PGCPS - Robert Goddard Montessori

[Anonymous]

I searched the forum and found a handful of posts, but I wanted to see if anyone has current feedback on the Robert Goddard Montessori program in PG County. We just found out our 3 year old has a spot for next school year, so we are weighing our options. Thanks!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I searched the forum and found a handful of posts, but I wanted to see if anyone has current feedback on the Robert Goddard Montessori program in PG County. We just found out our 3 year old has a spot for next school year, so we are weighing our options. Thanks!

Would really love to hear experiences with this as I am in the same boat. Especially want to know about before or after care options

[Anonymous]

I have a child in the PK3 program. Transportation for the half day PK3 program is a hassle, but there are options: carpooling, transportation companies, etc. We stayed at our previous daycare center, but they don't do part-time so we just send our child for the afternoon only. You may find more flexibility with at-home daycare providers. I've heard from a lot of parents that it's worth sticking it out. It's tough to tell much about the program itself because we haven't been able to visit classrooms due to COVID, and 3yos aren't great at describing their day, but from what I know it sounds like it's a pretty standard Montessori program.

[Anonymous]

I have twins in PK4, so we did the half-day PK3 year virtually, which meant not dealing with the daycare issues. Lots of parents carpool or use transport services to pick up kids and take them to daycare for the afternoon.

It's a good program and I recommend it, though your exact experience will depend on the teacher. My kids are thriving and way ahead academically of their peers in other programs, even though that's not at all a focus of Montessori.

[Anonymous]

My child got #15 on the waitlist for Robert Goddard 3 year old program. I am also interested in knowing more about this anyone's experience at this school and options for after-care. Though I think our chances of getting in are very slim.

[Anonymous]

Can you list some of the transportation services?

[Anonymous]

KinderCare in Lanham used to transport the 3 year olds and take care of them the rest of the day. For older kids, Kim’s Karate in Lanham also had transportation for after care. There is currently no before / after care due to vendor issues. We used Kinder Care pre-Covid for our 3 year old. Otherwise the half day would not have worked. Some smaller in home day care might be able to accommodate but those are hit or miss.

[Anonymous]

Bumping this. Anyone with elementary school kids? The review are mixed and an acquaintance of mine says it's just ok that the school isn't communicative and the teachers don't involve the parents.

[Anonymous]

I have a friend who has a 3rd grader there. The boy has been there since K. They love the school and the community. Transportation is a bit of a hassle and she ended up driving her son to school (they live in Laurel). It's been a good experience for 3+ years now for them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Bumping this. Anyone with elementary school kids? The review are mixed and an acquaintance of mine says it's just ok that the school isn't communicative and the teachers don't involve the parents.

I posted below this. My friend's experience is not the same. She's a frequent FB poster and likes to talk about her kids. She seems happy with the communication from the schools. In general Montessori learning doesn't really involve the parents a lot. We have twins and our twins were in Montessori for 2 PK years and we were not involved much in the learning. We saw so much more on "Show off your classroom" night when we visited and watched the kids go through their learning.

But the lack of feedback is more common with Montessori than standard teaching curriculum. On the occasions when parents are brought in, you get more information, but you aren't going to get as much feedback between parental visits to the school. Ir you want a very interactive experience with your child's teacher, then Montessori may not be the right learning style for you and your family.

[Anonymous]

I disagree with the lack of communication. There is a parent chat via WhatsApp for every classroom and the different levels (primary, Upper, lower, and middle). The administration communicates frequently via class Dojo. As soon as I go to the school the teachers (not even there teachers ) know me and my children and are super friendly. I'm also an involved parent, so that makes a difference in your experience. I really like the school and believe my children are recieving a quality education. They are in lower elementary and have been at the school since prek 3. We had one incidence of my child getting picked on but I resolved it with the teacher and parent immediately.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I disagree with the lack of communication. There is a parent chat via WhatsApp for every classroom and the different levels (primary, Upper, lower, and middle). The administration communicates frequently via class Dojo. As soon as I go to the school the teachers (not even there teachers ) know me and my children and are super friendly. I'm also an involved parent, so that makes a difference in your experience. I really like the school and believe my children are recieving a quality education. They are in lower elementary and have been at the school since prek 3. We had one incidence of my child getting picked on but I resolved it with the teacher and parent immediately.

In that case they should allow people to set foot in the school to tour and see if it's a good match. On the virtual open house we were told ' we don't do tours since COVID '. Yeah COVID was 4-5 years ago...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I disagree with the lack of communication. There is a parent chat via WhatsApp for every classroom and the different levels (primary, Upper, lower, and middle). The administration communicates frequently via class Dojo. As soon as I go to the school the teachers (not even there teachers ) know me and my children and are super friendly. I'm also an involved parent, so that makes a difference in your experience. I really like the school and believe my children are recieving a quality education. They are in lower elementary and have been at the school since prek 3. We had one incidence of my child getting picked on but I resolved it with the teacher and parent immediately.

In that case they should allow people to set foot in the school to tour and see if it's a good match. On the virtual open house we were told ' we don't do tours since COVID '. Yeah COVID was 4-5 years ago...

New poster here...

