I had never heard of a cooperative school before I started my search for a local preschool for my…read moreson. I didn't even know this concept existed but I have since discovered it's an awesome way to run a preschool. I started out enrolling him in the parent's day out program which was awesome. I wasn't yet a member that needed to volunteer or anything so it was just a nice way to try it out and see if we liked it. It was like 4-5 hours (I forget) for a seriously small amount of money, especially compared to the babysitter I was considering hiring for $10 an hour. He brought his lunch and played with about 4 other kids, some younger some a little older. Everyone was aged 2-4 and the 2 teachers had great themed activities laid out each day. He was shy at first but by the time the program was over in the Spring, he was chatty and had made new friends. He was like a totally different kid. So after that, I officially joined the co-op. I was sold. I'm reviewing this as a "customer" and as someone who sits on the school board. The thing about a co-op is: you're both. I love that I get more than just a small say in the stuff my son is learning. I love that I get to help out with the running of a school and sit in on his class about once a month. I think if I had gone the traditional preschool route I would never know what I'm missing by not spending a whole day in class with him once in a while. It's great to watch learn and interact with other kids. OK so one thing you're wondering is: what am I going to do with my baby while I'm helping out in the classroom? This crossed my pregnant-lady mind when I first found the school too. Turns out I'm not the only mother of a preschooler with a baby (who'da thunk it?). We just swap baby sitting days in a toy filled room at the school. I tell you, my babysitting day is my favorite day of the month. Just this week I snuggled a wee baby while my 15 month old zoomed cars around on the floor with a 2 year old and it was an overload of adorableness. Way too much cute packed into one room. My son has blossomed since starting school and he has learned SO much. I am amazed at his social development too. He loves his teacher, so much so that he has a teddy bear at home named "Miss Marlo". I love that there's a focus on learning through play, a large focus on science, healthy snacks and lots of outdoor time. There's a huge outdoor play area with so many activities. I honestly feel like I've become a better parent because of what I've learned from my experience at this school. That sounds incredibly cheesey but cheese or not, it's the truth.

This school changed the way I thought about early childhood education and gave us exactly what we…read moreneeded - play! As a parent who really values the attachment that I share with my kids, I didn't want to send them into a school on a regular basis not knowing anything about their day, their peers, or their teachers. I had made that choice initially and realized quickly that it wasn't a good fit for us :). This school, on the other hand, welcomed my whole family through its doors and encouraged all of us to approach learning together. We took a tour, registered, and fell in love. I only wish we had found it sooner :)!

