Preschools in San Francisco, California

We are recent transplants to San Francisco. Most parents of toddlers know the difficulty of finding a preschool for their child. In a big city, this can be an arduous task to say the least! When we lived in Seattle, it was well known that as soon as you had a child you should research preschools and get on lists. Being the responsible parents we are, we did this and were on a number of good school lists. But alas, before our daughter started preschool we moved to San Luis Obispo. Now you would think, since SLO is a smaller community, you would have an easier time finding a preschool. This is not so. Everywhere we looked had long waiting lists too. We were very lucky and were able to get into a preschool during the afternoon hours. This is an unpopular time because of naps, but we thought it was important for her to be in a school. So, she started school and LOVED it! It was the perfect place for our cautious and orderly daughter. She came home filthy dirty from playing and utterly exhausted. She was in heaven. Then, because of this wonderful website you are using, we moved to SF and turned her little preschool world upside down.

San Francisco, it turns out, is like Seattle. Parents get on lists when they're pregnant, and waiting lists are extremely long. We moved mid-year, which I thought might be an advantage because maybe someone else was moving and a spot would open. We searched for two months before we found our current location. I talked to so many schools it was hard to keep them straight. Plus, we didn't know that many people with kids, so we didn't have references. Luckily, we met Paula Benton, our daughter's art teacher. She compiled a list that I will share with you of preschools around the city. We are currently in a school in Glen Park, and although my daughter doesn't love it as much as her last school, it will be fine. By the way, in SLO we went to UMCC, United Methodist Children's Center. It is not religious and is absolutely wonderful. If you live or are moving there, I highly recommend it! Below is the list Paula Benton gave us. She is the director of The Artery, a great art studio that offers classes to children in Noe Valley, SF.

If you are just moving into the city, the best advice that I can give is to call as many schools as you can to do a tour and keep calling. If you're persistent and understanding, you might luck out.

St. Philip's Preschool: 415.282.0141 725 Diamond St., SF, 94114

Holy Family Day Home: 415.861.5361 299 Dolores St, SF, 94103

Wind in the Willows: 415.333.7166 713 Monterey Blvd. SF, 94127

Little People's Workshop (co-op): 415.647.7607 1268 Sanchez, SF, 94114

St. Paul's Little Angel Preschool: 415.824.5437

Eureka Learning Center: 415.821.3422 464 Diamond St., SF, 94114

Buen Dia Family School: 589 Guerrero St, SF, 94110

Inner Sunset Preschool: 415.665.4189 1329 7th Ave. 94122

Buena Vista Prekindergarten: 415.695.5838 2641 25th St. SF, 94110

Katherine Michiels School: 415.821.1434 1335 Guerrero St. SF, 94110

Sanchez Pre Kindergarten: 415.241.6387 325 Sanchez St. SF, 94114

With Care Child Care: 415.550.7527 50 Fair Oaks St. SF, 94114

Noe Valley Nursery School: 415.647.2278 1021 Sanchez, SF, 94114

Children's Day School: 415.861.5432 333 Dolores St., SF, 94110

Friends of Potrero Hill Nursery: 415.864.5464 1801 Mariposa St, SF, 94107

Glen Park Pre-School: 415.585.7701 647 Chenery St., SF, 94131

Rainbow Family Child Care: 415.641.5288 26th St. SF, 94131

Debra King School: 415.641.1950 26th St. SF, 94131

Hummingbirds School: 415.695.1805 601 Diamond St., SF, 94114

Treehouse Preschool: 415.641.8867 75 Fountain St., SF, 94114

Theresa Mahler Child Dev. Center: 415.695.5871 990 Church St., SF 94110

Little Bear School: 415.282. 2224 5300 Diamond Hts. Blvd, SF, 94131

Glenridge Co-op Nusery: 415.586.2771 Elk and Chenery SF, 94131

The Crayon Box Preschool: 415.334.9008 65 Ocean Ave. SF, CA 94112

Happy Times Preschool: 415. 753.3012 1090 Quintara St. SF, 94116

Marin Day Schools:

Fox Plaza Campus-415.554.3979

Spear St. Campus-415.777.2081

California Sherith Israel Campus- 415.775.2211