Growing Scholars Montessori School

By the time my son turned two years old, he’d had been cared for by a nanny and attended two traditional daycares before ending up at Growing Scholars Montessori on Bridge Park. Initially, I questioned the program because the classes have a wide range of ages. For example, my son first started in the 18 month to 3 year old class. I didn’t fully understand this concept at first, but I now see how beneficial it is because honestly, the best way kids learn is from one another. With older children mentoring the younger ones, my son excelled more than I could ever imagine. Before he graduated to the next class, he had his turn to be one of the older kids and practiced his leadership skills. My son is constantly being complimented on how advanced he is in speech and logics. Although he is introverted in nature, GSM worked with him and he now has zero issues meeting new friends. What’s even more amazing about this school is their staff. Every morning I was greeted by the ladies at the front desk and my son greeted by name. Some teachers have been there between 8-15 years, which says a lot about how they’re treated. I felt very comfortable speaking with his teachers and the administration regarding his development personally, academically and socially because they genuinely do care. I can’t say enough praise or thanks for Growing Scholars Montessori. This school is truly amazing!

We highly recommend Growing Scholars Montessori School on Bridge Park Drive. It is a very well-run school all the way from the administration to the teachers at every age level. When we were choosing a preschool for our son four years ago, Growing Scholars stood out as one of the only preschools in the area that had zero state violations. Several other excellent things stood out to us during the four years our son was there, but here are three main ones: 1) No lead teacher turnover (in our experience). The lead teachers our son had in the older infant and toddler rooms are still there now that he is graduating from his pre-school class and moving on to Kindergarten. This suggests that the teachers are happy with the environment, and it translates to them being happy as they work with the kids and treating the kids very well. They even took the care to learn our older son’s name and greet him by name cheerfully whenever he came with us to pick up our younger son. 2) The teachers are skilled educators. They implement the Montessori method well, and they use developmentally appropriate and individualized teaching techniques. They work with the students on a very long list of skills, but it is done in a way where the kids are learning while playing. Their classroom management techniques are excellent. You will NOT see classrooms out of control, even in the toddler rooms. You WILL see classrooms with children engaged in the learning-by-playing process, where children feel safe in the structure that the teachers create. The assistant teachers are wonderfully caring and supportive as well. The staff-student ratio exceeds state minimums, which is very good. 3) We felt the school brought out very high potential in every student, developmentally, socially, and academically. Our son has basic reading and math skills and has come home telling us things about geography, nature, and science that he learned at school. The kids always seemed to be very well behaved, and we were always very impressed with the Christmas and Graduation performances that they coached the students on. If we had another child, we would definitely enroll them at this school without reservation!

My son went to Growing Scholars from 15 months until he was starting Kindergarten, and it was a great experience. Great teachers, great administration, and great facilities. We still talk about GS from time to time, it was a fantastic experience. Highly recommended!

I started my daughter there in January and have had some bad experiences that could have been avoided easily. My daughter has some food allergies. Twice they gave her food that she wasn't supposed to have. One of the times I had to take her to the dr for. They also dont wipe very well when changing diapers cause she always came home with diaper rashes after I told them she has to be wiped everytime The teachers are not welcoming when you bring your kid in. And the some of the front staff do not pay attention when you walk in so anyone could walk in and take your kids. Very disappointed in this montessori school. But you get what you pay for. My advice pay extra for a good one. The owner ended up kicking my kid out of school because one of his teachers applied for a job at my moms business.

This is the best school ever and I keep recommending it to everyone!!! My daughter (M) is 4.5 years old and my son (S) is 2.5 years old. Our day starts from saying good morning to Mrs. Yvonne, the school director who is right at the front desk- an amazing manager and teacher in one!! I really like it that I can communicate my requests, where I don’t have to chase several people to get my point across. Yesterday, I asked her to do not give my daughter any nap, because I couldn’t get M to go to sleep till late night before. My daughter was placed in an art class during the nap time, with schoolers and other older kids. She learned from professionals about different brushers, strokes, and mixing colors. I was so thrilled that my daughter was place in the painting class and came back home with a canvas! The main reason to place a child in this school is the learning program. I will never forget when M joined Mrs. Marlene three – six year old class. From that day, she absolutely exceeded in her development with vocabulary. One day M, who usually screamed “milk mommy” said to me politely: “may I have some milk, please.” I knew immediately that she learned that from school, because Mrs. Marlene talks frequently about manners. Right now M is very advanced with learning, and reads us small books. I am also very happy that she is entertained at school and there is plenty of constructive activities. Thanks to Mrs. Yvonne, Marlene, and entire school staff, as well as the Owner, M will be attending a magnet program at one of the top elementary schools in town. I forgot a coat for my son one day and it was freezing outside. I couldn’t go back home because that would make me 1.5 hour late for work. I called the school later since I couldn’t stop worrying. The receptionist told me that kids are not going outside, but play in gym. Yes, school has a gigantic gym where kids ran and even ride bikes. They always get plenty of exercise no matter what’s the weather outside. The food is absolutely outstanding! It’s such a relief not to stress about packing lunches, but have all of the meals prepared in school’s kitchen. I couldn’t find that in other schools. We are very happy to be a part of the Montessori Family!!! Sincerely, Dorota Mc