My step son just did us this fundraiser for school. As parents who care we feel obligated to participate. The cost f value embarrassing. I will never do this fundraiser again and will recommend to other organizers as well to look for something better - good old fashioned candy bars even for $2 would be better. It is ridiculously expensive. not only are you paying $30 for 12 oz of popcorn or nuts, They then hit you with a service fee 1.74 and $9.99 in shipping which you don't see until the end. Not everyone especially elderly people want to or have the ability to do things online. I would have rather given the $40 to the school so they would get all the money. We had so many people refuse to do this fundraiser for that reason - if this is charity, why charge a service fee, really ! Then we don't even have an option to have the product delivered in one place and pick it up. Yes, it's convenient in this day and age but you are certainly paying for that connivance now without a choices. who pays $150 for popcorn ??? I'm in marketing and this product is so cheap to produce the mark up is close to 100%- again for Charity. Just disgusting and the product is not even worth that price! The nuts we got liked and tasted old. Try to support your kids another way go get your school to just take checks! I'd love up even know how much of that money the kids actually see!!! This organization should be ashamed of themselves taking advantage of family and char organizations! I was a girl scout troupe leader, a CCD teacher and a cheer Coach, I know about fundraising. This is not it. Try canning we did great at it! read more

As long-term parents of LMS, we cannot say enough good things about the school. Our children have completed the preschool cycle, the three-year lower elementary cycle, and are now in upper elementary, and throughout the process, the highly qualified staff and teachers have consistently encouraged them to be independent in their learning. As someone who specializes in education, I recognize the importance of self-motivation, and LMS has exceeded our expectations in promoting this for our children. The academic breadth and depth of learning at LMS have surpassed our expectations. Although some may worry that the "freedom" in learning styles may lead to falling behind, LMS has a packed, comprehensive, and individualized curriculum that is tailored to the needs and skills of each child. Additionally, standardized testing is introduced starting in fourth grade. The independence fostered at LMS, instead of being a constraint, I trust that it will benefit our children for a lifetime. In addition to the excellent academics, LMS also hosts numerous activities throughout the year to build a sense of community, including culture fest, ice cream socials, a 5k, book clubs, volunteering opportunities, farming, and many more. The children have had very few conflicts, if any, during our time at LMS, as the staff and teachers are conscientious and work closely with parents to address concerns as soon as they arise. Overall, we have been extremely satisfied with our experience at LMS and would highly recommend it to other families. read more

We are so lucky to have found Lexington Montessori. At LMS our kids have learned to love school, they are confident learners and their academic, social and creative skills are improving by leaps and bounds. During the weekends my kids always look forward to Mondays, their favorite day of the week because they get to go back to school! read more

This school has a lot of outdoor learning and they have taken precautions with covid.lms has a great learning experience.i am a student at this school from maya 5th grade read more

My three kids have been attending Lexington Montessori School since 2018. Our family loves the school and all three kids are happy there. From the access to nineteen acres of outdoor space to the responsive, organized administration to the wealth of diverse and engaged families, there is a lot I could cover in this review. The most important thing for our family, though, is the careful and individualized attention that the experienced faculty give to each of our children. Our toddler learns Spanish, builds with blocks, and sorts colors. Our kindergartener grows radishes, skip counts by nine to the cube of nine, and reads to her teacher. Our second grader comes home everyday excited about new writing lessons, learning Chinese from his friend at lunchtime, and building forts in the woods. Our family couldn't be happier with the school and we are planning to stay there for as long as we can, which is currently through eighth grade. We can always hope that they build a high school soon! read more

