The best teachers and positive, supportive environment. Small school with opportunities for growth…read morefor every child. I would send my child here indefinitely if they had a high school program.

I don't have enough superlatives to truly convey the deep appreciate and regard my wife and I have…read morefor Metro. Our daughter has been in Montessori since she was 3. She is a Montessori kid. And when the time came to leave her upper elementary classroom at her previous school (the super wonderful Sunstone Montessori) - we really struggled. Did we put her in a pipeline school that would allow her to matriculate from her middle school program directly into high school (e.g. OES)? Should we consider Waldorf? In the end, sticking with Montessori for our daughter's middle school years was not only a healthy choice for her growth and development - it was an amazing experience for her whole person. Picture this - after completing her 7th grade year at Metro . . . our daughter disclosed to us, "that was the best year of my life." Wow! I don't know about you - but my Catholic middle school years were DEFINITELY NOT the best years of my life. Thank you, Metro for being such an amazing place of peace, curiosity and compassion. You ROCK!

Our family has been a part of the the CMS community for two years and counting. We have had nothing…read morebut positive interactions with Ginger (and Shizuka). Our eldest son's first school experience was at CMS and I felt deeply comforted by the warm and enriching environment created by Ginger. CMS has nurtured his curiosity and prepared him for kindergarten in so many ways.

A true gem! This in house Montessori preschool provides a nurturing and safe environment that…read moreinstills a life long love for learning. True to the Montessori method, my child developed practical skills and independence. These skills were so helpful as they transitioned into grade school. The teacher is supportive and understanding and they have plenty of time to spend outdoors. I highly recommend this school if you are looking for a safe and welcoming environment where your child will thrive!

Oasis closes often with short notice. As working parents, it is unreliable foe us. Would not come…read moreback when my 2nd child turn 3 next year.

Where to even start... A pure Montessori experience with a loving and talented staff, an amazing…read morenew building close to Montavilla, and a close-knit parent community. I have 2 children currently enrolled, and a 3rd who will go here when he's old enough. The new Elementary program is outstanding and I'm thrilled that my children will get to stay part of this community from age 2.5 through 6th grade. You could not ask for a better Montessori environment our education in general. I'm continually astounded by the level of reading, writing, math, and creativity I see the children at Harmony demonstrating. The fact that they've accomplished so much at such a young age while being so engaged and loving everything about what they're doing makes me want to go back and do school over again myself. We looked at a large number of Montessori programs in Portland and I could not be happier with the choice we ended up making. From the moment we toured this school it was clear that this is a truly special place.

We have been so thrilled with our first year at Portland Montessori! The dedication and thoughtful…read moreapproach of every staff member is so evident in our day to day experience with the school. Our guide, Ms. Susie in the Rainbow Room, is exceptionally talented and has helped us instill grace and confidence in our (almost) 4 year old son. The aftercare staff and GIANT play space are the best we saw in our search or have heard about since, since the same support staff stay for aftercare they know all of the children really well and can respond to their individual needs. We have also loved Camp Vida this summer, they really stepped up the program from last year in terms of the diverse weekly offerings. Music Mondays and Cooking Fridays give our son something to look forward to every week! Great school!

