Waterfront Montessori

Definitely consider this school if you are interested in the arts for your kids. They have an incredibly strong arts program with really talented music, movement and drama teachers. They work towards performing a musical every year that truly has exceeded expectations for the past three years in a row. This year's production of The Wizard of Oz was outstanding. The director of the musical is an ex-broadway star which happens to be the mom of one of the students. Lucky them, and lucky us!
—Submitted by a parent

My daughter transferred to Waterfront Montessori at the beginning of this school year and the change has been absolutely incredible. I was a little apprehensive at first because of the smaller-sized classrooms in the upper elementary and middle school grades, but was impressed when I spoke to staff members and recognized how passionate they were about education. They focus on all the things that a parent would want and work hard to develop students in an incredibly balanced way. I'm a bit shocked sometimes when I see how much my daughter has grown academically, socially and emotionally. She now has a thirst for knowledge that is incredible to be a part of.
—Submitted by a parent

I absolutely think that the teachers that work with the younger children and lower elementary grades are wonderful, caring people. Although my child does not participate in the after school programs the quality and selection tend to be top notch. Administrators are always on hand to assist and often go above and beyond to offer support, so that is also a plus. The bad: Communication is a major issue. Notification comes last minute about school events and email inboxes are flooded to the point that it can be overwhelming. Things seem to pop up on the calendar on a whim. It seems that there are many changes to the calendar to the point that it makes planning outside activities difficult as your child may be penalized for not attending an event. The higher grades (4th -8th) are small and there is a noticeable drop in the number of students that attend. The teaching quality does not seem to be of the same quality as the lower grades and the general attitude of staff at this level could use improvement. My interactions have been less than positive as the coordinator s attitude could be interpreted as condescending at best most of the time.
—Submitted by a parent

My son is nearly through his second year at WFM and I can't say enough great things about the schoold, the teachers, administrators, the program, etc. I have seen a tremendous difference in his abilities and skills from when he first started. He is patient, logical, caring, and comprehends more than I expect at his age. Mind you, I am not one of those mother's who thinks her child is the smartest, most talented, etc. I'm simply saying that he has evolved at a rate a lot quicker, and I'm speculating, than I presume he would have if it weren't for WFM. The teachers have taken the time to really understand what my son is like so they can figure out how to best educate him (within the guidelines of the program, of course). The administrators of the school go above and beyond to make sure that excellence is achieved, that everything that goes on at the school is made transparent and provide challenging
—Submitted by a parent

I agree with the parent here who says not all Montessori schools are the same.This one has definitely failed my expectation.We moved to this neighborhood from Southern NJ and my son is almost repeating what he learnt in his previous grade there.They have failed to provide any incentives to young learners.I was very impressed after taking the tour and was happy to pay 3 times the money I was paying in his previous Montessori school.I am very disappointed with my decision as I see his standard falling.
—Submitted by a parent

My children go Waterfront Montessori, and I have good and bad things to say about it. Good: They seem to be learning and they are definitely more independent and confident. The school is clean and well-organized. The lead teachers are good, especially Primary 1 head teacher Bad: The parent who mentioned that the teacher aids are not up to part, is definitely right, especially in the toddler program. One of them barely writes English :( There's a major difference among the teachers. As I said Primary 1 teacher is amazing, caring, knowledgeable, and always has a smile on her face. The other lead teachers are not as good as she is, and you can see the children going into her class are all smiles and happy, and the ones going to the other classrooms aren't as much. The curriculum/ experiences that the children have in the different classes are very different. As I said, my view as a parent is that children in Primary 1 class as exposed to many more things, and more interesting things than those in the other classrooms. The principal's involvement is low in the toddler and primary classrooms. Her right hand is always available for parents. There's no parents association at all.
—Submitted by a parent

As a parent at this school I can see how my child has grown. The teachers allow each child to grow at his or her own rate and follow their own interests. Putting my child here was the best decision we made. The school communicates very clearly with parents and will work with you to make the best decisions for your child. I could not ask for better teachers for my child.
—Submitted by a parent

I'm a parent new to the Upper Elementary program this year and couldn't be more impressed with what the school is offering. Just went to the curriculum night this week and wanted to add to the conversation that they began standardized testing in the upper grades and kids test about 4 or 5 grades above their level on average.
—Submitted by a parent

