Pre-School/Montessori in York, PA ?? (Kingston: credit, day cares, home)

[stacnmd]

Hello!

My husband and I are moving to York, PA in March of '08 and we have a 2 1/2 year old daughter. I was looking for any recommendations on GOOD private pre-schools in the area?

Does anyone know how the TLC Montessori School in York is? I've put a call into them, as well.

Thanks so much!

[teachbeach]

Everything I've heard about the school has been good. Also good are the programs at the JCC on Hollywood Dr. and First Church of the Brethren on Kingston. There are excellent programs in many areas of York, so you might want to consider something close to your home or workplace. Something else to check out is how quick they are to close in bad weather. Unless one of you is going to have a flexible schedule, they will generally follow the closings/delays of the public school district.

[orrmobl]

Check out the naeyc.org web site (the big metro areas around the country and Dr. Sears swear by naeyc accreditation as the gold standard in preschools.) If you can't find a local naeyc accredited school, try PA Keystone Stars...PAs accreditation program...look for 3 stars or higher...

[MCR123]

I am also moving to York and interested in TLC Montessori. Did you end up sending your daughter there? If so, how has your experience been? If not, where did you end up sending her?

Thank you very much.

[gloriascata]

Our daughter is currently enrolled in TLC Montessori and I am not impressed with the staff one bit. My daughter was bitten by another classmate and I was never informed. Also, the owners Jack Russell is there every day running around loose jumping up on all the kids. She will be pulled out when she turns three and will be enrolling in another school in the area.

[MCR123]

I'm sorry to hear that you've had a bad experience. Mine has been quite the opposite. It took my son about 10 days to adjust to being in school, but he absolutely loves it there. Sarge, the Jack Russell hasn't been around for a couple months and I miss him because he was actually very helpful in those first 10 days. My son loved playing with him and when he was upset I could always count on Sarge to lift his spirits.

As for the teachers, recently my son was role-playing at home and scolding his stuffed animals. I mentioned this to one of the staff members and the next day I received a very nicely written letter from his teacher explaining how kids are disciplined at the school and what he had done to deserve some reflective time. I really appreciated the letter and had a very pleasant follow-up discussion with the teacher and the director of the school.

For those looking into schools, I would recommend checking out TLC. I honestly don't have any other schools to compare it with because this is my son's first school, but we have been happy with his experience there. On Saturdays, he actually asks if he can go to school the next day. That's a pretty good sign.

[kapara]

There are two Montessori schools in York. One is TLC Montessori on the west end of York, and one is the Montessori Children's Home of York on the east end. There is a big difference between the two. We live 10 minutes south of TLC, and we are willing to sacrifice driving 40 minutes to the Montessori Children's Home. I attended the program 30 years ago, and have recently toured the school again. I was amazed, especially since I am a Secondary Education English teacher, how every student was on task, intent, and excited to learn. If you want the most excellent education for your preschool student, this is it. The "downfalls" to the school is that it is very expensive, but you are definitely getting the type of education that you are paying for. Also, it is 5 days a week, from 8:30-12 each day, so flexibility is not an option. As for me, I definitely think the sacrifice is worth it and plan to send my children to Montessori Children's School on 3417 East Market Sreet.

[Melanie C]

We are looking to move to the area from NJ. Here in NJ day cares and preschools are extremely expensive, so I was unable to send my older daughter to preschool. My younger daughter is now almost 2 1/2 and was wondering if I might be able to afford to send her to preschool once we move. Although I would love to send her to a Montessori, I know they are usually more expensive, so that may not be an option. I would like to havw an idea whether we can afford it before starting to look at places. Would anybody be able to give me an idea about tuition prices in the area?