The best decision we ever made to join our little kid to HMS lake forest. He was just two when we started and Ms.Tamara was his first teacher, she has that warmth and kindness to her that you cannot ask for a better first teacher to your kid ever. Ms.Maryam was his second teacher and she is the perfect combo of challenge, education and play, my kid started reading letter sounds and words at just 3 years old and makes friends wherever he goes, all thanks to this amazing school. They have introduced every festival there to these little munchkins by celebrating one every month, we loved celebrating and learning so many different cultures. read more

We have had such a wonderful experience with Heritage Montessori daycare and are so grateful for the care, effort, and thoughtfulness that goes into the program. Ms. Karla is incredibly helpful, organized, and hardworking as the director, and it really shows in the way everything is planned and communicated. The teachers are very involved with the children and are hands-on with activities, which makes the environment feel warm, engaging, and supportive. One of the things we really appreciate is the strong focus on educational activities. The children get to do many crafts and special projects, but what stands out is that the crafts always seem to have an educational touch behind them. We have seen other daycares where crafts are more generic or less focused, so it is very nice to see activities that are both fun and meaningful for the kids. The daycare also offers many great extra options for families, including book club, early drop-off, and afternoon care, which makes the program very convenient and flexible. There are also lots of extra special activities, and we love seeing the creative projects the kids bring home. The facility itself is beautifully decorated and has a charming artistic, homestead feel that gives it a lot of character. Another highlight has been the weekly video recaps. Seeing the kids participate in activities throughout the week is so wonderful and gives parents a special window into their day. We also really appreciate that the daycare advocates for and emphasizes no screen time for the children, which has been such a positive and refreshing part of the program. Overall, this is a caring, creative, and well-run daycare, and we are very thankful for everything they do for the children. read more

**Yelp Review for Heritage Montessori School** Heritage Montessori School is an absolute gem! The atmosphere is buzzing with warmth and excitement. It truly feels like a nurturing home away from home for the kids. My daughter started in Class 1 last year, and I cannot say enough about the incredible experience Dr. M, Ms. Gabi, and the entire staff have created. They are not only passionate about the kids general wellbeing but also deeply committed to fostering each child's individuality and love for learning. Dr. M is direct to the point, but she recommended an amazing sleep schedule for my daughter to adjust to starting school, and her advice has been extremely valuable to a new girl dad! I get the sense that she and Ms Gabi are deeply committed to making a Heritage a safe and successful experience for every every family and are looking for parents to take an active role in improving their kids lives at the school. The personalized attention and encouragement my daughter has received have made a world of difference. The creativity and joy in the classrooms are as clear as day. From the activities to the animals and interactive learning, this place blows most daycare type schools out of the water. If you have the opportunity, I wholeheartedly recommend enrolling your kids here. read more

Heritage Montessori School of Lake Forest - The School - Montessori Schools Near Me - Lake Forest, California

Stay away from this Montessori! Aside from the administrator's nasty behavior, poor communication, and complete lack of respect towards their students' parents, the headmaster is one for the books. Dr. Alexandra Magliarditi is incapable of operating this Montessori effectively with her Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde behavior. Heritage Montessori of Lake Forest (HMLF) unilaterally revoked my twins from preschool enrollment in September for January tuition despite charging us an exorbitant amount of security deposits and tuition (x2 for twins)! They refused to return/refund any of our nearly $3,000 we paid despite no services being rendered and cancelling my children a mere 5 MONTHS prior to school starting. This all stemmed from my ONE QUESTION regarding their masking policies on a social media post for my enrollment year. All of the children in the picture had masks on and I simply asked what their masking policy was. See attached picture I have included. In response, I received a disgusting and hostile call from Dr. Magliarditi, during which she made threatening comments about our family's upcoming enrollment, name-calling me "juvenile and stupid" and making escalated accusations without seeking understanding or allowing any type of resolution. Despite my attempts for de-escalation, "Dr. M" refused to meet with me or my husband in person to resolve this issue. She then informed me that she was unwilling to communicate with me further in any way before hanging up on me. What a disappointment this school is. The school administration and their snarky, nasty commentary was just uncalled for. We have reached out in writing to Mr. Ricardo Campo, CEO of Endeavor Schools and Dr. Magliarditi but received no response. They just stole our $3,000 and refused to refund any portion of it! As it stands, this school is non-responsive, uncaring about their parents and their children, which only reflects the horrible management structure led by "Dr. M" as overseen by Mr. Campo. Parents -- do not waste your hard-earned money here. There are so many other loving and intelligent educational options that won't try to rob you of your money and then ignore you. Shame on them for taking advantage of parents looking for simple answers. read more

