We joined Mission Montessori in Jan 2021 and have loved our experience with the school! Our son was 7 months old when he joined Ms Felicia's infant classroom and he has thrived. All of the teachers (Corryn, Aysha, and Ginny) care for him like he was their own child and they've created such a rich environment for him to learn in. Just a few of the things that I love: 1) the software with daily tracking - I know what our son has been up to during the day, how much he is eating, etc 2) the pictures they share of him at school 3) how the school champions diversity through the curriculum and the overall culture 4) their approach to Covid safety 5) the strength of the parent community As a first time parent, I've learned so much from the MM community and am so thankful to know that my son is safe and reaching his highest potential! read more

Mission Montessori recently received a Type A citation, signaling a serious safety risk to the children. Since Endeavor took over last year, cost-cutting measures have impacted nearly every aspect of the school, including teacher salaries. In just the past two months, seven staff members have either left or been let go, leaving remaining teachers stretched thin. In my child's class, the teachers are dedicated and skilled, but they appear overworked, and I'm concerned they may not stay through the year. Communication with the principal has been frustrating--often coming across as insincere, confrontational, and even hostile. In one letter to families, she dismissed four recent anonymous complaints as "false accusations," creating an environment that discourages open dialogue and genuine feedback. I'm posting this anonymously because I worry about potential retaliation and feel that concerns can't be voiced openly. I hope Endeavor's leadership will take this public feedback seriously and consider necessary changes, as a poor reputation spreads quickly and can take significant time and resources to repair. While I'm actively looking to transfer my child, finding a new school in San Francisco on short notice is difficult, and I know the transition would be stressful for my child and costly for my family. Posting this review on Nov 7, 2024, for context. read more

I could not feel happier about and more supported by Mission Montessori. Context: My daughter (3 years old) started at Mission Montessori (MM) in February 2020. Then in March, the COVID-19 lockdowns happened, leaving us in the short term with no child support (two working parents at home and with an infant). MM quickly sprung into action to provide all families options for continued support, varying from online classes, in-home care, an essential care classroom, and a reduced price to simply hold your spot. Throughout the entire process, MM showed their loving support by staying in close touch with families and sending out surveys to make sure that their offerings were helping all families. In addition, our daughter developed a speech challenge because of these chaotic times. Our teacher at MM, Patricia, not only read the recommended materials provided by our Speech Pathologist, but more importantly, she personally hopped on a call with the Pathologist to get firsthand feedback about how she can better support our daughter in the classroom. My wife and I have absolutely trust and confidence in Rochelle (Head of School), Patricia (our Spanish Immersion Primary teacher), and the entire MM staff. We know that moving forward, they will not only provide a wonderful and nurturing experience for our daughters, but will be able to handle any future challenges sent our way. read more

You can see I wrote my original review on 11/4. The next day, Mission Montessori finally returned my deposit (3 months late). I confirmed receipt of it with my bank online and thought that was that. How foolish I was. While compiling 2019 child care expenses for my tax return, I noticed that after returning my deposit Mission Montessori quickly took it back out of my bank account. Screenshot proof is attached below. So basically they lied and then executed a fraudulent transaction to take money back out of my account. Almost a year after leaving the school, I still have not received my deposit back. Now I have to deal with these people again. Is there any doubt that they intended to keep my deposit? I post this in order to give you a window into the ethics and business practices of the people to whom you may be considering entrusting your children. I am sure Pari will post another BS response. Ignore everything other than these two things: i) why was the deposit withdrawn from my account? ii) where is the proof of when MM ultimately returned my deposit (as of right now, there is no proof because they haven't). No doubt it was all just an "administrative oversight." read more