I have several children in this school and I am amazed at what they have accomplished in the two years we have been here. My 2nd grader is reading on a fourth grade level. We don't have the pressures or frustration of homework. The test scores of all the children grades 3 - 7 are extremely high from what I understand. The environment is clean and nurturing. There is an excellent tracking system called MRX which tracks your child's academic history. I am sure the parents complaining on this website never looked at their child's academic MRX report to see or follow their child's academic history.
—Submitted by a parent

Hi Am a former waterfront parent. The school is really failing students from what I see and any student who comes up the rank is going to do based on good genetics. I am seeing my child being encouraged and pushed to do more and respond tremendously in another school where he has picked up reading and writing 2 languages in 4 months of school. As parents we were thrilled to find this but we found that the teachers wanted him to do even better. Waterfront did not give my child that kind commitment, not even close. Infact, they would have made my child fall back, given me reasons for him to be behind and not harness the qualities I am seeing coming pouring out.
—Submitted by a parent

We are the parents of a Waterfront Montessori middle schooler and are delighted with the education our child is receiving. The WFM middle school program is a composite IB/Montessori program in which the focus is on critical, creative and independent thinking. The curriculum includes the same math, language arts, science and foreign language subjects as more traditional schools, but WFM teachers encourage and expect their students to dig deeply into and demonstrate real mastery of the subjects they are studying, rather than rote, inside the box test responses. WFM students are required to develop, research, write and orally present projects covering the full range of academic subjects, and are graded based upon their depth of understanding, insight and technical competence. The number of days off per year is typical of other NJ private schools. If you're interested in providing your child with a supportive environment that fosters a lifelong love of learning and develops the tools for engaging in independent and creative thought, then you owe it to yourself and your child to at least pay a visit to WFM to see what they do there. We did, and we haven't looked back.
—Submitted by a parent

The school is very exp and does not have much to show for your hard earn money. They are off about 6-7 weeks during the school semester and claims to follow the public school days off as well. Save your money.
—Submitted by a parent

Not all Montessori schools are the same. Ask around - ask many of the parents. :(
—Submitted by a parent

It is my daughter's first year at Waterfront Montessori and she loves it! She was 2 when she started at a Montessori school on Manhattan's uws until we had to relocate. It was important for my husband and I to continue her montessori education and I did my research and visited WFM --- twice! I was very impressed with their programs from the clean, well equipped classrooms, the nurturing, caring teachers/staff and the over all atmosphere where children are respected and encouraged to be creative, independent and confident thinkers. Everyday my daughter goes to school excited and for us that's what its all about -- enjoying school and loving it!
—Submitted by a parent

In traditional Montessori pedagogy, the most successful Primary classes consist of 30-35 children to one teacher with one non-teaching assistant. This class size is possible because the children learn from each other and from the environment, which allows children to engage in discovery on their own. This size also helps to create independent work and peer teaching, and eliminates the possibility of too much teacher-centered, teacher-directed work. Maria Montessori said, "Education is a natural process carried out by the child and is not acquired by listening to words but by experiences in the environment." Dr. Montessori also said, "The greatest sign of success for a teacher is to be able to say, 'The children are now working as if I did not exist.'" Waterfront Montessori maintains 1200 to 1400 square foot Primary Classrooms of 28-32 children each. Each classroom has three Montessori-trained teachers assigned to it. By most preschool standards, and at mandated NJ ratios of 15:1 and a minimum of 35 sq. ft. per child, Waterfront Montessori could be said to be undercrowded and overstaffed. Even by Montessori standards, WFM is overstaffed but we think your children deserve it.
—Submitted by a teacher

My children have been in the school for many years and we love it. In the primary classes, when I've had issues with what I perceived to be an 'overcrowding' issue, the teachers have always been approachable and able to address my concerns. It may seem crowded in a classroom of almost 30 kids but the children are learning and doing work. Teachers sometimes take children into smaller groups or individually to work with them. I love that my children enjoy learning and enjoy school. They speak about their work enthusiastically, they love their teachers and they are excited to be in school. I am impressed with the Elementary classrooms and teachers. I won't send my children to any other school.
—Submitted by a parent

I agree with the overcrowded statement. The assistant teachers are not up to par and they even have a new assistant who is a germophobic. She appears to avoid contact with kids and seems very unhappy with them. Many of the kids do not get the proper academics.
—Submitted by a parent

My son went there for 2 years, he loved it! We miss the school very much, especially the diversity of the kids there. The education level is very high, and location is great too.. They are all like a big family which we still miss.
—Submitted by a parent