Heritage Montessori School of Lake Forest - Montessori Schools Near Me - Lake Forest, California

Don't come to this school ！We are parents of students. We do't like this school, we don't like the reception staff Gabriela. If you love your child, do not choose this school. There are many other schools to choose from as well. read more

My family and I love this school and the staff! My oldest son Kai started attending in 2016 and he absolutely thrived here. He's in kindergarten now (at a public school) and I feel that his Montessori experience really prepared him for kinder. My youngest daughter Kiana who is 3 started attending Heritage one year ago and she absolutely loves it. Dr. M and staff treat the children like family and they go above and beyond to help your child succeed. When we drop our daughter off in the morning she runs to her teacher (Ms. Tamara) and hugs her tightly. They have great programs and the day is well organized. During summer they have a camp program that is great and lots of fun. I can't say enough positive things about this school! read more

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There are not enough stars are characters in the world to describe how amazing the school is. My son was recently diagnosed with autism, and Miss Gabi has walked me through, what can be a very overwhelming process of getting him the help he needs. Ms. Maryam and Ms. Madison have been so patient and kind with my sweet boy, and it is clear in his progress! So blessed to have my son at Heritage Montessori Lake Forest! read more

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When I decided to transfer my kids to montessori, we toured many schools before making our decision. As soon as we learned about Heritage, toured their campus and met Dr. M, we knew it was the right place for our 3 and 6yr old. We had planned to start in the Fall but decided to put them in the Brain Boosting Summer Camp as well. My kids are so happy here! Dr. M is so warm and caring, and I have full trust that my children are in a nurturing, enriching environment at Heritage. As an aside, with COVID-19 rampant throughout the world right now, it was such a difficult decision to choose in-person school or try online. But I can unequivocally say that I do not think there is another school that would have a better balance between letting kids learn and play with their peers but also keeping them safe, than Heritage. Having Dr. M, who is the director of the school but also is an MD, and the rest of the staff putting in so much thoughtfulness and consideration to keeping the staff and kids safe helps put my mama heart at ease. The campus is beautiful! It may look small from the street but the playground area is quite large and the classrooms are nice and large for the kids to have space to move around (or physical distance as needed). Everything about the campus feels warm and safe..exactly what I want to help cultivate the environment that gives my kids the freedom, safety, inspiration and confidence to learn and grow. My kids are thriving there and I can't recommend it high enough! read more

My child no longer attends Heritage Montessori. During the short time we were there, I feel like there was a lack of genuine care/sincerity in response to an incident that occurred at school. I didn't like the fact that they didn't provide some sort of daily report so you know what goals or objectives your child was meeting everyday. Also, I was surprised to find students watching TV in the classroom and before pick-up. Whether educational or not, I believe there are other ways to tie in relevant content that does not involve screen time. read more

We love Heritage montessori!! Both my kids attend school here. Evelyn has grown so much in Ms. Yuri's classroom, her language vocabulary has increased tremendously as well as her self confidence. My son Ethan has also been able to open up more and go a lot more social in Ms. Samantha's classroom. We love the fact that this school cares and pays attention to my kids. We have enrolled both kids since they turned 2 years old. Thank you Heritage Montessori for providing a safe and loving environment for my kids to learn. Thanks, Diane Cheng read more

Heritage Montessori School of Lake Forest - Montessori Schools Near Me - Lake Forest, California

