Dallas Montessori Academy

My 3rd grader left this school after being there since the age of 4 and is repeating 3rd grade at a public school. My son has dyslexia as well as ADHD. It isn't something that you couldn't notice. When a child is constantly writing backwards and cannot sit still, you don't just sit there and let them run a muck like they did for my son. The bad thing about this was that when I would ask how my son was doing, the teacher would lie to my face every single time and show me the materials he'd mastered. I saw the problem and addressed it MANY times to both the principal and the teacher. Both promised things would change and nothing did. I decided to purchase my own materials and see what my son knew at home. When my daughter, who also attended there, sat down to help my son, I was floored when I found out she didn't know how to do any of it! If you don't want to be lied to about how well your child is doing, if you don't want your child to be berated, if your child cries like someone is going to kill him before going in the school every morning ... RED FLAG. Do not send your child here. Never again!
—Submitted by a parent

DMA has taught my child many things. He is a hard worker and they have taught him to budget his time well. Other than that, they have taught him how to ignore when bad things happen. He has had to witness children being belittled and berated. He has had to put up with his teacher and the school director, both of whom are in their 60's, fighting and nagging each other like children. He has made some life long friends at this school, the kinds you make when you are in combat.
—Submitted by a parent

DMA is absolutely an amazing example of Maria Montossori's vision of an educational experience / environment, even if the location seems out of place. The Director and his teachers not only know my child personally, they KNOW him. They encourage their students in all aspects of their life and it truly shows in the relationships that have been made that I'm sure will be life-time for my child.
—Submitted by a parent

My daughter has been at Dallas Montessori Academy since Pre-K . My husband and I were surprised at how much she was learning. She has been performing one grade above where she is since Pre-K. I have met several parents that went to DMA and are now sending their children here. The teachers are excellent. We would get regular updates from the teachers. Mrs. Paulik, Director, is passionate about Montessori, learning and parent involvement. The tuition is quite reasonable. Once we came by and toured the school we knew this was the perfect place for our daughter.
—Submitted by a parent

My son goes there and I love it. We went another montessori school before this one and I was shocked to see how much my son had not learned. DMA has helped us get him up to speed and now he will be going into the 3rd grade with his peers. I am also very pleased with the cost of the school I was paying close to a 1000.00 a month for school and now I am not and I know my son is in a caring enviroment that allows hi to be himself. I plan to keep him there as long as I can.
—Submitted by a parent

I absolutely love this school! My daughter loves it as well. Her teacher genuinely cares for the children. This is our first year there, but looking forward to many more years.
—Submitted by a parent

By Montessori standards, my upper elementary student (6th grade) was truly at a loss this year at Dallas Montessori. We were new transfers from Florida and our daughter had attended 4 prior Montessori schools in Georgia and Florida. It was obvious that other parents did not have this kind of foresight in knowing what to expect from a Montessori school, whereby method and philosophy emphasize respect for the individual child, the nurtured development of an independent self-motivated child who is driven to learn as a means of discovering himself and the world around him. My daughter mass produced endless quantities of worksheets out of fear for the repercussions, reprimands, and spontaneous outbursts by her teacher. Class size and student teacher ration were a serious concern to me. At nearly $6,000 dollars a year for tuition, class size was over 30 to one teacher.
—Submitted by a parent

Fair school. Teachers could have a bit more education,but are friendly. Concerned about the curriculum.
—Submitted by a parent

As a former student of this institution, I know what the fears of the realistic students are (well, as realistic as you can be in middle school, anyway). The school administration really does enjoy bashing public school (at the time when most experts agree one should leave Montessori schools, I believed the phrase 'public school' was dirty), and as someone who now attends public school (my SAT scores were higher than friends at the city's top private schools), I think this distortion is only part of the way the administration manipulates the students. Yes, they boast about advanced coursework, but they didn't transfer any of my credits, so I had to sit through the same courses in high school. Limited resources here, also.
—Submitted by a former student

My grand-daughter attended this school for three years. The first two years were great, she had a nurturing teacher who cared for ALL the children. However, this changed. The teachers that my grandchild had were almost abusive, the teacher would stand them in front of the class and make fun of them (their hair, called them silly in a degrading way), and the coach wasn't caring or sympathetic towards her health ailments. The principal would take the side of the teachers whenever we would have concerns, and did not address the concerns at all. This is a very uncaring school. Oh, by the way, my grand daughter is an 'A' student.
—Submitted by a parent

Dallas Montessori is a wonderful school that nurtures the total child. The teachers are kind, caring and intelligent. The environment teaches the children respect for each other and the greater community. The extracurricular activities include piano, science clubs, etc., and are an additional expense. The outdoor play area is designed like a playground. The parent involvement is good which supplements the childrens' field trips, library, etc. If expansion was possible it would be nice to have a gym, lunch room, art and music class as it would make the school by far the best elementary school ever. Overall when you combine scores, teacher quality and love and care it is the number one choice.
—Submitted by a parent