Rogers Park Montessori has been a great school for our son, who is a diverse learner. The staff at RPMS has been instrumental in assisting us in qualifying for additional state educational resources. We cannot say enough good things about RPMS and the people that work within it. Additionally, and most importantly, our son loves going to school everyday. read more

Wow, what a find RPMS was for our family. When we moved to the neighborhood we toured many daycares for our kids and it was clear from the start that RPMS was a very high quality, intimate, and friendly place to send our kids. Now in our third year at the school, we continue to be amazed by the quality of the education, the incredible teachers and staff, and the great community. We feel good dropping off and picking up our kids each day and they equally love the school. I am continually impressed to hear what fills my kids' days. There is a cultural richness to the Montessori curriculum and there is so much care and thought put into each individual child's needs. It's an exceptional place that I would highly recommend to any parent! read more

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Our twins started at RPMS two years ago in first grade and it has been the best choice for us! I didn't know much about montessori, but I am constantly impressed with how it works for elementary (and older) kids. In addition to academic progress, I love how the approach builds essential life skills like independence, collaboration, problem-solving, time-management, and communication. All of the teachers and staff are amazing, and the school facility is great. RPMS also fosters a fantastic parent community and we've made a lot of friends through the school. read more

We have had the pleasure of being in the RPMS community for over 9 years. Both our 6th grader and 1st grader started at the school in the toddler program at 2 years old. They learned independence, play time and the Montessori way at a very early age. The school is located in a quiet and wonderful neighborhood and we couldn't be happier how well the boys have flourished in this environment. The school teaches them leadership, group work and conflict resolution in such a beautiful way. Given the small class room sizes and teacher to student ratio, the teachers can support the students however they need including advanced work. The before and after school programs are wonderful for working parents and the kids don't want to leave school. The growing athletics program is fantastic and the community of parents and staff is amazing. read more

I currently have a child in upper elementary (aka 4th-6th grade) and Aspen (aka middle school). I am blown away with how the school has customized education for each of my children. One child loves group projects and presenting and they've nurtured this by giving her even more opportunities. For example, partnering with a classmate to give tours of the school to prospective parents. Our other child loves reading and gets to visit the library multiple days a week as long as she keeps up with her required work in all areas. The school sports programs are amazing for kids to try new things. My children ran track, played basketball and volleyball without any outside experience. When they make a mistake, its truly no big deal. My daughter's volleyball games were packed - parents, classmates and little kids from the after school program all cheering, some even with handmade signs. The other parents are truly awesome. We found our people. They drive my kids to activities, dropped off goodies when we had COVID, volunteer at the school and are always up for social events. The parents are not cookie cutter- such an eclectic group with many talents. There are a zillion opportunities to get involved in the actual classrooms - from being a "mystery reader" to coordinating holiday crafts. My husband and I did a little presentation on Japan for my daughter's class which was really fun. I didn't seek out a Montessori program but have since learned about the many benefits. I just wanted a stable environment (60+ year history), kind teachers (Flavia! Principal Ben! + many more) and a place where my kids could thrive (they are!). So grateful we found it in RPMS! read more

We've been proud members of RPMS for 10 years. When our kids started, both at the age of 2, in the outstanding toddler program we just thought it would be the best early education program for them and it didn't hurt that the beautiful campus was close to home. We have gotten so much more than we could have ever imagined from this amazing institution and the community that surrounds it. Teachers and administrators truly care and are steadfast in their commitment and ability to prepare our children to thrive in adulthood. I see that so clearly now that I have a 10 and 13 year old and could not be more grateful. Their patience and wisdom continue to impress me and frankly make me a better parent and human being. The parents are some of the most smart and inclusive people I've ever met. I feel so lucky that we are a part of this community. Each year that gratitude grows. Whether you're looking to make a change for your child or just starting to explore education options in this great city, don't miss a visit to RPMS and a chat with our amazing Kristen Mark. You will be welcomed with open arms! read more

