Austin Children's Montessori-- any advice/experience (daycare, house, transfer)

[andream]

Does anyone have any personal feedback on the location on Manchaca. I am looking for both parent feedback-you have visited the school or your child is/was enrolled AND teacher feedback- currently working here or not anymore!

Thanks!

[mommamc]

My son has been a student there since he was 6weeks old. He is 2 now. LOVE the teachers. The owners are a bit strict as far as payment and policies, but it is a good thing, I guess. Overall the facility is great. Environment is great. Teachers are AWESOME! My son learned spanish when he learned english. They had him doing art at 2 months (with help of course). He is 2 and can sing the whole national anthem. I call it a school and not a daycare, b/c it really is so much more than a place to drop him off.

[toddler's mom]

Our son has been at Austin Children's Montessori since he was 7 weeks ago. He's nearly two now. He's thriving in that environment.

The director keeps only teachers who truly love working with children. The toddler room teacher has a degree in early childhood education and handles the children like the professional she is. My son loves her. He loved his teacher in the infant room, too.

The children have a safe, nurturing environment. My little one has learned to count, to recognize letters of the alphabet, and to sing songs. They have the toddlers sit on their mats at naptime and look at books until they are tired enough to fall asleep. The Montessori way encourages useful life skills from a young age such as waiting your turn and speaking respectfully to others. I'll never forget my surprise the weekend my toddler suddenly started saying "please" and "thank you." And I'll never forget the time he suddenly started spouting off the days of the week. He's not even 2 yet!

I also have observed little things among the teachers that I appreciate, such as talking to a child while his diaper is being changed. There is nothing cold or impersonal about the teacher/child interactions.

The director can come across harsh at times with respect to payment and policies, but over the last year and a half I have seen that she truly loves the children and wants only the best for them. She actively works to keep her school focused in the direction of what's best for the children.

[atlanta hope]

Do they have a website?

Thanks...

[toddler's mom]

Unfortunately they don't have a website. They're great with kids but a little behind with technology.

[andream]

Just curious--what is their teacher turnover rate? I have seen 2 job listings on craigslist for several months now? Do you like the director?

[bitchen]

I had a tour and an interview there for my son last year. They did not have a place for him, and I believe it is difficult to integrate a child who is transferring from a traditional environment, as they give wait list preference to Montessori children. This is fine-we placed him at another Montessori school nearby that did have an opening for his age group.

I was very impressed by the facilities, and the atmosphere at the school. The staff were professional, yet friendly and I could see that they genuinely care about their students and look after them well. Many of the students knew the administrator by name, and she knew theirs.

We will probably be sending him there when he 'graduates' from his current school. They are pretty unique, since their program goes up to high school age.

[toddler's mom]

At first I wasn't too sure that I liked the director. She's from Sri Lanka and sometimes I have difficulty understanding her accent. We signed a contract while I was pregnant and the rate went up $30 a month by the time we were ready to put him in the school. I didn't like that there was no notice of the price increase and she clearly expected us to fork up the extra money.

Over time I've observed her interactions with the children, though, and she provides consistent, nurturing guidance. She speaks respectfully to the children and she won't put up with staff who don't really want to be there. She also won't tolerate badly behaved children for long periods of time. If a child comes to school using cuss words and the parents don't take steps to curb that behavior, the child will be expelled. She can do that because the school is completely private and doesn't receive any state funding. I like that.

Because I have seen and been the recipient of kindness from her, I like her. I assume she's gruff about money because business is business and people will walk all over you if you let them, especially if you come from another country.

The comment from "bitchen" must be about Austin Montessori School rather than Austin Children's Montessori since Austin Children's Montessori only goes up to age 6.

I've noticed some turnover at Austin Children's Montessori, but I've also seen some consistency. Keep in mind that I've only paid attention to what affects my child directly. There are always two caregivers for the infants' room. One of the two women who was there when my child was 7 weeks is still there and he's 22 months now. In the other infants' room position, the lady from Nigeria moved to a house in a north location so she resigned. There was a series of caregivers who replaced her, so the two positions had one stable caregiver and one transitory caregiver. Since the stable person works an 8-hour day we didn't feel uncomfortable with the situation. Our son bonded with her and still loves her.

The teacher in the toddlers' room is somewhat a new teacher, meaning she wasn't employed there 20 or so months ago when our son first started attending, but she took that position before my son moved over and she's been there since. She's awesome and things seem to be working out. I haven't paid attention to the teachers of older children.

One thing my husband and I appreciate is the mixture of races at the school. Our little one has been around teachers and children from several other countries and we think that's great.

[MOVINGTOAUSTIN]

Are these the only 2 Montessori schools in the area? My kids are 9, 7 & 1. Been in Mont. all their lives. Went to one myself! Are there any Magnet or Charter Mont. schools you have heard of? I expect to pay for my 1yr old but the other two attend a public school based Mont school right now. Any in Austin? Which area are they in?

[atlanta hope]

Seems like there are more... but I'm not sure where they are. You can try Googling and see what you get.