Experience with Shining Stars?

[Anonymous]

My child was just offered a spot in the Pre-K 3 class but unfortunately I am not able to visit the school before the deadline as it is under renovation until August. Just wondering if other parents have had positive or negative experiences they would be willing to share. Thanks

[Anonymous]

Do you have a place somewhere else right now? And how far is the commute for you?

[Anonymous]

There's a looooooooong thread on SSMA elsewhere on DCUM where you can read all the complaints and praises over the last few years. But, as a current SSMA family, the school and community seem to be in a much better place than a year ago, which I think is important to understand when reading through past drama.

Short answer is that the primary teachers (PK3, PK4, and K) are pretty great across the board. There is less continuity and certainty when you get into the elementary grades. There have been building issues (HVAC and plumbing), but those have been better over the last few months. The other families and general community are friendly and welcoming. The ED is not great, but is getting better at communications.

[Anonymous]

Thanks! We have a spot but in a private day care. I just checked out the commute and it is pretty far from us. Thank you for the feedback!

[Anonymous]

Depends how much you want Montessori. If you don't especially want it, I'd pass. What are your other options?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There's a looooooooong thread on SSMA elsewhere on DCUM where you can read all the complaints and praises over the last few years. But, as a current SSMA family, the school and community seem to be in a much better place than a year ago, which I think is important to understand when reading through past drama.

Short answer is that the primary teachers (PK3, PK4, and K) are pretty great across the board. There is less continuity and certainty when you get into the elementary grades. There have been building issues (HVAC and plumbing), but those have been better over the last few months. The other families and general community are friendly and welcoming. The ED is not great, but is getting better at communications.

Ditto to this previous post. Our kids have been well loved there. I also hadn’t visited before being accepted, so was a little disappointed by the playground. It’s not tiny but not huge. But they do take a lot of walks to the monastery. And the classrooms are Montessori so gave a beautiful setup with amazing learning materials. Overall, it’s a warm, friendly place with some admin issues. Good luck with your decision!

[Anonymous]

Pros:
- the long-tenured teachers, especially at the primary level but also also the male lower elementary teacher, are really great
- a real commitment to Montessori as a pedagogy
- a legitimate commitment to racial and social equity,
- a small enough environment that the teachers all know most of the kids and vice-versa
- it’s in an actual school building, which is a nice
- a loving aftercare, run by the school

Cons:
- a lacking-but-entrenched administration, which leads directly to:
- high teacher and staff turnover, especially among new hires
- myriad (fairly serious) facilities and consumable supply issues
- fundraising problems caused by the fact that the community association basically got defenestration and had to be rebuilt from scratch
- communicating complaints to school leadership can be a bit fraught
- before-care is run by springboard and is actively shitty
- instability and thus discipline issues in the upper elementary (and some of the lower elementary) classroom
- previous problems with special ed; don’t know if this has improved
- the playground is too small for Montessori-sized classes and needs to be re-mulched

Overall it’s a fine school, better than its reputation around here, but go in with your eyes open.

[Anonymous]

Are they firing Springboard?

What about defenesteating the parent org?!?!?!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Are they firing Springboard?

What about defenesteating the parent org?!?!?!

Good question about Springboard. It was only doing before care (aftercare was in house last year). But hopefully will be gone next year.

PTO back up and running - new board members came in part way through the year and the board roles are filled for SY 19-20. Definitely a 180 from last year with a lot more positive momentum.

[Anonymous]

The year before last the parent org got into a big fight with the executive director, went to the board with their complaints and lost. This year the org (with new leadership, but the same broad outlook) wasn’t able to get the school to give them the time of day, to the point that they couldn’t assemble a school-wide email list for most of the year. It seems like things have turned around but the school lost a full year of fundraising (which is basically what the community association does).

Inside-baseball school-politics stuff that could probably happen anywhere, but emblematic, I think, of the issues the school has been having over the last couple of years.

[Anonymous]

Lower elementary is really really fantastic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The year before last the parent org got into a big fight with the executive director, went to the board with their complaints and lost. This year the org (with new leadership, but the same broad outlook) wasn’t able to get the school to give them the time of day, to the point that they couldn’t assemble a school-wide email list for most of the year. It seems like things have turned around but the school lost a full year of fundraising (which is basically what the community association does).

Inside-baseball school-politics stuff that could probably happen anywhere, but emblematic, I think, of the issues the school has been having over the last couple of years.

Is it the same board this year? And what were the complaints?

[Anonymous]

If it's your only option, it should be fine for PS3. I wouldn't stay any longer than that. The ED is wholly incompetent and is honestly the biggest issue at the school. When something has gone wrong, and it will, and is, she will be unable to fix it. Fortunately, teachers in general are caring, wonderful people and that's true at SSMA as well. Your kid will be fine. If they stay past PS3, keep a close eye on their academic development. After four years, my child was substantially behind her peers academically.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If it's your only option, it should be fine for PS3. I wouldn't stay any longer than that. The ED is wholly incompetent and is honestly the biggest issue at the school. When something has gone wrong, and it will, and is, she will be unable to fix it. Fortunately, teachers in general are caring, wonderful people and that's true at SSMA as well. Your kid will be fine. If they stay past PS3, keep a close eye on their academic development. After four years, my child was substantially behind her peers academically.

Hmmm. We just completed 3 years (finishing K) and our daughter is doing great both academically and socially. YMMV, Montessori isn't for everyone, and I'm skeptical about the elementary grades...but I certainly wouldn't write off PK4 and K.

[Anonymous]

The SSMA Community Association is hosting a playground meetup for new and returning families on August 17th from 10 am-12 pm at Turkey Thicket. Families on the wait list are welcome!