Best Private Schools in San Francisco, CA

Preschool and Kindergarten Program

Mission Montessori is proud to offer the one-of-a-kind, holistic, child-led approach to early childhood education that Dr. Montessori pioneered over one hundred years ago.

Toddler Program

Our teachers introduce good habits, encourage the use of words to express needs, and warmly guide children to do things for themselves throughout the course of the day.

Private Middle School

Fusion Academy offers a completely personalized private middle school experience. From classes to scheduling, everything is customized around your student. We balance academics and socialization to create a private junior high school experience unlike any other. Private middle school classes at Fusion Academy are 1-to-1: just 1 student and 1 teacher per class. Teachers match your child’s pace and preferences so they can learn better, dive deeper, and never get left behind. Schedules are customized around your family’s goals and plans. Students connect and collaborate with peers in a safe and structured environment. Coursework is completed as part of the school day. Daily reports for each class session are communicated to parents from your student’s teachers. NOTE: Tuition rates are calculated per course, per term and will vary based on the student’s custom curriculum.

Private High School

Fusion Academy is a fully accredited private high school. We prepare students for life after high school with 1-to-1 classes and a completely personalized education experience. Private high school classes at Fusion have just one teacher and one student. Teachers can accelerate or slow down based on your student’s needs and personalize course content for your student’s interests. Schedules are customized around your family’s goals and plans. Students connect and collaborate with peers in a safe and structured environment. Coursework is completed as part of the school day. Daily reports for each class session are communicated to parents from your student’s teachers. NOTE: Tuition rates are calculated per course, per term and will vary based on the student’s custom curriculum.

Preschool

The KMS Preschool is a mixed-age program for our 2 to 4 year old children. Our program is designed to be age appropriate, taking into account each child and his or her developmental process.

Preschool

The KMS Preschool is a mixed-age program designed to cover all developmental domains—emotional, social, cognitive, language, and motor skills—within a child-centered environment drawing from a Reggio Emilia-inspired curriculum that blends project-based art, outdoor play, cooking with YUM Chefs, and weekly Capoeira.

Preschool

St. Philip Preschool is a Catholic, play-based program fully integrated with the elementary school, focused on the whole child's academic, spiritual, social, and emotional development in a large open classroom with a dedicated outdoor play area.

Transitional Kindergarten

St. Philip's kindergarten through 8th grade program is a Catholic elementary school rooted in faith and values, offering a rigorous academic curriculum that includes Spanish, Art, Music, Technology, and Physical Education, alongside enrichment activities and a comprehensive sports program.

Preschool

Our teachers provide a warm, caring, joyful environment that encourages preschoolers’ natural curiosity, and instills confidence in their innate abilities. By balancing traditional instruction in reading, writing, and math with art, music, and foreign language, the Stratford preschool curriculum teaches 21st century skills of communication, collaboration, and problem solving. The open, caring, family-oriented atmosphere at Stratford School helps preschoolers feel safe – physically and emotionally – and nurtures the whole child, both mind and heart. Note: Part-time programming is subject to availability.

Pre-Kindergarten

The Stratford pre-kindergarten curriculum teaches students to ask questions and think critically. Pre-K students begin their day with imaginative STEAM play, designed to develop their natural curiosity and problem-solving skills. They enjoy Spanish class several times a week, and progress at a faster rate than other pre-K students because of Stratford’s focus on English language fundamentals. You’ll find that your child’s teachers care deeply about each student and about their families. The relationships and friendships your child develops here will shape their future success. Note: Part-time programming is subject to availability.

After-School Programs

Sterne's after-school care program runs in partnership with the Salesian Boys and Girls Club, with offerings that include athletics such as basketball and yoga, arts-based activities like stop motion film and mixed media studio art, and a daily walking bus connecting students from campus.

Lower School

Sterne's Lower School is a grades 4–5 program designed for neurodiverse learners, using a strengths-based, project-based model that integrates phonics-based structured literacy intervention, small instructional-level groupings, and specialized electives such as maker, digital film, music, drama, and studio art.

Kindergarten Beginnings

Kindergarten Beginnings is the entry point to SFCS's K-12 Christ-centered academic program, introducing children to phonics, numbers, and printing in a full-day classroom setting grounded in biblical worldview education.

Elementary School

SFCS elementary school covers Bible, reading, English, math, history, science, physical education, art, and music within a Christ-centered, biblical worldview curriculum, with small class sizes designed to support individualized attention and prepare students for the middle school program.

