New Century Montessori Academy

My son and daughter were both enrolled in New Century Montessori Academy for two years. My son started there in primary and has shown no advancement. I was told that the problem was my son, so I got him into see specialists, all of whom said my child was receptive to learning. I set up meetings with the teachers and director and we came up with a plan to help get him on track. They did not follow through with any of the promises they made during the meeting. Then I started noticing changes in my son. He became withdrawn, hardly ever smiled and was scared to try anything new for fear of failing. I became concerned, kids shouldn't have worries like that. I requested access to the classroom camera (a service they tout as being provided but then they deny you access). Seven days later they granted me access to the camera in my son's classroom and I saw that he was being singled out by the teacher and humiliated. Unfortunately this was not the first time she had done this to him. I had caught her on several occasions singling him out but she would always explain it away or blame my child. She would have him sit in the middle of the rug and gather the other children around him and make him an example because he was slow to clean up or he started crying. In my opinion she bullied my child and encouraged other children to do so as well. Also, on the day I pulled him out because of her ostracization of my child, the school contacted my ex-husband to ask what was wrong instead of having a conversation with me. If there are ANY other options available to you I implore you to consider those first.

I will offer this bit of advice for anyone considering this school. DON'T!! Here are something's to consider: One, unless you are not particular about whether or not your child's guide/teacher is truly Montessori Certified, you should be sure to request credentials. Two, don't expect the communication tools advertised to actually be utilized by the school. The website is "under construction" most of the time yet this school has been operating for more than 4 years (this is how long I've been told they were working on it). Communication is key when a parent is interested in reinforcing the lesson plans from school. At one point we were given weekly classroom communication then that was reduced to bi-weekly and finally none at all. Often times, if we got a newsletter it was in the middle of the month or closer to the end. Towards the end, the invoices were either late or just the day before tuition was due. Three, if you are looking for small class sizes, this will not be the school for you. Finally, the turnover rate is alarming! Just as soon as your child is adjusted to one teacher/guide, in comes another. Same for the front desk personnel and accounting person. While it is understood no employer has control over their staff's coming and going; it stands to question why the staff choose to leave more often than not. Happy employees don't seek to leave as often as I've seen these staff members leave this facility. At most, I can say my child made great friends there and miss them terribly but as a parent, I have to make the best decision for my child's education and New Century Montessori was not it! Needless to say, we made the choice to remove our child. However, our decision as parents was not made without many attempts to work through our concerns with this schools leadership. We did not feel as though our concerns were addressed appropriately. Through several attempts to express the concerns above, we felt like we were being "scoffed" at and brushed off. As a customer this was disappointing. As a parent dedicated to the education and care of my child this was completely unacceptable. Therefore, my child and my money were placed in more communicative, caring, and instructionally qualified hands. I rarely write reviews, however, I felt compelled to share my experience in hopes that no one else will have the same unacceptable experiences as I have.