I love this school! I have sent both of my sons there and the lessons (life and curriculum related)…read morethey have learned there have been OUTSTANDING. Not only do I have to drag my 4-year old off the playground every afternoon, he is READING and doing multiplication! There is a reason this school has been in the community for the past 30 years, they are hard-working, committed professionals dedicated to the success of our childrean. Highly recommended.

My son is 4.5 and has been at Boulder Montessori School since he was 18 months old. He has thrived…read moreunder the care of the wonderful teachers at BMS and with the Montessori principles. Our younger son will start at BMS when he reaches 18 months and we are thrilled to have him benefit from all things BMS. Some aspects of BMS which contribute to our satisfaction: 1) tenure of teachers - several teachers & administrators have been with BMS since founding in the 1970s. many others have been with the school for 10-20 years. 2) sense of community - BMS embraces its families as their own. 3) empowering children - Montessori gives children the power to thrive in independence. From serving their own food and clearing their own dishes, to finding a sense of order in how kid's structure their "work", our son finds extreme happiness in managing his own little world.

Our Experience at Patience Montessori: A Cautionary Account…read more Our time at Patience Montessori was unfortunately marked by significant concerns regarding the care of our child and the overall environment of the daycare. What should have been a nurturing, supportive partnership turned into a stressful and unhealthy experience for our entire family. Mismanagement and Poor Communication From the beginning, I had concerns about the center's management. When I approached the director to discuss issues such as classroom transitions, choking hazards, teacher turnover, and the handling of pumped breast milk, I was met with a dismissive and defensive attitude. Instead of engaging in a constructive dialogue, the director consistently deflected responsibility and placed blame on parents or staff. Communication at this daycare was a recurring problem. Any concerns raised were typically ignored or met with hostility. Over time, it became clear that the director only engaged with me to point out what she believed I was doing wrong as a parent--including breastfeeding choices, carrying my child, or even my child removing her shoes at school. This level of intrusion into parenting decisions felt entirely inappropriate and overreaching. High Staff Turnover and Questionable Hiring In just six months, my child had six different teachers in the toddler room. This high turnover created instability and was never proactively communicated to parents. After the sixth teacher, my child--previously happy to attend--began crying at drop-off and describing the new teacher as "mean" and "scary." I later learned that this teacher refused to offer milk based on a personal belief that another child might mistakenly drink it. Shockingly, she had cycled through twelve different daycare centers before arriving at this one. Concerning Treatment of Children and Staff More alarming were the reports I heard directly from staff members, who confided in me about the director's behavior. They expressed discomfort with being sworn at in front of children, being pressured to operate over legal child-to-adult ratios, and being given questionable directions, including how to minimize parent-teacher interactions during drop-off. On multiple occasions, the director interrupted private conversations I was having with my child's teachers under the pretense of needing to "talk privately" with them. This left me feeling that transparency with parents was being intentionally avoided. Emotional Wellbeing and Child Development One of my deepest concerns was the director's approach to emotional development. Patience's philosophy, as described to me, discouraged staff from comforting children in distress. Staff were reportedly told not to hold, soothe, or validate a crying child's emotions. "She needs to be on her own," they were instructed. This rigid interpretation of the Montessori philosophy felt, to me, like emotional neglect rather than encouragement of independence. Montessori education values independence, yes--but not at the cost of compassion and emotional support. Children deserve comfort and guidance as they learn to regulate their feelings. What I witnessed and heard about at Patience Montessori deeply contradicted those values. Final Thoughts What I hoped for was a nurturing and professional childcare environment--one that would support my child and work with me as a parent. Instead, I encountered a toxic culture, a lack of professionalism, and a director who was more interested in control than care. Ultimately, we had to find a new daycare where our child could feel safe, supported, and understood. I share our experience to help other families make informed decisions and to advocate for higher standards in early childhood care.

My daughter absolutely loves Patience Montessori! Ever since we've started we've been nothing but…read moresurprised at how much she's learned and progressed. They really focus on social and interpersonal skills as well as practical skills to help your child in everyday life. She's learned really great things regarding the alphabet and numbers and all of the things that will prepare her for kindergarten. The teachers seem happy to come to work and there hasn't been much turnover of staff since the chaos of COVID died down. One thing I do want to mention is that I know that Patience Montessori gets some variation in review. And our experience has been that a lot of this has to do with implicit racism. We have felt this racism as a product of taking our daughter to a black owned school. In our experience these reviews are not representative. Patience is a very direct person, but she has decades of experience under her belt and she works with parents to make sure that the parents and the school are working together to provide the students with the best chance of success. The state auditors seem to hold Patience to an arbitrarily stringent standard. For example, one time Patience had to reprint all of the sign in sheets because it said "sign" instead of "signature". This doesn't really seem reasonable note indicative of how well the school knows or complies with state standards, which seems to be more than some of my friends' kids' daycare. We love Patience Montessori and would definitely recommend it to others. If I had a second, there is no doubt in my mind that they would go here.