Preschool

Holy Name Preschool is a Catholic preschool that focuses on the cognitive, physical, social, emotional, and spiritual development of each child, with a nutritional lunch, snacks, and music, soccer, and sports programs included in the curriculum at no extra cost.

Kindergarten

Holy Name's full-day kindergarten program follows California State Standards infused with Catholic teachings, with hands-on learning in small group stations, weekly Mass, and a year-long mentorship pairing each kindergartner with a fifth-grade buddy.

Kindergarten

Kindergarten at Mission Dolores Academy is the entry point to the school's Catholic K-8 program, where a Common Core, Science of Reading-grounded curriculum includes explicit phonics instruction through SIPPS alongside math, Spanish, PE, art, drama, and music.

Middle School Grades 6-8

Elementary Grades 1–5 is part of Mission Dolores Academy's K-8 Catholic academic program, where a Common Core Standards-based curriculum with a Science of Reading foundation is paired with Spanish instruction, Physical Education, Art, Music, and Drama.

Extended Day & After3

Extended Day & After3 is San Francisco Friends School's before- and after-school care program for Lower and Middle School students, offering a mix of free play, organized activities, enrichment classes, and private music lessons in a drop-in, flexible format.

Lower School Kindergarten – 4th Grade

The Lower School at San Francisco Friends School is the K–4 portion of an academically rigorous, progressive Quaker program grounded in the values of reflection, integrity, peaceful problem-solving, and stewardship, with a constructivist classroom approach that emphasizes inquiry and student agency.

Preschool

The preschool program at Golden Bridges School follows a Waldorf-inspired approach centered on imaginative play, oral storytelling, singing, baking, and handwork within a calm, home-like setting, with children spending time outdoors daily in McLaren Park and at Hawk Creek Farm.

Kindergarten

Golden Bridges' kindergarten is part of the school's Waldorf-inspired early childhood program, where a mixed-age model pairs kindergarteners with preschoolers — children first join as 'Youngers' and return as 'Elders' — building confidence and leadership through imaginative play, handwork, oral storytelling, and weekly full days at Hawk Creek Farm.

Pre-Kindergarten Program

Kindergarten

The kindergarten program at St. Paul's is a full-day offering within this WCEA- and WASC-accredited Catholic K–8 school in Noe Valley, where the curriculum covers English language arts, math, science, social studies, and religion, supplemented by PE, library, technology, and music.

Preschool Program

The Caterpillar Class is St. Anne's preschool program, focused on routines, group socialization, and foundational experiences in art, science, early number and letter concepts, music, and gross motor activities, with projects that are theme-based and emerge from children's interests.

Pre-Kindergarten Program

The Pre-Kindergarten Program (Giraffe Class) uses a structured, child-led curriculum designed to build kindergarten readiness through math and science concepts, early reading and writing, art, gross motor and dramatic play, and social development — all within St. Anne's Catholic environment that fosters spiritual, intellectual, and physical growth.

TK

St. John's TK program is the entry point to a Catholic TK–8 school in San Francisco's Glen Park neighborhood, where instruction is rooted in the Ursuline tradition and shaped by high academic standards, service, and compassion. The school holds dual WCEA and WASC accreditation, including WASC's highest available six-year term.

Elementary Program

The elementary program covers grades 1–5 with daily instruction in English language arts, math, science, social studies, and religion, supplemented by weekly Spanish and rotating classes in music, dance, technology, and art, all within St. John's WASC- and WCEA-accredited Catholic curriculum aligned to California Common Core standards.

Early Elementary

Early Elementary is the entry point into Brightworks' project-based K-12 program, where curiosity is ignited through play, exploration, and foundational skills rooted in the belief that kids are capable and that their ideas matter.

Upper Elementary

Upper Elementary is the 3rd–5th grade program at Brightworks, a project-based K-12 school in San Francisco's Presidio, where students grow their capacity to manage their own work through collaborator-facilitated, interest-based group projects that integrate academic skills with collaborative problem solving, iteration, and reflection.

Transitional Kindergarten

Adda Clevenger's Transitional Kindergarten is the entry point to the school's TK-8 accelerated, arts-integrated academic program, where curriculum is developed around individual students and even the youngest learners begin thinking of themselves as responsible learners.

Lower School

Lower School (Grades K-4) is the foundational academic program at Adda Clevenger, where teachers build strong conceptual understanding through an individualized, fast-paced curriculum developed around each student rather than standardized benchmarks, setting the stage for the enriched Upper School experience.

Preschool

PKS's Reggio Emilia-inspired preschool uses an emergent curriculum built around children's own ideas and interests, with bilingual Mandarin and English learning woven through projects, play, art, and inquiry so that all students develop basic Mandarin skills by the end of their first year.