Sharing our response to the denied acceptance email received pertaining to our son. Our daughter…read morewas accepted. We are completely caught off guard and very disappointed to hear you have decided not to accept Henri. After reading through the numerous emails from TPMS there was NEVER any information that his acceptance was pending a school tour. In addition to the emails, we specifically discussed our situation with Jessica during the tour and I followed up with telephone calls after. Jessica reassured us TPMS had children similar to Henri. We were worried about disappointing him and told her we did not want him to tour the classroom if there was a chance he would not be accepted. She assured us that it doesn't work that way and the tour was just for him to get familiar with the classroom and meet his teachers. I specifically told her I do not want to even apply if there was not room for both children. We had a secured/accepted a spot for Lillian at another Montessori school and had Henri on the waiting list, which we have turned down since receiving your "acceptance letter." It is too late in the school year to secure a spot for our children at another school. This decision is INCREDIBLY disruptive to our family and completely irresponsible per TPMS admissions staff. It is pathetic I had to email Braden to find out why we had not had any follow up after Henri's visit. It is also misleading Elisabeth did not indicate anything went wrong with his behavior during that visit. Her communication & demeanor with children and adults is lacking. Judging a 6 year old boy with special needs after observing him for 2 hours in a completely new environment full of strangers is unbelievable and inaccurate, and speaks volumes per your internal practices verses the montessori educational platform. Your policies should be clear that you don't accept children with an IEP or ADHD, to avoid wasting families time Lillian will not be attending TPMS. I HIGHLY suggest you take a look at your admission process and the way TPMS communicates with families. Because of your poor communication and decision our children will not be able to attend Montessori school in the fall. Considering our situation after much homework and clear communication on our part, we suggest TPMS advertises correctly and does't mislead people in the future as it's been a very disingenuous and incompetent experience that will greatly affect our family and our child's developmental plans. Parents are always going to be their children's biggest advocate and TPMS should be ashamed as your mission statement and admission process is severely flawed, and its obvious people should know the truth! In closing, I'm not looking forward to explaining to my son that he will not be attending the school we've been building up to be a great experience. He was greatly looking forward to the school & "new friends" and going to school with his little sister, both of which will not happen now.

We love HFP! My son looks forward to his school days with excitement and joy. Coming back from…read moreschool, we always get a hardy "thumbs up" and "it was great, dad!" He loves Teacher Susan and enjoys HFP's focus on play. Watching him mature over the last 2 years at HFP, I can see a huge difference in his conflict resolution skills and overall emotional stability. He knows how to be kind to strangers, understands how to attempt to play well with others and even suggests conflict resolution strategies to us. We also love HFP's parent community, it definitely doesn't feel like "just" daycare. I find it easy to believe that HFP as an institution will be in Portland for years to come.

My son has been at HFP for 6 months now and I can say with confidence that it has been the best…read morething I have done for/with him. The teacher at HFP is incredibly skilled, kind, compassionate, playful and inspiring. There is strong anti-bias curriculum which means that big questions regarding race, gender, orientation, able-ism, etc. are explored, dialogues are facilitated and children are given a caring place to navigate their thoughts and feelings. The parent involvement, while substantial, is what makes this community so amazing! I feel as I did not just gained a fantastic place for my child to grow and learn but also a whole village !!! I have toured lots of places and none matches HFP!!! If you think a coop is the right answer for your family you should certainly check HFP out, it's a wonderful place to be in.

My daughter has attended Child's View for the last two years and it has been a wonderful…read moreexperience. We are big fans of the Montessori approach to learning, one that gives the child the opportunity to explore and find the activities they need to grow. The school and the teachers create an environment that allows for that kind of learning. Child's View changed ownership last November and has only gotten better. If you are looking for preschool to kindergarten program, I would strongly encourage you to check out Child's View.

Child's View is a great little Montessori tucked in SW Portland (near Capitol Hwy and Barbur). They…read moreemphasis respect both for each other and for the environment. Very green. Great renovated facilities. Wonderful, nurturing staff. Nice outside play area and garden. I highly recommend them.

Our son has been going to Lovejoy Montessori for a few months now and we can already see how much…read morehe's gaining from Ms. Lora's class. He is learning a lot and is genuinely very happy there. Lora has been such a joy to talk to and her attention to the kids is unmatched. She takes her time and puts so much care into each child and we're so thankful to have found her. We really recommend Lovejoy for your little ones, they will be in good hands

This is a beautiful in-home Montessori school! The classroom is cozy, bright, and peaceful, and we…read morehad the honor of having our daughter taught by the lead guide for 4 years. This is a lovely place that will help your preschooler grown into a confident and independent little person, and learn so much along the way!

