Palo Alto · Licensed center

Challenger School-Middlefield

What these mean, and where they come from

Large means the biggest quarter of Bay Area’s 439 licensed centers by state-licensed capacity: 76 to 312 children. Small is 8 to 30; medium is 31 to 75.

How they teach

Academic

“We also teach phonics, sentence diagramming, and penmanship—tried and true practices that other schools often neglect.”In their words, July 2026.challengerschool.com

One of 18 Bay Area providers that describe an academic approach, out of 164 that describe any approach at all.

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

What the state has found

Routine visits: 0 of 4 cited something

Bay Area centers: the state cites something at about 1 in 4 routine visits.

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
July 16, 2026
On file
4 visits since June 2023 — all of them cited nothing
Fixed?
Nothing was cited, so there is nothing to correct.
Most serious
Nothing was cited at any visit on file.

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.

Jul 2026 Licensing visit nothing cited
Oct 2025 Licensing visit nothing cited
Aug 2024 Licensing visit nothing cited
Jun 2023 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

Diapers
Children must be potty-trained; diapers or training pants are not permitted at school
Hours
7:00 AM to 6:00 PM
Schedule
Half-Day AM, Half-Day PM, and All-Day for Preschool; All-Day for Elementary; Extended Classtime AM/PM available

Details

(650) 213-8245

Website
challengerschool.com
Address
3880 Middlefield Rd
License
434403575, active
Ages they serve
Preschool through eighth grade

Do you run Challenger School-Middlefield? Shortlist has no tuition, 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.

All checked July 2026.

How they teach

State record

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

A day here

Details