The Montessori Schoolhouse

This school is magical. The teachers are wonderful, the classes are rich, and the student body is diverse in every way. Their respect for kids and the expectations of self-motivation and community responsibility are game-changing. Many students are fine and happy in a typical school setting; mine wasn't, and finding the Schoolhouse for his middle school years has lightened and brightened him immeasurably. Highly, highly recommend. (And make sure you tour with or at least meet the teachers--admin is lovely but can be misleadingly stoic and unrepresentative of the actual student experience and environment.)

My eldest has been going to MSH since 2007 and she is now a kindergartner there. My youngest just started going this year (2010) and he is a preschooler. We love this school so much. The teachers are absolutely amazing. (I secretly suspect some of them just may be saints!) The school feels like a home (I love dropping my kids off in the morning and smelling the coffee brewing in the kitchen). The materials are absolutely beautiful - and bountiful! And it is always such a joy to see the diverse creations my kids bring home.My children have grown so much since starting school at MSH. I credit the school with helping them become the amazing little people they are.

My son was enrolled with this program and from the start it was nothing but headaches and animosity. 1. The initial interview was terrible, this was done with the owner (I assume) and unless you are well versed in the whole history of Montessori, she treated us as if we were not worthy of her time. 2. Once enrolled we were required to do a 2 week "trial period" in which we would drop my son off in the morning and pick him up at noon then I would take him to his day care. I had to do this on my lunch due to being a working mom and my husband was out in the field with his doctorate studies and could not do so. 3. The school would not give clear target behaviors: they would make broad statements that my son was defiant, and a safety concern for not coming in exactly when told from recess. Now I have a masters degree in special education, I know the academic model of Montessori school but their behavior management skills leave a lot to be desired. Unless your child is a perfect angel and follows any adult directives they will label him defiant. 4. Finally when I came for the first most day (due to my husband being ill) I came into the school and watched as the child of one of the teachers ostracized my child stating "he is not our friend, he is too little" and granted they put the girl in time out but did not follow the Methodology that would have the whole class state that all kids were our friends in school and follow up with soothing my child. The teacher apologized but I was done. Granted my son did like the lessons in the school but the struggles with the teachers and admin personal (granted whomever answers the phone is very nice) that we with drew our son and looking at the other Montessori school instead. Again, my husband and I are both graduate students, from a middle class background and both work, and were willing to pay for a good education for my son, but if the teachers and admin staff are not supportive, then in my experience no matter how good the curriculum the child will not thrive and learn.

When our daughter started attending MSH, her dad was unemployed and the variety of school schedules catered to our stay at home parent lifestyle. We could drop off at 8:30, pick up early, and payless. Finally, my husband found a job and we were both working. The 8:30 schedule didn't work for us and if you wanted to drop off earlier there was an extra fee. Who starts work at 9? Also, the tuition increased this past year from $650 to $725 for preschool. The school never conducted any type of fundraising to give scholarships or perhaps reduce the tuition. This school's preschool tuition caters to the upper class family income. Despite, both parents working it was very difficult to pay the tuition. In December, when the $725 was due for 10 days of school, we thought this amount was ridiculous amount to pay, especially for the holiday season and for only 10 days of school. We didn't pay and were asked not to come back. I was very hurt for my daughter, she was going to lose her friends and wonderful teachers. Looking back, this school didn't no promote diversity and more or less only cared about the money it received to operate. The teachers are wonderful, but this expensive preschool was not conducive to our working family. Also there was too much self exploratory, the teachers always seemed to be kicking back rather than interacting with the students. I pay $505 now for Miles Exploratory Learning Preschool and we love it.

My child has been in this school for a number of years. I'm very disappointed in the school and particularly the administration. Not sure how their state scores are so high. They don't follow the Montessori method and are so hands off that they don't correct children when they should. I have personally broken up physical fights between the children while the after school teacher was present and did not care to stop what was going on even though she saw it. Work doesn't get completed by children and they don't get redirected. They are cruel and callous when dropping children in the middle of the school year leaving families to scramble for coverage. They consistently change the rules in ways that are inconvenient and harmful to families. On the surface and based on state scores, the school looks great. But I would STRONGLY advise you to look elsewhere or find families that have left and believe what they say. It's easy to assume the child is the issue, but when they have so many children in the lower grades and very few in the higher grades - that should be a huge red flag that maybe all of the children aren't the issue. And if your child is special needs, be prepared to be pushed out regardless of timing.

The experience I had with the owner was horrible. The choice of words and the communication she stated about talking about my son was not what I expected from a so called professional. I did a lot of research of montessori schools and I read reviews previously with mixed emotions but I wanted to still continue with this school well we only got as far as summer school and that was it for me. The owner had no compassion and with us being military I expected her to understand changes in his behavior but everything works out for a reason and I'm so happy we didn't end it here.