 until they graduated from preschool, and they both loved it. They never had any negative feedback about any of their teachers. The program is complete with art, music, language, outside exercise plus the core skills development (language and math). The program is all year and all day. They are only closed for a handful of national holidays and open every day other than that! Wow, now that’s nice! Tracy Bootz the director and Chuck Bernstein the founder have always been very cordial and pleasant. They seem to be the names that people comment on.
I read the negative comments about the school, and it’s too bad these people had such a bad experience. All I can say about that is not every school is going to be suitable for every child, especially a child that demands attention that far exceeds the amount given to the rest of the children. So, instead of slamming a school, remember, if you’re not happy with the preschool your child goes to, you’ve got A LOT of choices out there! It is the responsibility of the parent to find the right school. Negativism and complaining doesn’t benefit anybody. For all you Unilocal readers out there, just a reminder that a collection of everyone’s opinion will commonly reflect both sides of the spectrum. And, for every negative review you read, there could be 100 times more positive reviews that people just aren’t writing. Best advice is to check out any school in person yourself instead of making your decision based on other people’s experiences/​opinions. And, if you visit a school beforehand and do your homework, then don’t complain about something like room configuration after the fact that you’ve chosen to attend the school and then to have a bad experience later.

We sent our children to HeadsUp/​CDC. Older was there for 5 years, and the younger one for 4. Total years there 8 (2003 to 2011. wow. that’s a long time!)
The instructors are wonderful. Kids love it there. From 0mo through 35mo, the curriculum is play-​based centered around arts, foreign language (Spanish and mandarin), and music. Once you enter preschool (36mo up to kindergarten), the curriculum becomes very academic. My older one was fully reading and writing simple words before entering K. Younger one was reading close to 1^st grade level when leaving preschool. Their curriculum is loosely based on Montessori philosophy, but they do not follow it exclusively.
Building is in an open architecture format where separate classes (including Emerson private K-​8 school) share the same open ceiling, but the rooms are partitioned by a 4′ wall. So it can get pretty noisy. They do have a separate and isolated infant room (age 0−23mo), and each HU room has a small back room where they can close the door for kids to nap. So they are protected from the buzzing background noise when needed.
Infant ratio is 3:1, toddler 4:1 (they are in the same room). From 24mo-​36mo it’s 8:1. In preschool it is 10:1. All ratios are well below California standards for instructor-​student ratio.
So why such a low mark? it’s the management. Chuck Bernstein, who is the founder/​president of CDC HU is not what I consider someone I’d like to deal with. He treats parents like we are his subordinate and not a paying customer. Any communication we receive from him has the sense of «I am doing you a favor. You are lucky that we’re letting you attend here» attitude. He never admits fault even when 30+ parents are so angry at him for making misleading statements requiring general meetings to sort it out, and even then will try to deflect any criticism away typically by blaming some other entity, even parents for the troubles.
Some of his illogical responses: One of the parent of the infant room noticed that the refrigerator used in the room is very small, that some of the food the parents bring in for babies and toddlers didn’t fit, and the freezer was over-​packed with emergency stash of frozen breast milk, barely fitting what needs to stay frozen. So he offered to buy a new larger fridge and donate it, so it’s not such a struggle to find room in it every morning. Chuck refused. Reason? «12mo-​23mo old’s food shouldn’t be in the fridge». No discussion, period.
When the school moved from their old Elks Lodge El Camino site to the current W. Bayshore location in 2007, there was ZERO shade in the play area. The new location had all asphalt play yard (with token sand play area, and a small play structure on artificial turf) all in full sun all day long. The parents expressed concern regarding sun exposure, and requested some shade structures be built. He refused saying it’s not necessary. It took MONTHS before continuous petition and complaint from the parents became loud enough that he finally acquiesced, but not before some tremendous effort from both parents and the Director (Tania, who was an awesome director, who have since left).
Even if it benefits the school, make everybody’s life easier, makes sense, improves safety, costs nothing to the school, if it doesn’t meet Chuck’s illogical rules, it just won’t happen, at least without a general outrage or an uproar from the parents.
On a day-​to-​day basis, you rarely have to deal with Chuck. The Director (Tania and now Tracy) does a pretty good job of filtering his influence out. Thus it is possible that you can attend there for years and never experience his aggravating way of handling things. Those people will undoubtedly rate this place very high. Like I mentioned before, staff below Chuck are stellar. However, as soon as you have any issues (especially grievance or concerns) that requires the unfortunate attention beyond the Director, don’t expect to receive any sympathetic, reasonable decision or treatment from Chuck, even if you are a longtime client. If you do, be surprised as it doesn’t happen often. He is THE dictator there, and acts like one. Every single interaction we have had with him have left us with a bad taste in the mouth at the least, and angry many times. There are times we have seriously thought about pulling our children out so that we do not have to deal with Chuck anymore. But our children do love it there and the teachers whom they work with are very good to them. So we have stayed until the children graduated to public K. But sometimes I wonder if it was worth the aggravation he created when there were issues that needed addressing.
So take this review for what it is. You will love the teachers, and the curriculum. But if you do have to ever deal with Chuck, more likely than not it will leave you very frustrated at best. Whether that potential aggravation is worth ignoring or not, YMMV.

My son started in bilingual program last August, he did not adapt every well and developed some temper tantrum (I think the teachers did okay, most likely it is because of his age, and the large and noisy classroom doesn’t help either). And in November the teachers called a meeting for this. What shocked us is that even before the meeting, they already decided to terminate my son’s enrollment. During the meeting, Tracy, the director, spent about almost an hour to explain that my son needs a lot of attention and he may need a special care, but they are a private business and don’t have capacity for that…, which we understand and felt sorry that my son caused so much trouble for them although we surprised that they didn’t call any meeting before. So we asked since my son created such burden for them, if they refund us the deposit and the rest of tuition, we can take our son home that day, Tracy agreed, but two weeks later, they only sent the tuition part, my wife sent them an email to check, Tracy replied and agreed that they should return us the deposit too. But an hour later, the vice president Chuck came in, said that they won’t do that and Tracy made an mistake and she doesn’t have authority… and the verbal agreement doesn’t count (literal said so in email), then Tracy just kept silent after that. We were very surprised by what Chuck said. We are planning to file a small claim for this.
Overall we felt that most teachers are fine, but the management team are horrible, they are dishonest and with no principle, they care much more about money than child’s development. As I mentioned earlier we also don’t like how the room is config, it’s like some big cubicles in an open space, it’s very noisy, especially the bilingual room, it has 30 kids there, very crowded.
If you ever have to deal with the management team, make sure everything is in written and have them signed.

My daughter has been attending the preschool. Some corrections to the earlier post: preschool has 4 teachers each room (30 kids). All the rest is pretty accurate.
What I love about it: low teacher turnover. Most of them (as many as I’ve met so far) have been there for many years. I checked out at least 4 institutions and put name on waiting list for 3, but all the others have young teachers who either just graduated or been working for 2 years or so. I like the energy of young teachers but the thought of my daughter has to constantly get used to a new teacher every year or so is not comforting, especially at her age.
What I don’t like: not enough natural light inside the building. It is bright but I guess I grew up watching trees and birds out of the window. They do have plenty of outdoor play time (2 – 3 hrs total including one session in the morning and one in the afternoon) so that compensates it.
However much I think and compare, in the end, my daughter is very happy there and all the kids I’ve met/​observed are very happy. That says it all.