Sunnyvale · Licensed center
Challenger School-Sunnyvale
A academic center in Sunnyvale, licensed for 168 children. The state cited something at 1 of 8 routine visits (Bay Area centers: about 1 in 4).
Large center. 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. challengerschool.com, July 2026
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, a typical day, sick and biting policies.
What the state has found
Routine visits: 1 of 8 cited something
Across Bay Area centers, the state cites something at about 1 in 4 routine visits (2,260 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
- March 5, 2026
- On file
- 8 visits since September 2022 — 7 cited nothing · 2 complaint investigations
- Most serious
- Type B —
Observation of the Child: (b) Any unusual behavior, any injury or signs of illness requiring assessment and/or administration of first aid by staff shall be reported to the child's authorized representative and recorded in the child's record. This requirement was not met as evidenced by: Based on interviews and evidence gathered, parents/authorized representative of the children (C2 & C3) were not notified regarding the incidents occurred on two separate occasions: one incident occurred on 12/05/2024 with child (C3). Based on interviews, one incident with child (C2) occurred in November 2024.
· December 19, 2024
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.
Jan 2026 Complaint Unsubstantiated
Complaint · January 23, 2026
Unsubstantiated
ALLEGATION(S): Staff did not provide adequate supervision resulting in child sustaining injury. INVESTIGATION FINDINGS: On 03/05/2026, Licensing Program Analyst (LPA) Mandeep Kaur met with Director, D.R. for an unannounced follow up complaint investigation. Purpose of today's investigation: deliver investigation findings. LPA conducted complaint investigation comprising of observations, Director interview, random staff interviews, random parents interviews, random children interviews, records review and evidence gathered. Based on interviews, observations, records review and evidence gathered during the investigation process, although the allegation may have happened or is valid, there is not a preponderance of evidence to prove the alleged violations did or did not occur, therefore the allegation is UNSUBSTANTIATED. No deficiency issued during today's investigation. Appeal rights were provided. Exit interview conducted and report was reviewed with Director, D.R. A Notice of Site Visit was given and must remain posted for 30 days. Unsubstantiated Estimated Days of Completion:
Individual employees are shown by initials. The state’s report, linked above, names them in full.
Dec 2024 Licensing visit 1 finding
Licensing visit · December 19, 2024
CCR 101226.3(b) · Type B
Observation of the Child: (b) Any unusual behavior, any injury or signs of illness requiring assessment and/or administration of first aid by staff shall be reported to the child's authorized representative and recorded in the child's record. This requirement was not met as evidenced by: Based on interviews and evidence gathered, parents/authorized representative of the children (C2 & C3) were not notified regarding the incidents occurred on two separate occasions: one incident occurred on 12/05/2024 with child (C3). Based on interviews, one incident with child (C2) occurred in November 2024.
A day here
- Hours
- 7:00 AM to 6:00 PM
- Schedule
- Half-Day AM, Half-Day PM, All-Day
Details
- Phone
- (408) 245-7170
- Website
- challengerschool.com
- Address
- 1185 Hollenbeck Avenue
- License
- 430710539, active
Do you run Challenger School-Sunnyvale? Shortlist has no tuition, ratios or policies for it, because the state does not publish that. Add what is missing. It is free and takes about ten minutes.
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
- Approach — challengerschool.com
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 2 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=1, unfounded=CONFIDENTIAL, Type A citations=0, Type B citations=0. The state publishes no further detail for the difference.
A day here
- Hours, Schedule — challengerschool.com
Details
- Phone, Address, License — ccld.dss.ca.gov
- Website — challengerschool.com