Mission Montessori - Preschools Near Me - San Francisco, California

We have just moved away from SF and had our final day at Mission Montessori last week. I can't even being to tell you how hard it is to find a comparable school. Our oldest son joined MM when he was 19 months. Over the past 3+ years that we have been with the school, we have had wonderful memories. Our Son was truly thriving there. The school found a way to make remote learning as effect as possible within less than week of the March shut down. The kids were fully engaged and that gave me the ability to get work done while my 4 year old son is doing his remote learning. The process was super agile and kept getting better! despite the lockdown, my son did not fall behind on his math and language skills. We finally returned back to school in September where my 1 year old also joined the infant class. Despite our youngest only attended the school for 3 months, his independence progressed so much and I love all the things he learns at school that he comes home to demonstrate like taking his socks off, to cleaning the floor when he spills something and taking things from the floor and putting in in the trash, to singing and talking. We have felt super safe returning to school with al the COVID protocols that the school has set in place. Teachers have always made us feel heard and great at communicating with us about our child's need even outside of of parent/teacher meetings. If you are thinking about enrolling your child into this school. Run, don't walk. read more

Both my children attend Mission Montessori, and were in the preschool program since 2015. My daughter is currently in Kindergarten and my son is in 3rd grade in Elementary program (his 5th year at the school). We feel so lucky to have a true Montessori education for our children in the City, and in such a beautiful and caring environment. We could not be happier with their teachers and the curriculum is amazing! Additionally, our kids have additional enrichment in Art, Music, Improv (their favorite), Science, Movement, and Strategy/Games. They never want to miss a day of school! Also, my husband and I are really happy with the change of administration from LePort to Mission Montessori last year. The LePort administration was in Los Angeles, and did not deal with communication well, and their policies were not always great (like offering next to no teacher vacation all year, which was really draining and there was ongoing turnover because of it). But as soon as the Mission Montessori team took over the school, we have had excellent communication and they have really improved things. Teachers are visibly happier because they now get vacations (they need time with their families too!!) And they revamped the enrichment to make it more diverse and available to the younger children. Overall the teachers are outstanding, and the new administration is much more helpful and engaged, and really responsive! The best of both worlds. They also offer Financial Aid, which has made two tuition payments much more manageable for our family. We love the school, the faculty, staff and students, and our children are thriving here! I added a picture below taken this fall at a family photo shoot arranged by the school (how cool is that!). You couldn't find two kids happier with their school, and it's evident every day. What more could we want!! read more

Mission Montessori - Preschools Near Me - San Francisco, California

Our daughter attended MM (formerly LePort Montessori) from April 2017 till July 2021 (longer than 4 yrs). The teachers and stuff are extremely caring and pay attention to details. In the beginning, our daughter was not even a year old yet. She was fortunate to learn lots of advanced math and cursive writing before turning five years old at MM. They handled extremely well in the pandemic and restarted in person program from summer 2020. During the online days, teachers sent our home a mail package for the next week projects to work on. Zoom class was challenging, but parents could get involved in the class. We miss early years of our daughter at MM and we were so lucky that our daughter was surrounded by people who have special devotion for Montessori method. She moved on to one of the best private elementary schools in the city, and transition from Montessori to traditional method was smooth. We miss a bit of the Montessori way which a child can focus on one work for a long time, she had more time to paint a big piece of work. Anyway, MM is a very San Franciscan school and we still keep in touch with some of classmates and their parents while they are in different schools or moved to somewhere else in the country or in the world. read more

I wanted to leave a quick review for everybody who is looking for a Montessori School for their kids. Our son has been going to Mission Montessori since mid 2018 which only had one Spanish fusion classroom back then. Fast forward to 2019, there are two classrooms, one Spanish fusion and Spanish immersion which my son is right now. He loves the program, his friends, and his teachers. They do great field trips, have special person's day, presentation day, seasonal performances and a lot of parents are involved in the school programs as well as in holiday preparations. And best of all, my son LOVES to go to school. I also appreciate that Pari, the founder of the school, is so approachable, and always available to answer any questions you have. We look forward to how our son is going to grow in the next school year. Thank you Mission Montessori Team. read more

