Montessori Harbor Mesa Elementary School

This school may use the "Montessori Brand" but this school is WAY BELOW THE NORM STANDARD FOR MONTESSORI. The teaching staff is old, overly crowded class rooms and very very small play yard for kids while the teaching standard are low. Yes, the price is cheap but you truly gets what you paid for; the play ground is very small and therefore, they can not offer any sport program. Music program is consist of piano, very old piano and very few students that actualy enroll in piano class. Sadly, we moved to a better school district to take advantage of better education and it is free.
—Submitted by a parent

We have 2 kids and for daily convinient, we enrolled both of our kids in the same school. This school may use the "Montessori Brand" but this school is WAY BELOW THE NORM STANDARD FOR MONTESSORI. The teaching staff is old, overly crowded class rooms and very very small play yard for kids while the teaching standard are low. Yes, the price is cheap but you truly gets what you paid for and we moved our kids to another school.
—Submitted by a parent

My child was a preschool student at this school for over a year. It was great for a while, but I noticed that the classes kept getting overcrowded which they would put your child over to another class room to accommodate things. Then your child would have a new teacher that day, which is not very consistent. The one teacher, Ms. Suzie overall I feel was the best of them. She did seem a bit stern, but was fair all at the same time. She seems to enjoy being a teacher which the children get the benefit of. The problem with this school was the lack of consistent teachers and aides. The came and went. Also, some teachers had less patience and my child would say they yell alot.
—Submitted by a parent

I loved this school. It does have a excellent academic program which gave my child a strong foundation for learning. Unlike public schools, they study science, geography and language - I'm always amazed with what they've learned. The teachers and aides are very caring and qualified. They recently added a new security entry system at the Elementary campus. I strongly recommend this school. They do offer a music program as well as gymnastics, dance and piano lessons.
—Submitted by a parent

This has been a wonderful preschool experience for our daughter. The entire staff know all of the children by name.
—Submitted by a parent

It is a great school and the principal is very friendly and a very good person.The teachers are well mannered and have good knowledge.There is a play time and play area where children can play and it is very well placed in a shady area.The number of students are also less per teacher and over all the teaching is very good.I personally found this school very good.There is music teaching and the extra curricular activities are also well planned.
—Submitted by a parent

This is a good pre-school and early elementary school which offers a supportive learning environment with skilled staff. Director succeeds in offering many experiences for young children but a few more field trips would be nice, too. The before and after school care are nice benefits for working parents. Increased director availability would be nice for parents.
—Submitted by a parent

Poor extracurricular activties, no sports. Safety of children in question.
—Submitted by a parent

Strong academic curriculum focusing on hands-on learning, most of the focus is on reading, writing, mathematics and social studies. Teachers try to integrate additional areas (science, art) but clearly this is not the focus. Very small playground, limited outdoor time. A strong academic program for children from preschool to about K or 1st, beyond that the limited curriculum, small play area and lack of additional educational areas (music, art, languages, computers) and lack of extracurricular activities lead to diminishing class sizes. Reccommend you check out how many children will be in each grade and how many grades are combined in one classroom before sending a child to any level over kindergarten.
—Submitted by a parent

My child attended Montessori Harbor-Mesa for less than a year due to poor teaching practices. The teachings were very strict and at times militant, orderly conduct rather than sharing different perspectives to life. After approaching the faculty my child was treated differently and felt very alienated. I do not recommend this school for children who love to learn and the willingness to use their imagination.
—Submitted by a parent