Both my husband and myself have Professional Doctorate degrees and corresponding careers. We value…read morea safe, educational and nurturing environment that will inspire an early love of learning in our child. After visiting and interviewing several private preschools, we decided to enroll our daughter at Community Montessori School (CMS) in Fishers, IN. There are only two AMI accredited Montessori schools in the state of Indiana. CMS is located in Fishers, IN and the other AMI accredited Montessori school is located in Carmel, IN. CMS starts at age 18 months, whereas the one in Carmel starts at 3 years old. The CMS building is fairly new and was built specifically with the Montessori environment in mind. The classrooms all have tons of natural lighting and an open floor plan. All the Directress/Teachers have college or graduate degrees. Every Directress/Teacher at the school knew my daughter by name by the second day of school. I get daily reports via email on my kid, letting me know her days activities. The toddler classroom will help potty train as well. Every personnel at the school I've come across has been courteous and informative. The diversity of the staff is a definite plus. Exposure to diversity promotes curiosity, creativity, and encourages the search for novel information and perspectives - something we want our child exposed to early on. There is an entrance interview that CMS calls "an encounter" where the Directress spends approximately 30 min with your child in their respective classroom, observing them play with the particular "work" they chose and how they interact with their surroundings and other children in the class. I came to value a school with an entrance interview after I visited other preschools that didn't have one. The preschools that did not have an entrance interview take anyone and everyone as long as the parents have the means to pay the tuition. Preschool age children are sponges, quickly picking up social and behavioral cues from their peers and surroundings. The children at CMS, in general, seem to be more respectful of their surroundings and peers. I would attribute this to both the Montessori environment as well as the existence of an entrance interview. There have been multiple social activities throughout the year, hosted by CMS, that allow the parents an opportunity to mingle and meet other parents. There is a real community feel for the parents and students at CMS, which we value. Although we feel our daughter is in a safe, educational and nurturing environment at CMS, we are realistic about accidents that may happen from time to time. Having inspected her classroom, I know CMS does everything they can to keep the kids safe. However, children can still trip, stumble, or fall despite the safe environment. The child-to-teacher ratio is right in line with state mandate; in fact, in my child's classroom, the child-to-teacher ratio is better than state mandate. In terms of fundraising, I agree with the other reviewer who said "of course, any private school will have fundraising activities." This is true for all the private preschools we looked into as well. And come to think of it, this is true for all the schools my husband and I have attended as well (college, grad school, professional school). Giving is always optional. If you do give, it's a tax deductible contribution that is used to further create and sustain the Montessori environment and education for your child. For this reason, we were happy to contribute. I was not familiar with Montessori schools and methodology until I started researching preschools. Although my husband is a product of a Montessori preschool, I was not. It's one thing to read about Montessori online, but it's another to actually see and observe the classroom and environment for yourself. I'm glad I took the time to visit the various private preschools and observe the children in their respective classroom environments. CMS was the clear choice for us. My daughter has been at CMS for almost a year now. What I like most about CMS is that my child loves it; she is excited to go to school every day. As a parent, you can't really ask for more.

Three years later, we are still at CMS and our appreciation of the school has only increased…read more The turn-over at the school is not high, as proposed by a previous reviewer. My child has had the same teacher for three years in a row. The elementary teacher has been there for several years, as has the toddler teacher. The three primary teachers have all worked there for three years or more. My child loves to go to school and is sad when something (illness etc) prevents attending that day. They use the Montessori methods that build long periods of concentration. At home, my child is now able to concentrate on one task for a very long time. I know that this is not true for all five year olds. There are so many positive developments that we have seen in our child. Every year, my child makes friends in the classroom that really mean a lot to her. Because there are frequent all-school events, we are able to meet other parents and children. There was just a fabulous fall hay-ride pitch-in. Since parents have required volunteer hours, there is a strong sense of community. This service is a great model for children. Involved parents are a great thing!

This school used to live up to it's claims of meeting the child where they are, educating the whole…read morechild, fostering their individuality, etc. In the past few years I have experienced a tremendous decline in their ability to hold true to this, sadly. I give it an average star rating because these days is just a costly version of any typical, yet capable public school with the addition of arrogance in their approach.

All three of our children attended The Orchard School. We are very pleased with the education they…read morereceived and so are they. I've often tried to sift through all our years and determine what they most learned/received at Orchard and if I had to pick one attribute (and there are many), I'd pick confidence. They are all confident public speakers. For example, when my daughter was a junior in high school, she won an award that required her to speak at a dinner with over 400 people present. I tried several times to get her to practice and review her speech in advance, knowing that the previous recipient had a professional speech writer. In frustration, one evening she said, "Mom, I went to Orchard. Don't worry." She delivered a flawless speech without notes. They are all confident about their ability to learn. Orchard likes to say they help create lifelong learners and they do. Each of our children knows how to learn and they like to learn. They are all confident expressing themselves to anyone. In high school, their teachers observed that unlike many shy teens they were not afraid to ask questions and advocate for themselves or for others. And, this has continued throughout their college and post-graduate years. Orchard invites and teaches children how to respectfully approach adults. At Orchard, education is not just about science, English, history, etc. While these are important, it's also about helping develop good people and preparing them for the future.

Goddard Indianapolis is such a special place! The teachers are genuinely excited to see the kids…read moreevery day, you can tell they love what they do and truly care about each child. Communication with parents is fantastic; we always feel informed and included in our child's learning and growth. It's such a joy knowing our little one is surrounded by people who are passionate, caring, and supportive!

