Montessori schools in Cincinnati or N Ky (Washington, Avon: houses, neighborhood)

[nlschr0]

Related to my other general relocation thread, can anyone give me any information or feedback on Montessori schools in the area? It seems like Cincinnati has a large number of options, both private and public. Are there any in particular that you would recommend? Any advantages or disadvantages? We are particularly seeking schools that offer Montessori options from preschool through upper grades. I'd love to consider one of the public options and not have to budget for a hefty tuition bill, but I've heard that they are very difficult to get a spot without camping out for weeks.

We are not currently living in the area but may be relocating there this summer. My husband would be working near the airport in N KY and we have not narrowed down an area where we will live, although we have heard several suggestions for the Mt Washington and Anderson areas in OH.

[natininja]

TomJones123 should be able to give you the skinny on Cincinnati Public Schools, and how difficult they are to get into, as he has done a ton of research on the matter. You might want to PM him.

[TomJones123]

I know that Sands, Clark, and North Avondale are all excellent schools. I can't vouch for the other. Follow the link to get an idea of how the magnet programs work. And feel free to PM me, as I have a child who attends SCPA.

http://www.cps-k12.org/schools/Schls...MagBrochEN.pdf

West —
Dater Montessori (preschool to grade 6)
2840 Boudinot Avenue, 45238 Phone: 363-0900
Parker Woods Montessori (preschool to grade 6)
(formerly Winton Montessori)
4750 Winton Road, 45232 Phone: 363-6200
(Moving November 2012 to new building at 4370 Beech Hill Lane, 45223)

East —
North Avondale Montessori (preschool to grade 6)
615 Clinton Springs Avenue, 45229 Phone: 363-3900
Sands Montessori (preschool to grade 6)
6421 Corbly Street, 45230 Phone: 363-5000

Citywide —
Clark Montessori (grades 7-8 magnet) (9-12 high school)
3030 Erie Avenue, 45208 Phone: 363-7100
Gamble Montessori (grades 7-8 magnet) (9-12 high school)
5425 Winton Ridge Lane, 45232 Phone: 363-2600

[kg97]

We plan on sending our son to Pleasant Ridge Montessori for preschool in the fall. It is our neighborhood school so no camping out for us. I do not have first hand knowledge beyond open houses yet, but know several friends/family with children there who rave about it. I am not sure if there are any "neighborhood Montessoris" in the areas you are looking, but if so it might cut out the hassle of dealing with a magnet school (although the magnets do have excellent reputations).

[progmac]

Originally Posted by kg97

We plan on sending our son to Pleasant Ridge Montessori for preschool in the fall. It is our neighborhood school so no camping out for us. I do not have first hand knowledge beyond open houses yet, but know several friends/family with children there who rave about it. I am not sure if there are any "neighborhood Montessoris" in the areas you are looking, but if so it might cut out the hassle of dealing with a magnet school (although the magnets do have excellent reputations).

ditto, look into PRM. the people i know who send their kids there are very happy to borderline fanatical about the school. they have a facebook page with info on open houses, etc.

[TomJones123]

Originally Posted by nlschr0

I'd love to consider one of the public options and not have to budget for a hefty tuition bill, but I've heard that they are very difficult to get a spot without camping out for weeks.

You would only have to camp out for weeks at Fairview German Language school. It's an excellent school that is trendy, but of course is not a Montessori school.

Getting into any of the magnets may vary somewhat from school to school. At North Avondale, people arrive the night before and the school allows volunteers to open and staff the gym, where refreshments are served. The best thing to do, IMO, is check all the options that interest you and go tour the schools. That's what I did. I nearly sent my child to North Avondale, but SCPA was a better fit for us. Again, if there is anything I can do, feel free to direct message me. I may not have all the answers but I can get in touch with folks who know CPS like the back of their hands from having kids in the system.

Also, there is a help number for CPS, and surprisingly they were very helpful to us when we were figuring things out. But the bottom line is getting into CPS magnet schools is not as daunting as you would think. I speak from experience. I think the exception is Fairview. There is no way I would bother camping out on a lawn for two weeks. And sadly that's all the media reports on the subject, so it seems to be assumed that camping on the school lawn is the norm. For SCPA, we just went there early the morning of registration and got in just fine.

What Progmac is saying about parents being fanatical is true of the schools in CPS that I checked out as well. Some of the tours we took were guided by volunteers who REALLY loved that particular school and their child's education.

[natininja]

So am I gathering that someone actually wouldn't have a problem getting into Fairview if that were their neighborhood school? Or is it especially hard in that case, too?

[TomJones123]

Originally Posted by natininja

So am I gathering that someone actually wouldn't have a problem getting into Fairview if that were their neighborhood school? Or is it especially hard in that case, too?

Fairview is a city wide magnet school. If you have one child already there, then siblings can enroll before open enrollment starts.

[natininja]

So it does not count as a neighborhood school for anyone?

[TomJones123]

Originally Posted by natininja

So it does not count as a neighborhood school for anyone?

Correct. None of the magnet schools do.