This is by far the best Montessori school I ever visited, not only the building, the library, but…read morealso the head teacher (Ms. Case), the after school program (Ms. Eckert).... My son was enrolled when he just passed 3. Every single day he was so excited and happy about hundreds of learning games that he can do. he even asked to go to school on Saturdays. Ms. Case even prepared lots of materials for my son when we need to made a one-week-trip out of country. Down side: now my son is in california (grade 1) in a very good school district, but he complains everyday that it's too borning and easy at school! We moved out of Ohio in late 2011. By contract I'm responsible for a large amount of tuition for the rest of the year. But their admission office (Ms. Michelle) encouraged me to appy for an alternative solution to the board. We reached an agreement that both parties were happy about. So I'm a little surprised to see the comment here about his experience..... After moving to silicon valley, I visited so many "Montessori" schools here----can hardly find one that's not commercialized. Maybe it's just my bad luck. But the whole south bay area only has two non-profit Montessoris, and one of them is having a board-director fight which affected all head teachers......

I attended this school from 1999 through 2007 when I was forced to drop out. While I acknowledge…read morethat many teachers and administrators have changed, I can only speak to my own personal experiences, I would be remiss if I did not share my story. Years K-6th were broadly excellent. A warm, caring environment with excellent educators. Mrs. Blatnik, White, Chin, and Mr. Goober were extremely positive influences in those formative years, and I have nothing but gratitude for them. All issues arose during grade 7 during my brief tenure in the (then very young) middle school program during its second year in operation. I spent my entire childhood with undiagnosed autism; I don't blame the school for this, detection and treatment was far less robust then than it was now. I do blame to school for the resultant bullying that I endured that year, and what I perceived as the cause. The middle school, especially in its pilot years, was intent on making a big show of its success placements. There was a lot of parading around the kids who were being accepted into 'elite' high schools like Western Reserve Academy, Walsh Jesuit, or a handful of others. They were clearly trying to position the middle school as a funnel of sorts to these programs. Of course, with these elite programs came elite tuition costs, and I'll just say that my family was not prepared to shell out for one of these programs. Moreover, I had no personal interest in boarding schools, religious schools, or really any of these programs. I distinctly remember Ms. Ludick's reaction at the parent teacher night when this info was brought to light. She was aghast and, dare I say, offended at the idea. Almost overnight, the atmosphere shifted. My grades took a sharp hit almost immediately. I became the target for relentless bullying from students who were already on the so called 'elite' track. It was daily, it was constant, and I was chastised when I withdrew like a turtle into its shell. And while I admit my autistic tendencies made me internalize a lot more than I should have, the rampant bullying was apparent to all, that year, including the staff. There were other students who noticed. Nothing was done. Suffice to say, there was an incident that spring where I was pushed to breaking point, and I was removed for my own safety. It is also worth noting that once I was gone, one of my good friends became the new target, for largely similar reasons. The staff knew. The staff even aided and abetted the bullies, many of whom were among the wealthier families in the program that the admins would cozy up to. The message was clear: I was not worth the investment, boasted no ambitions for them to advertise in the future, and as such was cut loose. "Open Season." I have had many years of growth and therapy to digest what happened then. I wouldn't be writing this at all if I hadn't seen some social media videos featuring alumni testimonies, and see several of the bullies being plastered up as Star Student advertisements. With the small number of reviews here, I don't expect this to gain much traction. And, as I said, many years have passed since 2007, and I cannot speak to how things have changed. All I can do is share what happened to me, and if it happens to help even one person down the road, that's enough for me.

I have been so happy with this learning center. The people who work there are excellent. They…read moreare extremely helpful and very loving toward the children. I am a former teacher. I see the games and activities that the children are engaged in. They are age appropriate and the children are very attentive to what they are learning. Also, I have had my 1 and a half, and three year old grandsons in the program. They are in diapers and have never had a rash when they go home. Also, my four year old granddaughter gets some help with potty training. In addition to that, they do up her hair in cute ways. This is a big deal since she won't let my husband or I touch her hair without screaming. I don't know how they do it, but I am so grateful that they do this. I guess I am meaning to say this preschool goes above and beyond my expectations. I cannot thank the teachers and director of the daycare enough. I love my grandchildren and they do too. I give them a five star review and if I could, I would go even higher. My granddaughter loves going to preschool. I want to see my teachers and my friends she says. It is also a very clean and I believe safe environment or the kids. I have witnessed the staff cleaning and disinfecting things when I pick up the children. To me, health and safety are the most important criteria for putting a child in daycare. The place has a lock with a code on the door to get in. Take it from a grandma, this is the place to bring your kids. They are just outstanding in their care for all the kids.

These people do not care about your children. The place is not well kept- it's dirty. My son was…read moreleft with poop in his pants rather than changed. Very disappointing. The director is horrible to staff and screams at the children. Look elsewhere!

Great experiences with the teachers throughout the school. Very interactive with the children.read more

Great with little kids but not that great as the kids get older. Everyone who works there seems…read morereally scared of the owner.

