Schools in Belmont, CA

“We have had a wonderful experience with Challenge School’s Mandarin after-school program. Our three children started with very little exposure to Mandarin at home, and we have been amazed by how much they have learned. They can now understand and carry on conversations in Mandarin with confidence.
Beyond academics, the program has helped our children build meaningful friendships, and some of their closest friends today are classmates they met through the school.
This year, our oldest child graduated from the after-school program and will be continuing with the middle school weekend Mandarin classes, which speaks to the strong foundation the program has provided.
We are incredibly grateful for the dedication of the teachers and staff and highly recommend Challenge School to families looking for a high-quality Mandarin language program.”

“Holy Cross Preschool is amazing! My daughter loves it and is excited to attend every day; the preschool space is spotless, the teachers and staff are very welcoming/helpful, and emphasize regular communication/parental engagement in person and via the BrightWheel app. When we met Miss Chris for the initial tour, I immediately noticed she takes her job seriously and takes pride in directing the preschool. This was important to me and one of the top decision factors for us.
Since my daughter has been enrolled, we have noticed advancements in her social, emotional, and language development. I highly recommend Holy Cross for your little one(s)!”

“IHM has been more than a school for our daughter — it has provided strong academics, meaningful values, and a close-knit community that truly feels like family.

My daughter joined IHM four years ago. She was a true “COVID kid,” and this was her first school experience. From the beginning, IHM felt less like a school and more like an extended family.

As an only child with busy working parents and no siblings nearby, she didn’t have much daily social interaction outside school. At IHM, she gained more than academics — she learned independence, social skills, manners, values, and strong ethics. Her Preschool, Kindergarten, and TK teachers truly invested in her personally, and that care made all the difference.

We tried district school for one year in first grade, but it wasn’t the right fit. She regressed socially, picked up negative language, and became more anxious. When we returned to IHM, the change was clear. She improved academically, but more importantly, her social and emotional well-being grew tremendously. She became calmer and more confident again.

Friday Mass, school events, and community functions have helped shape her character and sense of belonging. I also value that the school participates in state-level evaluations, so we’re always aware of academic standards.

Is IHM a perfect school? No. There are always areas that can improve — just like anywhere else. But is there really such a thing as a perfect school?

What IHM provides is something more important to us: a strong educational foundation, a structured social environment, and a close-knit community. For our daughter, it has truly been a family away from family. As parents constantly juggling work, we are deeply grateful for the role IHM has played in raising and shaping her. We are thankful to be part of this community.”

“Excellent preschool in the heart of Belmont. We love it here and feel like our child is getting the best preschool experience we could ever hope for. We feel so lucky to have found such a gem of a program. The teachers are SO caring and great with communication (they send daily pictures and videos and are responsive to messages), the curriculum is thoughtful, they have the best teacher to kid ratio of the preschools we looked at in the San Mateo/Belmont/San Carlos area, and we love how they do so many fun activities with the kids!

Besides learning their colors & letters and going on fun field trips in the area, they focus on different subjects each week (insects, planets, emotions, vehicles, etc.). For example, during their insect section, they grew caterpillars into butterflies and got to release them in the school’s garden (they have an onsite garden!) and during vehicle week, a backhoe came onsite and did a demonstration for the kids! Special guest instructors come to the class to expose the children to sports-related activities, juggling, cooking, and there is also a music teacher who does music class with the kids a couple times a month. The school throws fun events for families to enjoy with the kids, like Spring Fling (the kids were ecstatic about SF Bubble Man!).

The classrooms are very clean and are attached to a play area dedicated to the preschool classrooms. The preschool rooms have dedicated restrooms within them. There is also access to a larger playground and field which is fun for kids and parents to spend time at after pickup. There is a dance school that operates in the same building complex and the preschool teachers help get students ready for dance (if they’re enrolled with the dance school) and will walk the kids to the dance classes & bring them back to the preschool rooms afterwards.

Morning and afternoon snacks are provided, and the school offers extended hours (730am-6pm), if needed, which is a huge plus for our family’s schedule. Our child has been thriving in this preschool program and has blossomed so much since starting at BCLC.”

“very nice school program and wonderful teachers.. good classmates.. awesome class environment.. everybody living around want to send their kids here eventhough quite expensive.. very hard to get in”