Reply to What do people like/not like about Lee Montessori?

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[quote=Anonymous]I am a parent of two children at Lee, one in Primary and one in Elementary. What I like about Lee is the commitment of the administration, teachers and staff. In my experience, they excel at communication and admitting and addressing problems. If your child has been matched or is on the waitlist and you have concerns, I would reach out to the administration and talk to them directly. You can learn about what they are doing to address issues with testing, achievement gap or anything else. That way you can better decide if you want to enroll your child.

One thing I’ve learned in life is it’s not whether or not a school (or a workplace or a family or a nation for that matter) has problems or crises, because it will most certainly will. What matters is how they handle problems and crises. In my family’s experience, this ability to acknowledge and address issues is where Lee shines. I have experienced this with my children on individual issues as well as school-wide. I am not saying Lee is a perfect school, but one thing I can attest to is their commitment to growth and improvement. They are extremely dedicated.

As for what else we like about it:

Lee Montessori? In addition to the teachers, my children love the librarian and library resources. The aftercare staff and leaders are worlds apart from what we experienced at a previous school, and I have seen improvement in their programming and structure the past year or so.

Of note is that it was an adjustment (for me!) to come from a traditional school to Lee. The students are more responsible for their own items, and one of my children loses a lot of things. That can be frustrating for me. The classrooms are the realm of the students, not the parents. Parents are allowed the opportunity to observe classes throughout the year, but it is always planned and not ad hoc. I have found that Montessori has required that I cultivate a sense of trust in my children. I’m not sure how else to explain it.

Academic work is different too in that it is not the way I was taught math, or even reading and writing. Montessori seems to use other metrics for determining how a child is doing. There are other tests besides PARCC that they use to mark progress, but the school has acknowledged and has created a plan for improving PARCC scores, including adding test prep. I am not an expert in Montessori, and it's hard to determine if my children are where they need to be relative to other children. I think it requires the mindset that kids shouldn't be compared to other students, and this is a shift for me and I think society in general. As my kids get older, I am watching to see how they progress academically. If they aren’t, I will work with the teachers to figure out what needs to change. If that doesn’t work, I will address whether a change in school will help. We are not at that point yet, and I can’t say if we will be.

I don't socialize with the other parents. I think there are some vocal parents that can be a little entitled, but most of the parents I've talked to at the school are down to earth and low key. I am not at the school for the other parents, but for my children's education.

These are some thoughts off the top of my head, and I hope my perspective helps. I know others may agree or disagree and that is okay.
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