Why choose RPMS for your child? First, please read about the efficacy of the Montessori method, about learning by doing, mixed age classrooms, and adaptable curriculums. I want to share why we happily chose Rogers Park Montessori School (RPMS) about 5 years ago. In our experience the faculty and staff are warm and knowledgeable about development, always approachable and happy to be at their jobs. The extra training that our teachers receive is significant and noticeable. The teachers are really true educational guides at this school. They have given us keen observations over the three-year cycle and we really get to know each other to work to assist our child. We've found our classrooms and the campus to be quite beautiful. It's a great location as a city school and it is tucked away for outdoor space and education. Yes, the student to teacher ratio is also excellent. And the family community is involved and active. But our favorite thing about RPMS is that our children are both happy and are both thriving in the areas that are important to our family like academics, service, social grace and curiosity. We are so grateful that our two students can attend RPMS. I highly recommend meeting the admission staffer and learning more if you have any interest! read more

My kids attended RPMS from Jan of '23 to June of '24 and I'm hoping to help families get a variety of perspectives as they make the best choices for their families. The pro's of the school are many, the school itself has a beautiful campus, very caring and committed staff/teachers, and a real commitment to the Montessori method of teaching. That said, ultimately our experience was not a good fit for our family, especially our son who has ADHD and was there from Kindergarten through 1st grade. While the staff was caring and compassionate, their approach was not helpful for my son, he left there barely being able to write, they claimed he had a writing disorder and pushed that theory in a neuropsych evaluation I had done as we were preparing to move out of the city. I knew my son was basically doing what he wanted at school (he did enjoy being there) and was able to avoid doing work he thought was "boring", not to his benefit at all. In short, we are now in a well funded public school in the north shore and he is thriving, writes well and comes home with essays every week he writes independently. We were very upfront with the school about the feedback from RPMS and they immediately told us that they would do their own evaluation as they often see these issues with kids from Montessori programs. They were spot on and I felt justified in my assessment of the situation at RPMS. The real issue is that they didn't even tell us that there was an issue with our son not wanting to focus on writing until mid-way through the year, they actually asked me if it was ok to tell him he "had to" do his writing exercises. I was shocked that it was even an option for him to refuse to do work. My daughter has always thrived academically and while she liked her experience at RPMS she much prefers her current school because she's with more kids her own age. That said, she did experience/witness a form of bullying there. Kids could tell other kids they didn't "feel safe" around another kid, without explanation or by saying it was a "feeling they couldn't explain" and therefor exclude them from play. While I think we need to listen to kid's feelings the environment there is one easily manipulated by kids. Lastly, we moved to RPMS from St. Matthias and found that community to be much more welcoming as they had many programs to fold in new families. We have found the same at the public school we are at (Lake Forest). Maybe because we moved to RPMS mid-year, it was very lacking in community for us by comparison. I think it would have helped to be connected with other new families or established families when we entered the school, but we ended up doing that on our own. Very nice people indeed but nothing like the community spirit we've had in the other two schools we've been at. That said, I know a lot of families there feel very happy there and are loving how their kids are learning. I'm writing this review because I know there were other families who had the same/similar experience as my son at RPMS and I wish I would have understood the challenges for ADHD kids who need more structure at RPMS. read more

We are starting our third year at RPMS and could not be more pleased with the experience. Our child is thriving! His teachers are incredible - warm, caring, balanced, and know his strengths and where he needs to grow. We love the administration and the teachers and are glad we chose RPMS for our son's education. read more

Our son is in the Toddler program at RPMS and we love the school. The culture at the school is amazing, as there's a strong sense of community and a warm and welcoming atmosphere in the building. The teachers are deeply committed, knowledgeable, and caring and we've been really impressed with the Principal and other staff that we've met. There's a thoughtfulness to activities, be it movie nights or inviting parents to come in to the class to read our toddler's favorite book on his birthday, that we really appreciate. The building facility itself is beautiful, and was clearly designed with a vision of maximizing the educational potential and aesthetic of the space with lots of sunlight and wood and natural materials. The "grace and courtesy" social-emotional curriculum provides an excellent foundation for life-long lessons in social skills. We're very grateful that our son has had such a wonderful start to his education. There's so much that we're looking forward to in future years, including the "Innovation Studio" that teaches students everything from using power tools to computer programming. Our son loves it there and there's no place we'd rather have him be. read more