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I hesitated quite a bit to write this review, but feel this is necessary information for all families interested in attending this school. Look elsewhere. There are far better schools in the area that are managed by more competent and flexible directors. Heritage had to close in March 2020 at the start of the pandemic along with the rest of the businesses deemed non-essential at the time. We asked what would happen if we stopped paying tuition for the time being since we weren't sure if schools would reopen. Dr. M said we would have to forfeit our spot and couldn't guarantee an opening. We were naive and continued to pay not knowing that many families stopped paying. Since Dr. M refused to guarantee a spot in the school if we were to stop paying, we felt that we had no choice, but to attend school virtually once she rolled that program out. She acted as though she was going us a huge favor of lowering tuition and charging $900 for a few lessons on Zoom. Since she claimed they were struggling financially and used every penny for the teachers' salary, we felt bad given that we were enrolled at heritage for a few years. We had good history with them and wanted to continue to be in good standing. We continued to pay and attend school on Zoom While we were attending Heritage, we were required to pay a "commitment fee" for fall. We paid that along with enrollment fees for my daughter to begin at heritage. We spoke with Dr. M and told her that we would bring our kids back once we felt it was safe to do so. She said no problem. We were under the assumption that we had "credit" at the school from all the commitment/enrollment fees we paid in good faith. We felt it was time to go back early spring of this year. Her usual fake, professional demeanor changed. She was rude, unprofessional and hung up on me after being placed on hold for over 10 minutes. She claimed that the phone happened to have gotten disconnected. Dr. M refused to give us a spot despite being in good standing with the school for many years. She claimed they were at capacity for enrollment and there were no spots available for my children for spring, summer, and even fall. Two of my friends were offered spots for their children. So it's clear that she lied to us. Not only did she lie about that, she refused to refund us for the commitment fee, re-enrollment fee, lunch credit from when the school had to close, and Spanish class our son never attended which we felt were rightfully owed to us since we we no longer going to be attending the school. The fees we paid were: 1/30/2020, Re-enrollment fee of $150 1/30/2020, Material fee of $200 2/3/2020, Re-enrollment fee of $150 2/3/2020, Material fee of $200 2/14/2020, Commitment fee of $200 3/6/2020, Commitment fee of $200 We didn't receive credit for: 4/6/2020, March hot lunch credit of $54 4/6/2020, April hot lunch credit of $102 4/6/2020, Spanish club term 3 of $150 This is a total of $1,406 dollars that should have been owed to us. She said she would credit our son's hot lunch or cut us a check back in April 2020. I said no problem. You can credit our account and we would use it towards future hot lunches...what a mistake that was because she didn't even allow us to come back. These are fees we paid in good faith that it would be applied towards future tuition and lunch. It doesn't make sense that she refused to refund those when we she not did offer spots to my kids. During our almost three years at heritage, I always bought gift cards and presents for the teachers and even for her. I've volunteered to bring snacks into the class much more than most of the other parents. I've dropped off donuts and coffee for the teachers and staff. We were in good standing or so I thought. Not only do I feel like I was poorly treated, but here are other things I have heard recently happened at Heritage. Don't think of having your kid show up to school without a face mask. They will charge you a dollar for one. Your child occasionally has potty accidents? They will charge you an additional $150 a month because your child is taking up too much of their teacher's precious time cleaning up after them. Your kids have allergies? They will expose your children to allergens. Leaving to move out of the country mid-month and want to keep your child enrolled for a couple weeks so you can pack in peace? Nope. You have to pay for a whole month here! She will not prorate you. Heritage used to offer incentives to parents to write glowing reviews. Don't trust the 5 star ratings here. read more

This school year would be the second year that my children have attended Heritage Montessori in Lake Forest. When I decided to enroll them last year I was hesitant at first due to them being so young in age, but when I saw how passionate the staff was, how we as parents were involved in weekly events, how my kids started to speak in full sentences I was... AMAZED & comfortable! For example, at the Open house this year our kids showed us what they do around the classroom, how they practice their numbers/colors/shapes/ in true Montessori fashion... I was so surprised that they were already tracing the alphabet. My kids just turned 3! Talk about getting a good start in education I have seen a difference in my children, I would do anything for them to succeed and enrolling them to HMS was the best thing I ever could do for them. Plus, I always dreamt of being a mom who made cool lunches, getting involved in school activities/events, helping with art projects..... oh, and I've gained some friendships with some of the parents from the school that have gave me some really good parental tips for 3 year olds going through the "terrible three's" So, I guess we all get something out of HMS! Can't wait to see what's in store for next year! read more

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Great school!!! I can see significant improvement in my daughter's functional abilities and it has not been a year yet...

