Review for South Lake Montessori School…read more Our family has had the privilege of being part of South Lake Montessori School for over 25 years, with multiple children attending throughout that time. Each one of them has not only thrived during their years at SLMS, but has continued to grow into confident, capable, and compassionate individuals -- a testament to the strong foundation they received here. The care, dedication, and consistency of the educators over the years is extraordinary. The Montessori approach at SLMS fosters independence, curiosity, and respect -- values that our children have carried with them well beyond the classroom. From early childhood through their transition to elementary and beyond, our children were always supported, challenged, and truly seen as individuals. We are deeply grateful for the role South Lake Montessori has played in shaping the lives of our kids and for being such a steady, nurturing presence in our family's life across generations. SLMS is more than a school -- it's a community that helps raise thoughtful, lifelong learners.

South Lake Montessori School has been life changing for my child. He started school here at age 4,…read moreand knew basic academics for his age (shapes, colors, the alphabet and counting to 20). Fast forward to just one year at SLMS in the primary classroom, and my son can write in cursive at a beginner level. He is also reading beginner level books on his own at the age of 5. Beyond that, the focus on practical life has made a huge difference beyond the classroom. My child enjoys cleaning, cooking, helping take care of his younger sibling. These are all things he does daily at SLMS. The director of the school, Mrs. Sheldon along with the primary teachers, Mr. Gonzalez and Ms. Dass have been absolutely amazing. They provide an authentic Montessori education, and they are always willing to take the time to speak with you and offer advice. They are patient, kind, and extremely nurturing. This school has become like a family to us.

Please come here it's a great school and unfortunately the principal is leaving Mama Hawk but this…read moreis Lake County's most important school so the principal they will pick for 2023-2024 school year should be great and the staff is great there and very nice and helpful plus understanding of people's disabilities!!!!

If you see my other review on my other account, that's old, so here's my new one. :)…read moreI've been going to this school for two years now, and overall, the school isn't bad. The facility is pretty good, and has really nice guidance counselors. The overall design of the whole campus is pretty good, with all the buildings not too close to each other, or too far. The teachers are overall good teachers, and the school houses a lot of different electives to choose from (PE, Art, Technology, etc.) You are given assigned seats at lunch, which seems kind of stupid, but then again there would probably be many problems with bullying, so you know. The lunch is alright for how school lunches go, and has many different lunch lines to keep everything moving. I don't have any problem with any of the bus drivers or the bus system, as they're nice. Front parking could be a little better (since it's on a hill), but it isn't bad. Quite a few fights between students though, but as long as you don't intervene with anything with any other kid you should be fine. Overall, school isn't bad. Could be better, but definitely isn't a bad school at all. Oh, and... Go Spartans!

This is a really bad school! I do not recommend this school. the teachers and administrators are…read morereally petty and the environment is really bad. They say they prevent bullying but in reality they don't do anything.

After going here for 7 years, it's grown on me. Technology campus is definitely miles better than…read morethe lynx campus. After the new dean Mr. Lebron showed up, it's clear that he's definitely got the students' best interest in mind. Some unfavorable rules etc, but overall going here was a great experience.

I am attending a 3 day training here. Every staff member was super helpful in making sure I could…read morenavigate my way through the building. They lost stars for the lack of women's bathrooms on the 2nd floor. There were men's bathrooms but you had to go down a whole different wing to find the women's room. Also, the faucets did not stay on and my bathroom stall lock was broken and I had to hold it closed with a hair tie they put in its place. The school is super clean and gorgeous outside. I will update as needed.

We were here for a football camp and the stands for the parents to sit in were very spacious…read more Bathrooms were easily accessible within walking distance of stands and concession stand. Bathrooms have black toilet seats and white. I mention this because of a phobia I have.

Mr. Pierre and officer Ramos I don't know if I'm spelling that right. But hey are awesome. I've…read morebeen dealing with Mr. Pierre for two years now I have three daughters in high school . He is just great with these kids very understanding and likes to listen to the parents and the children . Tries to get down to the big issues at hand and handle things great. I had an issue with one of my daughter's getting harassed, and Mr. Pierre and Officer Ramos handle the situation fast professionally, and everybody walked away feeling safe and happy. I know this high school has had its ups and downs for a long time throughout the years. I've had other children go there and I'm not gonna say I don't have problems with some of their staff I do but I believe that with everything that's happened that this School is trying to Bring everything to where it needs to be . To be a safe and great learning place for our children.

im not even going to sit here and lie, this school was amazing to me and everything but as soon as…read morewe got a new principal she changed so much around thinking she did a good thing but in reality she moved a lot of our teachers to other schools and alot of teachers are quitting , whatever she's doing just make her stop this school is just becoming teenager daycare without anyone to take care of them.