Elementary

PKS Elementary delivers a bilingual Mandarin-English curriculum through an inquiry-based, project-centered approach, organizing study into Units of Exploration that span all major disciplines alongside daily specialist classes in areas such as Maker/Science Lab, Performing Arts, Visual Arts, and Multimedia.

Kindergarten

Kindergarten is the entry point to SF Day's K-8 co-educational program, focusing on foundations of literacy and numeracy alongside creative problem-solving and self-identity, with specials including Art, Science, Music, Spanish, PE, and Technology.

Lower School

The Lower School at San Francisco Day School covers grades 1–5 within the school's K-8 coeducational program, where two instructors share each classroom through the signature Teaching Fellows program and the curriculum emphasizes embracing challenge, productive struggle, and understanding each child's individual learning style.

K–5 Elementary School

The K–5 elementary program at San Francisco High School of the Arts builds a strong academic foundation alongside arts training, reflecting the school's mission to provide exceptional education in traditional arts and academics while focusing on character development.

Middle School

The middle school program at HSArts offers a rigorous academic curriculum spanning grades 6–8, combining humanities and STEM with a comprehensive arts program, all in small-class settings that allow for seminar-style engagement and individualized attention.

Grades 1-4

Grades 5-8

The Grades 5–8 program at The Hamlin School is a K-8 girls' school that weaves Social and Emotional Learning throughout the academic curriculum and embeds grade-level capstone projects — including an entrepreneurship market in Grade 5 and a Washington D.C. immersive trip in Grade 7 — into a broader mission of preparing girls to become thinkers, leaders, and individuals of integrity.

K-8 Program

Kittredge's K-8 program is a small, NIPSA-accredited independent school where all classroom teachers are credentialed and/or hold graduate degrees, and the Habits of Mind framework is integrated across the curriculum alongside the Character Counts social-emotional program.

Middle School

Kindergarten

St. Peter's kindergarten uses a 50/50 Dual Language Immersion model, with half the school day taught in English and half in Spanish, covering subjects including English Language Arts, Religion, Math, Science, Social Studies, Art, P.E., and Technology.

Elementary

St. Peter's elementary program (grades K–5) builds foundational skills in English Language Arts, Mathematics, Science, and Social Studies, and nurtures Catholic faith through religion class, Masses, and prayer services. The school holds dual accreditation from WCEA and WASC, and offers a Dual Language Immersion curriculum with instruction in both English and Spanish.

K-8 Program

Saint Brigid Academy's K-8 program is a micro Catholic school built around a 4:1 student-to-teacher ratio, serving neurodivergent and academically gifted students through personalized instruction, multiage classrooms, and a whole-child approach that addresses spiritual, intellectual, social-emotional, and physical development.

Extension Program

The Extension Program provides supervised after-school care for Saint Brigid Academy students, with activities including arts and crafts, outdoor play, STEM, sports, and homework support.

TK

The TK program is the entry point to School of the Epiphany's Catholic TK–8 academic community, which has served students of diverse backgrounds since 1938 and is accredited by the Western Catholic Educational Association (WCEA).

Elementary School

School of the Epiphany's elementary program is part of a Catholic TK–8 school that has served San Francisco students since 1938, challenging them to achieve educational excellence within a Catholic tradition.

Kindergarten

Grades 4 Through 8

Grades 4 through 8 is the upper portion of Burke's K–8 independent school for girls, where the academic program balances rigor with real-world relevance, emphasizing "a focus on real-world problems, purpose, life skills, and preparing our graduates to approach their future with confidence, and resilience."

Grades 3-5

This elementary program (grades 3–5) is part of Alpha San Francisco's AI-driven, mastery-based model, where students complete core academics in roughly two hours each morning and spend afternoons in life skills workshops covering areas such as leadership, entrepreneurship, and coding.

Grades K-2

Alpha San Francisco's elementary program uses an AI-driven, mastery-based model in which students complete core academics in roughly two hours each morning, then spend afternoons in life skills workshops covering areas such as leadership, entrepreneurship, and financial literacy.

Transitional Kindergarten

The TK program is the entry point to Presidio Hill's project-based, progressive curriculum, where small class sizes — TK enrolls up to 10–12 students — support the school's commitment to knowing each child well and building on individual interests and abilities.

Lower School

The Lower School (Grades 1–5) at Presidio Hill is part of the school's independent, progressive TK–8 program, offering a project-based curriculum that nurtures curiosity and emphasizes hands-on, integrated learning suited to each grade's developmental level.