We had scheduled a tour for today two weeks in advance at 10:15 AM. When we got there a young lady opened the door and said that they are not expecting anyone for tour today. She closed the door on us and checked her computer and came back saying "actually you are 10 minutes early and I'm in the middle of a conference! Come back after 10 minutes." My husband and I left because we didn't like the young lady's attitude. I wish I had asked her name. read more

Reply: Ms Amanda, unfortunately the information you have provided in your reply is not correct. My son had the first shot of Hep B. I have all the records and letters from dr to prove that. His other shot was scheduled one month after his start date. According to all policies he shouldn't have been rejected. I can upload all the letters here to prove it to your higher managers. When you write something publicly please provide correct information. Amanda got the tuition check from us, they even cashed the check. Made us do all the paperwork. We even did a trial day but 2 days before starting the program she canceled our enrollment because my son was 1 Hep B dose behind. She knew this from the start and we had letter from dr confirming that we were scheduled for that shot. Legally they can't refuse to enroll if the child has had one dose of a series of vaccines and you have letter from dr. They put us under so much pressure and it took them 2-3 days to refund the money. I read more

I set up a viewing with Dr M. All I have to say is stay away. Let's just say I didn't even feel comfortable to even attend my appointment to view the school due to DR.M. She was condescending from the moment she answered the phone call. By -telling me to call her DR.M. -that she doesn't advice me to put my daughter into 2 days a week. That no one does that. she informed me that she would send an email to me with which there would be details about the school and schedules. And that they had two spots available. The following day I called to inform her that I did not receive any emails. She quickly said I sent it and that she would Call me back That she was busy in meetings. I did receive an email a few hours later. Also a follow up phone call to which went to my voice message (thank goodness I did not answer), Very rudely saying that she sent it from the same message she fwd it from the day before. Also that there is no room for my daughter until the next school year. I am extremely grateful that I did not have to met DR.M she seems more into her title of being some type of Doctor then enrolling my child. Stray away. Don't say I didn't warn you. Glad I saw the schools true colours and didn't waste my time. The school should take a look at DR M. She may be good in sales but I can definitely tell she is not someone I would want near my child. read more

Our little guy has been here for many years and I feel lucky to have such a nice place for him to be while I work. The teachers have been great especially Ms. Samantha who helped us potty train him so easily, and Ms. Letti who made him excited to come to school and Ms. Mono who got him reading and writing very impressively! Any concerns we brought up over the years were addressed in a reasonable manner. The previous director was awesome and Dr. M is too and makes me feel safe knowing she is in charge. read more

Sending your most precious ones to school is hard - I'm so please Heritage Montessori is my choice. They treat my little ones like their own. I can't recommend it more. From character education to exposure to cultures from around the world - they excel in bringing magic through exploration and academics. My husband and I both work and we have three kids. Wish they could go to heritage until college! :) read more

I am writing this review as a response to some of the feedback/response we got back from the school regarding recent incidents We recently pulled our kid out of this school, not because of one particular incident, but because of the lack of sincerity/eagerness shown by the administration repeatedly over several months. As a parent, when I pay a significant amount of money for child care, the minimum expectation is that my kid is at a safe place or with people whom I have confidence in. This confidence eroded over time to the point where we had to withdraw our kid from this school. My son has been going to heritage for over a year and other than the occasional informal chats with the teacher, there has been no periodic feedbacks (weekly/monthly progress reports) initiated by the school. I think it is imperative for the school to take initiative to give parents these official feedbacks. When my son had an accident in the play area, there was also lack of consistency between the teachers as to what happened. I understand kids at this age play hard and sometimes result in accidents. But when the same kids happen to be "running into" each other again and again(whosever fault it is; kids are kids) , a good teacher/school will figure out ways to deal with these. In my opinion heritage Montessori did not effectively handle multiple bullying situations, even after repeated feedback from us. If the school had been serious about our feedback and cared about it, they would have proactively reached out to us and set up a meeting. Instead, they waited till I tried to talk to the director one morning regarding a repeat incident. We all have jobs, and if we are truly passionate about what we do, we will not have anything to hide and will try to give our best. I feel, heritage Montessori was not completely forthcoming regarding the details of accidents that our son had. Also the lack of video evidence is alarming. If the school has nothing to hide, shouldn't this be provided to the parents at the outset. As parents, it is not our goal to point fingers at teachers, but we want to know exactly what happened to our kid. When that information/communication is not provided, that is when the confidence in the school is lost. Heritage Montessori has ways to go before truly becoming a Montessori School. It is a glorified daycare at best. The amount of time that kids spent watching TV is also atrocious. I have heard this complaint from several other parents and parents with kids in other schools are surprised at this news. As is evident from this review, there was a clear lack of communication from the school, which is a very important block for building trust. Event after repeatedly mentioning to the teacher and administration our concerns, the lack of clear communication ( other than a talk in the hallway that we are looking into the issue) eroded out confidence/trust in this institution. read more