Not much outside but it is an amazing school you should go here you will be surprised. I came from…read morewindy ridge when I didn't get in there magnet program. My parents did not want me to be in chain of lakes so here I am. We are going to see if I get in. Thank you for reading this review,I hope that you guys will come to this school too and see how good in is.

I will start off by saying that many parents and their children have had positive experiences with…read morethis school. I am not negating, disparaging, or invalidating their experiences. I am going to share the facts of my child's experience with this school, and you Reader may make what decision you will. My child attended HOA for kindergarten in the 21-22 school year. Before enrolling, I took a tour of the facilities, and was ensured by Mrs. Khan that every child receives a top quality education, that all therapies needed would be offered by on-site therapists, and that each teacher was qualified specifically to work with special needs children. It sounded too good to be true. It was. As of the 22-23 school year, the teachers were NOT certified educators- they did not have licenses as teachers in public schools are required to, and had no evidence of "special" training to work with special needs children. Mrs. Khan was asked to produce such evidence, and declined to do so. In my last experience with this school, her primary educator who worked with grades 5-12 only had previous employment experience as a waiter in a restaurant. Her other educators either have no licenses or expired ones. There were no therapists "on staff" with the school- only the ones parents pay for themselves out of pocket. You have probably noticed a high employee turnover. There is a reason for this. Mrs. Khan has repeatedly created a hostile work environment for her teachers, going through as many as 3-4 employees A YEAR. She has also had to pay to settle a case of illegal labor practices on behalf of House of Academia- she has threatened to or has in actuality withheld wages and/or W2's in retaliation against teachers who resign. Former parents had to threaten legal action to ensure a safe playground free of sharp metal, broken equipment, broken safety gates, and clean bathrooms stocked with the bare minimum of soap and toilet paper. One of the school's exterior doors and the parking lot gate were left unlocked throughout the day while being across the street from a bus depot. During the 21-22 school year, a high school student (who was allowed access to the elementary students during recess) threatened to kill the children with a gun on three different occasions because they were "being too loud". Parents again had to threaten legal action to compel Mrs. Khan to move the older girl to a different recess. Parents were the ones who had to report this to the police after the fact, even though Mrs. Khan as an educator and an adult is a mandated reporter. During this time, a Maitland HOA location was being built- and the electricity and water were nearly shut off at the Elboc road location due to her financial negligence and mismanagement. In retaliation for notifying parents of the severe issues in the school and "creating problems", Mrs. Khan fired the only kindergarten teacher at the school 2 weeks before the end of school, threatened to expel the students of parents who complained, barred the RBTs of children whose parents had complained (preventing them from receiving any of the therapy their parents had paid out of pocket for) and refused to have a kindergarten ceremony for the children whose parents had contacted police. This could ALL be overlooked- except that Mrs. Khan is charging the parents of special needs students over $1200 per month for these facilities that are poor quality and educators who are not certified or trained. It is obvious from her multiple luxury cars, expensive brand-name clothing, and 4,000+ sq. ft. home in a gated community in Dr. Phillips/Lake Buena Vista that Mrs. Khan's priority for her schools is the money they bring her- not the educational improvement of special needs children, who deserve a quality education just like all their neurotypical peers. Here is the link to the court case corroborating her unethical labor practices (you will also see she has 7 traffic tickets as well- not the beacon of safety I would want for my child): https://tinyurl.com/yjhtm9xx

My child needs redirection to stay on task. While he did have an action plan with OCPS and had…read moreprofessional assistance from various departments, I still found him to be lagging with his assignments (completed at school) and knowledge base. We participated in their 1st session summer program and were very pleased with the outcome. He was excited to go to class and looked forward to attending every day...in the summer! The stride made during the 3 week session was astounding. While summer tuition was expensive, from our experience, it was worth it. That positive experience lead us to enrolling him full time this school year in the hopes that our child's advancement will continue.