Reston Montessori School

Elementary Program is excellent. I am a parent of children in the previous Elementary program and a parent of a child In the current/revamped Elementary program. The program is far superior to anything it ever was. It has a fresh look and a far more positive atmosphere. The teachers are warm, friendly, caring and genuinely interested in teaching. I am thrilled with the program and can not imagine any of the previous reviews referring to the new Elementary teachers. Must be referring to the previous teachers that truly needed to go.
—Submitted by a parent

Elementary Program is awful. Teachers are not qualified and not certified. Pre-school was fine. My daughter is now in the AP program in Fairfax County and RMS doesn't even compare.
—Submitted by a parent

My son attended this school from kindergarten to first grade. Now he is in middle school. The 2 years he spent in this school is the most traumatic of his life. He is been labeled as ADD/ADHD and treated unfairly even for small mistakes. We get call 2 to 3 times a week. We were hoping this school would bring kid good discipline and learning experience. We were wrong. We took him out in the middle of school year and management and teachers were very rude and insensitive and we were told "Good luck" with your son elsewhere (sarcastic). It took him 3 years to get out of trauma and he is still having nightmares from this school. Parents beware... PS: My son is in seventh grade now...attending Stone hill middle, Ashburn, Honor student and is a starting defensive end and offensive tackle in AYFL Football league.
—Submitted by a parent

My son has been attending RMS since he was 6 months old (infant room) and now he is 2+ (toddler room). We had a wonderful experience while attending the infant program. The infant room caregivers were attentive and loving and seemed to genuinely want to be there. The space is big with a segregating sleeping area critical for infant development. My son loved the crawling room with soft climbers as he was developing. Now that we are in the toddler room, I can't say that the experience has been the same. There has been quite a lot of teacher turnover and they are quick to jump to conclusions about the energy of a boy which leads to "labeling" him hyper. Personally, this age group develops and learns best under consistent arrangements (ie: no turnover). I worry that my son won't be permitted to express his feelings very freely and therefore not thrive. I strongly believe that a child's learning is shaped through consistentency in the delivery method and in a nuturing, non-judgemental environment. Teacher turnover only ensures that the child is re-setting EVERY time that they have to work through the introduction and methods of a new teacher. We are looking for a new school.
—Submitted by a parent

After seeing a few of these posts, I had to give my two cents as well. The elementary program at RMS is the worst! The teachers are boring, uneducated (one of them constantly misspells), and can be very rude. Elementary has an okay reading, writing, and math program, but yes, there's no history or decent science program whatsoever. They really need to get rid of the elementary teachers and hire teachers that actually like to teach and care about education. The director too is also rude as well!

My child attended this school for a few years. There is large staff turnover and the front office personnel can be quite rude. The quality of teachers is also quite varied. Research a lot if you decide to send your child here. There are plenty of other schools in the area that are run with the children first and not so obviously worried about the bottom dollar.
—Submitted by a parent

RMS has one of the nicest, most involved communities that I have ever been a part of! Everytime I walk down the halls I see happy children, engaging in their environment and asking lots of questions. The teachers really know their students well and offer very helpful feedback. I also appreciate how active the PTA is - there are lots of wonderful family events throughout the school year!
—Submitted by a parent

I had two kids go through RMS. They each spent 7 years there, from preschool to 3rd grade. This school prepared them academically and allowed them to excell and be in the advanced academic program offered by FCPS. It helped them acheive independant thinking and made them very confident students. The school offers a lot of enrichment subjects in their curriculum, music, french, art, PE, etc.. The elmentary classroom is a wonderful environment, and the updated look is very Montessori.. All in all a very good school, where teachers take their job very seriously and bring out the best in the kids. Iove RMS!
—Submitted by a parent

We have been a part of the RMS community for years. All three of our children have been involved at various levels in the school and we have loved all aspects of our experience here. I can't recommend this school highly enough. This is a school that truly cares about the development of the whole child and will help guide you towards what is best for your own children. We love the teachers and staff. Truly a quality school.
—Submitted by a parent

My daughter has been in the preprimary class for the last 2 years and we have been very pleased. The teachers seem well-trained and are very responsive to our questions, needs, concerns. My daughter has learned a lot and has had lots of time for play. They rotate the "work" so that it doesn't get boring and the children learn something new after mastering the work. The "after-care" has been very well done - snack, outdoor play, and a different activity planned for every day - reading, crafts, music, etc. I agree that the administration is not very personable but we have not had any specific problems. They recently implemented more email communications about days off and upcoming events that have made things better.
—Submitted by a parent