A few days after the publication of my initial review (now at 70 "useful" votes) Goddard North's…read moreowner AGAIN violated confidentiality, and basic professionalism, by calling another Goddard parent to discuss my family's termination. This was the same family friend who had been asked by the school to sign my son's paperwork, despite having absolutely no authority to do so. My friend stated that she did not initiate this discussion, and openly expressed to Ms. Patel that she had no interest in further discussing this matter or my family's personal business. My friend told me the call began with Patel offering to drive her son home in an emergency if she remained enrolled (I was her son's emergency contact and sometimes picked him up) and quickly devolved into Patel badmouthing me. According to my friend, Ms. Patel claimed I "triggered" her daughter (a then-classmate of our sons) into repeatedly hitting Ms. Patel (a behavior Patel did little to correct) during the conversation that occurred the evening I was trespassed. This conversation ended with me clearly informing Ms. Patel that my child would be leaving Goddard by the end of that week, making her decision to trespass and legally bully me--for the perceived crime of calling out her racist behavior and demonstrably false claims using a "tone" she didn't like--particularly petty and vindictive. While my only issue is with the conduct of the other ADULTS involved in this matter, Ms. Patel's hypocrisy regarding her own child's problematic behavior was one of my main points of contention with Patel that evening. Ms. Patel deemed my black 3-year-old son a danger to others (including the ADULT staff) for throwing a toy, even though the teacher reported that my son had been physically provoked (climbed on) by the other child involved, yet she was completely unwilling to hold her own child, or the white children in my son's class, to similar standards. When challenged, Patel attempted to justify her daughter's behavior by telling me her child was "tired" and she would definitely be less tolerant if her child "had been hitting the staff." I witnessed Ms. Patel's child hit other children/staff more than once; I witnessed her hit her mother more than thirty times. It wasn't any different. Clearly Patel's own (lack of) discipline skills, indulgent parenting, and willingness to offer up excuses were to blame, not my "tone." When I directly identified clear patterns of racial bias at the school, Patel suggested I should do the heavy lifting of educating her staff (presumably for free), not her or her paid director. The evening of my trespass I very clearly told Patel it was definitely NOT my job as a paying client to provide free racial bias (or any other) training to her franchise preschool to ensure my son's fair treatment, particularly when she and her paid director were clearly unwilling to address their own racially problematic behaviors. Patel, clearly unversed in irony, countered this "threat" (of unsparing criticism) by chastising my "tone" and threatening to have me arrested. Around the time she called my friend, Ms. Patel sent me a handwritten card, wishing my son and I "all the best," instead of simply refunding my prorated tuition... as one might expect given that our family was expelled. This struck me as wildly insincere, as the Patels had literally threatened me with arrest only days earlier. Clearly my initial review struck a nerve, as had her inability to have it removed from two of the three platforms I posted to, and she needed to do some serious damage control. Parents: Don't be fooled by a beautiful building, polished marketing provided by Goddard corporate, glowing reviews written by the owner's sister, or the (in my opinion) clearly staged photos (of their own kids) added by Goddard management following my initial review. The vast majority of Goddard's "certified and experienced teachers" have no professional licensure or relevant degree and neither does Ms. Patel. She's a profiteer, not an educator. Goddard's licensing record, publicly available via the Indiana FSSA website, is alarmingly poor, especially for a new facility. Their citation record includes THREE separate failures to appropriately report substantiated or alleged instances of child abuse/neglect that occurred on site; repeated failures to follow state-mandated drug screening, criminal background check, minimum education, and training requirements for staff; leaving toxins in an area accessible to children; feeding a child breast milk from the wrong mother; and leaving a 22-month-old toddler unsupervised outdoors (the second citation involving a toddler left alone outdoors in a calendar year). Goddard's current Paths to Quality rating is a Level 1--the worst possible score for a licensed center--and in 2020 their licensing status was "probationary." Clearly I am not alone in my assessment.