Dr. M is amazing! Our son is starting in August but we decided to enroll him early for the summer camp program. The camps are well structured with lots of play and learning - just what they need with social distancing! read more

The school is well organized and my girls (5yr & 3yrs old) truly have a great time. They strike a great balance for them in learning and free time, fun! They are nothing but smiles when they tell me about their day. read more

Heritage Montessori has been a big blessing for us. Our now six-year-old boy went there for three years prior to kindergarten, and he loved it. We attribute a significant part of his growth and academic development to this school. Our three-year-old girl attended last year and will be returning. She's on the shy side, but has been able to make friends and really come out of her shell. The teachers are very caring, attentive and professional. Dr. M does a great job as the director, by keeping parents informed and running a tight ship. read more

My daughter is finishing up her first year at Heritage and I am extremely happy about the progress she has made with her reading and writing ability. The difference in her reading ability from the beginning of the school year is night and day and she is able to read books to our 5 month old. In addition, she seems to get a well rounded curriculum including math, history, arts and crafts, and science. My daughter loves the Heritage Staff and it has been a pleasure sending our daughter to the school. read more

Our family is new to Heritage for this school year and we couldn't be more excited we made this choice! The teachers and Director are friendly, kind and caring. They've taken a lot of precautions to make sure our son is safe during this pandemic. Not only is he safe, but he's thriving. He's learning so much and we are enjoying seeing him grow and develop at Heritage. We have been so impressed with the school's communication and how much they truly know about our child. We feel so fortunate to have found Heritage. read more

Both my two girls really love HMS. They got a lot of fun at school and share it to me at home. My older one Eva developed math and language so well, since my younger one Emily went to school she is so happy when you see her at anytime. read more

Heritage Montessori School of Lake Forest - Montessori Schools Near Me - Lake Forest, California

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We have our children at Heritage Montessori and could not be happier there. We toured and interviewed several Montessori schools in both Irvine and Lake Forest and found Heritage to be the most responsive, warm, caring, organized, and knowledgeable. I could not believe how many other schools we spoke to where it just didn't seem like they wanted our business. Who wants to wait 3-4 weeks to tour a school? We were able to tour Heritage right away. Amanda, the directress is amazing at being so responsive to all of my questions, organized in getting us our paper work, reminders, and just is genuinely caring and nice. Our teachers all share the caring persona and seem to really enjoy their job! For parents with food allergic children this school is for you! So many other schools I spoke with are so clueless on how to handle food allergies it is ridiculous! Especially since 8% (1 in 13) of children have food allergies! Heritage is more than happy to work with parents to make sure their kids are safe. Love it! Food allergy resource: https://www.foodallergy.org/facts-and-stats read more

My daughter began attending Heritage at the beginning of the 2016-2017 school year. Because of her many food allergies and eczema this was her first year in preschool even though she was already 4 years old. I was very nervous about sending her to school because of her multiple food allergies, but Mrs. Maggie and the other teachers were always very careful about what she ate on share day and my daughter is also very vocal about her allergies so everything has been great. Starting school for the first time is also stressful for kids, but again everyone did an amazing job helping her adjust and now she loves going to school. I love that everyone at the school knows who my daughter is and will randomly greet her in the morning or afternoon. They also have all of these great holiday parties with petting zoos and a bounce house and all sorts of things; they really go all out for parties. I also love that the front door has a pass code lock and not just anyone can walk in at anytime. This was definitely another selling point when we initially chose Heritage because of all of the crazy things you see on the news. They send out monthly pictures of what the students are learning or activities they are participating in during class, so you can see what your child is doing. I think that has to be one of my favorite things that Heritage does. I could go on and on about how wonderful the school is, but I'll stop now for brevity. I wish we could keep attending Heritage, but we're moving out of state, otherwise we would stay until she aged out of the school. We will miss everyone, and we're so grateful for all of the hard work of the staff and teachers who make this such a great school; we will miss you all! read more

