Montessori Day School

Montessori Day School is a wonderful school! I wish I could go there. My son thrives in the amazing learning and creative environment they provide. I have never seen so many children so excited to go to school and learn so much!
--Submitted by a parent

I have three children at Montessori Day school- a 3 year old, 6 year old and 9 year old. All have different strengths and learning styles and the Montessori method combined with an incredibly seasoned, energetic and creative staff has made them confident, competent, children. We did public schools in chapel hill for 2 years after my daughter finished pre-k at Montessori. We returned at have never looked back. The kids can explore, be creative, and be children. At the same time they have become facile with math, reading, spelling, and all the basics. However, they teach them to think not just memorize. They understand what multiplication is.. not just memorize equations. Cathy takes them on a field trip per month to such places as the historic hillsborough school for girls, the state fair, the art museum. I love this school for the kids and family.
--Submitted by amy shaheen, a parent

My daughter will start her third year in the elementary classroom at MDS. The Montessori curriculum is wonderful. The class size has ranged from 19 to 24 children taught by a teacher, a full time teaching assistant, plus office/clerical support. The teacher and assistant are an experienced and and effective team who nurture both creative and analytical skills in the children. Both are kind, well educated, and effective communicators . The students are each taught on their own level, and are allowed to work well above grade level. My daughter s classmates are motivated students and eager to learn anything new. A Spanish teacher comes once a week as does a Music teacher. The class has PE weekly in addition to a long lunch recess, on a wonderful, grassy, tree filled playground. The class has an educational trip once a month and spends three days at camp together each May.
--Submitted by a parent

My daughter spent 5 years at MDS. Our experience was wonderful and I feel very lucky to have been a part of this school. The Head Teacher, Cathy Beemer, has many years of Montessori experience and is nationally recognized for her teaching skills. The classroom is a 'one room' school for 28 1st thru 5th graders. Cathy has an amazing ability to keep a well-behaved, focused class even though there were usually a handful of children dealing with ADD or autism. The children work independently and are taught critical thinking skills. My daughter left MDS when ready for Middle School and the ease of her transition is a testament to MDS and Cathy. If, as a parent, you are looking for a school which provides a safe, challenging environment which honors the individual and mixes academic emphasis with art and play, you will be well served to consider this school.
--Submitted by a parent

When my daughter started at this school, she had a love of learning and enjoyed school. That quickly changed. The teacher and assistant were unable to provide structured support to ensure that she completed assignments of the core subjects each day. Once she fell behind from skipping weeks of work, she became less willing to complete assignments. Rather than providing additional instruction on challenging assignments, the teacher simply marked her answers wrong and handed the assignment back to her to correct. On one particular assignment, she had redone the same math problems three times and was still not provided additional help. The teacher then provided punishment as a way to encourage the completion of work. Needless to say, the teaching methods used at this school are not effective and do not encourage children to learn. The teacher was also unwilling to alter these ineffective methods.
--Submitted by a parent