Montessori School Of Los Altos

We enrolled our daughter at the Montessori School of Los Altos last year (when she was 3.5 y/o) and are so very pleased with her development thus far. She is thriving and, most importantly, loves the school and the teachers. Set in a strikingly beautiful facility, MSLA offers a classic Montessori education that integrates art, music, dance, cooking, and outdoor play into a time-tested curriculum in the core areas of language, geography and cultural studies, math, and science. Daily instruction in Spanish, Mandarin, and French is also included, and we like to observe how the Montessori Method enables the well-trained and caring teachers to give our daughter a variety of individual lessons throughout the day, all of which are taught with carefully prepared Montessori materials. But, most of all, we love the ways in which MSLA implements the Montessori philosophy of a well-rounded education that teaches our daughter grace and courtesy, how to care for her environment, and a wide range of practical life skills that are helping her develop independence and self-confidence.

We, parents, are always welcome to visit the school and join in various activities, and the Director has been responsive, willing to address our concerns, and happy to share with us her vast knowledge and experience.

Let me emphasize that MSLA provides AMI Montessori education and follows classic curriculum and method. This means that, as a parent, you need to be clear about what Montessori education is and is not, level-set your expectations accordingly, and make an informed decision about whether it is right for your child and your family. Understand the exact sense of structure unique to a Montessori classroom, and familiarize yourself with the Montessori principles and concept of a work cycle. While Montessori students are taught to be involved in self-selected work, bear in mind that teaching a child to choose what to do is not the same as letting him or her do whatever they want.

If you consider a Montessori education for your child, I recommend MSLA wholeheartedly. For us, it strikes just the right balance of a structured and supportive environment that fosters academic preparation along with independent learning and intrinsic motivation. We are fortunate to be part of MSLA.

Posted 11/13/09 | Report Abuse

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The Montessori School of Los Altos has been a wonderful experience for my daughter and our family! We have been at the school for 2 years, and we are amazed with what our daughter learns daily. The wealth and enrichment of the curriculum (art, dance, music, Spanish/Mandrian, math, science, writing & reading) is an added bonus. My daughter loves the school and its teachers.

Speaking as an elementary teacher myself, I watch how the staff interacts with the students through discipline and teaching the curriculum, as well as the relationships they have with each student. I am beyond pleased. I feel that each teacher takes the time to focus on an individual when it comes to learning a lesson, but at the same time allows them to discover and learn on their own (following the philosophy of Montessori). I love how manners and respect are a MUST daily. This reinforcement is helpful with what we teach at home. Finally, I am lucky that my daughter is surrounded by such caring and devoted teachers who LOVE what they do and love their students.

We look forward to our youngest daughter attending in a couple years.

Posted 06/15/09 | Report Abuse

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The positive classroom experience, caring teachers, and the great location in the Greenmeadow neighborhood of Palo Alto (as of last year) have provided a terrific developmental & learning environment for my 2 children. My son spent 2+ years at this school before kindergarten and my daughter is still enrolled. My kids gained mastery in social skills and creative play (art, music, dance) in addition to academics. Most notably, my kids love to learn and MSLA definitely fostered this. We are quite happy with our overall experience.

Posted 06/14/09 | Report Abuse

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If you want to surround your kids with exceptionally bright kids and very mindful parents, then Montessori Schools of Los Altos is for you. After canvassing so many other schools, I thank goodness that we ended up here. Our kids, who are still in pre-school and have another year of pre-school to go, are learning what other kids learn in Kindergarten are doing - in public and many other private schools. The range of learning that our kids are achieving - from math to art to language to project-based - is truly remarkable. If you want your kids to have a global education, and be more comparable to what the top east-coast schools offer, then you should strongly consider MSLA.

Posted 06/14/09 | Report Abuse

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I cannot understand the poor reviews on this site. My children have excelled at this school. I have found the teachers to be passionate, concerned, and caring. I think the school has sparked a love of learning in both my children that they will carry with them forever.

The director is responsive and will address your concerns.

The teachers genuinely care about the children, and are devoted to the Montessori Method. How lucky we are to have such a school in our community! I would recommend it (and I do recommend it) to any parent in the area.

Posted 01/08/09 | Report Abuse

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I cannot understand the poor reviews for this school. My son attended and received a world class education. He was constantly challenged, the teachers advanced his learning based on where he started, and he came home with a zest and love of learning.

