Guidepost Montessori at Leawood

Guidepost Montessori in Leawood has undergone an impressive transformation over the past few months. The changes the school has made to the prepared environment, staff, and leadership have resulted in a thriving learning community that is truly putting students first. The school has also put a strong emphasis on recruiting and retaining high-quality Guides (Teaching staff). The Guides are passionate, knowledgeable, and dedicated to supporting the whole child. They are receiving regular, meaningful professional development to ensure they are meeting the state regulation compliance and implementing Montessori methods and practices. This collaborative, whole-child approach to creates an environment where students can truly thrive.

My daughter went to Guidepost for 2.5 years, from the time that it opened its doors until this past summer.- As others have noted, turnover is extreme. For long stretches of time I didn't know who her primary teachers were, because people would come and go on a near weekly basis at times.Often, they would send an email to introduce the new instructors but never say anything about why they were gone a week later.- There are far too many safety concerns than can be expressed in one review. One time, when my daughter was 2 (or maybe just turned 3), they lost her outside the building. They didn't know how she got there or how long she was gone. They only noticed it when they saw the poor girl peering into the front door windows while standing out in the cold.- They're always understaffed, so much so that they often will send an email a couple of hours into the morning to tell everyone that they have to pick up the kids because they need to shut the whole school down.- The heads of school and assistant heads of school have about a 6-month average tenure. One of the heads of school was rumored (among parents) to be coming to work drunk.- They give whole grapes, cherry tomatoes, and popcorn to children as young as 12 months, even after I supplied a doctor's note requesting they not do this for my daughter because of her tongue tie. One teacher told me that they had a device, and if an object could fit through the device, it meant that it was physically impossible to choke on, so she insisted that children can't choke on whole cherry tomatoes.- They were mean-spirited and abusive to my low-support needs autistic daughter. The last day we sent her to school, they called and told me to pick her up early because they didn't like her behavior. I told them I couldn't because I was in the hospital. Rather than call from the provided emergency pick-up list, they put her in a four-hour-long timeout where she sat at the front desk without any toys or any way to stay occupied. She was traumatized from it and cried hysterically when I asked her about her day.- Staff do not interact with the children unless to tell them not to do something. Generally, they stand in the corner on their phones or tablets, backs to children, and pretend not to notice anything that is going on in the room. I've seen very young children desperately crying, and the staff would not even acknowledge them. Most people want more than a Russian-orphanage level of care. Even in the baby rooms, the babies are just placed on the floor to cry all day and I never once saw someone interact with them.- After every time an admin would walk out with a moment's notice, corporate would send an email conveying "we're there for you," but when I tried to reach corporate, I practically begged them for a month to contact me regarding safety concerns at the school, and they simply wouldn't even respond.- The play area has a very short fence around it and it wraps around the building so little kids are often in the corner without any line of sight on them. It would be very easy for someone in the parking lot to reach over the gate and grab a child without anyone realizing. And I have on multiple occasions seen kids push open the gate at the side of the building (which is not locked) and run around wildly in the large and busy parking lot and I'd have to be the one to try to retrieve them.- The images attached here are from an exchange in the FB parent group for the school (not my post or comments)l. It seems the whole group was shut down shortly after the post.- Despite what they will tell you, that are not an AMI or AMS certified Montessori school, and they have claimed since the beginning that they were working on certification, but then there were never any moves in that direction (at least that they'd make parents aware of).- The school has tried very hard to increase positive reviews by having staff/admins and their spouses flood the reviews. I don't know any parent who wasn't actively trying to get their children out of there.

The School has had a great turn over of leadership and staffing. The atmosphere is calm and definitely Montessori. When I take my daughter to school it feels like I'm leaving her at home. The Guides are so wording, loving, and it is apparent they know my daughter. She loves going to school.

Guidepost Montessori is a gem of a school. It is a true authentic Montessori school with highly qualified educators. Our kid is thriving at Guidepost. Can't say enough about how grateful I am to have found such a perfect school for my kiddo. If you want to help your kids become independent, critical thinkers, look no further. Our kid absolutely loves Guidepost and is excited to go there everyday.