Our kid LOVES daycare. To the point where even if I was able to take him out of daycare, I don't…read morethink I could do it. I would feel I'm doing him a disservice! The teachers in the two Infant classrooms are fantastic. I have heard all sorts of horror stories from other daycare centers, and was so glad to have found one that really strives for quality. The odd time an empty food container isn't sent home or the wrong crib sheet is put into my kid's bag is irrelevant. I know my child is being taken care of, and the teachers there really love him. And I love seeing him progress with things like sign language or the noises he makes, and knowing they are helping him developmentally as well. Goddard also uses an app that allows you to get updates during the day, pictures sent to you throughout the day, and for you to send the center messages if you forgot to tell a teacher something at drop-off. Other daycare centers in the area use paper/pencil for daily reports, and provide much less information. And the pictures really help me get through my work day sometimes!

I do not recommend the Akron Goddard School for many, many reasons…read more First, my 15 month old was transitioned to an older room by himself (not in a group of peers) abruptly, with no overlap or plan in place to help him adjust to the new routines and teachers. His drop-offs got worse and worse until we removed him from the school. I later learned that there is supposed to be a written transition agreement plan signed by both the school and the parents. Second, when we made friends with other families in the same room, we learned that we were being charged $200-300 more per month for the exact same service (same number of children, same number of days/week, same room, no meals). These families were not part of any corporate or income-based discount, were not aware of being on any promotional rate, and started at the school after us, so they weren't being grandfathered into a lower rate. When we spoke to one family and asked what they paid for 3 days vs 5 days a week, they were perplexed because they had been told it was a flat rate no matter how many days they sent their child. When we tried to ask the owner why we were paying $200-300 more per month than other families, the owner would not make himself available to discuss the issue and we had to go through the director. She was kind about it but couldn't give us any explanation. When the owner finally contacted us, it was through email to tell us he would not refund our pre-paid August tuition since we left voluntarily. In the same email, he accused us of threatening the director and cced his attorney on the email. Finally, the owner lied to us during our initial tour. He told us (bragged about it, actually, which is why I remember it so clearly) that all additional activities (like soccer, dance, gymnastics for example) were free to all students because he does not want children to feel left out. This is why, he claimed, they charge a larger yearly registration fee-- to cover the additional activities. This turned out not to be true. They did charge us a larger yearly registration fee ($300) compared with other schools in the area, but we learned that any extra activities cost extra. I do not recommend the Akron Goddard School. If you are already there, I recommend asking others in your room what they pay for the same service and being very proactive with making a plan for your child to transition between rooms, because they did not look out for my child's well-being in the transition and I did not know enough at the time to insist on anything else.

I did not attend Young Scholar during any school years, but I did attend Preschool Camp in 2006…read more(the summer before I started preschool for the first time at the Lutheran church off the square) and then Girls Camp in 2007 and 2012. I had a positive experience for all three summers I did camp there and I recommend this place for a summer camp for preschoolers and elementary-age students. I was in 4th grade last time I did camp there in case anyone is wondering.

Horiable place to work. The director owner yells at employees . They use a contract that is one…read moresided. You are not paid for planning and are only paid for 3.5 hours a day. You really work the rest for free. It is not a step up to quality learning center. No teacher reviews or conversations . Not a good place to work!!!!

I can't even begin to describe how phenomenal this school is. Mrs. Smith and Mrs. Harper are…read moreabsolutely incredible and my daughter positively adored them! All of the activities and learning that my kid received at this school far exceeded my highest expectations. It goes beyond the education, they were just so loving and patient with the kids. Getting to participate as a parent helper allowed me to see firsthand how involved they are with everything. The creativity they showed with the activities made everything so fun. There is no way I could have asked for a better experience for my daughter for a Pre-School!

This is such a neat concept for preschool. Other preschools that my family has had experience with,…read moreyou drop your kid off, then pick them up at the end, never having much opportunity to be a part of things other than buying supplies and snacks. At the co-op, everyone pitches in, there is plenty of opportunity to get to know the other families and the teachers. It's a great community of folks. My daughter has learned so much beyond just the basics at the co-op. She LOVES going to school. There are many extra field trip and community service opportunities associated with the pre-school as well.

I have three children at KidsFirst. My two oldest have been there for three years, and my youngest…read morejust started. All three love going each day. My oldest is about to head to kindergarten next week and I feel completely confident that her experience with KidsFirst has greatly prepared her for school. She amazes me with all that she has learned over her time there. I didn't start my older children until 1&2 but I had to start my baby a bit earlier and I had no hesitations. She adapted to the transition to daycare with ease and I highly recommend KidsFirst. I have nothing but positive things to say about our experience throughout these past three years.

Absolutely love this place. My 2 girls are there and have been going since they were 1. The…read moreteachers are great. The leaders are great. I'm so happy i chose this place.

This is the most amazing school! My child has been enrolled in the Montessori program for 2 years!!…read more I could not be more happier with her educational growth! She is beyond kindergarten ready!!!

My child has been attending Creative Playrooms Strongsville for the last 3 years and we are beyond…read morehappy with our experience here. She did not attend childcare previous and the amount of academic and social emotional growth she has shown is amazing. I accredit her success in kindergarten to her experience here and the teachers here as well.