Mountain View Montessori School

Yes, you are right to be very skeptical about these "stacked" positive reviews. Many times the administration will ask the board of trustees who are also parents to write positive reviews to keep the rating high. Bullying is definitely a problem at this school. If it's not the students bullying other students then it is the administration bullying the parents. This is a school that says get with our "interpretation" of the Montessori philosophy or you will be told to leave.
--Submitted by a parent

In reading these reviews, I feel skeptical since there was one bad review and then a serious of good reviews all submitted within a month. Stacking the reviews? Unfortunately, I now must discount all of the positive reviews since I no longer feel they are trust worthy. Sorry folks---the Montessori method is intriguing but this very organized response sends up red flags.
--Submitted by a parent

Mountain View Montessori has been an amazing experience for my children!!! The faculty and staff are genuinely interested in each child that walks through the front door and it shows in the way they interact with the children here. My children have been in a three different schools (public and private - due to geographic changes for our family) and this is by far the best experience we have had! The Montessori method is a unique approach to education and produces students with a desire to learn and an enviable set of life skills. Not only is it important to teach our children academics but it is equally important to know how to get along in life. "Grace and Courtesy" is a refreshing foundation that is a core part of the experience at Mt. View. Not only is it an exceptional school but I have witnessed first hand the community it provides for the families especially in a time of need.
--Submitted by a parent

My children have been students at MVM since they were 3 and I am continually amazed at their varied interests and confidence, both academically and within their emotional literacy. The school promotes a very student centered form of communication, meaning students are supported by the entire staff (teachers, administrators, aftercare staff...the whole dang school :) ) to work out their differences with positive language and peace building skills. As parents, we are encouraged and provided support by the Administration and Teachers to attend their education courses and read the superb educational materials sent home on a regular basis. My husband and I were both publicly educated and so the Montessori method of education was not familiar to us...the school's open door policy and availability of the Administration helped us navigate the intrinsically motivating foundations of Montessori. We are grateful to the school and are so proud to call MVM our children and families school. I encourage anyone interested to go to the school for a visit...just by walking the halls you will be impressed by the happiness that pours from the classrooms! I know I am!
--Submitted by a parent

This is our chid's first year at MVM and we could not be happier with the experiences she is having there. Our child has grown in every aspect from her language skills, developing positive communication and respect among her peers, to her academic achievements that she shares with us daily. As a family, we have embraced the Montessori philosophy of education and incorporated it in our home and lifestyle, which is reflected in our daughter's learning experience. This is a school that is not only dedicated to the children's education, but the parents as well. The staff and teachers host regular parent education workshops which have proved very beneficial for us at home and in our day to day life. We are extremely thankful to have MVM be a part of our family and we will continue to support our daughter's educational experiences there for a long time.
--Submitted by a parent

We have been a Mountain View Montessori family for five years now, and have enjoyed the experience so much. While it took a bit of getting used to as my husband and I were both traditionally schooled, I found that through the extensive parent education classes any concerns I ever had were gone once I took the time to see it through the Montessori lens. While I've never had need to meet with administration for concerns about my family, I've always felt the door was open if I needed more communication. The school staff and administration are all open, friendly and helpful and the whole-child approach to education is more than I could have hoped for. I for one am grateful for the fact that I see the school acting only in the best interest of all the children. So thankful to have MVM in my community!
--Submitted by a parent

This is what school should be. We have been part of the MVM community for four years now, and I continue to be incredibly impressed at the wholesome experience this school offers. The thought and planning that underlie every single activity, the calm excitement the children display in the classroom, the art, the music, the sheep, goats and garden boxes outside, the level of involvement the teachers and administrators show, the great people I've experienced the other parents to be, and the fantastic camping trips we've gone on as a community. My son often comes home with stuff that surprises me. Really? Did I draw a cross-section of Earth, complete with lithosphere, core and mantle, on my first day of first grade? Definitely not. I feel incredibly blessed to have my child as part of this school. I often thought of Montessori as a fringe educational model, but I recently learned that it is the single largest pedagogical model on the planet. This is what school should be for every boy and girl. When industrial, production-line, teach-for-the-test education fails, Montessori will provide the model for its replacement. I'm surprised there are not more Montessori schools in this world.
--Submitted by a parent

I am a long-time parent at Mountain View Montessori, and find I must address the previous post. Our first-hand experience with the school has shown that MVM provides proactive and supportive administrative guidelines that address concerns a family may have as their children grow. Many behavioral tendencies are developmental and part of the natural growing process. The Montessori method is the developmentally based and the perfect environment to work through the normal growing experience. On the topic of bullying, I'd direct the previous poster or any other parent with questions to Google these articles which are excellent resources and often referred to for parents who have these concerns:Becoming a Moral Person Through Montessori, and Cyberbullying: The New Bully on the Block. MVM's Parent Education classes and curriculum provide an opportunity to not only receive lessons on the materials their children work with each day, but the entire range of Montessori principles. By providing these classes, MVM brings parents to the fullest understanding of what Dr. Montessori's teachings are based upon. This is one of the many reasons MVM is widely respected in the Montessori community.
--Submitted by a parent

My children attended this school for a little over a year and a half. During this time the educational experience was great, the administrative was not. After numerous complaints about bullying and the administrations failure to take meaningful action, we were asked to leave. The schools method of dealing with this situation was inappropriate. They protected the aggressive child rather than the victims. If you plan to have your children attend this school, do not question the administration or their failure to act in the best interest of the children.
--Submitted by a parent

Mountain View is a wonderful school, and we are very grateful that we were able to find a true Montessori environment in Reno. The reason we chose this school is because it is not a traditional school. We have tried both public and private traditional environments and we have found them rigid, punitive, and not inspiring independence and love of learning in our child, as we had hoped. I am amazed that somebody who praises traditional education has chosen a Montessori school for their children. The school administration and the teachers go above and beyond their call of duty to educate parents about the Montessori methods. We love the school, the teachers and the administration, and the dedication and involvement of all the other parents in their children s education. As for the claim that 30 children have left the lower elementary classrooms, that is simply not true.
--Submitted by a parent