Portola Valley · Licensed center

Woodland School

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.

Source for who runs it

ccld.dss.ca.gov

How they teach

Reggio Emilia, play-based and emergent curriculum

“Our approach to teaching and learning is rooted in the theory that children learn best through play, with ample opportunities for self-directed choices.”In their words, July 2026.woodland-school.org

“Children construct their own knowledge through a carefully planned curriculum that engages and builds upon the child's current knowledge, recognizing that knowledge cannot simply be provided for the child. The curriculum, often emergent in nature, is based on the interests of the children.”In their words, July 2026.woodland-school.org

“Woodland's Early Childhood program embraces Reggio Emilia's viewpoint of the environment as the third teacher.”In their words, July 2026.woodland-school.org

One of 21 Bay Area providers that describe a Reggio Emilia approach, out of 164 that describe any approach at all.

Who cares for your child

One adult for every nine children

Shortlist has not yet sourced this state’s legal ratio limit, so there is nothing to set this beside yet.

What it costs

$3,133 a month for a preschooler

Preschool$3,133

Higher than 30 of 36 Bay Area providers that publish a full-time preschool price.

Woodland SchoolMost Bay Area prices (middle 80%)

Scale $1,000 to $4,000 a month. Bay Area prices as of September 29, 2026. Prices from their website, July 2026.

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

What the state has found

Routine visits: 0 of 1 cited something

Bay Area centers: the state cites something at about 1 in 4 routine visits. One visit is 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
May 19, 2025
On file
1 visit, June 2023 — it 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.

Mar 2025 Complaint Unsubstantiated

Complaint · March 5, 2025

Unsubstantiated

ALLEGATION(S): 1. Staff force children to nap 2. Staff take children's personal belongings away as punishment INVESTIGATION FINDINGS: On 5/19/2025, at approximately 9:00 AM, Licensing Program Analysts (LPAs)Wadhwa & Gomez conducted an unannounced follow up complaint investigation visit at the facility. LPA met with Director, M.G., and explained the purpose of the visit. Present during the visit was Director, 7 staff and 36 preschool age children. During the investigation site observations were conducted on 3/11/2025 and 5/19/2025. A review of the facility records was also completed, and included children’s files, staff files and parent handbook. Interviews were conducted with staff, a sample of the children and the involved parties. Continued on Page 2 Unsubstantiated Estimated Days of Completion:

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

State report

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

Meals
Optional hot lunch program via Choicelunch (vegetarian and gluten-free options), ordered online, not included in tuition
Outdoors
Outdoor classroom is a designed extension of the indoor classroom, offering natural elements and gross motor opportunities as part of daily learning
Diapers
Children must be fully potty-trained (independently) to enter the Early Childhood program; no diapering service
Hours
8:30 AM to 3:30 PM

Details

(650) 854-9068

Website
woodland-school.org
Address
360 La Cuesta
License
410509152, active
Ages they serve
3-5 years (preschool 3-4 years; pre-kindergarten 4-5 years)

Do you run Woodland School? Shortlist has no policies for it, because the state does not publish that. Adding it is free and takes about ten minutes.

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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=2, unfounded=CONFIDENTIAL, Type A citations=0, Type B citations=0. The state publishes no further detail for the difference.

A day here

Details