Experience with Shining Stars?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid is entering K and completed the last two years at SSMA. We’ve had incredible teachers for primary and my child is reading and doing so well in math (addition, subtraction and multiplication) and receives so much emotional support. Another kid in class was doing long division. If you get a good instructor and your kid is a good candidate for Montessori, I recommend it. The other issues mentioned by other posters are true with many families happy with lower grades and community, but there are admin issues and the question of how well the higher grades are performing.

Multiplication and long division before K. They'll be doing calculus before middle school. Sounds odd considering the amount of worksheets and coloring activities some other SSMA parents complain about.

Just wanted to jump into this old thread to mention that we did an open house at SSMA today and saw kids in one of the primary (PK-3 to K) classrooms working on coloring worksheets. I was shocked. They couldn't even pretend to be working on something educational, knowing that the Open House was scheduled and that parents would be coming by? So yes, coloring worksheets are apparently still a thing here.

Were there a lot of parents there? Did they acknowledge any of the problems?

Hello! Let's see...I think there were about 7-8 families there. Did they address any of the problems? Ehhhh. I'll be honest, I wasn't aware of all of the problems going into the open house (but boy did I get up to speed afterward! Thank you, DCUM, for existing.). However, one astute dad there must have been familiar with a lot of it, because he asked some great, on-point questions that were relevant to a lot of the issues (as I later learned), and I think his questions must have been intended to suss out whether things were getting addressed now. (Trying to think of an example, and am blanking at the moment. Will follow up if I recall any. Sorry, we've been doing so many open houses lately that I've forgotten some of details.)

I can say, on one of the issues--heat--that the school had installed electric plug-in overhead heaters above some of the doorways to the rooms on the main level. They look like those heaters you see on restaurant patios. I was actually really surprised to see them inside a building--it seemed unsafe, since they get so hot!--but apparently there are models you can get intended for indoor and outdoor use.

Hello again. Just thought of one of the questions the other parent asked: he inquired about the retention rate (/why the school was able to clear its waitlist). The answer he got was basically, "well, we're not really sure why people left." Again, I didn't know about all of the school's problems going into the open house, so I wasn't super-focused on the response, but I can say now that it seems they were playing dumb with him.

This answer from the school that they don't know why families left is 100% false and is exactly why the school will never improve. Many family's who left, mine included, sent long emails to the school explaining exactly why we were leaving. If the school could just be honest about what has gone wrong they could start fixing things. I would have so much more respect of they said x and y happened but we're addressing it through A and B. Instead they obfuscate and get defensive.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The dad asking the good questions is my husband . I prepared him beforehand with a list of questions. He mentioned that the principal is very new, and they weren’t really given a reason as to why the previous one left/was let go. He could tell there was something off about Dr. R, but couldn’t find a way to explain what exactly it was. He also was not impressed with the answers he was given, but he said it also could have been because the principal just started working there this week. That being said, he was pleased with what he saw in the classrooms. He went to the OH to determine if we should risk putting SSMA at the bottom of our list, and his overall feeling was that in terms of a last resort, it wasn’t that bad.

A new principal started there this week, or this year?

This week/year as in 2020. The previous principal did not return after winter break I believe.

Wait the principal didn’t return after break?? What the heck happened this time? Wasn’t she also new? Is there no chance for any type of red flags here with pcsb? This is getting crazy.

I met Dr R four years ago at an OH and she was great. They also had pastries and coffee which impressed me. She convinced me to list SS very high up. Something has really changed.

[Anonymous]

The PCSB has ZERO power to do anything unless there is financial mismanagement or fraud, or if the academic performance is very low. (Remember they didn’t have the power to do anything during the LAMB sexual abuse scandal).

The only people with power to change anything the SSMA leadership is the SSMA board. They will probably act when people stop enrolling and the school’s financial viability is at stake.

