Xavier University Montessori

this is such a wonderful authentic Montessori school with credentialed staff and an amazing community. Xavier University has decided to close the Montessori lab school and replace it with a traditional, Catholic approach for the 25/26 school year. If you tour the school you will see a beautiful Montessori program with talented, committed teachers- none of which will be there next school year.

My children went to this school for early childhood and it was amazing, the teachers were amazing and the Montessori education was the best there is - it is why there has always been a wait list! Unfortunately the University has decided to put a few biased self interests who oppose montessori over traditional education above the needs of the parents, students and staff and have informed all of the staff that they will not have a job at the end of this school year and the school will no longer be Montessori. It is a travesty that the University is once again making a flippant choice without asking those who it effects most, the children and their parents. If I could rate this zero stars I would and incoming parents should be aware. We chose this school for the teachers and montessori education reputation - next year there will be neither.

Our children have attended Xavier University Montessori Lab School for 5 years. The school environment is unmatched, the community has been lovely and the current teachers are dedicated to meeting the students' social emotional needs and providing an authentic Montessori environment. The biggest problem with the school has been Xavier University itself. Their behavior has lead to an instable and unpredictable situation with staff that isn't respected and students that don't have the access to campus that one would expect from a Lab School. This month (November 2024) the University announced it would be firing all of the teachers and administrators, raising tuition and changing the pedagogy of the lab school. Parents considering enrolling for next year should be cautious. XU has to hire an entire staff and develop a curriculum. They have proven to be dishonest and unreliable and have misrepresented themselves to both teachers and parents repeatedly. The community, current teachers, many current families and all of what has made the school so valuable will be gone next school year.

This is an amazing school that the university has decided to overhaul into a traditional catholic school. Xavier lied about their intentions to change the school for months then sprung it on teachers, parents, and students. Teachers contracts were not renewed but they are “allowed” to reapply for their jobs. The university is giving tours without any staff or leadership hired for the 25-26 academic year.

Don't waste your time. I spent many many hours researching it, visiting it, applying for my 1st Grader to attend, only to be completely ignored by the administrative staff responsible for letting a parent know if their child got in or not. During the month of March 2016, I must have called and left messages at least 15 times, every couple of days, be it with the headmistress or another answering machine. I finally got through to a lady who said they were most likely full for 1st grade (thanks for the heads up) but that I'd get a phone call. That call never came. I could have gotten in my car and driven there but I figured "why pay a private school tuition" for this kind of relationship with a school? New School Montessori, Trent Montessori and Cornerstone Montessori are all exceptional.