Just happened across "JD"s review and wanted to offer a counterpoint to any parents considering Lexington Montessori School for their children. I've never been much for kool-aid, personally, and don't consider myself a joiner by nature, so I don't think that would explain my very different experience with the school thus far. We're in our fourth year at the school currently and both of our kids started as pre-Kindergarteners or "middlers" in the mixed age classrooms Montessori's are generally known for. This small but meaningful difference between LMS and all public schools (as well as most independent schools) is worthy of its own publication. But suffice it to say, our kids have thrived in this communal setting that allows them to both mentor and receive mentoring from someone other than a teacher. The value of this in deepening learning and building confidence is immeasurable in my experience. The child-led learning approach that Montessori has been practicing since Maria Montessori's day is also a massively important difference in approach and -- from my observations -- the level of focus or purpose on display from these kids at a very young age is truly astonishing. Where most schools strive for compliance, LMS seeks to foster an inner-directed learning process that seems to connect kids at a very early age to the learning style that works best for them, then continues to foster this right up through middle school. The result is a classroom environment that literally hums with focus and engagement. The comment that the decreasing class size over time is testament to some kind of structural failing at the school is kind of silly. ALL independent schools have attrition into higher grades (don't forget... every one of them is competing with "free"). Last year I think LMS had 85% retention for all grades... that's simply incredible for an independent school. Furthermore, I just attended a Montessori Across the Ages event at the school where recently graduated Alums ranging from high-school to college age came back and sat on a panel (in front of a room packed with adults) and proceeded to blow the entire room away with their poise, confidence and the deep sense that LMS prepared them for a lifetime of learning and made the transition to other schools easy and successful. The 19 acres of woods and wetlands adjoining the campus is a relatively new but incredibly exciting aspect of the school. Sustainability and respect for the natural world are baked into the Montessori models from the beginning and have found a deep and consistent expression at LMS. The woods is a perfect extension of this mission. Yes, we live in the age of ascendence for Ticks, and yes that's a reality all of us who love the outdoors in the warmer months are going to have to adapt to. The alternative is to lock ourselves indoors and settle for pictures of nature on our iOS devices and for me anyway... that's not going to cut it. The woods are being integrated gradually into the curriculum in a way that deepens and fosters this connection and for most of the parents that I know at the school, this is really something wonderful that we're all looking forward to. I have also found the leadership and administration to be incredible people and extremely responsive. There are almost 200 families at the school and LMS is the largest Montessori in the area by some significant margin. The level of direct personal responsiveness available considering that fact is pretty amazing. The magic at LMS, to my mind, comes partly from the methodology, but mostly from the community... the parents, kids, administrators alums and teachers that have gravitated to this school have this remarkable combination of smarts, savvy and humility that I've not seen anywhere else. To describe this intangible quality I'll sometimes say jokingly that Shady Hill attracts the MD's, Waldorf attracts the Shamans... but LMS attracts the Naturopaths. Folks who recognize the value of science and progress, but also the value of respect, community and connection. As for the comments about being "weak on math" I have to say that's just laughably untrue. A friend of mine at the school had the opportunity to survey all of the lower-elementary kids as to what their favorite subject is... 95% of them answered math or science. I'd say if, as a parent, your primary concern with school is "does my kid love school" or, better yet, "does my child *love* learning" then you should check out LMS. They've found a way to empower kids and have created a truly diverse and responsive community that we're profoundly grateful to have discovered. The truest thing I can say about LMS is that my kids are learning because they WANT to, and any school that fosters that innate desire of most humans to understand the world around us better is doing important work. Literally helping to create the leaders of the future. Two thumbs up from this parent. Truly an exceptional community. read more

Ok, you better drink the cool-aid and get on board. Because in their view - the method as implemented by this school is perfect! The truth is - it isn't for every kid. A great testimony to that is that number of kids drops year by year, there are fewer and fewer classes on each level. By middle school, there is a single tiny class left. Also enrollment in Children's house seems to be dropping year over year. BTW - children's house is the best value. The teaching is as good as the teachers. Some are great, well organized, others are rather cold and consider any learning problems a student problem, not a teaching problem. "Praise harms the kid" seems to be the motto. Sit in the class and observe, we found teachers who wouldn't help and follow-up on kids who were struggling, who scolded kids for what seemed minor issues and who in general allowed a noisy environment. Your kid is going to need some incredible focus ability to get individual work done! The way the classroom works is that the kids that are extrovert and actively seek help get help - while the introverts can often be ignored. The greatest challenge with the school is that you don't have an accountable school. You don't know how well the school or your kid is doing. There is a periodic verbose report, but no guidance on what is really expected at each step. The school performs standardized testing for private schools (assessments) - but they don't share this. Your guess is as good as mine why they will not publish how well the school is performing! Many parents at LMS have figured it out. LMS is weak in Math, send your kids to a tutoring service in math. Throw in some other additional classes such as English. That way, your kids are doing ok, regardless of the academic quality. Else, the school is a caring environment, bulling seems to be in general low (but there are some troublesome kids - and they will always find ways to bully other kids when nobody is watching). The response to bullying by the school seemed underwhelming - maybe sit down at the peace table and have a chat? The bullies continued year after year, some get moved around to a different class room. Some teachers seem to have a better handle on bullying than others. The school has a great little meadow and playground - that is really nice. However, the school is vasting lots of resources on their own little hundred acre woods (19 acres actually). Feel free to donate some money for tick infested wood hikes! On one hike, one teacher removed 18 ticks from clothing. read more