Tiny Knights Preschool

Tiny Knights Preschool uses a play-based curriculum that emphasizes social, emotional, physical, and cognitive development through varied indoor and outdoor activities including art, music, and motor development. The program is part of St. Gabriel's Catholic parish school community and collaborates with families to support each child's individual growth.

TK & Kindergarten

The TK & Kindergarten program is part of St. Gabriel's Catholic elementary school, which integrates Christian values into academics and holds dual accreditation from the Western Catholic Educational Association (WCEA) and the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC).

Preschool

San Francisco Waldorf School's preschool is a mixed-age, play-based program where Waldorf-trained teachers guide young children through imaginative stories and play, outdoor time, creativity, and craftwork, fostering a lifelong love of school.

Transitional Kindergarten

The Transitional Kindergarten program at San Francisco Waldorf School is a two-year TK-Kindergarten offering that is child-centered, with daily activities designed to build competence, confidence, and imagination alongside ample unstructured time for social free play.

Transitional Kindergarten

Transitional Kindergarten is the entry point to St. Cecilia's TK–8 Catholic academic program, where students begin developing as lifelong learners, effective communicators, and active Christians guided by Gospel values.

Elementary School

St. Cecilia's elementary program is part of a WCEA-accredited TK–8 Catholic school where parents and teachers collaborate to support each student's academic, spiritual, and social development, with instructional aides supporting classrooms through sixth grade.

Grades 1–4

Grades 1–4 is the lower school portion of Brandeis's private Jewish day school program, where student-centered, inquiry-based learning is paired with Judaic studies, Hebrew, and a curriculum that integrates mindfulness, social-emotional learning, and maker education.

Grades 5–8

The Brandeis School of San Francisco is a private Jewish day school whose middle school program integrates challenging academics, Judaic studies, and inquiry-based learning. Tuition covers 1:1 MacBook laptops, field trips, overnight retreats, athletic coaching and uniforms, musical theater, studio art, and Maker Education.

Laura Vicuña Pre-K

Laura Vicuña Pre-K is the preschool program at Saints Peter and Paul School, emphasizing curiosity, creativity, and exploration through play in an environment designed to foster an early love of learning.

Elementary School

The elementary school program at Saints Peter and Paul School spans kindergarten through fifth grade and extends learning beyond the common core through a curriculum that includes Spanish, Italian, art, coding, robotics, and physical education, alongside core academic subjects.

Ovsanna Misserlian Preschool / Pre-Kindergarten

Ovsanna Misserlian Preschool is KZV Armenian School's early childhood program, where classes are conducted entirely in the Armenian language and a child-initiated, developmentally appropriate creative curriculum addresses social, emotional, cognitive, creative, and physical growth. Teachers and assistants are bilingual, experienced, and trained in pediatric CPR and First Aid.

Pre-K Blue Group

The Pre-K Blue Group is one of the preschool classrooms at KZV's Ovsanna Misserlian Preschool, where instruction is conducted entirely in Armenian and the curriculum follows a child-initiated, developmentally appropriate approach spanning social-emotional, literacy, math, science, and physical development.

Preschool

Cornerstone's preschool program introduces children to a bilingual Chinese-English curriculum—Cantonese alongside English—through music, storytelling, crafts, dance, and play, grounded in the school's Christian faith tradition.

Lower School

The Lower School covers grades K through 5 at Cornerstone Academy's Silver Campus, building academic foundations within a faith-based program that integrates Christian character development, volunteer service, and a bilingual Chinese-English curriculum.

Kindergarten to 8th Grade

Upper School

Town's Upper School, spanning fifth through eighth grades, builds on Lower School foundations to develop academic skills and strength of character, with arts, engineering, athletics, and character development woven throughout.

Preschool

Cornerstone's preschool program combines a bilingual Chinese-English curriculum with learning through music, storytelling, crafts, dance, and play, with Cantonese instruction at this level.

Lower School

Cornerstone Academy's Lower School covers grades K through 5 at the Silver Campus, building academic foundations alongside character development grounded in Christian principles, with a bilingual Chinese-English program that teaches Cantonese in kindergarten before transitioning students to Mandarin.

Transitional Kindergarten

Elementary School

Middle School

The 6th Grade is the inaugural middle school offering at Rise University Preparatory, an independent Christian school that equips students academically, socially, and spiritually with the goal of 100% university acceptance.

High School

Rise Prep's high school program emphasizes college readiness and the development of both academic skills and moral character. Teachers are dedicated long-term and have an average of 10 years teaching experience. Our College Counseling is one of our star programs.