We love play school at Saxony! Our daughter has been going here since she was 4months old (she's 2…read morenow) and she has absolutely loved it! Our son (7mo now) has been going since he was 3mo old and I have peace of mind knowing he's well cared for in the infant room. They don't just put your baby in a bouncer and call it a day. They interact with the babies and give them age appropriate activities to make sure they're hitting their milestones and giving them love and attention. My daughter has loved all of her teachers and even grown a special bond with one of the teachers she's gotten to have in her infant room and her toddler room. It's the sweetest! The toddler room seems so fun for our new 2 year old with lots of arts and crafts and learning activities (she learned how to count to five in what seemed like a week)! They also have a Spanish class every day which I love. The new gym they recently added on is really nice for the kids during gym time- it's just like an elementary size school gym so lots of room for kids to get rid of energy. The building is well kept and they've been doing upgrades as needed- they just got new floors. The staff has always been very kind and helpful! Krista the director has been amazing! We get weekly lesson plans and a monthly newsletter with everything that'll be happening. I'm so happy my babies are safe and happy here, we love it!

We love The Play School at Saxony! Our son started attending for his Pre-K year and learned so…read moremuch before Kindergarten! Since then he has been going to their after school program and the Summer Camp for the past 2 years. He absolutely loves it! The teachers are all so nice and helpful! We have been very pleased with our time there!ankaiser87@gmail.com

IF I COULD GIVE THIS ONE OWNER AMANDA MCKEON A NEGATIVE RATING... I WOULD. In a ABSOLUTE HEART…read moreBEAT. SHE IS A TERRIBLE "SO CALLED BOSS". let's start from the beginning when I first started working at Saxony. It was my first week there, I think my third or fourth day there. I had no idea who she was, I had no idea who the director was, nobody was ever at the front when I came in at 9:30am to greet me. There was always a sticky note on the clock in machine that told me where to go. That whole week was teacher appreciation week. Amanda, came in to the room I was working in and introduced herself... BUT INTRODUCED HERSELF AS KATIES PARTNER, and then right in front of my face gave these two employees both gift cards worth $50 a piece. Mind you it is my first week so I don't expect anything at all. But it would of been nice to of done that NOT right in front of my face, or even a hello card. But not to give other staff members $50 gift cards. But moving on! I started working over at Arbor Village! I ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT THERE! BIG SHOUT OUT TO PAM AND RACHEL IN THE FRONT! A BIG SHOUT OUT TO THE TEACHERS I WORKED IN THE SCHOOL AGE ROOM( YO-YO,HUNTER, AND CASEY) ! And ANOTHER SHOUT OUT TO THOSE KIDS! THEY WERE AWESOME! I LOVED EVERY BIT OF PLAYING IN THE GYM WITH THEM, KICK BALL, BASKETBALL, YOU NAME IT, Ms.Tracy was right there playing with them! I SHOWED UP FOR WORK, ON TIME! NEVER LATE. AND THEN BOOM.... I had to change my payroll information, and I did that up front with Rachel right next to me and I'm sending Katie pictures making sure I did it correct. They both knew! Well payday came, didn't get paid. THIS IS WHEN IT GETS FISHY... I'm sending Katie screen shots and she's like okay I'll take care of it. Amanda sent me my paystub through my email. And I had to call her because I just had talk to Katie saying it didn't go through for the account, well Amanda said well we will have to issue you a paper check and taxes won't be taken out, which is perfectly fine because I'll just owe them, ME! NOT THEM... well then Amanda messaged Rachel saying issue her a check for this amount. Well I go and open it and my taxes are taken out..... WHAT JOB TAKES TAXES OUT OF A WRITTEN CHECK ???? THAT JUST GIVES YOU FRAUD QUESTIONING ALL OVER IT BUT BUT BUT I DIDNT MENTION ANYTHING ABOUT FRAUD, my exact words were how do I know that they are being paid? They CAN EASILY pocket that money. And AMANDA BLEW UP.... HER EXACT WORDS WERE, "TRACY IM NOT KIDDING, IF YOU THINK IM DOING SOMETHING FRAUD THEN TODAY CAN BE YOUR LAST DAY IF YOY WANT IT TOO BE AND SHE HUNG THE PHONE UP ON ME, then calls Katie and I guess tells Katie I cussed her out is what I heard from a couple people. And I guess told Katie she didn't want me working there anymore. So Katie calls me and doesn't even know what to say because she's in the middle... SO LONG STORY SHORT... DONT WORK HERE... OH AND NOT TO MENTION THEY HAD TO ISSUE MY LAST CHECK AS A PAPER CHECK, WHY WEREN'T THE TWXES TAKEN OUT OF MY LAST CHECK??? Doesn't make any sense!!! AMANDA IS NOT FIT TO BE A BOSS, especially is she can't even "fire" someone to there face !!! OVER THE PHONE, really ??? BUT ONCE AGAIN, SHOUT OUT TO MY GIRLS IN THE SCHOOL AGE ROOM! Ms.Yolanda, Ms.Hunter and Ms.Casey! You guys know I absolutely love you girls!!