We moved our boys (grades 3 and 6) from Lexington Public Schools to Lexington Montessori this year and couldn't be happier! Everyone we've met at LMS, from faculty to parents and students, has been so welcoming. From the very first day of school the boys said they love LMS. They look forward to school each morning, and they even ask to go on weekends so they can show us around the amazing 19 acres of woods, wetlands, and streams. The class sizes are especially small this year due to Covid precautions, and the kids spend half the day in the newly built tents to maximize time outdoors. My kids are learning so much academically, socially, and physically. They love the freedom they have to climb trees and pick up rocks, when in public school there were just so many rules. They're loving that their teachers really get to know them and talk with them. They're loving all the new things they're learning and the new friends they're making. And most of all, we're all loving the sense of normalcy LMS brought back to our lives with real in-person school every day. I'm so glad we joined LMS! read more

J.D.'s review is completely correct. The school looks beautiful, feels progressive, and seems ideal on the tour. (I was a tour guide.) but sadly, they don't deliver on the sales pitch. The administration is weak in handling the teachers (perhaps the result of misguided progressive leadership), and perhaps along those lines, don't understand that the families are indeed paying customers. As a result of unhappy families, they have resorted to effectively bribing families to keep students for kindergarten and up. No music teacher, no consistent library for my child at ages 3 and 4, but if you stay for Kindergarten, you get gym, chorus, etc! Stay through middle school? You get golf, crew! Full fee preschoolers subsidize heavy financial aid in the elementary and middle schools. When things go wrong, things go really wrong. And the admin will warn parents not to tell others of issues they have had, or will be asked to leave. Board is in the pocket of the leadership. Dysfunctional. read more

Looking at the reviews of others, I was compelled as a parent to write one. Lexington Montessori does not sit on 18/ 19 acres, so I believe these reviewers are talking about a different school. LMS is a small school with a huge heart. The teachers are phenomenal and even if a child isn't in their classroom, they know that child, speak to that child, and help them develop into a caring, bright, and curious person. We have been part of LMS (there are a couple other Montessori schools in town) for over 4 years with multiple children (who have different needs). Lexington Montessori has helped them flourish and develop a love of learning. read more

This school should have it's accreditation reviewed. I know a student who attended this school for several years and was not taught a thing. He could barely read by third grade, and the school did little to nothing to support his learning. He was basically left on his own to do whatever he wanted each day, and gained no academic skills. I was appalled at the school's lack of response to continued pleas and requests for support from family and neuropsych testing results. I understand Montessori uses a specific teaching approach, but this approach does not work for all learners, and it is irresponsible and unprofessional for a school to continue to take money from a family of a student whom they are knowingly unable to educate. read more

LMS is a truly special place where kids are treated as whole human beings and allowed to develop into their best selves. These teachers have been my partners in raising my two kids over the years, and their impact on who my kids are goes far beyond academics. read more

Our daughter has been at LMS since kindergarten. We expected to stay through the Children's House, but the learning community is so strong that we never left. Each year, we realized it was well worth the money. Our daughter is in middle school now, and we love who she has developed into...a deeply thoughtful, articulate, young woman who takes learning seriously, never needs reminders to do her homework, is committed to helping others through community service, has a strong knowledge of geography, history, the political system and science. LMS teaches its students that they are part of the larger world. Our daughter is socially advanced and passionate about her school. We share LMS's values for diversity, sustainability, democracy, love of nature and responsibility to each other. The head of school is a thoughtful and experienced leader with integrity, strong values and a commitment to her faculty and families. We've been so pleased with what our daughter has learned at this unique Montessori school! The middle school is purposely small and the teacher to student ratio has resulted in increased learning and attention for our daughter. The teachers are outstanding! Over the last few weeks, there have been four guest speakers in the middle school: a police officer, an immigration lawyer, a Holocaust survivor and a teacher from Puerto Rico discussing the recovery efforts. LMS brings the world to your children. I never write these reviews, but after reading J.D., I was compelled to tell the truth about this wonderful school! read more