My two daughters are students at Mission Montessori and we all love the school. My oldest is in second grade in the Elementary class (Grades 1-3), and my youngest is in one of the Primary classrooms (ages 3-6). I love that the school offers an authentic Montessori environment. The classes are mixed age, there are dedicated work periods, and the teachers are well-trained and passionate about teaching children. The kids are able to choose the work they want to do and can learn at their own pace (with help from the teacher when needed). I should add, the 50 Fell Street location is incredibly convenient for public transportation. They have curbside drop-off and pick-up for when we drive. The school is in a beautiful, historic building which has been recently renovated. The classrooms are spacious and light-filled. My daughters are happy to go to school everyday. They love their friends and their teachers, and I love that they're in such a caring and supportive environment. read more

My son attends Mission Montessori Elementary, as a third grader in the Spanish Immersion class. My son is finally happy to go to school, after hating two previous private schools. At Mission Montessori, the work is self directed and self paced, so he gets to work at his own pace. Teaching takes place in small groups, so children learn at their own level. The two teachers in the classroom split up to teach different small groups of children. Mission Montessori does an excellent job of utilizing both classroom teachers. Children who are ahead gets to move ahead at their own pace. Children who need extra help gets it. Many private schools claim to differentiate the teaching to the child but cannot deliver. Mission Montessori can! I can't say enough good things about the school and the teachers. The teachers are truly kind and nurturing. And of course, the Spanish immersion really works. My son started third grade not knowing any Spanish and now at the end of the year, he can speak and comprehend, and read and write in Spanish! I highly recommend Mission Montessori. Sign up for a tour to see for yourself. read more

Signed up in March, but needed to move out of the city due to COVID issues two week later. Despite easily filling our spot from a wait list of hundreds (many months before the year started), refused to give us our deposit back. Not the kind of empathy and compassion I would expect from an institution teaching children. read more

Perhaps one of the worst schools you could think of sending your child to. From my own experience, I can say that my daughter EXCELLED in her previous pre-k Montessori school. I wanted to give my child the opportunity to learn Spanish as she had picked up so much at Pre-K and the Montessori method of teaching worked for her. She had loving caring teachers in her pre-k class (which was a public school). I was excited to send her to this school based on talking to other parents. However, this was when their kindergarten and elementary were together. Once they moved to the old Le Port building they changed things up. My daughter was now in a 'Primary' class. However, instead of teaching to each childs level, they taught to the youngest child in the class. This did not work for my child who was 'bored'. We had a two week period where she did not want to go to school as she was 'bored'. She was not being challenged clearly. I had noticed this in her lack of ability to articulate to me what she did during the day (which she was always able to do and had a PASSION for learning). This clear pretty much sucked the life out of her and her passion for learning. I raised my concerns with the teacher, director, principal and founder of the school. Each one talked down to me in a condescending manner and basically try to tell me that everything was fine, as if i did not know my own child. They did not want to take the feedback. They did not want to change anything. They would only say 'we have a wonderful teacher'. The school did not change anything until i would email or meet with them, my daughter would then get some challenging work for a few weeks and feel like she is learning. This would then go back to the same old same old. It was clear they didn't even bother reading her transcript from her previous school on what she had mastered and where she was going, what her strengths were. This school IGNORED her abilities and taught to the youngest child in the class, and not to the level of child (which is the whole philosophy of Montessori education. Once Covid-19 hit, the school struggled to get an online program together that really catered for Kindergarten kids. There were less and less people in the class and all they were doing were arts and crafts. The school did not want to hear the parents concerns. If you are thinking of sending your child to this school, speak to parents who are no longer there, and also why some are no longer there. This will speak volumes to the character of the school. You should also research the set up of this school, who owns it, how many other schools they have, how their non-profit works. I admit this is one of the worst decisions i have made in my childs education. I thought she would be in great hands in a private school, instead she was perhaps in the worst education facility i would have ever imagined she could have attended. I think Marc W's review is spot on. I only wish i had read this before signing my daughter up here! It's public school all the way for us now after this horrendous experience. Pari has threatened parents, myself included. Whether is is about 'holding back any funding assistance' if you don't do as she wants, or expelling your kids! There is no shortage to the lengths she will go! read more

