Community Montessori School

What better source for a review than someone who had their child enrolled for 4 years at Community Montessori School? They are in a word awesome. My daughter attended & has now moved on to a private school for kindergarten. The quality of instruction, warmth, and kindness shown over those four years will forever make each educational experience that follows far inferior. I have had contact with just about all of the staff here, and most are long term employees. Children are carefully supervised at all times & are treated with respect & deep compassion (and so are parents!). They are exceptional. Luckily we have another child enrolled, so we will continue to be part of the CMS family. Bonnie Redmond is the most caring, thorough professional I have met anywhere. She maintains very high standards of her staff & yet at the same time manages to keep a relaxed family atmosphere. I have no idea how she does it. Look - my kid could read, write, and do arithmetic by the time she started kindergarten. Her last year at CMS was very customized in my opinion, and her teachers were adapting the material to keep her moving full steam (I have a basic cipher exercise they had her do pinned up in my cube at work!). The work she brought home blew me away. They gave her the gift of a love of learning. My mother-in-law was an educator for a prestigious private school for 30 years & had the highest praise as well (she visited the classroom OFTEN!). You're lucky if you get in here - if they did 1-8, my oldest would still be there. My level of trust & respect could never be expressed in an internet review. See for yourself! more

I am a teacher at CMS and have no plans to leave the school. It is a good place to work. The 2 teachers left because they did not want to go to teacher training and could not get along with others. more

This rating & review only pertains to my interview with the school. I have not made the decision to enroll in CMS. I am considering various schools for my 2-year old child. Like: 1) The environment is nice, have a big playground with plenty of space for the kids to stretch and run around. The playground has plenty of shades so I don't worry about my child get sun burn for being out. 2) I sat in the circle time for the Toddler class, the teachers are wonderful with the kids, lots of interactions with those that are outspoken. For the quiet kids, they sat at the back and observe the class, the teacher do call their names to ensure that they are included in the "conversation". 3) I do get the sense that CMS put the children and the enrolled family as first priority (from wearing open-toe shoes policy to payment plan). They seem to be quite flexible to work with the family to meet our needs. Not so sure: 1) My husband and I piggy-back into the building, and there was no one there at the reception area. We waited for a few minutes. Although the kids are with their teachers and I supposed any strangers will have to get through the teacher in order to get close to any kids. But the fact anyone can just piggy-back into the building and no one at the reception desk does worry me. Also, when we tour around the school, the center director constantly left one of the classroom door wide open for us to go to the back playground. My feeling is that, kidnapping may not happen for just some strangers but if some one has an eye for your child, it is not difficult to just go in and take the child. Again, granted, I assume the teachers have eyes on the children at all times. 2) Echoing my concern in 1) above, I feel that the school has a very trusting attitude, and am not sure when disaster strike whether they are prepared for it. 3) The center director is good at telling me what I want to hear. more

Good: I visited several Montessori's before enrolling my children at CMS. The other schools were very very structured, even down to what type of sunglasses and color sock they should wear. As soon as I walked into CMS, met the staff and was able to see the children interact with the staff, I knew this was a much better match. CMS is more like a family and they don't knock you over the head with a ton of rules. They are structured yet let the kids express themselves. the teachers seem to love what they do.. Other: They have dance class and special projects each day of the week. The best part of the school is the staff...they have made me feel as though my children are their priority (even though I am sure they do that for all the parents). I never feel like my children are not getting the attention and direction they need. The staff is very good at giving daily summaries. Although, during the summer, they do have college kids helping out, there is always a teachers aid available to tell you how the day went.. more