I am the mom of a seven-year-old (second grade) daughter. My daughter has been at RPMS since age two when she started in the toddler program. We viewed the toddler program as a great way to try out the school before making decisions about preschool and elementary school. We chose RPMS because we knew several families with older kids at RPMS and their kids were all-around great human beings. After just a few months at RPMS, we knew it was the school for our family long-term and we could not be happier with the school community and our daughter's experience. In our parent-teacher conference in the toddler program, we had no idea what to expect -- after all, our daughter was only two! But her teacher detailed the different "work" (Montessori-speak for activities in the classroom that a child can select, all of which reinforce different skills or learning) that our daughter was doing and how those selections illustrated her development. Her teacher had identified abstract concepts that our little girl had absorbed already and explained why the development of certain motor skills would help her with future academic learning. These are the kinds of things an RPMS teacher understands and nurtures out of their little students! Our experience has only gotten better with every year, although one thing has remained remarkably consistent -- every single teacher has taken the time to understand our daughter not just as a student, but as a person. They value her quirks, they know how to guide her out of a frustrating moment, they delight just as much at her acts of kindness as they do her academic progress. And this great in-school experience for our daughter is matched by the fabulous family experience my husband and I have found at RPMS as well. What we find ourselves saying most about the school is that every RPMS parent we meet is such a nice human being. The friendships we have built for ourselves are invaluable as well. If you are looking for a school that values community, that stretches your child but magically without any sense of competition of obligation, and that will welcome your entire family, I cannot recommend RPMS enough. And the work they have put in over the past year to have very safe, in-person learning during covid has been nothing short of extraordinary. We love RPMS. read more

This is our family's twelfth year with children at Rogers Park Montessori School. I think back many times to 2004 when our now high schooler was 3 & 1/2 and our daycare provider suggested we look at the Montessori school a couple of blocks away (when RPMS still rented school spaces). This was in June when we should have looked for a preschool the September before. A spot had opened up as another family decided not to enroll. How fortunate for us!!! RPMS is an incredible environment of administrators, teachers, staff, and families. Imagine a nurturing place where children aged 2 - 14 feel safe to learn. The same place where knowledge is not based on tests and grades but on steady progress through the Montessori curriculum. A place where the children become confident, caring, and conscientious young people. This is RPMS and there is so much more. As an example of this wonderful community, a quick story of the last middle school girls basketball game several weeks ago. Our team played with heart but the score wasn't even close. This would be the end of the season for our girls. With seconds left and all of the 8th graders in for their last few moments, a 3 point swish. And the RPMS crowd went wild! You would have thought the girls won the NBA championship. Celebrating the small successes - that's RPMS. I am so thankful for our good fortune to find RPMS. What an amazing journey we continue on. read more

I am an early childhood teacher myself I feel RPMS offers a high quality education that is true to the Montessori philosophy, and focuses on the whole child. This is our third year at RPMS and I have nothing but great things to say about the school, teachers, and other families. I have never been to a school where the administers are so involved with the school and families. From the very beginning we felt right at home and my daughter come out of her shell and has excelled at everything from living a healthy lifestyle, to multiplication... and she's only in extended day (kindergarten)! The other families are so nice too. Being a part of RPMS is truly being a part of a wonderful community. read more

This is an excellent school. The teachers are incredibly attentive to the students, the philosophy is based in peace and collaboration, and the facility is state of the art. It is always impressive to see the beautiful environment they create for the students. I only wish all children could receive this kind of education. read more

We had the WORST experience with Rogers Park Montessori. I interviewed for my daughter, gave them a nice deposit with the application, was told that I would be contacted to get started and I never heard back from them. I waited and called and waited and called until I got so angry that I called and screamed at them. I WAITED ABOUT 2 MONTHS - when they said they had space for my daughter immediately. I also wrote a letter to the principal about my experience with JULIE EINSTEIN and I never heard from the principal regarding the matter. Now I'm glad my daughter doesn't go there. I wouldn't give that school 1 penny and will always talk down about it. read more

