HISTORY
Long-term unit studies are a hallmark of the RHS experience.
Russian Hill School was founded in 1981 by Director Bonnie McFadden in the Russian Hill neighborhood of San Francisco. With degrees in the arts and education, Bonnie recognized early on the power and potential arts-based learning had for the early childhood years.
Working with her team of teachers through the years, she has developed an innovative arts-infused curriculum, using extended-learning projects to teach pre-kindergarten academics in reading and math readiness skills. The program blends many of the best early childhood methodologies into it's open classroom curriculum to include Montessori techniques, 'scaffolding' procedures for learning readiness, and long-term unit study approaches. Director McFadden prides herself on creating a program that is both stimulating and unique and yet is customizable to each child’s specific 'zone' of learning. Through the years, she has built one of the most seasoned and respected teams of schoolteachers in San Francisco with over 100 years of combined teaching experience.
“RHS was pure magic for Eli, encouraging him not just to be creative with paint, paper, scissors, and glue, but also to be creative through friendships, many of which were forged starting at 3 years old and are still going strong! He learned about the magic of being confident, and trusting his abilities, making it easy for him to face the challenges of kindergarten and beyond,”
– Jim, Dad of Eli –
After 24 years of service to the Russian Hill community, our school relocated in 2003 to its current site in Pacific Heights. Designed by Ms. McFadden and the RHS Board of Directors, the beautiful Victorian facility (complete with patio and private backyard) provides amply for especially creative indoor/outdoor classroom learning.