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July 2025 by Kevin Ku
My son attended Challenge School for a year between the age of 2.5 and 3.5 and we had the most wonderful experience. I highly recommend it without qualification to anyone looking for care for their child, and particularly if you're looking for a Mandarin-immersion environment.
The school provides a balance of structure and play, while having care and warmth be at the center of everything they do. As a result, our son flourished in the time he had at Challenge. If it weren't for the lottery system for public schools in San Mateo, we would have had him stay another year. We are sad to be leaving in August but leave with gratitude to all of the teachers and staff.
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June 2025 by Chunling Wang
My daughter spent two wonderful years at Challenge Preschool in San Mateo, and it has been an incredibly positive experience for her. She felt genuinely happy there—the teachers are warm, attentive, skilled, and full of creativity. She frequently shares how much she adores them and wishes she didn’t have to leave.
During her time at Challenge, she has blossomed into a more confident, social, and expressive child. She’s made meaningful friendships and is well-prepared in every way for the next step in her education.
I’m deeply appreciative of the care and support the school has given us, and I wholeheartedly recommend Challenge Preschool to any family seeking a loving and enriching place for their child to grow.
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June 2025 by Rona P
I have 2 daughters that goes to this school:
Preschool :
I cannot say enough wonderful things about this preschool. It’s truly the best! The staff here have everything perfectly organized — from daily routines to communication with parents — they really go above and beyond. This is the only place where I feel completely safe and confident leaving my daughter.
One of the things I love most is their app, which allows parents to monitor their child’s activities throughout the day. They even upload pictures during playtime, which always brightens my day! It’s clear how much thought and care goes into every detail.
Everyone at this school is so warm, friendly, and nurturing. The teachers are amazing — especially Teacher Shanshan, Teacher Hazel, and Teacher Hanna. My daughter absolutely adores them and comes home happy every day. You can really feel the love and dedication they pour into their work.
I highly, highly recommend this preschool to any parent looking for a safe, loving, and enriching environment for their child!
After School:
My older daughter attends the after-school program here, and we absolutely love it. The environment is warm, safe, and structured — exactly what we were looking for. It gives me so much peace of mind knowing she’s in such good hands after school.
Teacher Maria and Teacher Iris are amazing! They’re incredibly patient and caring, and they’ve done a wonderful job helping my daughter with her homework and guiding her through her after-school routine. I really appreciate the way they balance learning and play — my daughter is always excited to go and comes home happy and relaxed.
This program has been a huge support for our family, and I’m so thankful for the attention and care they give each child. I highly recommend it to any parent looking for a dependable, nurturing after-school option. It’s truly a gem!
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June 2025 by Catherine F
We are so thankful for the amazing experience our child has had at Challenge School, especially in the Butterfly class. Ms. Frances, Ms. Michelle, and Ms. Hanan have been incredibly kind, patient, and supportive. Their love and dedication to the children truly shine through every day.
Our child has not only learned so much but also grown more confident and independent. The classroom is always filled with joy, creativity, and encouragement. We feel so lucky to have such wonderful teachers guiding and caring for our little one.
Thank you, Butterfly team, for all that you do – we truly appreciate you from the bottom of our hearts!
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June 2025 by Yancisca Yeung
Our two girls completed all 3 years at Challenge School and we couldn't have found a better place for our family. The teachers have been supportive, loving, understanding and patient with our kids as they each went through some transitions from one year to the next. They have been incredibly understanding and flexible with helping our family adjust through the early days of the pandemic. We originally chose the San Mateo location because of the facility and curriculum with the mandarin immersion and despite living a little farther away we continued to stay at this location because of the relationships we have formed with the teachers and knowing that our girls are in safe, loving and caring environment.
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April 2025 by Bowen Pan
We can’t say enough good things about Challenge School’s preschool program at San Mateo campus. It has been one of the most rewarding and enriching experiences our family has had.
Our children have been part of the Challenge School community from toddlerhood through the end of the pre-K years—one starting at 18 months and staying until 3, another from age 2 all the way to just before kindergarten graduation. The only reason we’re leaving is because we’re relocating out of the area. If we could, we’d keep our kids at Challenge for years to come.
The school strikes a rare and thoughtful balance between academic structure and play-based learning. Every day is engaging, and our kids genuinely look forward to going to school. They come home full of stories, creativity, and noticeably stronger Mandarin skills.
