My 5 year old son has been attending BIM for a short 4 months and my husband and I are blown away by how much he has grown/matured/learned! In addition to teaching the Japanese language/culture, which was our #1 priority, the school has helped instill a sense of independence, responsibility, and confidence in our son which is definitely a result of the Montessori style teaching/learning. My son comes home excited and proud to share with me the work he did that day which includes subjects such as Math, Language, and Geography.The teachers are so committed to the students growth and success, the parent/student community is small and intimate, and overall we couldnt have asked for a better environment for our son and are thrilled he will get to spend his Kindergarten year there as well!

Our son enrolled this year at Berkeley International Montessori School (BIM) and we are all happy with his experience. A lot has been said in other reviews about the exceptional quality of the school but I wanted to highlight a couple of things. Even though my wife and I are not of Japanese descent, our son is fully capable of communicating at the school. It’s thrilling to see him speaking Japanese and we have found that the exposure to another language has helped his ability to communicate with others. In other words, don’t let the Japanese aspect scare you if you don’t speak Japanese! The kids soak it up like a sponge, and the teachers expose them to English reading and writing as well.At BIM they follow the Montessori methodology closely, and we saw its effect on our son quickly. It has been an empowering experience for him. He wants to do everything himself, which we are delighted by. We’ve seen other positive aspects of the Montessori method: his willingness to share, his ability to concentrate on tasks, he cleans up after messes, he communicates with adults and peers well, and others.We have been happy with how BIM adapted to life under Covid. They have reasonable policies that keep the kids, teachers, and parents safe. It’s a difficult decision to send a child to school while the outbreak is going on, but we feel like it is important for our son to be in a nurturing, learning environment with his peers, and the staff BIM has ensured that their school is safe, with temperatures taken on entry, mask usage, and strict policies for handling children with symptoms.

Our daughter has been enrolled at BIM since the Spring of 2018, a few months after the school opened. We are not native Japanese speakers, but over the years, our daughter has learned basic reading, writing and comprehension of the language. She teaches and corrects us as we try to engage with her in Japanese!We have watched her grow and thrive in countless ways from being in such a wonderful learning environment with warm, dedicated teachers and a focused Montessori curriculum. There is definitely a gently rhythmic buzz of curious young minds learning and having fun in the classroom during work time.The staff at BIM is attentive, beyond caring, kind and truly cares about their students well-being, especially during online schooling during the Pandemic shut-down in March 2020. The BIM staff quickly created an online schooling schedule and dropped-off materials (curb-side) which made the transition from in-person class to home class much easier for students and families.We thoroughly enjoy the education that our daughter is receiving at BIM. We highly recommend this school! We cant wait to enroll our other daughter when shes old enough!

My son has attended BIM since it opened and our experience has been great. We didn’t know much about Montessori before starting but now we’re huge fans. It’s a small school and each child gets a lot of attention and individualized lessons. Since the opening of the school, Saki sensei has set the tone - warm, safe, and inspiring for young minds. Our younger son will be joining soon, which we are very excited about!

If you’re serious about the Montessori method and serious about language immersion, i don’t think you’ll find a better group of caring and supportive teachers. Our daughter thrived under the guidance of Saki and Tomoko sensei.

My son was taught by the BIM teachers at another Japanese/English immersion Montessori school (AIM) when he was younger. The teachers are native Japanese speakers with years of experience in teaching Montessori environment. The director, Saki sensei, was the go-to person whenever my husband and I needed advice on guiding my son in a Montessori way. The head teacher, Tomoko sensei, who watched my son in the classroom, is always positive, supportive, and warm. Ms. Alex in the admin office was always on top of communications, thorough, positive, and very cheerful. I highly recommend this group of staff at BIM.

English/Japanese bilingual education in Berkeley.