I am writing a review of the RVMS management. We enrolled our 8 mo. old at the location at Blue Hills in the fall of 2013. But after the debacle of how the management executed the December 2013 transfer of ownership for that location (later renamed Creative Kids) and the subsequent clear lack of communication to both the working staff and enrolled families, this is the only appropriate location on which to rate the leadership at RVMS. We originally enrolled out baby boy after an excellent sales pitch from the owner, Eli. The care that was provided was excellent, at first. The teachers were mostly outstanding, and catered to the needs of our baby boy and his new friends. At first, the only concern I had was the apparent disorganization of the front office with regards to keeping track of paperwork. However, during winter break (my wife and I work for the public school system), we received a random e-mail informing us of the management's plan to sell their Blue Hills location. They provided only a few day's worth of processing time for families to meet the would-be new owner before the sale was complete. There was very little apparent concern for the turmoil this might have on families with children already enrolled. There was also very little concern about how children would respond to the sudden change in routine. The only explanation that Eli and his crew provided was that things moved so fast that they had little time for proper communication. I want to call that bluff. I am a school administrator, and I know that major business decisions like this do not arise randomly and out of the blue. Furthermore, as a matter of best practices, when working in the field of child care and education, leadership should ALWAYS keep stakeholders (teachers and families) in the loop in regards to major decisions. Any negative fall out that comes of a failure of adequate communication rests solely on leadership. As a sidenote, although my wife and I were very leery about the new management, we have found the new Creative Kids to be outstanding. I would not hesitate to drop off my child there, even if it meant driving an extra 25 minutes via 460. It was precisely this outstanding quality of care that we received from Creative Kids that made me reconsider the leadership at RVMS as the months passed, ultimately leading me to write this review. The final push for me to write on this forum was the alarming observation that Eli has started a pattern of launching disparaging personal attacks on other people who have rated RVMS poorly. As a school administrator, I can say unequivocally that this sort of poor professionalism exposes the real personality of the management. Typically, I am partial to organizational management in child care and education, as I consider them to be colleagues. Sure, in my world, there are students and families that might make attacks my own integrity as a school administrator. Some of those attacks are from sour grapes, of course, and (honestly) some criticism is well-warranted. I use the latter to help myself grow. Eli, in person and on the phone, is a nice enough gentleman. His defensiveness, however, appears to be a problem. That characteristic may become his major flaw, as it will be a barrier for him to weed through sour grapes and legitimate criticism and reconsider his management style. If this does not get fixed, it will ultimately lead to further loss in profits (as was the case at Blue Hills) and continued high rate of teacher turnover and subsequent diminishing of staff and enrollment morale. It also bears noting that, when RVMS sold their business, Creative Kids was kind enough to retain some of the RVMS teachers to help children adjust to the new administration. I note this because those teachers who stayed have indicated more happiness with their work schedule and work demands. I am a firm believer that happy teachers provide outstanding care to children. The happiness of the staff at Creative Kids, some of whom were at RVMS, is palpable. When Blue Hills was under RVMS management, the happiness was negligible. It wasn't surprising that some levels of care were not consistent (such as times when I was left waiting outside in the early morning because nobody arrived in time to open the doors). Here's the bottom line. The management at Creative Kids turned out to be in a totally different (and better) league than the management we experienced with RVMS. I grew up in a Montessori daycare, and even that was not enough to convince me of the redeeming value of RVMS. I hope that Eli and his management team make the changes necessary to reform their school in a meaningful fashion. But for the time being, what we experienced cannot be ignored. read more

I have never had a negative experience here. My little one LOVES it here! We actually came here from Country Bear and I believe this school is a much better fit for my 14 month old daughter. The teachers are amazing and my little one adores them. read more

Our daughter has been at this school for almost a year and we've been very pleased with our experience. She starting in the infant class and has now moved to early learner - we've loved each teacher along the way. The environment is calm, very clean and organized, and our daughter has made great strides with her sign language, verbal communication, shapes/colors, etc. I appreciate that the teachers are warm and loving but that they also encourage children to do things for themselves and develop skills, like cleaning up after themselves. After coming from a much larger, high-density daycare, we are very happy and glad we made the move to RVMS. read more

My son has spent the past two summers at Roanoke Valley Montessori and always has a great time. I am pleased with the environment and the attention given to my son and also my family. I definitely recommend it to others. read more

My child attended Roanoke Valley Montessori for 1 1/2 years. When we first signed up with Roanoke Valley Montessori, we thought that this would be the perfect place for our child. We appreciated that there was a separate sleeping area for the infants and that the staff seemed knowledgeable and very caring. However, it only took a few months for us to begin seeing a terrible pattern with teacher turnover. The teachers/caretakers that we loved initially were replaced with young and inexperienced hires. Within one short year in the toddler room, the teachers turned over four times. There are two teachers in the toddler room, and by the time I left, each position had turned over at least once. Also, it is apparent that hiring personnel with a Montessori background is not a priority for RVMS. Honestly, this level of teacher turnover is somewhat scary....why are the teachers leaving so quickly? A few other items that disappointed me about this school: - The playground area is simply mulch piled on top of asphalt. So, there are no trees (just a few tents to block the intense summer sun). All children have to wear sunscreen every day during the summer. Also, it leads to terrible drainage after a storm. I can't tell you how many times my child came home with wet soggy shoes. - Communication between the owners and the parents was simply awful. Any turnover should be specifically discussed between the parents and the owners, and this was not always the case. - Prior to leaving the school, I gave a 45-day notice (only a 30-day notice is required). Once the owners had found a replacement for my child in the classroom, they informed me that I was being asked to leave prior to the end of my 45-day notice, as they had found a replacement and I gave extra notice. I did not have a back-up plan at the time, and the owners did not care. As they stated, "this was a business decision." - Also, I lost count of how many times the owners needed me to let them in the school on my way in or out because they had forgotten their own badge. Why would an owner not have a badge to get into their own business? So, unfortunately, I feel like I made a bad decision in choosing this school for my child. I hope this review will help you be more selective. ...and regardless of any rebuttal the owners may have (as I have seen several of their rebuttals below), you must ask yourself how many bad reviews are necessary before it's apparent that the school is lacking on several fronts. read more

My twins have been attending RVMS for 3 years. It was a little "rocky" for a few months until we and the children adjusted to the school's techniques and rules. But I have been very satisfied with the staff and the montessori method. You will be impressed when you walk into the school and see children sitting quietly and using their manners. My children will be leaving RVMS to attend public school kindergarten this fall (We live in a very good school district and are lucky to have another option). Our kids are reading at what I would say is at least a first grade level, are doing math, and have done even done a science project. I really am pleased that the school fosters problem-solving, respecting others and cleaning up after themselves. The teachers seem very dedicated to my children's individual needs. My daughter is very shy and the teachers have shown much patience and fostered her "silly" side to give her some confidence. This place is nothing like "Daycare". These kids are expected to learn. It is far advanced from most public schools. I was looking up the address for the school and happened to notice these poor reviews on google. I felt obligated to come to their defense. There are many, many pleased parents that I see every day that I drop my children off at RVMS. read more