I couldn't be more happy with our experience at Mission Montessori. The teachers are excellent: they are well-versed in the Montessori approach, actively work to develop their knowledge, and are very in tune with the developmental level of students. They are also kind and approachable. The administration at the school is also excellent. They are welcoming and very organized. Many of them know me by name and everyone knows my children by name. The school also makes a point to recognize and appreciate diversity; they encourage and organize cultural celebrations. For example, my son recently celebrated Lunar New Year and Holi. I also appreciate that teachers take weekly photos of the students' learning in action, and many times explain the intention behind particular activities. There's also a Facebook page, so I can see what children are learning in other classes/grades. In addition, the school organizes parent educational events on relevant topics. Also, parent volunteers are active at the school. They organize social events for parents and students. They also celebrate teachers, which creates a positive working climate, I'm sure. Overall, my experience with Mission Montessori has really convinced me that the Montessori approach is the best for my children. Their independence is being fostered, they're being challenged, and they are given space to explore. It is creating the foundation for lifelong learning, self-confidence, and independence. read more

We love Mission Montessori! My daughter is now 3 years old and has attended the Toddler class since she was 18 months old. Her lead teacher, Mrs. Elizabeth, is so kind and it is clear how much she loves her students. The administration staff is also great and very quick to respond with any questions and concerns. The school is small but nice, and has an indoor and outdoor playground which allows the kids to get out energy regardless of the weather. We couldn't have asked for a better first school for our daughter. read more

We absolutely love Mission Montessori! Our son started with the toddler class in September 2021. He immediately took to the teachers and staff and literally runs into school each morning with a smile on his face. His teachers, Jocelyn, Izzy, and Giovanna are fantastic (he talks about them at home too!). The school is very well run and the staff and administration are superb. We look forward to each day knowing that our son is cared for and learning in an excellent and safe environment. read more

Mission Montessori has been an incredible experience for our two daughters, ages 6 and 9. A few of the highlights for us include: *Low student to teacher ratio allows for an authentic Montessori experience and an individualized educational program *Spanish immersion program - which gives our children the opportunity to learn a second language when their brains are most ready to build these important neural networks *AMAZING teachers - I still marvel at the talent this school is able to attract. Teachers are committed compassionate and 100% student centered. We are always impressed by their deep understanding of our children's needs *Montessori math programs are incredible and builds a foundation for understanding underlying mathematical concepts, not just memorization of algorithms. *Excellent after school program offering a variety of options like ballet, improv, makers day and more! *The learning and self-confidence that comes with a pedagogy like this - they are building life skills and leadership alongside academics On top of all of this, the school has gone out of their way to make accommodations for our dyslexic daughter. This has meant a lot to our family - and to our daughter who finally feels comfortable in school. read more

Absolutely thrilled with our experience in Mission Montessori's primary program. Teachers and staff are incredibly professional, warm, experienced and most of all take incredibly loving care of my now 3 year old. We are in a bilingual English/Spanish classroom and our son fully understands Spanish and has begun to express himself after only 3 months in the classroom. We ADORE his teachers Isabella and Melida and feel very lucky to be part of the school and the primary program in particular. Cannot recommend highly enough as a rich, loving environment dedicated -- in our case -- to early childhood education! read more

My son started attending Mission Montessori when he was 2 (Toddler class) in Feb 2019. We had participated in its Parent weekend class series before (when it was LePort) and liked the school environment and approach, as well as all the faculty we met. We had a great experience with the school! Our son's lead teacher was great -- really caring, knowledgable, and dedicated. It was a hard transition for him (coming from being at home with either parents or nanny), and the team really supported him. During his time, we really saw him blossom in terms of independence and language. Our daughter also joined the infant classroom when she turned 1, but we didn't have much experience in the class before Covid hit. However, the lead teacher was also really knowledgable and caring as well. We also felt the admin team were welcoming and thoughtful. After the school closed due to Covid, the admin team provided transparent and regular communications and were constantly surveying families to understand their needs / wants. Online schooling began quickly, but they took account the hardship closure was putting on everyone and reduced tuition, which I know many other schools did not. They also provided in-home care options with their teachers, which was also a creative solution for some families. The biggest drawback for us was the location (next to skyscraper) and limited outdoor playground area facing the street. But, overall, we'd recommend Mission! read more