My two children attended RPMS, one through 6th grade (before the middle school was available) and one through 8th grade. The experience was absolutely fantastic. RPMS follows Montessori tenets to promote the whole child. The social, emotional, cultural development of the child is just as important to nurture a fully formed adult as learning reading, writing and arithmetic. That being said, both my children (and their friends and fellow graduates) have excelled and evolved in a manner most of us never had an opportunity to do. Their years at RPMS included challenges, which of course bring not only success, but failures. Where better to falter than in an environment of loving, caring, smart, focused teachers, staff, and students, to allow our children to pick themselves up, dust themselves off, and try again. And succeed. No child is gifted in every aspect of their intelligence, whether science, math, reading, writing, executive functioning, emotional, or social. We adults sure aren't! Why do we expect schools and teachers to take our children and make them overachieving AP competitive students? To create stress and heartache for a child who excels at writing and creating but struggles in math, or a child who picks up math concepts easily and struggles with essays? Or is socially behind her peers but has amazing empathy? Every RPMS teacher my children had helped them utilize their strengths to gain insight and success in the areas they struggled with. And to never make them feel that they were "less than" someone who breezed through those areas. The carefully structured and placed multi-age classrooms foster a community of older children that model behavior the younger kids are developing...and the act of helping a younger child with a difficult problem (in any area) seems to exponentially help each evolve beyond what they would learn with their own peers. RPMS students are known throughout the Chicago area secondary education system for being smart, caring, , naturally curious, involved in class discussions (even on shadow days they participate in class) and in activities, club, student government. My children are pursuing their passions, and making their way into adulthood, high school, college, and life, with the exact qualities I would have picked from a basket. And I know that RPMS filled that basket for them. The community of parents is MUCH larger than any one person. Many hands, hearts and heads have poured countless volunteer hours into everything from painting, scrubbing floors and washing curtains in the older buildings that were rented....to working our fingers to the bone to raise funds form WITHIN the community of parents, grandparents, employers and friends of RPMS to create a learning environment that matched the stellar work being done inside those old buildings. It would be a shame to say offhand that any one person created the space, as untrue as that is. And insulting for those who put thousands of hours into supporting RPMS to become a place for more of our community to have the ability to join. read more

Our 2 kids are so happy at Rogers Park. They have learned how to be independent, motivated, resourceful. caring learners. The parent population is great- lots of fun and normal people. This is not the school for those looking for fancy cars and attitude. Rather, parents are chill, teachers are top rate, facilities are incredible and kids are happy. We love it! read more

We joined RPMS last year in mid stream for Montessori and my daughter will be entering 1st grade next year. We have found the staff to be absolutely the best and she loves her teachers and the classrooms. We have made some incredible friends at the school both from the teacher side and and the parents. You will not meet a more committed team who really cares about the kids and growing them. Once you meet the kids who have gone through the program and gotten into the best schools in Chicago you will see why I recommend this school so highly. Of course my daughter is having a great time as well and her best friends are her classmates. read more

There are quite few families from Bell & Coonley school districts whose kids goes to Rogers Park Montessori. This will give you an idea about the education this school is offering... read more

We've been RPMS parents for 10+ years. We feel the school has given our children a complete education. The school has instilled an excellent academic foundation-- but any "good" school can do that. What sets RPMS apart is the education that goes beyond academics: lessons in self-reliance, problem-solving, time management, social/emotional intelligence, personal awareness, citizenship, and independence. I spent several years as an adjunct at a top university. I met many bright students who seemed to be on an education treadmill. They were running as fast as they could, but they had no idea why they were running or where they were going. To them, education was merely a race. And upon graduation, when the race was over, they seemed genuinely lost and bewildered when no one came along to hand them the prize of a meaningful life and successful career. I chose RPMS for my children because the school encourages kids to get off the treadmill and instead, become true explorers-- learning the skills to navigate a world beyond the classroom. read more

My two sons attended RPMS from preschool till 8th grade. One is now in high school and the other about to be. Both boys loved their time at RPMS. My older son was, and my younger will be, sad to leave. The school offers a nurturing, warm environment which allows the students freedom while encouraging individual responsibility. My sons were eager to learn and, with a few exceptions, their teachers were eager to help them so do, encouraging and supporting them as they dove into assignments or took on extra projects when they had completed their regular work. The social development of the children is also an important part of RPMS and they feel safe, are encouraged to be themselves, accept those who are different and let everyone have their say. We came upon Montessori accidentally but we quickly realized that we had come upon a wonderful educational system, where children are encouraged to take responsibility for their learning and their behavior as they become responsible, active members of their school. Over the years I the teachers and staff got to know my children, even teachers who they did not have, and welcomed them warmly each day to school. When I am at school teachers and staff still ask about my older son, now three years graduated. Lastly, both my sons have been well prepared for their challenging high schools. read more