We chose to take our four-year-old son to SunGarden after relocating. It's a lovely small community…read moreof staff, teachers and parents, but unfortunately it didn't turn out to be what we thought it would be when we enrolled. Keep in mind, we have high expectations since we're talking about our children. We're within walking distance and we prefer Montessori methods, and SunGarden is AMI vs AMS (please research the difference if you're looking into Montessori schools)... so SunGarden seemed like a great choice. Everyone is warm and welcoming, and our son grew leaps and bounds academically (which is great if you're looking to raise an Einstein), but I was disheartened by a few things listed below: 1) Time outside: We were told when enrolling our son would be able to work outside when he wanted to (with provided lanyards) and they would often be outside anyway. However, he would come home and say he was not allowed to run outside (a four-year-old not be able to run?!). And although the outside area is beautifully cared for, it's extremely small for how large the community of children is, which is why they were worried about safety if the children ran into each other or any of the garden equipment. At this age, we feel kids need to run off their energy, especially after doing serious academic "work" in a classroom all day - see below. So the outside area and the rules that go with it ended up being a downfall and we were a bit displeased. 2) Turnover: We were only at SunGarden for one year and it was the director's first year in this position, as well as our teacher's first year (her name was Amy - but she was the best part about the school experience for our son). Their "outside guide" left the school mid-year making it even more difficult to allow children outside to do their work (something we were told would happen daily, but ended up not happening much at all). 3) The environment: I have to commend the school on its materials - it complies with AMI rules and materials have to be up to a certain standard, and they are beautiful Montessori materials, kept clean and orderly. However, as much as I love a calm, organized, quite environment for learning, the rooms were unusually quite (these are children ranging from 2.5-6 years). There should be noise and laughter and giggles. Anyone who needed to "move" - which was more often than not - was told to walk briskly along a circular line tape placed on the floor. It almost felt like caged animals when I observed this. 4) Academics: AMI Montessori schools want your children to thrive academically. I want my child to thrive in this area as well but he was still 4... not heading to college yet... and the reports I would receive from my teachers were how long my child would sit, focus and work on math or other subjects. And although he learned quite a bit for a four-year-old, I felt bad the days he didn't want to enter the classroom, crying and sitting outside, because I knew in my heart it was because he was entering what he felt, was a place he couldn't essentially just "be a kid." 5) Play & Art: In our son's previous years at another Montessori school (which we all loved but was AMS), he would come home exhausted, often-times dirty from playing outside (this is a good thing, parents...), or covered in paint and/or in a change of clothes after getting wet on hot days. Unfortunately, he always returned home from SunGarden as well groomed as he had been when he went in the classroom door that morning, so it seemed that very little art exploration, imagination, creativity or getting dirty was encouraged (at least that we saw). Again, it felt exceedingly academic for little minds. I do know they have some make-believe areas (such as a small doll house), sing songs (he came home reciting the same 50 states song I too memorized in 2nd grade), and read stories, but the teachers are there mainly to observe the children do their focused work quietly. 5) Flexibility: I want to be fair, the director did allow our family some flexibility, but again, complying with AMI methods, SunGarden requires your children to attend five days a week. So if you're looking for part-time care (because we wanted our child to be able to move and explore non-academic areas on those days off), then unless they've changed their rules, you don't have that option. Overall, again, everyone was warm and kind and I do know they care about the children. Unfortunately, I left with the impression they care even more so about complying with their AMI Montessori beliefs and methods than what the children inherently desire and need to be a kid at heart. It is a great school for those looking to ensure their children simply grow in academics and social responsibility. Again, these are the areas in which we saw our child grow the most with his time there and we are grateful for this.

As current parents of two children at SunGarden (one in each room), we couldn't be happier with our…read moreexperience. New to the area, we wanted a local Montessori provider where we could feel connected to the community. From the first day we dropped in (literally) to tour the school, the director, guides, and staff made us feel welcome. Since then, we've continued to have great experiences with the school, the parents, and the community. We love living in West Linn and often comment that SunGarden was the best decision we've made here. Specific to the school, we love the building and yard, the amount of outdoor time the kids get (rain or shine, they go out!), the pictures we get from the guides, and the ongoing parent/guide conferences. There are opportunities to connect with the guides, have drinks and coffee with other parents, learn about the curriculum, and interact with the whole community (annual events). SunGarden is the right place if you're looking to be a part of a Montessori community where your children will be cared for and given individual attention.