Junior Kindergarten

Junior Kindergarten is the entry point to Alta Vista's independent progressive program, built on a STEAM-based curriculum that integrates inquiry-based, hands-on, and experiential learning across science, mathematics, literacy, and social studies, enriched with Spanish, visual arts, drama, music, garden and sustainability, and physical education.

Lower School

Alta Vista's Lower School is an independent elementary program built on a STEAM-based, inquiry-driven curriculum integrating science, mathematics, literacy, and social studies through an interdisciplinary approach. The core program is enriched with Spanish, garden and sustainability, visual arts, drama, music, and physical education.

Transitional Kindergarten

Synergy School's Transitional Kindergarten is the entry point to a progressive, independent TK–8 program with a student-centered, developmentally appropriate approach that nurtures curiosity through interdisciplinary, multi-sensory curriculum and project-based learning.

Elementary

Synergy's elementary program is part of a progressive, independent TK-8 school with an interdisciplinary, multi-sensory curriculum spanning language arts, math, science, Spanish, visual arts, music, drama, and physical education, grounded in a long-standing commitment to equity, social justice, and student empowerment.

Kindergarten

Grades 1–5 are the lower school years of Live Oak's independent K-8 program, where every classroom is led by two fully qualified teachers who collaborate to plan lessons, assess student work, and respond to individual needs.

Grades 6-8

Grades 6-8 is the middle school portion of Live Oak's independent K-8 program, where each grade has its own dedicated STEM lab and students take the Social Impact Studio — a class weaving together historical changemaking and hands-on community action around social justice themes.

St. Stephen Preschool

St. Stephen Preschool is a faith-based preschool program whose mission centers on educating the whole child—spiritually and intellectually—within a nurturing, inclusive environment that celebrates diversity and supports each child's individual pace of learning.

Kindergarten

Grades 1–5 is part of St. Stephen School's K-8 Catholic academic program, accredited by both WCEA and WASC, with curriculum grounded in Archdiocesan Guidelines and California State Standards alongside integrated faith formation.

Kindergarten

Kindergarten at St. Vincent de Paul is the entry point to the school's Catholic K-8 academic program, where religious education is described as "the heart" of school life and Gospel values are woven through all subject matter, including core subjects such as language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies.

Kindergarten

St. Vincent de Paul School's K–8 program delivers Catholic education rooted in experiential, innovative, and courageous learning, with a core curriculum spanning Religion, English Language Arts, Mathematics, Social Studies, and Science, alongside co-curriculars including Italian, Visual and Performing Arts, and Physical Education.

Elementary School

San Francisco Islamic School's elementary program integrates California Common Core academic subjects with Quranic studies, Arabic language, and Islamic studies, combining academic achievement with spiritual enrichment within an Islamic environment.

Middle School

The Middle School program at San Francisco Islamic School integrates academic coursework aligned with California Common Core standards alongside Quranic studies, Arabic language, and an Islamic Studies curriculum centered on the teachings of the Quran and the life of the Prophet Muhammad.

College-Preparatory High School

Drew School is an independent, nonsectarian, coeducational college preparatory high school where students' questions, self-expression, and ambitions are central to the experience, supported by a 9:1 student-teacher ratio, 90 courses and electives, and 26 honors and advanced level courses.

6th–8th Grade

Millennium School's 6th–8th grade program is an independent middle school built around a transdisciplinary curriculum that integrates STEM, humanities, and creative expression through inquiry-based "Quests," real-world expeditions, and daily mindfulness practices, with a 7:1 student-to-faculty ratio.

Utopia Preschool

Utopia Preschool is a separate preschool program at St. Thomas More that emphasizes each child's individuality while building community among peers, families, and staff, with a focus on diversity, curiosity, and early foundations for learning.

Transitional Kindergarten

Transitional Kindergarten at St. Thomas More is the entry point to the school's TK–8 Catholic academic program, which combines core academic instruction with a faith-based curriculum grounded in Catholic values and a focus on spiritual, intellectual, and social growth.

High School

JCHS is a college preparatory high school that integrates deep learning, universal wisdom, and Jewish values through a broad curriculum spanning Humanities, Jewish Studies, Math, Science, World Language, and Visual & Performing Arts, alongside signature programs such as Freshman Seminar, Journeys, and the senior Keystone Project.

Italian Immersion Preschool

La Scuola's Italian Immersion Preschool combines a Reggio Emilia play-based approach with the International Baccalaureate Primary Years Program, emphasizing autonomy, collaboration, and inquiry in small-group classroom settings.

Preschool (Mission Campus)

Middle School