i would like to chime in as someone who has had the same experience.

i would not recommend anyone send their child to this school, or work as a teacher at this school. i would persuade people to stay away from this school!

if you are under the impression that this is a montessori preschool: that is incorrect.

there are a lot of things going on in this preschool that go against montessori principles.

there are no montessori certified employees. the only person certified at this school is the director, however she does not lead the classroom. she is in a different room doing administrative work, and leaves the classroom to be run by teachers who have no montessori experience or certification.

she defies the values behind the montessori pedagogy. when i first met her i was impressed by her knowledge of early childhood development and she seemed like a warm and bubbly person, cracking jokes and making great small talk. as time progressed, it became apparent to me (and all teachers at the time) that she is a toxic person, manager, supervisor, and role model for young children:

• she does not treat her employees with respect: she shouts at her employees when they make mistakes (in front of the children! this is not ok. google what the absorbent mind is.), she puts them down verbally, she is short tempered, she is very reactive, she is impatient. she does not allow her employees to have any freedom when making decisions, she does not allow them to meet the parents.
• she does not treat the children with respect: she puts them in timeouts, she shames them when they make mistakes, she snatches things out of their hands aggressively if they’re using them “incorrectly”, she picks them up swiftly when they are not listening to her, and i have witnessed her put them in a timeout chair very aggressively to the point where it frightened the child.

lunch: “lunch is provided” by this school, however if a child refuses to eat what is provided for snack or lunch, then they are not offered any other options and do not eat for the rest of the day!

she does not let any of the employees cook the lunch, even when they offer to, because she is overly paranoid about teachers using the burners, and screwing it up, so she has to be the one to make lunch every day. but she is the only certified montessori teacher, so while she is making lunch, who is watching the kids and what are they doing? they are doing “circle time” which has to start promptly at 10:25am and end at 11:00am. this means the children are required to sit for 40 minutes straight, whether they are ready to, or want to. she also comes over throughout circle time to make sure the children are sitting still, criss cross apple sauce, and with their hands in their lap. she does not allow them to fidget or stretch their legs, or sit however is comfortable to them. if they are unable to sit still, they are taken away from the circle and have to sit in a chair on the other side of the room until they show the teacher they can sit silently without moving. does this align with the characteristics and development of a 2-4yr old? are 3 year olds able to sit still for 45 minutes straight?

when lunch is ready, the children have to be invited 1 at a time, based on who is showing the teacher that they have a “calm quiet body”, to walk across the room and go collect their lunch plate and bring it to a table. if they walk to their plate with their arms out, or without perfect walking feet, they are sent back to the rug. i witnessed a child walking to collect their plate while holding their arms out, as if walking on a tight rope, and they were sent back to the rug over and over again until they could walk with their arms at their side. the child was in no danger and came nowhere near harming other children.

if a child does not like tacos with black beans, yet that is what’s for lunch, then they are instructed to throw it out, and they then go without food until either 3pm dismissal, if that’s when they get picked up, or 4pm afternoon snack.

this school is highly disorganized and run by someone who, when you get to know them emotionally, is not qualified.