Yes, the school is quite structured and the routines are solidly in place, but as another reviewer stated, the proof is in the results. My 5 year old knows geography, he can add, subtract, multiply and even divide, he learned how to read and write and he even vacuums our house.

This is a great school and public schools should visit and learn from it.

Posted 01/05/09 | Report Abuse

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Unfortunately all the experienced teachers are moving on for better opportunities and/or environment. teachers are the heart and soul of any educational institution.

Despite the administrative frustrations at this school had a good educational experience. However, I have decided not to enroll my younger daughter at this school.

Posted 09/09/08 | Report Abuse

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There has been a huge turnover of teachers mainly due to employee dissatisfaction. Recently when one teacher left due to a disagreement with the owner/director, a mass e-mail was sent by the Director to all parents publicly bashing this teacher. If the educators themselves do not exhibit professional courtesey, I wonder what example they are setting for our children.

I also agree with some previous posts - customer service is lacking, attitude is elitist and arrogant, suggestions/requests are either ignored or go unanswered.

Posted 08/23/08 | Report Abuse

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Last year the school got investigated twice due to teacher to student ratio and the environment. Whenever you have a recommendation or concern to the school, The owner will ask you to leave. The owner of the school fired three teachers last year which only worked for 3-4 month. My Child love one of the teacher in his class and she told us she got fired because of the disagreement with the owner/director. The owner/director runs the school like a dictator, doesn't allow any comments. The teachers are very nice, but the school is lack of good administration and harmony.

Posted 07/20/08 | Report Abuse

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The owner/director is very arrogant. It's so hard to discuss any issue with her. She is not appreciating any suggestion and recommendation. There has been frequent staff turn over due to the bad relationship with the director. The teachers are all very nice but you can tell they are very nervous and stressed. Sometimes they give those stress and uncomfortable to the kids. I didn't enroll my kids for too long because the teacher is sometimes ridiculously too strict to the small kids. I think the kids should be happy when they go to any school. This is the school won't make your child happy.

Posted 07/01/08 | Report Abuse

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The proof is in the results. My son and daughter attended the Montessori School of Los Altos from preschool through to kindergarten. Today, they are high performers at a top school in Los Altos. They are also self-starters with good organizational skills and healthy manners. I attribute a lot of this to the education and discipline they received from the school. The director and teachers are strict but are great teachers who are caring, fair, and consistent. I also wanted to share that the director is a Montessori guru. She works hard to maintain the Montessori way and cares a lot about the children. Over the past nine years that I have known her, she has been consistently fair/honest and generous to families in need and special causes. The tuition and the other minor fees are more than fair for the quality the school provides. I highly recommend the school.

Posted 06/03/08 | Report Abuse

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We have had two of our children in school this year, one in kindergarten and one in preschool. The teachers here are the strength of the school--they are very caring. and dedicated. I concur with another review that this not a play based school, and independence and resourcefulness are encouraged. There is discipine, but with caring. Both our chilrdren have learned a lot during their time here and were happy as well. There are also children of many cultures/nationalities attending the school, which is nice.

The curriculum is true Montessori. I like that our children are learning Spanish (French is also offered). I also like having school uniforms (especially for my daughter). I have not had much interaction with the director, but I have had no problems with the teachers or staff at the school.

Posted 05/26/08 | Report Abuse

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I have sent my two kids there for pre-K education. After reading the reviews on this site, I have to say it's not for every child. This is a traditional style school, not play based. Teachers are loving but strict. Language and practical life are the two highlights in their program.
Good culture diversity and they teach kids to be
disciplined, independent and respectful through their
Montessori program. Parent community are wonderful - my kids kept their friends for years after leaving the school. They both read proficiently before kindergarten and yet they don't get the level of stress like in challenger. It's a year round school and hours are convenient for working parents.

It's true that communication with administration staff can be better and more flexible. Art program can be better.
But all in all, we are pleased with the school.

Posted 05/22/08 | Report Abuse

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My little one attended this Montessori school last year and we had a terrible experience. The owner/Director was never around and would ignore all email and phone requests to meet or even talk on the phone about any issues/concerns/questions parents had. She talks big but the school does not deliver.

Our first impressions and early weeks were fine but then we started experiencing disturbing and discriminatory behavior from the Director and the Assistant Director. Rules (such as drop off times, uniform codes) were changed on the fly without any notice to the parents and the administrator talked down to parents who raised any basic questions.

Once we declared that our child will not be continuing in their KG we were categorically excluded from school field trips and graduation ceremonies and were given baseless reasons. I tried talking to the Director but my phones, emails and letters were mostly ignored. The assistant Director was not at all helpful, either.