We love love this school. This has been our fourth Montessori (we moved a lot in the last few years) and we have visited over the 15 montessori over the years and this one is by far one of the best. First the environment is bright and clean and the children have a lot of space to work and play. The curriculum is fantastic: outside the traditional math. writing, science, they offer music class, the teacher performs on a regular basis at the kennedy center, Yoga, art, french, cooking. My daughter last week came back wanted to learn more about the french impressionists !!!. they really nourish the curiosity of the kids. the kids are very happy and the teacher ration is fantastic. they do a lot of visit to museum etc (part of the tuition) to support what they learn in class. my daughter is 5 years old and she knows how to read, write, do addition, subtraction, multiplication and started division. She speaks some french and know more about art that I do teachers are extremely dedicated and always available to the children and to the parents. Children are running in the morning to their class, very happy and bright environment. This is a great great school,
—Submitted by a parent

I think this school has gone downhill in the last few years since the original founder/director retired. Her daughter took over but she was living in NYC and commuting. She then had some health issues and a classroom teacher took over the administration while teaching a class full time. Now the teacher is going to be full time administrator and teaching part time. There is no real oversight of the classes and no evaluation of the teachers. School is somewhat being run like a "rental property" by the owner. It's a bit irresponsible and the quality of the school has declined.
—Submitted by a parent

This was my daughters last year at RMS. She just finished up the 3rd grade and I have 2 more at the school currently. I disagree with the posters below. The elementary school teachers have been around for many years and have loads of experience. If they have an inflated opinion of themselves they have every right to. They have poured their heart and soul into the classroom and treat the children as if they were their own. RMS is a small private school so it lacks some of the things that the bigger pvt schools or public schools may have to offer such as a strong physical education program. The teachers however, make every effort to compensate for the things that are lacking. Despite their "lack of science" according to the poster below, majority of the children at RMS are ahead of their public school counterparts. All in all, if I had to put another child at RMS I would not hesitate. They have provided a nurturing environment for our children and have given my oldest child a strong foundation which she can now carry on into the public school system.
—Submitted by a parent

Very poor elementary program. Curriculum is not well developed and is especially lacking in science. The only science covered is geography! - no real science. All the teachers have been around a long time and have an over inflated opinion of themselves. In benchmarking this program against others in the area (including the Fairfax County Public Schools) , it is sub-par.
—Submitted by a parent

Beware. This is a for-profit school and is run as such. The teachers do not receive any professional education and some are very poorly trained. The school is not accredited by any educational body and some of the teachers would not be hired by the public schools. There are other private schools in the area which are much more professional, run as non-profits with a mission of educating children, not making money and keep current of the latest trends in education. I would not recommend this school to other parents.
—Submitted by a parent

three years in rms, i don't have a single complain about any teachers nor any staff members. i am so proud of my daughter, what she has learned by her age and credit goes to rms.
—Submitted by a parent

Both my kids go there and I could not have asked for a better school and teachers.
—Submitted by a parent

My child was at the school for less than 6 months. The teacher was rude, not helpful and uneducated. The teacher keeps sending emails complaining my child all the time, and labeled the kid as BAD boy. Clearly, the teacher doesn't want to be there and email negative criticism. So, I took him to be evaluated at George Washington University and there is not wrong the kid. I pulled the kid out and send to another school. He excelled. All the teachers love the kid. Believe me, pull your kid when they're complaining your kid. He/She will do better somewhere else.
—Submitted by a parent

I daughter was here, now my son is in now, and I plan to pull him out. The only thing I can say as a parent is it is getting worse and worse now.
—Submitted by a parent

We have two children at RMS and could not be more pleased. My husband and I have always been interested in the Montessori method and really researched our choice carefully. There are a few other Montessori schools in the area and the attention to detail at RMS is without comparison. Classrooms well stocked with an array of educational materials, thoughtful teachers, helpful administration, imaginative curriculum, etc. We are thrilled. We have had nothing but helpful advice and pleasant interaction with both former and new director. We always viewed the environment the former director established as a very family centered one. We have different teachers for our kids and have had good experiences in both classrooms. Now in our fourth year at the school, we wouldn't go anywhere else. Highly recommended. Our kids LOVE the music.
—Submitted by a parent