Both my kids have been going to Heritage for three years now. We toured a bunch of other Schools before deciding to go with Heritage. From the architectural design with spacious bright rooms to probably the nicest playgrounds I have seen (lots of shade) to the quality of their materials and their dedicated teachers. I have to say summer camp are my kid's favorite. Huge shout out to Ms. Maryam and Ms. Mano. And to Dr. M for running a wonderful and fun learning environment. read more

Our son attended Heritage when he was almost turning three. He was in class #2. Being his first school, it was tough for him at first, but Ms. Caroline took really good care of him, and helped him with the transition. By the second month, our son started telling us what he learned in school, the songs, the art projects, the Montessori work, and the friends he is playing with. He started enjoying school. By the fifth month, he started telling us all about the sound lessons, the clouds, etc. and started showing his ability to write and draw. Heritage is good at organizing lots of fun activities, e.g. Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, St. Patrick's Day, Valentine's Day and Easter. Parents are quite involved with the kids' activities, and we have had two open houses so far, where we get to go in with the kids in the evening after school, and see what they do during class. The kids seem to enjoy being around both Ms. Caroline and Ms. Yuri. The classrooms are spacious, and the playgrounds are nice and clean. They close the door to the classrooms shortly after 9am, so no one can get in, which makes it more secure. Overall, we have a positive experience with Heritage. read more

Heritage Montessori School of Lake Forest - Happy holidays to Ms. Caroline and Ms. Yuri! - Montessori Schools Near Me - Lake Forest, California

Our kids have been going to Heritage for 5 years! The staff there truly love the kids and are spot on with the curriculum! It's a beautiful facility and always super clean, which for me was a main decision maker, especially in times like these! Do yourself and your kids a favor and check this place out! read more

I have been so impressed with Heritage! We made a huge mistake of trying a different school that was closer to home and it was a huge mistake. When we returned the staff was very proactive and helpful in helping turn my 4 year olds behavior and bad habits around. My now 5 year old is thriving and most importantly happy! I would highly recommend this school! read more

My son started attending HMS in 2016 and left in summer of 2019 since he was set to start his journey in public school as a kindergartner. I have nothing but GREAT things to say about this school. In the 3 years he attended HMS, we as a family, fell in love with the school. Amanda was always super attentive and I could tell she did truly care about each and every student. Hudson switched classrooms each year due to his growth as a student and each teacher he encountered was top notch. We were truly sad to leave the school and would recommend it to anyone that wants their child to thrive educationally and socially read more

CONSISTENTLY AMAZING!!!!! My daughter has attended Heritage Montessori since she was two. She thrived through the program finally reaching Ms. Mano's coveted first-grade class. Thanks to the dedication of the teachers here she has always been working a year ahead and Ms. Mano's class was no exception. I particularly loved the one on one attention she provided and all the unique activities. Unfortunately, due to a job relocation, we had to pull her out at the end of last year and put her in the public school in our new city. What a mistake! She was bored, she was academically ignored and was losing her enthusiasm for school-quickly...and this public school was brand new (had only been open 1 year) in a high-end area with state of the art capabilities, STEAM, STEM all of it and yet it still felt like any other public school. No offense to the public school set up, I know they do the best they can but, once you are accustomed to the level of excellence that HMS provides it quickly becomes a very frustrating process. Needless to say, after looking at several other possibilities, we are back! (Driving 30 miles round trip) and I wouldn't change a thing. In the few weeks that we've been back at HMS not only were, we welcomed back enthusiastically but, the comfortability and spark of joy that I in my daughter is indescribable. Ms. Mano has her back on track and was kind enough to dedicate her personal time to make sure that she is flourishing and most importantly, happy. I truly want to say, Thank you HMS and Dr. M for making this transition so incredibly easy and for giving my daughter a safe and exceptional place to grow and learn. read more

