Montessori Academy of Chicago

We have been sending our kid to MAC for over a year. While the kid loves the school– I personally believe the school is penny-​pinching (despite fees being quite high). High turnover amongst teachers doesn’t help either.

My daughter attended MAC for approximately 1 year and started at age 5.5 months. MAC is so loving and nurturing and caring. The facility is top notch, clean, bright, safe, stimulating and nurturing. I remember walking in for my first tour and thinking it was a baby oasis. The children there are so calm and quiet. The infant classrooms are led by trained Montessori teachers who truly got to know my daughter. She absolutely loved her teachers and Spanish was her favorite part of the day. At a little over six months old my girl was drinking out of an open cup and being placed on a potty to encourage the familiarity of a toilet. All of this was great stuff, but at the end of the day my daughter was truly loved and safe there. I felt good taking her each day.
It is by far the best daycare I have experienced and I have two children and have been through several daycares. The administration is extremely responsive. If you have a problem, Fosca tries to solve it immediately. The teachers get to your baby so well and really work with them. The parents of all children at MAC are involved and know what is happening in the school. If you are looking for a daycare in the Loop, I so highly recommend checking out MAC for your infant or toddler. In my opinion, there is no comparison!

Our daughter has attended the Montessori Academy of Chicago (MAC) since she was 6 months old (now over 2 years) and our son will start in the fall.
Originally we considered having a nanny care for our daughter, but after trying it out, we did not feel comfortable leaving her with someone we didn’t know who was unsupervised (among the many other challenges of having a nanny). We looked around for other daycares in the area and were lucky to find this school. For us, what separated MAC from the others was the student to teacher ratio (1 teacher per 2 – 3 kids for infant), the calm environment (even in the infant and toddler rooms) and the focus on teaching children to love learning.
We have been continually amazed with our daughter’s development while attending this school. By the time she turned 2, she was counting to 20 in English and Spanish (we do not speak Spanish at home) and knew how to spell her name. Often, when I pick her up after school, she wants to finish her «work» which may be reading a book or playing with big block letters before we leave.
The school has also been very helpful with potty training. They have many classes that the parents can attend to provide guidance on parenting (potty training, discipline, the use of media, sleep, etc.). We attended the potty training class and started the effort around 2 years old. The teachers were very supportive in helping her with this process and they did a great job of making going to the bathroom just a natural part of her day.
One of the best things that we like about this school though, is how many staff members know our daughter’s name. We frequently see our daughter interacting with and calling other staff members (besides her teachers) by name. This makes us feel even safer in having her there because there are always staff members around who know who she is.
Lastly, a surprise from being a part of this school is the community that we’ve become a part of. Through our daughter’s attendance, we’ve formed a great network of friends who gets together for both play dates and without the kids. It’s been an unexpected support group as our 1 year olds have turned into 2’s. :)
To correct the hours in a previous post, the school is open from 7 – 6:30. This has given us great flexibility with work and has saved us when we unexpectedly got delayed in traffic and picked her up later than usual.

My son has been attending the school since he was 5 months old (now 2 years) and I have nothing but good things to say about the school. My son is progressing and excelling AND most importantly comes home with a smile on his face every day. He wants to be there and is happy and safe and learning so much! The teachers and assistants that I have had the pleasure to work with have been lovely.
Anytime I have had a question or concern, I feel completely comfortable talking to administration and owners of the school about them. They have been nothing but supportive and thoughtful about resolving issues or running the school in an exceptionally professional manner.
The hours are great for working parents 8am-​6pm M-​F and though it is a considerable jump in expense compared with daycares in the area, it is worth it because of the scholastic environment, the Montessori approach and level of education and love from the teachers/​staff.
I also really do appreciate the effort to get parents involved in charity and community and though, sometimes difficult to schedule, its great that the parents get together and get to know each other for brunches or seasonal potlucks. As someone living far from family, its nice to have that network of people in my corner.
As a reply to an earlier comment about the weather closures: Yes, this winter was tough, but all other CPS schools and a lot of daycares (that my friend’s kids go to) were closed as well. It was just a tough Chicago winter and the administration was looking out for the safety of people traveling by CTA and public transit. It has been a tough winter for all schools and I do believe the school was looking out for best interest and safety of teachers/​students.

My child was enrolled at Montessori Academy of Chicago (MAC) for over 5 years of her life. Knowing many parents with children at all ages and from a myriad of educational approaches, I see so many noticeable and significant things not «common» in children her age or much older sometimes in some remarkable areas but mainly empathy and curiosity and increased ability to solve problems; among other facets. The community of other parents is strong and consistent (though for many of us I am sure schedules are packed…). Being a product of «alternative education» myself, I see the same focus on the periphery of academics (life skills etc…) many schools are clearly unable (or unwilling) to get right in the offering.
My daughter blossomed at Montessori Academy of Chicago.
While I initially experienced some kinks in a relatively new program, management (ownership) has been very responsive and involved when it comes to remediate problems like school closings, lack of communication… Every program will have problems and the ones I had to deal with at MAC pale in comparison to the stories of the other parents and friends I know. I myself as a parent have learned a lot through my involvement with field trips and other activities, referrals to information about Montessori and how to bring it home in some respects… Summertime is especially great at MAC with so much immediate access to museums and parks and events in the neighborhood and adjacent to it. It is an investment and I make it gladly seeing these results. I originally gave my review four stars because I thought NO school could be 5 stars. I had to change this review to 5 stars not just out of nostalgia but also from comparison and first-​hand experience as a parent and part of the MAC alumni community now.

