Mary's School is one of the best preschools in Boone. Both of my daughters are students at the…read moreschool and their time spent there has been invaluable. Mary Willis and her staff do an amazing job with the kids and sincerely care about each and every child they come across. During the year Mary writes a report on a child's progress and meets with parents to discuss it. When I have shared these reports with friends and family members, they couldn't believe how detailed it was and how lucky I was to have such a great teacher for my kids. At school, the kids learn through doing hands-on practical activities. From preparing their snacks to washing their own dishes. The children also learn from each other. Mary uses the older children as teachers to help the younger children. This fosters independence as well as raises self-esteem. Children are also encouraged to define their own boundaries by being allowed to say no to others. This also teaches them that it is okay when others say no to them and to respect their boundaries. One of my favorite things is that the kids are allowed to get dirty and messy in order to explore and learn new things. They play outside every day and learn how to socialize with peers. My kids love it at Mary's School and I have seen how much they have grown in the past years as a result of what they have learned there. I would encourage any parents to start their child's education at Mary's Montessori.

From the owner: As a Montessori classroom, we have a multi-aged classroom from 2.5-5, so that there is always…read moresomeone who is learning, someone who can teach, and the oldest children are valued, competent helpers. In the three year cycle, we get to know children deeply, and see clearly their strengths. Our staff of 3 have a combined teaching experience of 47 years!

We are new to Montessori this year but have found this precious little school to be perfect for out…read morelittle one. There is such a focus on each child as an individual and I love how excited she is to learn about the world around us.

Our kids attend this preschool and I can't say enough great things about it!…read more First off, Countryside is incredibly wholesome. The snacks and meals are genuinely healthy, the classrooms have enough developmental toys to engage the kids but not enough to be overwhelming, and there are acres of space outside for them to run around (of course there are separate fenced playground areas within to prevent runaways ;) The teachers are genuine, trained and certified teachers--not babysitters who are out of a real job. The lessons taught are real-world lessons of responsibility and grace: like putting your things away, letting a child use a toy until they're finished with it, and mechanical skills like (at the toddler level) learning to arrange their lunches, pouring their own water and taking care of their things. If you've had your children at a "preparatory school" or daycare like we have, you've probably observed them feeding your kids things you wouldn't eat like cheetos, "fruit" snacks, lots of juice, cookies, etc. We felt like we couldn't escape this system of the daycare feeding out kids junk food--even when we asked them to feed the kids an alternative, the preschools would feed it to them anyway! This would never be accepted at Countryside. Another great thing is that the family population is diverse--lots of different colors, socioeconomic representation, and a few languages spoken--which we wanted and appreciate. Unlike the church daycares (and "preparatory school"), they won't try to force any religion on your kid but rather teach respect for all people. I could go on and on, but the last thing I'll say is the teachers are REAL teachers. If you've had your children in even the best daycares in Charlotte, you'll know that the teachers are actually babysitters (although some have a degree, *maybe* in early childhood ed if you're lucky) who graduated and can't find a job in their field and are working at a preschool just because it's a j-o-b. Countryside's teachers have tenures at the school of generally 5-25 years and are clearly both experienced and committed to the children. Turnover is NOT an issue here, unlike at the schools we've been to. No one else seemed to mention this in their review, but since child care is expensive, I'll mention it: Countryside is about 40% less expensive than our previous daycare situations (providence preparatory and a chain daycare)!!! We feel like we've struck gold--a way better child care situation that's much more affordable. Highly recommend!

It takes a lot for me to leave a bad review. But after the treatment I have received I have no…read morechoice. My son started care here shortly after we moved to Mooresville in March. He adjusted quickly and loved the teachers. I got on a monthly plan and all was well until... The entire staff resigned due to poor owner management and no parents were notified. The new staff was incompetent and did not practice proper safety guidelines. When my child came home twice with a dirty diaper and a full drink (which he immediately sucked down like he had been walking in the desert) I knew something was wrong. That was when I found out all of the teachers he knew and I was comfortable with were gone and they were not only short staffed but the new staff was incompetent. They didn't even know which child was mine when I came to pick him up and did not ask for ID. To top it off I had just paid for a full month of care. When I notified the owner that I would not be bringing my child back and requested a refund minus the two days he went I received no response, and still haven't. I would NEVER recommend this place to anyone who cares about their child. Terrible customer service and dishonesty. If they had done the right thing and refunded my money I would have moved on but anyone who keeps $500 for 2 days of care is just not a good person.

Update*** TLDR: there are ongoing investigations about…read moremultiple accusations of abuse on toddlers by an assistant. Teachers are being hired without background checks. The school is not offering any answers or solutions to the parents questions. Also, this is a one star school that is not an accredited Montessori school. Full post: We are extremely concerned at this time. Since my previous post boasting about the school, there has been a revolving door of adults coming in and out of our kids lives, most all of them with no Montessori experience or training. Some of whom, have commented that they do not believe in Montessori training, and therefore do not implement Montessori curriculum with our children. There have also been multiple adults who were hired without the school running any background checks on them. This is all reported by the state of North Carolina but you can read about online. There is clearly something very wrong at the school that is causing assistants and guides to leave so often, but this is probably the most disturbing part. As of Thursday night (12/09/21), we became aware that there is an investigation by the state into abuse on toddlers by an assistant. After speaking with parents who had children in that class, I have learned that the abuse was quite extensive. This was the message we were sent. The narrative is that this assistant was seen being physical with a toddler, and that the assistant would have remained an employee working with our kids had she not quit while on administrative leave. The school's stance is that they did not feel there was any abuse. Other guides in the school who witnessed abuse and made reports to administration feel otherwise. Parents, clearly, feel otherwise. Parents are now seeing signs of trauma in their children due to this ongoing. Our sons teacher who made reports on the abuse was fired. Her replacement is a woman who has never had any Montessori training, and will now be preparing some of our kids for first grade, which we are absolutely concerned about. The Chief of Program Operations (the CEO's wife) was on a conference call last night with all the parents, and instead of fully answering our questions, she said she would email us the next day by noon (we have not received any such email) and said "I have to end this call because I promised my kids I would do a puzzle with them and keeping my promise to my kids is important". I've never felt more unheard or anxious about my child's safety.

My kids have been at Ashley Academy for a couple of years now, and I can't say enough great things…read moreabout the school. It has been an awesome experience for my children!! We started with only one child at this school and were so impressed that we decided to send all our kids to Ashley Academy. This past year was a great year! As the previous comment indicated, there have been some changes this past year, but I am excited for my kids to return next year. When your kids are learning, enjoy learning, and WANT to go to school everyday, you know you have found a wonderful environment for your kids. I would recommend this place to any parent.

Unsatisfactory is an understatement. I could go on and on about the many things that are wrong with…read morethis school from the board to the lack of guidance and proper administration. I can tell you that if I had school age children I would not send them there. In fact, when I first started another employee said that to me, and I couldn't understand until having experienced such a tragic excuse for an educational facility. In the last part of the 2013 school year new administration was brought in and all the teachers had hope for improvements. Sadly, things only got worse with the hiring of a director with NO experience for the role. I have one word if you are considering sending your children here: DON'T.