The only reason we were able to complete one year with the school was that most of the teachers are very nice.

I would not recommend this school for anyone.

Posted 04/23/08 | Report Abuse

2 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

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While the teaching methodology is fair- the administration lacks basic customer service.

There is an element of arrogance by the owner Ms. Engleman who runs the school like a dictator. You will not find any openness at this school to seek feedback from parents to make necessary improvements. There are several hidden fees/charges/donations etc. and the school will not miss an opportunity to squeeze more money.

There is also lack of communication between administration/teachers.

All this leads to a very unpleasant experience for the parent.

Posted 02/23/08 | Report Abuse

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

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This school seems appealing at first, but the environment is very regimented in practice. Their rules and punishments are silly, and not appropriate for the age group they serve (2.5-6 yrs); they seem designed to make the teachers' lives easy, but not promote any long-term learning or good behavior in children. At the same time, they let blatant verbal and physical bullying by the older kids continue by not handling such incidents with the seriousness warranted.

The worst aspect, though, is their discrimination in the second half of the school year against children who do not plan to attend kindergarten there. Once they realize in Jan or Feb that you plan to move on to one of the excellent public, charter or private elementary schools in the area, they will exclude your child from field trips, end-of-year ceremonies and farewell parties. Clearly, their bottomline as a business is more important to them than the fragile emotional well-being of four year olds they claim to serve!

The redeeming feature is a few caring teachers, but they swim against the tide. It is disturbing to watch the pompous director speak sharply to teachers with children and parents present, using words and a tone you do not want your kids to hear.

I would give it zero stars if I could. Go elsewhere and save yourself many headaches.

Posted 02/09/08 | Report Abuse

2 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

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I sent my child to this school and if you want to save yourself...and more importantly your little one...the aggravation of being lied to constantly by teachers, having a director who is NEVER there to address any issues, NO administration and a HIGHLY mismanaged school, you should send your child somewhere else. There are a string of parents over the years who have had MAJOR issues with the school - i.e. safety in the playground, sudden turnover of teachers, lack of consistent school philosophy, very poor teacher to student ratio - and those parents are either ignored or very abruptly asked to leave by the director.
They will do a great marketing job but if you ask any parent who sent their kids there, you will find out quickly that they just want to fill spots - just drop your child off, keep quiet and give us tuition for the entire year.
I agree with Lucy on the "look" (once again good marketing) but I am wondering what administration staff she was impressed with...it would be one of the teachers running out of their classroom (lowering teacher to student ratio) to quickly talk to the parents.

Posted 10/02/07 | Report Abuse

3 out of 4 people found this review helpful.

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Ive visted Montessori School of Los Altos at the end of last year and I was quite pleasantly surprised at the first visit. I probably didnt expect to be very impressed because its too close to the noisy Alma Str, but its actually in the back of another building and although the backyard is adjacent to Alma its big and nice and protected from the street, so I could ignore this. And I found busy kids doing some Montessori jobs. The school also offers Spanish and French, so I was quite interested to take the observation tour. I kind of noticed the carpet was a bit messy or dirty, but it was afternoon and you would expect something like that after a busy working session, but I just wanted to keep an eye on this.

So we scheduled an observation tour early in the morning and the program starts with circle time where I wasnt really impressed by the teacher, even if there was a Spanish teacher as well. I just didnt find the circle very engaging for kids and the kids didnt seem very interested either.

But the thing that turned me down was that the carpet was really dirty at 9 AM, a kid got something from the floor and put it in his mouth and thats the end of this story, I know that Montessori is a wonderful early childhood education program that works so nicely, but it has to be safe & healthy first!

http://myfriendisyourfriend.wordpress.com/2007/02/10/montessori-school-of-los-altos/

Posted 02/10/07 | Report Abuse

3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

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I moved to the area and wanted to send my 2 1/2 year old to a loving school, preferably using the Montessori method (I read more on this style at babycenter.com and decided that it fit my boy). I researched several dozen schools in the area and visited over 10 in person. I liked the look of this one, the teachers and the admin staff were wonderful and the other children were happy in the environment. I ended up sending my son there and think it was the best decision for him. He loves the school and he brings homes so much from wonderful art projects to lovely manners and habits. It has exceeded my expectations!

PROS: Wonderful educational materials and large yard for the children!
CONS: Uniforms - I have grown to like as it is one less thing to worry about!

Posted 08/31/06 | Report Abuse

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