This school did not meet my expectations. The teachers were rude and disrespectful. They had…read moreverbally abused my child. My kid had come home one day claiming that she got barked at by a bunch of 3 graders and also claiming that there was a "booger wall"

My oldest child began as a kindergartner at Westgate in 2021 and we unenrolled from the school…read moreafter he completed second grade. If I can prevent even ONE family from enrolling their child(ren) at Westgate, then I'll consider this review successful. The dysfunction of Westgate starts at the top. Sharon Collins is a complete disaster of an Executive Director and Cassie Seybold is equally as disastrous. I have tangible proof of these two women lying and deflecting in multiple situations (not just one single isolated incident) in an effort to avoid taking accountability for various issues. Next, after looking at the current staff directory, I can report that not one single kindergarten teacher is still there from my son's short stint at Westgate. In fact, it looks like the staff has been slashed down to only 2 kinder teachers when there were at least 4 in 2021. Also, the K-4 Assistant Principal has changed again, making this the 3rd Assistant Principal that I personally know of in 4 years. There's a reason Westgate cannot retain staff, and it starts at the top. Here is a very brief summary of what my son endured while at Westgate: 1. He (and another student) were quite literally lost in carpool line on the very first day of kindergarten. It was a "code red" on the walkie talkies as they tried to locate our children. Cassie Seybold told me this happened because they (5 year olds) did not follow proper instructions. We found them walking towards Washington Street. 2. A 6th grade boy told my son sexually explicit stories that left him confused and feeling awkward. I brought this up to staff, asking why this 6th grader had access to my son, and nobody could tell me why. 3. My son's class was evacuated at least twice (that I know of) due to violent student behavior and I was never proactively notified by anyone on staff, but the incidents were confirmed when I emailed his teacher(s). 4. My son was punched on more than one occasion, and the offending student was also punching & kicking other classmates without repercussion. Oddly enough, this always seemed to happen during recess and none of the staff ever seemed to notice. Again, I have tangible proof that we were not the only family to endure physical violence during recess and have it dismissed by administration. The list of low-grade and offensive interactions my son had at Westgate is quite long, but those are the highest priority items that I think parents should be aware of. Last, as it relates to me, I was called a "bully" by Cassie Seybold during a conference in what I thought would be a professional setting. And finally, I was lied to about student placement by Sharon Collins. When I asked her about this lie, I was at first deflected to another administrator and then ultimately ignored without resolution. There is zero accountability amongst the administration. Nobody is willing to take responsibility and make corrections. Deny or deflect seems to be the MO. There are so many better options. Please learn from my mistakes, and don't subject yourself, nor your child, to this type of environment. Good luck!

Sonshine is a wonderful school with great staff. You really don't need to look anymore. This group…read morehas been in business for 23-24 years. They have a gym inside to play when it's cold, classrooms for each age group, a playground, secure doors, and everyone seems to work well together. I like that they treat the kids like their own but still have educational activities school pictures and such like we were in elementary already. And they are so affordable I had to ask twice!

Great school! We have two children in elementary there and they have learned and grown so much…read more The teachers truly care about the students and do a great job helping them individually.

This is an amazing school and learning environment. My granddaughter has been enjoying learning…read moreand growing so much and I am totally in awe of how wonderful the experience has been for her and her 'classmates' as she calls them. I am the oldest girl of 7 and learned much from helping my mother with my brothers and sisters. I have three children of my own and love kids. I know a great learning environment when I see one and this place is a gem! So happy we found it and that our little princess gets to experience this as her first 'school' experience. She will treasure her time at Happy Valley forever.

This school is horrible for any family that is untraditional or child may have behavior issues…read more The staff and owner are so unprofessional and disrespectful. The teachers have 80 children come in and out of their school on a weekly basis. I was asked to not speak during parent teacher conference bc there was not enough time to get thru everthing. The teachers have no real time to dedicate or give extra attention to children and families that need it. Don't send your child here just for the animals. They don't really get to interact that much with them....this preschool was a huge mistake.

We had a phenomenal experience at Acacia with our son for two plus years. The teachers were nothing…read moreshort of spectacular and caring. However, in early 2024 the entire center tanked due to a bizarre, church affiliated oversight board. Unbeknownst to families, Acacia was classified as a religious organization and the board began wielding power in early 2024. The teachers were put in terrible working conditions and many of the the teachers and families left in May 2024 amid the chaos. Quite frankly the entire situation was devastating for a daycare center that had been so excellent just a few months before (I hope they can turn it around). If you are seriously considering this place, please ensure that the board has made significant changes, including (1) having a parent and teacher on the board, (2) hosting open to the public board meetings, and (3) providing fiscal transparency. Additionally, I would also inquire about how long the administration has been in place. While I am leaving a one star review, I want to reiterate that the teachers were spectacular at this facility (please hire them, if they are looking for jobs!). They were just victims of a tragic downward spiral that was out of their control.

I toured this day care while 3 months pregnant, I paid the fee to join the waitlist. After I had…read moremy baby I reached out to see where I was on the waitlist and I never heard anything. I emailed multiple people and sent contacts through their website and still heard nothing. I now have a 4 month old baby and still have never heard anything. So I paid $100 waitlist fee for nothing.

My son loved going to this school for preschool and kindergarten. The teachers are wonderful and…read morereally address individual student needs. The environment is safe, warm and friendly. For a small school, they offer many activities and many academic areas. They make sure each student enjoys learning history, math, English, science, art, P.E., and everything that makes a student well-rounded. The administration supports parents in many ways, including scholarships that are funded by individual donations and events like the annual yard sale on the first weekend of June.

This school had a good pre-K and kindergarten program. However, if you are not prepared to become a…read moremember of this church, you and your child will eventually be treated poorly. (They can teach the Amish a thing or two about "shunning.")