I have been taking my daughter to this school since it opened and I am really pleased with the academic results I have seen in my 3 years old. The facility is very nice and always really clean. My daughter is excited to go there every morning. The teachers are very cheerful and do a very good job to manage all these toddlers. The school feels very secure and I feel comfortable leaving her there when I leave for work. The director pay full attentions to all the details and is open to hearing feedbacks from parents. I also personally like a lot the strict policy they have of bringing sick kids to school. Of all the other places I have been considering, I think this is by far the best and I am very happy with my choice. read more

I don't think the management here knows the meaning of teaching or disciplining or Montessori method. This is more like a day care with tv in each classroom and let the kid watch cartoons every day inside class room . Summer camp had to be renamed to television watching camp and afternoons in this school is only watching cartoons for the kids . They use TV to keep the kids occupied instead of reading a story or engage in them in an activity . The teachers are busy either on their phone or preparing for next day whenever we go to pick the kid from school . They don't provide a proper incident report when something happens to your kid . They did not give me a video of incident that left my son with a huge bump, I requested. They manipulated my son to hide things from us. They don't respond to your emails or concerns. We had a terrible experience with this school and had to move the kid to lake forest Montessori and he is loving it there. The management and teachers changes every month here .. -a day care in a nicer building. That's all I felt about this school . This part of my review is a response to Michelle . --- Michele and Amanda will only do the sweet talk and won't do anything if we go to them for any issues our kid face at the School. My son was constantly bitten , pushed and bullied by another kid and even after sending e-mails and complaining to the management and teacher numerous time no action was taken. I had to do a mother to mother talk with the other mom and then she was so surprised that the school never informed her about the biting incidents. I don't blame the other kid or the parent but heritage teachers and management for poor management and poor teaching skills . It's the teachers responsibility to ensure all kids are safe and not bullied by another kid or a teacher or assistant . Instead my son was mentally tortured by the teachers trying tell him not to tell all things that happened at school. I confirmed my presence to meet but the school has not send me an update about the meeting with them nor sends any sort of communication .. I haven't received the videos of incidents that happened at school even after demanding it via email. The poor standards of this day care is displayed by the response I received as they are dragging the kids into the picture for no reason. We did not pull our son out from this school to give him the continuity, but the teachers and management did not seem to understand a child and child's heart in this school. My child is not aggressive or active and never received any notes from teacher, Michelle diverted her response on the kids for no reason . There was no incident of my son hitting any other kid. The other parent sent me a text saying all she did was to check with the school about any incidents that she is not aware of but Michelle is trying to divert the issue to save herself from the negligence she did. This school is a shame to Maria Montessori! read more

My very active four year old son has attended Heritage Montessori (HM) for the past two years. The HM staff and curriculum provides my child with an educational adventure in a safe and caring environment. My heart melts when he talks about his teacher and peer relationships, Pablo Picasso, Spanish, France and the Eiffel Tower, etc... Miraculously HM tapped into his limited attention span. SUMMARY: I would definitely recommend HM to friends and family! read more

My son attends Heritage, but needed to move him due to work schedule. I have nothing but great things to say about the director (Ms Amanda) and his teacher (ms Samantha). They are absolutely incredible and very accommodating!! Thanks for all you do - you will be missed terribly! read more

My son has been in this school for 1 year. It is really well organized. My son really enjoys what he has learn at school and shares with me everyday. He is now a good listener and does everything neatly. Big thanks to all the teachers. read more

Heritage Montessori School of Lake Forest - Montessori Schools Near Me - Lake Forest, California

Where do I even begin with this school? The teachers and director are absolutely phenomenal, the school is organized and clean, the students are wonderful, the parent/ teacher communication exceeds my expectations, the schools security it on point and the curriculum is out of this world! The children participate in giving back to the community, and learn their role, at such a young age, really does make a difference. My son attends 5 half days/ week and dropping him off everyday puts my mind at such ease because I know he's in great hands. In just a short amount of time my son has learned SO much, I'm truly astonished. I'm shocked there is even 1 bad review on here because this school is everything I have ever wanted in a preschool and more. Look no further, it gets no better than Heritage Montessori in Lake Forest! Thank you HMS, you guys are such a blessing to us! read more

Thank you to all the teachers for getting us through distance learning. It was new for all of us but Ms. Lety made it fun. This is my son's last year at Heritage, thank you to all the teachers and staff for a memorable journey. read more