We have sent both of our daughters to Play School at Arbor and it has been an amazing experience…read more The teachers are wonderful and make you comfortable leaving your children in their care. The building itself is state of the art with a large indoor playground, sensory room (only place I've seen with this type of activity), huge gymnasium for them to blow off steam, and a cool activity center with arcade games, computer activities, tv's, etc. I would highly recommend this establishment to any parents trying to make one of life's most important decisions. Keep up the great work.

Please disregard any pre pandemic reviews. They are completely not applicable to Geist Montessori…read moreanymore. My daughter has been going here for the past 2 years and prior to this school she was absolutely miserable at a neighborhood public school that wasn't Montessori. If you want a more peaceful, technology free, community oriented school I HIGHLY recommend GMA. I felt like I got my daughter back and she absolutely LOVES learning because of this school. The new staff and director are an absolute amazing team who work so hard to care for the kids and families that attend here:)

Amazing and caring teachers. Students are engaged in various learning opportunities. Such an…read moreamazing community to be a part of.

This is really a great program and a great school with such caring teachers. The pamphlets and…read moretour and curriculum boast many textbook accolades and the many a things of what your child will learn. The teachers follow the program but realistically it's still up to the individual student how much they will get out of it. We have tried creme de la creme formerly Children's Learning Adventure previously as well as had nannies and done the half day mdos and church programs. We took the tour here a few times and were wowed but not sold for the extremely high price tag. When covid shut the world down and day cares closed and nannies quit coming or were sick more than they were well we watched the primrose Facebook pages and noticed if nothing else they were consistent, reliable, and pretty great communicators if they did ever close. Neither of our workplaces closed during covid so we needed something reliable and decided to give it a try. We were still weary the first few weeks as we would get a few pics every morning of group activities and of circle time and a few individual pics through out the week. My expectations were too high for some reason I thought I would get more and daily reports on how our child did. Instead it was more this is what class did today. Where we see them excel is that even at the preschool level they allow you nights to come meet the teachers, see the curriculum first hand, ask questions. They planned a trunk or treat to be a part of the school community (the teachers went all out to decorate their cars) and know kids outside of class not just in their classsrooms, and they offer parents teacher nights. They welcome questions and made time for our concerns. They know exactly what motivates your child, their strengths and weaknesses and are great at assessing them and finding ways to help them grow and are working on things beyond the textbook materials. At that point in coming in and meeting with the teachers did we see how much they cared and how vested they are. Communication in the app doesn't do this place justice. Listening to other parents doesn't do it justice either. It's a great group of ladies here. They are loving and caring and attentive.. Being involved and getting to know and listening to your teachers puts a new level of respect for these wonderful caring humans. Our kiddo loves her teachers and looks forward to school and any activity that she will get to see them.

I can't say enough good things about how the staff have helped our children grow over the years…read more Lovely group of people!