Growing Stem Academy
610 20th St, San Francisco 94107
At Growing Stem Academy, we believe that children thrive in an environment where their natural curiosity is nurtured. Inspired by the Reggio Emilia approach, our program fosters creativity, critical thinking, and collaboration by allowing children to take an active role in their learning journey. Through our play-based learning model, children are encouraged to explore, ask questions, and make discoveries at their own pace, guided by teachers who respect their individuality and support their unique interests.
At a glance
What this means
Reggio Emilia is a child-led approach where learning grows out of children's own questions and projects, with teachers as guides rather than instructors.
This school teaches in Mandarin but isn't a full immersion program — Mandarin is woven in alongside English rather than being the main language of instruction.
Good questions to ask on a tour
- 1How do children's interests shape the projects you do, and can you share a recent example?
- 2What are the exact drop-off and pickup times, and is there any flexibility?
- 3What is the current monthly tuition, and are there different rates for different days-per-week schedules?
- 4How do you handle the transition for children starting mid-year or moving up from a younger classroom?
- 5What is your potty-training policy, and how do you support children who are still learning?
- 6How do you handle discipline, conflict between children, and big feelings?
- 7How much of the day is in Mandarin, and do children need any prior exposure to the language?
- 8What is your application timeline, and when do families typically hear back?
- 9How large is each class, and what is the teacher-to-child ratio?
- 10What does parent communication look like — updates, conferences, opportunities to be involved?