My daughter has been going to the school for five years and is currently in the Elementary Program. We chose it for the high standards and its hours are the best for working parents. We have been very pleased with the education she is receiving. The teachers really know and understand my daughter and it makes a significant difference. When she has struggled with a subject, the teachers have given valuable feedback on what we can do at home to help her to improve and have seen results. The environment has been consistently nurturing and caring. The community is strong and we really value getting to know the other parents and staff. My husband and I were new to Montessori and the Parent Education Events have been helpful in understanding the Montessori process and vision. I would highly recommend the school.

Beautiful school with well-​trained staff and true to Montessori (AMI/​AMS) standards right in the heart of Chicago. In terms of cost you get what you pay for – all wooden/​high-​quality environments, college educated teachers, fresh organic food, parent education events, great location in the city, good teacher to child ratios. If you compare to other high-​quality schools in the city you will be impressed with the MAC. In regards to scheduling complaints from other reviewers: the school publishes a list of holidays well in advance so you can rally the grandparents, babysitters, nannies or call in sick – no surprises with their schedule. Obviously this winter has been an anomaly with the terrible cold so there have been more days where the school was not open for many reasons. Teacher-​parent conferences are a good reason why kids can’t be at school – this is not a «daycare» center but a place where kids grow and learn. Check it out for yourself and you will be impressed.

My daughter went here for a year. She was in the pre-​primary class for 2 – 3 year-​olds. This was our first daycare.
Pros: good teacher-​student ratio, less then what is maximally allowed. Great hours 7 – 6:30 works well for busy working parents. Great location with parks walking distance, and decent parking situation for the city. WE LOVED her teachers. She really developed very well in the Montessori environment. There was a great camaraderie with all the parents in the class, everyone knew everyone. Good gross motor space, and even a small outdoor playground attached to the building. Key-​pad entry, safe and convenient. Class takes field-​trips every week in the summer! Parents can come with, and its a lot of fun. Teachers come out to your house before school starts to meet your family, and hold parent-​teacher conferences several times a year. Organic hot lunch included.
Cons: Pretty small classrooms. Pricey and no electronic payment system. School has 2 1-​week long vacations and all the bank holidays when it is closed, even though you pay full month tuition. This is typical for Montessori but hard when a parent does not work a job that recognizes Pulaski day as a holiday. No rolling admissions, School is September to September. So if you are moving in December (like we were) you cannot enroll for jut a few months without loosing costly deposits. On the flip side, this lack of rolling admissions is the reason we got to know all the families in our class so well, so I know why they do this.
Overall we were sad to leave, great place for kids!

This hurts a bit to only give 3 stars, I was a 5-​star thinker about this school initially. And that’s the problem with this place in a nutshell — GREAT at making a first impression, but it didn’t quiiiite hold up for us.
The turnover had been a problem — our daughter had three directresses within a single year in her room. Only one of the four primary classroom teachers was the same when we left as when we started. Only one of four teachers stays for two years?! I think this kind of defeats the whole purpose of the multi-​age, multi-​year classrooms that are so central to Montessori education. Entry-​level staff was constantly being sent to training, and people were moving up fast. It’s a great opportunity for an entry-​level child-​care provider at this school, since you might be #2 in a room in two years if you don’t make a huge mistake. But, the school maybe should be doing better at recruiting, hiring and training and addressing the underlying cultural problem that seemed to push teachers away.
We were there for two years as our two kids were 3– and 4– years old and had a really solid experience. The kids were well-​cared for, basically safe, had great materials and facilities and loving staff around them. Problem is, I don’t think you can execute on some of the most basic ideas of a true Montessori education if you are always changing over kids and teachers in the classrooms. What’s amazing is how well they handle it and maybe the kids are learning some valuable lessons by going through change. But it’s not what we expected when we came in with such a brilliant first impression and when we paid such brilliant tuition and made a brilliant donation at the big brilliant fund-​raising event.
This seems to be a boldly for-​profit school, and essentially still a fast-​expanding start-​up. That might be the core of the long-​term challenge. I *love* the people, top-​to-​bottom, and I wish them well. Your kids will be safe and well-​cared for here, and it is a convenient place to drop kids off on your way to the Loop every day. They’ve nailed parent convenience, safety and peace-​of-​mind. When they get the Montessori child’s and teacher’s experience a little better polished, this place might really be special.

My daughter has been going here from the beginning, in early 2007, and my son started 2 years later.
They do a great job with all things related to education, from discipline and organization to exposure to things in the world that the typical pre-​schoolar would normally not have. The staff has mostly been wonderful except for maybe one or two who don’t last long. My kids like it there and it feels like family.
That it is conveniently located downtown with very accommodating hours is a plus.

My daughter has been going here since it opened in February 2007. We started with just three classrooms (one for the babies, one for the toddlers and one for the preschoolers) and now it’s on two floors! As of Fall 2009 they will go up through 3^rd grade, I believe.
The facilities are brand new and really nice with lots of wood and almost no plastic. Everything (in keeping with the Montessori approach) is down at the kid’s level. The teachers are mostly very good, and my daughter has loved being here.
From a working parent standpoint, the hours and the location are fabulous… they are open till 6:30pm and I can get there in just a few minutes from my office in the loop.