Oakland Montessori School

Our child is now 4 and has been attending OMS since she was 2 years old. Most importantly, she is always excited to go to school and comes home happy. We appreciate how the school maintains the core Montessori principles, ensuring a learning environment that’s both structured and flexible. The child-led approach fosters independence and curiosity, while allowing her to explore at her own pace. The classrooms and outside play area are spacious and feel good. She gets individualized attention that allows her to thrive based on her unique needs. Additionally, OMS has a wonderfully supportive parent community, and we’ve made lasting friendships that will continue for years to come. We are pleased with our experience and hope to send our second child to OMS as well.

A few months ago we enrolled our 2 year old at OMS - two of our older kids went there when they were 2-5 years old and we had a positive experience so we decided to return. I don't in any way want to devalue other parents' experiences, especially when they have serious concerns; I'm sharing mine only in the hopes of helping parents who are thinking about sending their children here since I noticed there are so few reviews and finding a school for your kid is a big (and personal) decision! My daughter is excited to go to school in the morning and talks about her teacher (who we love) and her friends frequently. They read books, paint, ride tricycles, play in sand - all the usual preschool stuff - and we hear about it at home. She seems happy and settled there. My older kids had a similar experience so this tracks for us. I have witnessed (recently and in years past) a consistent approach in helping kids find their own way. They are often given choices and help in shaping their perspective (X happened, you responded like Y and then Z happened [a friend's feelings were hurt, someone fell, etc.] - how might we respond next time X happens?) This seems like a lot for small children, and toddlers often need help thinking through these steps but wow, they really respond to it and start to engage in thinking through their feelings and actions. Parent communication is not what it could be - that's been the one down side for us but it hasn't been a deal breaker as I find that I can always get the information I need (it's usually for school events, etc.). They don't do daily reports, beyond naps and diapers, but especially in the toddler room I've found that the teachers are happy to quickly give a 'how was her day' update. This lessens in the preschool room, though they have a poster board that shares what the theme of the week/day was and any specials (gymnastics, music, etc.) I hope this is helpful for folks thinking about OMS. If you end up taking a tour and want to connect with a current parent, feel free to ask for my contact info!

We pulled our two-year-old daughter out of this school within two months of her starting. Other negative reviews of OMS on Berkeley Parents Network and Yelp mention the same sorts of things we experienced. We regret not fully reading those reviews before enrolling. This was not our first preschool experience or our first Montessori experience. Our daughter was happily enrolled at another Montessori preschool in Oakland for a year. We had no real issues with that school, and our daughter seemed comfortable and engaged there. We moved to another part of town and wanted to switch schools to avoid a long commute. I was wowed during our OMS tour by the outdoor play area and the promises made by one of the school leaders. In reality, this school can be unsafe, unstructured, and understaffed, especially in the toddler class. Two good toddler teachers left within two weeks of the start of the school year and told parents they had been bullied by school leadership. Reviewing old reviews on BPN and Yelp, it seems this is not the first time good teachers have left in questionable circumstances. In the teachers' absence, a parade of substitutes came and went. There was very little continuity of care for the youngest students for weeks. One day, we saw a teacher roughly grab a child's arm in an inappropriate manner. The boy was not in danger, putting others in danger, or doing anything that warranted this treatment. We ultimately pulled our daughter out after repeatedly seeing kids unsupervised near a gate atop a steep flight of stairs--a gate they could open. At one point, we watched a toddler unlatch the gate independently and go down the stairs without a single OMS staffer watching him. We informed them as to where he was, and no one seemed to take it seriously. At pickup, the kids sometimes seemed to be left to their own devices largely and sort of roaming around aimlessly. We know Montessori involves a lot of independent play and exploration. That's great and an approach we intentionally sought for our kid. However, this felt more like understaffing and disorganization. Our daughter frequently talked about kids crying at school and missing their parents. We didn't put excessive stock in this; toddlers say lots of things and aren't always reliable narrators. But we saw it with our own eyes at pick up. Kids were crying, and no one was appropriately responding to them or helping them through their feelings. The response was sort of clinical and rote. Since moving to a new preschool, she talks about fun things that happened at school and says sweet things about her teachers. She never talks about kids crying and missing their parents. Basic communication with parents was awful. Emails were confusing and haphazard, and critical scheduling information was poorly communicated. The only positive thing I can say about the administration is that they returned our full deposit and unused balance. In short, do your homework and really look into this school's online reviews before enrolling your kid here. It's a shame that this beautiful campus isn't better run.