Foster City · Licensed center

Challenge SchoolFc Campus

What these mean, and where they come from

Medium means the middle half of Bay Area’s 439 licensed centers by state-licensed capacity: 31 to 75 children. Small is 8 to 30; large is 76 to 312.

How they teach

Creative Curriculum, play-based and bilingual

“Through poems, songs, games, art, and daily conversations, children will acquire language skills during our morning Mandarin Immersion program.”In their words, July 2026.challengeschool.us

“The Creative Curriculum® helps preschool educators develop high-quality programs that cater to the unique needs of the children and families they serve.”In their words, July 2026.challengeschool.us

“At Challenge School, in addition to Chinese, English, and music, we emphasize the importance of play!”In their words, July 2026.challengeschool.us

One of 6 Bay Area providers that describe a Creative Curriculum approach, out of 164 that describe any approach at all.

Who cares for your child

Ratio not published

Grace (Executive Director) since 2009, Vivian (Program Director) since 2014, Mei (Founder & Executive Director), 10 years in early childhood, Hanan (Operations and Preschool Curriculum Director), 20 years in early childhood and Catherine (Foster City Preschool Director), 10 years in early childhood.

Of 905 Bay Area providers, 29 publish how long a named staff member has been there; the longest tenure at each of those has a median of sixteen years.

What it costs

Application fee $100.

Shortlist doesn’t have these yet: cost, sick and biting policies.

What the state has found

Routine visits: 0 of 3 cited something

Bay Area centers: the state cites something at about 1 in 4 routine visits. Three visits are too few to read as a pattern.

From California CDSS Community Care Licensing’s published reports, last checked September 25, 2026.

Read every record and the state’s reports

State record — California CDSS Community Care Licensing

Last visit
August 18, 2026
On file
3 visits since April 2024 — all of them cited nothing · 2 complaint investigations
Most serious
No finding carrying a severity level in the last 24 months.

California CDSS publishes the full investigation narrative for a complaint, including its disposition, and classifies a citation Type A — an immediate risk to a child — or Type B.

Aug 2026 Licensing visit nothing cited
May 2026 Complaint

Complaint · May 28, 2026

ALLEGATION(S): Staff handles day care children in a rough manner causing an injury Staff restrains day care children during nap time Staff snatches food not allowing day care children to finish their meals Staff falsified incident report INVESTIGATION FINDINGS: On July 17, 2026, at approximately 8:30am, Licensing Program Analysts (LPAs) Maria Olguin-Leon and Hanson Leong conducted an unannounced visit to deliver complaint findings for the above allegations. LPAs met with Director, C.Z., and explained the purpose of the visit. Present during today’s visit was Director and 10 staff members caring for 27 children (17 preschoolers and 10 toddlers). All staff present have criminal background clearances and are associated with facility. Facility is operating within capacity. LPAs conducted a health and safety inspection of the indoors of outdoors of facility. During the course of the investigation, LPAs conducted interviews, observations and reviewed pertinent documentation that was received. LPAs determined that based on the information obtained there is not sufficient evidence to prove the allegations listed above. Although the allegations above may have happened or are valid, there is not a preponderance of evidence to prove the alleged violations did or did not occur, therefore, the above allegations are UNSUBSTANTIATED. Notice of Site Visit shall be posted for 30 consecutive days. Failure to maintain postings as required will result in an immediate $100 civil penalty. This report is public and can be reviewed. Exit interview was conducted and report was reviewed with Director C.Z. A copy of this report and appeal rights were provided. Unsubstantiated Estimated Days of Completion:

Individual employees are shown by initials. The state’s report, linked above, names them in full.

State report

Jun 2025 Licensing visit nothing cited
Apr 2024 Licensing visit nothing cited

How the comparison is built

Routine visits: across Bay Area centers, the state cites something at about 1 in 4 routine visits (2,260 visits).

A day here

Updates for parents
Roadmap portal (parent-only website with learning updates) (the brand’s policy for all its schools)
Hours
8:00 AM to 6:00 PM, 5 days a week

Details

(650) 286-0400

Website
challengeschool.us
Address
1130 Balclutha Drive
License
414005092, active
Ages they serve
18 months to 42 months

Do you run Challenge SchoolFc Campus? Shortlist has no ratios or policies for it, because the state does not publish that. Adding it is free and takes about ten minutes.

Add what is missing
Sources and dates

Where every fact on this page came from, and when Shortlist last checked it against that source. Anything Shortlist could not source is named here rather than left blank.

How they teach

How they teach

How they teach

Who cares for your child

What it costs

State record

Every state visit and complaint on file, shown in full and never edited. Open a date to read what the state wrote.

The state’s licensing transparency data reports 1 complaint-related visit(s) to this facility, while 1 complaint investigation report(s) are published on the transparency portal. State complaint counts: substantiated=0, inconclusive=0, unsubstantiated=4, unfounded=CONFIDENTIAL, Type A citations=0, Type B citations=0. The state publishes no further detail for the difference.

A day here

Details