[Anonymous]

Wait, who is the new principal? Ms. Jenkins didn’t come back after winter break? Or are you referring to last winter break?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wait, who is the new principal? Ms. Jenkins didn’t come back after winter break? Or are you referring to last winter break?

My mistake - I misunderstood what my husband said. Ms. Jenkins has been the principal since the beginning of January. She said previously she was just a consultant and wasn’t officially a principal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wait, who is the new principal? Ms. Jenkins didn’t come back after winter break? Or are you referring to last winter break?

My mistake - I misunderstood what my husband said. Ms. Jenkins has been the principal since the beginning of January. She said previously she was just a consultant and wasn’t officially a principal.

Ah. Yeah, she was essentially the principal starting last January. So she’s been doing to duties for the last 1.5 years. I thought she was officially principal starting this fall.

[Anonymous]

Any chance question asking Dad asked about why they aren't on the AMS website?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Any chance question asking Dad asked about why they aren't on the AMS website?

Hi, original poster here about the OH. I don't recall anyone asking about that. A parent recently told me the Spanish language classrooms don't have as much fidelity to the Montessori model as the English dominant classrooms. I don't know if that's because the school struggles to find Spanish-speaking, Montessori-certified teachers, but that would be my assumption (and I guess it might explain why I saw kids doing coloring worksheets in one of the Spanish primary classrooms during the OH). I also don't know if the fact that some classes don't closely follow the Montessori method affects whether the school is eligible for AMS accreditation.

So, if you're a parent currently considering SSMA, I guess ask other parents/administrators whether the school has Montessori accreditation and whether all classrooms follow the Montessori curriculum or just the English language ones.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Any chance question asking Dad asked about why they aren't on the AMS website?

Hi, original poster here about the OH. I don't recall anyone asking about that. A parent recently told me the Spanish language classrooms don't have as much fidelity to the Montessori model as the English dominant classrooms. I don't know if that's because the school struggles to find Spanish-speaking, Montessori-certified teachers, but that would be my assumption (and I guess it might explain why I saw kids doing coloring worksheets in one of the Spanish primary classrooms during the OH). I also don't know if the fact that some classes don't closely follow the Montessori method affects whether the school is eligible for AMS accreditation.

So, if you're a parent currently considering SSMA, I guess ask other parents/administrators whether the school has Montessori accreditation and whether all classrooms follow the Montessori curriculum or just the English language ones.

I recommend calling or emailing Dr. R to find out. I can even give you a preview of her response. "..."

[Anonymous]

Shining Stars has had poor management and an inadequate board for years. I hope they turn around, but they seem to consistently underperform.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Any chance question asking Dad asked about why they aren't on the AMS website?

Information was being updated. Check again. SSMA has gold starndard

https://amshq.org/Families/Find-A-School/94914


But, many here will not talk about the positive about the school and continue to downplay its achievements.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Any chance question asking Dad asked about why they aren't on the AMS website?

Information was being updated. Check again. SSMA has gold starndard

https://amshq.org/Families/Find-A-School/94914


But, many here will not talk about the positive about the school and continue to downplay its achievements.

As a frequent previous poster in this thread, I find it really upsetting the way people like pp accuse former families of not talking about the positive and downplaying the school's achievements. There are a lot of amazing things about SSMA and we were happy in the year that we were there as our son's guide was excellent and he learned so much. However, Dr. Rodriguez absolutely does not have the skill set to manage a school. I can't recommend the school to anyone past primary for that reason. It's possible to acknowledge both the positives and negatives of a school with some genuinely wonderful qualities and some serious deficiencies. Why can't people on DCUM come at this from the angle that all we are trying to do best by our kids and to give fair warning to about our experiences to other families?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Any chance question asking Dad asked about why they aren't on the AMS website?

Information was being updated. Check again. SSMA has gold starndard

https://amshq.org/Families/Find-A-School/94914


But, many here will not talk about the positive about the school and continue to downplay its achievements.

Thanks for clarifying PP