This school has been wonderful to us for the past five years (infant-kindergarten). Every time I have walked into my child's classroom, I've encountered a peacefully organized room with kids engaged in their lessons. The classrooms are beautiful with lots of natural light and authentic Montessori materials. The teachers are dedicated and caring. The administration is very responsive and thoughtful in their approach. We couldn't be happier with our decision to have sent our son here for the past five years. He's an independent and self motivated individual, which we attribute to MM. read more

Mission Montessori is a fantastic school with an organized, caring, and empathetic administration. I cannot express how grateful we are to the faculty and teachers for how much they've supported our family over the two years we've been there. Our oldest came to Mission Montessori as a very reactionary toddler with a lot of pent up anger, and the way the teachers and faculty helped him through it with grace and compassion makes me cry every time I think about it. MM's thoughtful approach to a very challenging 2020 was also incredible--they provided in-home care options for families not ready to send their kids back, which we took advantage of until we felt safe. The school's protocol includes pods, masks, temperature checks, and consistent communication about everything. I also cannot say enough good things about the teachers--we've had three main, and many assistants who have all been loving, calm, and taught our kids empathy, respect, and many practical life skills. Truly outstanding environment where our family always feels supported! read more

I used to work at Mission Montessori and it's an excellent Montessori program! All the teachers are caring, experienced and the leadership team has vision so they are constantly improving the program. Lead teachers have AMI Montessori training, which is very rigorous, so they offer top notch education. It's not easy to find an authentic Montessori program like Mission Montessori, specially from babies through elementary. It's beautiful to take a tour and see the children working in the classrooms with the materials. The classrooms are bright and they offer a peaceful environment where you will see happy, engaged children busy at work. It's like nothing you'll see in other programs. The elementary program is unique in terms of customized education and when you walk through the classrooms, you hear a soft buzz of children working in a home like environment. It's really delightful! I loved working at Mission Montessori because I'm passionate about education and what they provide to families is outstanding!! From great teachers, to a united community of families, to a supporting leadership team, they literally offer everything parents are looking for. I only left because I moved out of the country but I'll check them out again when I move back to SF. read more

We loved MM for our daughter, who started attending at the age of 2. The teachers were amazing - extremely caring, thoughtful, and gentle with the children. Our daughter learned in the true Montessori way, which we really appreciated: she was able to gain independence learning how to set her place at the table herself, washing things, and cooking, and also enjoyed learning about the alphabet, shapes, numbers, and solving puzzles. We found that she also learned a great deal in how to articulate her feelings and control her body/emotions, which goes beyond the usual "book learning" and helps us talk with her when she gets scared, angry, or upset. In the mixed-age classroom, she loved being taught by the older children, and teaching and guiding the younger ones as she grew into her role as one of the older students. I wish MM would open another campus near our new neighborhood so I could enroll my 2nd child! read more

Both my children attend Mission Montessori, and were in the preschool program from 2015 to 2019. My daughter is now entering Kindergarten and my son is now going into his 3rd year in the Elementary program. The teachers are all outstanding, the administration and staff are kind, thoughtful and helpful, and the environment beautiful.They also offer Financial Aid, which has made 2 tuition payments more manageable for our family. Our kids adore the school, the faculty, staff and students as much as we do, and are thriving here! And Montessori (especially at the Elementary level) is such an amazing educational model. The more we see the more we are blown away by it. Certainly no boredom here. My kids' classes are full of happy, fascinated students, and delightful, loving, challenging teachers who know how to foster self-motivated and engaged kids! We couldn't be happier to have found this school. read more