Montecito School

It is such a happy place for kids. Teachers are very kind and friendly with kids. My kids always loved to go to school. Kids are outdoor all the time playing, biking etc. Even their snack time and lunch time is outdoor. They also have a cute little farm that has bunnies and chickens. They do movie nights and family parties. Really love the community feeling. My son learnt a lot in that school, he can communicate his feelings and stand up for himself. Teachers and kids ratio is really great.

I hope this review helps other parents with energetic kids. I signed up my son for Montecito, thinking it would be an amazing experience for him. They have animals and an incredible outdoor space that looks like paradise for toddlers. However, you need much more to provide quality time for the kids. The outdoor space is useless if it's not properly stimulated. After 5 minutes, the kids get bored of riding the bike, and their teachers just watch them from far away. My 2-year-old son is very energetic, and it got worse when his brother was born. They asked for an assessment, and the evaluator visited the daycare. She told us that my son's behavior was totally normal. Not happy with the results of the evaluation, they asked us for a second evaluation, this time in a different environment. That's when I realized this was getting crazy, and I asked for a private meeting with the director, Erin. She refused to meet with us twice! Honestly, her behavior as the director was very rude, unacceptable and very unprofessional. In the end, the assessment they recommended helped us realize that THEY are the problem with non-age-appropriate circle time and activities and a non-stimulating environment for smart kids. Forgot to mention that on the first day after summer vacations the teacher was pushing and asking about the assessment status, mentioning that he needed to come with a shadow in a non private space where other parents and my son could hear, it made me feel so bad and so unwelcome… this was a violation of my privacy and it is a huge liability issue.

I had a one hour phone call tour with Montecito preschool Director. During the call, she barely gives you chance to ask questions. The experience of conversation was bad as I feel she did not care about my questions that was her own presentation. One question I have asked was about how many classes do you have for 2 year old program and how many students in each classroom? She responded as that is not important you should care about the ratio. I was more interested in 3 year program but she wanted us to participate this school year instead of next one given there are still opening. I was asking a question related to 3 year old program she told me you should focus on 2 year old program since this is the one you are joining. I do feel strong pressure in a very negative way of talking to her. I am losing confidence during the call by sending my kid to such unpleasant place. By the end of phone call, I express my feeling about this unpleasant conversation with her. I will not recommend this school to my friend and hopefully this is useful for prospective parents.

My son has been going to Montecito Preschool for about 6 months now. My experience with this school has been very good. Teachers are very caring and considerate of my son's needs. He is happy there. The campus is beautiful with age appropriate play structures and a variety of activities for the little ones. The program is play based and encourages hands on learning. A friendly environment for the children indeed!!

The campus is gorgeous. It has everything kids could play with outdoors: sandpits, slides, tires, tot lot, bikes, animals, and more. Montecito has been really helpful from day one. They helped us to navigate a difficult move where we didn't know when we'd find a place. They've also been patient and flexible when anything came up. The teacher/student ratios are fantastic, and Erin is the most responsive director you can find.