I have been a parent at the school for over a decade (multiple children enrolled over the years). The "Covid" protocols have been extremely frustrating. It's feels like they want to keep parents out the school and use covid as an excuse. Pre-covid, we used to be able to go in the gym to pickup our children at dismissal, now they won't allow us, and have used covid as the reason. I do agree that communication at the school has gotten much better over the years, but that is thanks to the PTSA. The PTSA has been wonderful at keeping us parents updated. The administration has gone downhill in the past few years and don't seem to care about parent concerns and half the time I dont even get responses to my emails. I feel my children have gotten a great education at the school, but don't count on administration to help if you have any concerns.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I disagree with the lack of communication. There is a parent chat via WhatsApp for every classroom and the different levels (primary, Upper, lower, and middle). The administration communicates frequently via class Dojo. As soon as I go to the school the teachers (not even there teachers ) know me and my children and are super friendly. I'm also an involved parent, so that makes a difference in your experience. I really like the school and believe my children are recieving a quality education. They are in lower elementary and have been at the school since prek 3. We had one incidence of my child getting picked on but I resolved it with the teacher and parent immediately.

In that case they should allow people to set foot in the school to tour and see if it's a good match. On the virtual open house we were told ' we don't do tours since COVID '. Yeah COVID was 4-5 years ago...

New poster here...

I have been a parent at the school for over a decade (multiple children enrolled over the years). The "Covid" protocols have been extremely frustrating. It's feels like they want to keep parents out the school and use covid as an excuse. Pre-covid, we used to be able to go in the gym to pickup our children at dismissal, now they won't allow us, and have used covid as the reason. I do agree that communication at the school has gotten much better over the years, but that is thanks to the PTSA. The PTSA has been wonderful at keeping us parents updated. The administration has gone downhill in the past few years and don't seem to care about parent concerns and half the time I dont even get responses to my emails. I feel my children have gotten a great education at the school, but don't count on administration to help if you have any concerns.

I've heard the ' COVID excuse ' thing a lot from current parents and the concerns with the admin and it was enough for me to decide to pass on going there, as kid was admitted. The coordinator on the virtual open house was also super cagey about what exactly kids do in 4th and above ( not Montessori ) and I just didn't get the sense they had a real plan in place for those years. It seems attrition is high for these years. Also I think having a big school join their campus will be rough logistically with busses already being unreliable. Considering for us it would be a 25 min drive in case of bus issues plus an indefinite amount of time waiting in a car line with a younger kid in tow, and the bus getting back at 5.30 pm. No special program is worth my kid spending almost 2h on a bus daily and not having any time to play, especially since the special program really stops after 3rd grade. I also just seriously dislike the fact I can't even set foot in a school my kids are going to attend. To me it sets families up for disappointment and then attrition happens.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I disagree with the lack of communication. There is a parent chat via WhatsApp for every classroom and the different levels (primary, Upper, lower, and middle). The administration communicates frequently via class Dojo. As soon as I go to the school the teachers (not even there teachers ) know me and my children and are super friendly. I'm also an involved parent, so that makes a difference in your experience. I really like the school and believe my children are recieving a quality education. They are in lower elementary and have been at the school since prek 3. We had one incidence of my child getting picked on but I resolved it with the teacher and parent immediately.

In that case they should allow people to set foot in the school to tour and see if it's a good match. On the virtual open house we were told ' we don't do tours since COVID '. Yeah COVID was 4-5 years ago...

New poster here...

I have been a parent at the school for over a decade (multiple children enrolled over the years). The "Covid" protocols have been extremely frustrating. It's feels like they want to keep parents out the school and use covid as an excuse. Pre-covid, we used to be able to go in the gym to pickup our children at dismissal, now they won't allow us, and have used covid as the reason. I do agree that communication at the school has gotten much better over the years, but that is thanks to the PTSA. The PTSA has been wonderful at keeping us parents updated. The administration has gone downhill in the past few years and don't seem to care about parent concerns and half the time I dont even get responses to my emails. I feel my children have gotten a great education at the school, but don't count on administration to help if you have any concerns.

I've heard the ' COVID excuse ' thing a lot from current parents and the concerns with the admin and it was enough for me to decide to pass on going there, as kid was admitted. The coordinator on the virtual open house was also super cagey about what exactly kids do in 4th and above ( not Montessori ) and I just didn't get the sense they had a real plan in place for those years. It seems attrition is high for these years. Also I think having a big school join their campus will be rough logistically with busses already being unreliable. Considering for us it would be a 25 min drive in case of bus issues plus an indefinite amount of time waiting in a car line with a younger kid in tow, and the bus getting back at 5.30 pm. No special program is worth my kid spending almost 2h on a bus daily and not having any time to play, especially since the special program really stops after 3rd grade. I also just seriously dislike the fact I can't even set foot in a school my kids are going to attend. To me it sets families up for disappointment and then attrition happens.

I totally agree with everything you wrote. I have one more child at the school, and I almost feel like I'm looking for a way out. Things have really gone downhill.

Many years ago, there used to be actual Montessori in the upper grades, but I believe they were having trouble finding accredited Montessori teachers for grades 4th-8th, so they gave up and it is just regular schooling for those grades. I dont know how they plan to recruit new families to the school if they won't let anyone in to SEE the school. Most people will not want to drop off their 3 year olds, not knowing what the school even looks like.

I do drive my youngest back and forth to the school everyday, which is chaos because we have already been sharing the location for a few years now, but when DKFI moves in permanently, the parking lot traffic will undoubtedly get worse.