The teachers are simply exceptional—deeply caring, passionate, and incredibly dedicated to each child’s growth. A few we want to call out by name (though we’ve truly loved every teacher we've encountered): Teacher MeiMei, Nicole, Shanshan, Hazel, Francis, Hanan, Vivian (music), Leslie, Michelle, Emily, Cathy, Anna, Ting Ting… and so many more who have shaped our children’s early years with warmth and heart.
Challenge School also fosters a real sense of community among parents, teachers, and students. There’s a strong culture of collaboration, kindness, and inclusion. Weekly show-and-tell sessions, festive cultural celebrations (such as mid-autumn festival, Chinese New Year as well as local traditions like Halloween and Christmas), and regular family events make the experience joyful and memorable—not just for the kids, but for the whole family.
We feel incredibly grateful to have found Challenge School. It’s truly a gem, and we recommend it wholeheartedly to any family looking for an exceptional pre-school experience for their kids.
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March 2025 by Sai Zhang
My two kids attended Challenge school for preschool. They both absolutely love the school, the teachers from caterpillar to butterfly are all very nice people. They are very friendly and care for the kids. The kids go to school happily every day.
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July 2024 by Rachel Lui Pang
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5/5 stars
Challenge Preschool has been an outstanding choice for our family. Despite being far from our home, we chose Challenge after touring many preschools, and we couldn't be happier with our decision.
The Mandarin program is exceptional, and we've seen significant progress in our daughter's language skills. The teachers, especially Elsa, Hanan, Frances, Teacher Cao, and Michelle, provide top-notch care and education. Their dedication is truly remarkable.
We appreciate the extra offerings like piano lessons and Singapore Math. The facilities are impressive, much better than other preschools we visited. Our daughter loves her teachers and has made many friends here.
Challenge excels at addressing concerns and engaging with children through thoughtful questions. The nurturing environment they've created is evident in our daughter's enthusiasm for school each day.
For parents seeking a preschool that combines language immersion, caring staff, and enriching activities, we highly recommend Challenge. It's been an excellent experience for our child's growth and happiness.
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June 2024 by Debby Soo
Our experience with Challenge has been incredible. Our oldest just graduated from preschool and will be attending after school in the fall and we’ll be starting our youngest in Caterpillar in the fall. The teachers are the best part of the school - Teacher Elsa in Lady Bug, Teacher Hanan, Teacher Francis, Teacher Michelle and Teacher Cao of Butterfly are all so caring, fun, and smart. They meet each kid where they are, make adjustments if needed, and create a dynamic, educational and really fun environment for the kids. The curriculum in both Mandarin and English definitely prepare the kids for kindergarten. Cannot recommend enough!
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October 2023 by Yan Yan
My daughter attended the preschool for 2+ years. She enjoyed the time there a lot.The teachers are loving and caring. Good communications to the parents. Lots of fun activities.
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August 2023 by Beverley Lui
Our kids had a great time at Challenge School’s summer camp. The program is well organized, children are safe, learning about Chinese culture and having fun. The teachers are also very nurturing.
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August 2023 by Amy M.
My daughter attended Challenge School summer camp for two weeks. After the first day she started her Chinese camp, she was already speaking Chinese at home. Before she has never attended a Chinese school or camp and all she learned from was us at home speaking Chinese. She didn't speak Chinese back instead it would be English. But since she started going to Chinese camp, she was able to say things in Chinese to us and loves Chinese in which we are very pleased.
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July 2023 by Vivienne Lai
I love going to challenge school. My teachers and classmates are very nice. Challenge has fun activities and games. It is very fun!
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July 2023 by Lisa Chang
Kids had a wonderful time at summer camp learning how to cook and doing science experiments!
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July 2023 by Bo L.
My daughter just graduated preschool at Challenge, and she already misses it so much! From the moment she stepped through the doors each day, her teachers Hanan and Frances greeted her with boundless enthusiasm and genuine kindness. Their dedication to their craft is truly remarkable. My daughter is also still enamored with her previous ladybug class teacher, Elsa. It's clear that the teachers at Challenge Preschool genuinely care about the kids, and my daughter feels the same way about them.As a result of attending here, my daughter is much more fluent in Mandarin, has lots of experiences with the various Chinese holidays, and is well equipped with the social and hard skills to enter kindergarten as a joyful student!
