Wellan Montessori School

Newton Montessori School is amazing! Our son has been here going on 3 years and our daughter starts this fall. We are constantly impressed with the outstanding teachers and the guidance they give our son. He is reading way above grade-level and also doing math in 1st grade that I don't think I did until I was 9 or 10!! The school has a wonderful parent community which is actually surprisingly diverse. All the parents we've met have been friendly and welcoming - really down to earth. The best benefit has been for our son's classroom experience. After attending Montessori since preschool (starting at Newton Montessori in his Kindergarten year), we know that he is definitely a "Montessori kid." He's very active, so the fact that movement is a constant part of the Montessori model is brilliant! He also sometimes needs firm guidelines and structure, which he also gets, as appropriate. In this area where there are so many "high performing" schools (public and private), Newton Montessori is really unique. The Montessori approach, really solid academics, great community, and very convenient location make this the ideal school.

Our children absolutely thrived at this school! There is top-notch faculty and they give the children a wonderful Montessori classroom experience along with additional curriculum like music, art and Spanish starting at age 3! Plus with both parents working, we loved the convenience of the after-school program.

Newton Montessori School has been a phenomenal place for our children -- they have flourished there because of the wisdom and guidance of superb and loving teachers who have always been in close communication with the parents-- because they truly care about the "whole child." We have looked at most of the private schools in Newton and the public schools too, and cannot find anything close to the NMS level of education, along with its commitment to personal responsibility and teaching the joy of learning for a lifetime. Our children are so happy to go to school each day, which for us says it all.

We had very disappointing experience with this school. The school was not upfront about many issues that would largely influence our choice from the first place. Child injuries and scratches were not reported to parents timely. You had to chase the teacher to find out what happened during the day. Not only that when you contact the administration, you will get the standard Montessori answer to every issue or question you might have. Think twice before you sign up. I agree with the philosophy of promoting independence in a child. But there is a fine line between a nurturing environment that encourages independence vs. your child will not be cared enough to even love the school and the environment. Also ask for the credentials of the teachers. The turnover rate in certain grades is high. There are good teachers in the school. But would you rely on your luck of getting a good one when you pay this amount of money for the best education you can offer your child? It should not be parents concern to control the quality of the teachers there.

It should be noted that Newton Montessori School is a different entity that occupies the same physical location of Montessori Educare, which went bankrupt in 2006. The new school, Newton Montessori School was started by the parents of students of Montessori Educare, in order for their children and those in the community to continue to have access to a Montessori education. While many of the teachers remain, the administration and governing board is completely different.
Overall, our experience with NMS has been rather disappointing. Firstly, the school administration has been largely ineffective in managing certain teachers' behavior and responsibilities, as a result the children, and not just our child, ended up with a subpar experience. There has also been a lack of transparency with regard to teacher turnover that has negatively impacted the students. In general, there is a lack of communication between the parents and the administration on school related matters. We have chosen to keep our child at the school and we do hope for a better year next year, as we feel that most of the teachers are caring and competent.