Montessori Learning Center

My son spent the last year at this school and he has literally blossomed before my eyes. At his last school, July sweet Joshua cried everyday. He hated school. Within a week at the Montessori Learning Center he was asking WHEN he GOT to go to school. In fact, the instruction and love my son got from this school gave him so much confidence he is already starting to read. He is 4 ½. He can easily write his name and his numbers. He does difficult addition and subtraction. I actually had to ask his teacher for transitional kindergarten next year to please bring in more advanced work for josh because he is operating at at least a kindergarten level. This is ONLY because of this school. The class size is small. The teachers are not only skilled but caring and loving. I cannot say enough about this school. If we did not have a T-​K program that is free 5 minutes from our house we would absolutely without any reservation have kept Joshua at this gem of a school. Keep up the amazing work. You have changed our son’s entire outlook on school, on social skills and on confidence. Cannot thank you enough. Truly amazing.

My daughter is finishing her 4^th year at MLC and transitioning to a new (montessori) school and we are so sad to be leaving. MLC has become a real family for us, and my daughter has thrived during her time there in ways I could not even imagine. She leaves kindergarten with amazing listening skills, self discipline for her work and amazing confidence in herself. The teachers at MLC have worked to challenge her at her own skill level and taught her to work hard to the best of her ability. The teachers have always been warm and loving and are really one of a kind. We found MLC accidentally and the school has been a huge part of our life for the last 4 years. I am so grateful they have given my daughter the foundation for learning and the love of school that they have. You really cannot find a better place to start your child’s education.

We started out quite happy with the school, but gradually this changed. For a while we were simply disenchanted, but eventually we decided to remove our son ASAP.
One problem: innumerable «hidden fees» for activities. Before long we felt nickel-​and-​dimed to death with $ 5 for this, $ 20 for that. Most of the fees are not optional, either.
Another problem: gossip. Teachers everywhere are prone to this (I have several in my family, so I speak from experience), but it is especially unfortunate when teachers not only gossip amongst themselves, but with parents — as happened at MLC. We were told on several occasions about other parents’ and children’s behavior.
The most significant issue for us, though, was the way our son’s emotions were stifled while he was at school. When he cried at dropoff time, teachers would simply tell him «No crying!» (we heard this happen many times). Anyone with a modicum of knowledge about child development would find this completely inappropriate. The way to help children deal with their emotions is NOT by telling them to make their feelings go away; it is to talk to the child patiently and respectfully about the feelings. What we want from a school is emotional intelligence, but what we saw was emotional ignorance.