Maury vs Logan

[Anonymous]

Agreed with PPs -- Montessori is a very different game, and parents should understand what to expect. Otherwise parents will just be disappointed and vent on DCUM about how their kids get too much independence and the teacher aren't doing their job.

[Anonymous]

OP here again. Can someone speak specifically about how the community is? Are the kid rowdy? Bullying?

[Anonymous]

You're going to find rowdy kids and bullies at any school in any city in any state, no matter how many FARMS, no matter how high or how low the SES, no matter how dark or light the skin color of the students, etc. What are you trying to really ask?

[Anonymous]

Specific comments on Logan. We found the principal to be nice, and he also leaves much to be desired. One example, communication. He did a poor job communicating to the parents about the resource issues at the beginning of the year; he completely botched the SWS issue; and we know of several anecdotal pieces of evidence where parents contacted him with legitimate concerns and he simply never responded. You also don't get the sense that he has any kind of vision for the school, but is instead focused only on the day-to-day management. Truth be told, if you didn't know better you would think that one parent in particular was the principal, and I mean that as a complement to the parent.

Based on the school's reputation, we expected to find much more parent involvement. But it doesn't hold a candle to Brent or SWS. I can't speak to Maury or Watkins. Sometimes it felt as if there were only 10-15 families at the school. My speculation is that it has lots to do with no in-bounds preference.

As far as teachers, you really can't generalize. And parents will also have their own unique perspective based on their child's needs. But I can say that I think the open lottery really works against the school. Montessori is not for every child, and in an ideal world, the school would be able to exercise more control over the selection process. What often happened---based on our own observations and what our daughter told us---is that the teacher would be focused on corralling the 3-4 less focused kids, which meant less time for everyone else. I'm sure that happens everywhere to a certain extent, but the freedom of Montessori I think exacerbated it.

It also seems like they have staffing needs. I would say 10-15 times we showed up to find a substitute teacher and no assistant for the day, so you not only had a 20:1 ratio but a substitute. It was also fairly common 3-4 times/month for either the teacher or the assistant to not be there. I don't know how common that is at other schools.

[Anonymous]

PP here. I should also add some positives. Really liked Ms. Henderson and Mr. Taylor. They are very committed to the school, and go above and beyond. Their flexibility on pick-up time was also appreciated. Lunch (family style) was a positive and something our child very much enjoyed.

But while I am here....essentially no art and no music in our primary class. Big drawback. We also had real concerns about whether our child was being challenged. I understand it is a process and each step has a purpose, but our own personal preference would have been for more conveying of information and less water pouring.

[Anonymous]

Thank you 12:34, that was a very helpful assessment!

[Anonymous]

OP, You should read the several threads from a month or so back on Logan Montessori ongoing problems and concers from current and past parents. We found them helpful.