Anonymous wrote:My eldest is in K at Lee and is working on precursory skills for multiplication after having already done addition and subtraction. The parents who complain about "lack" of academics likely don't understand how the Montessori method works, and probably would feel more comfortable at a school that drills their kids to do well on standardized tests. I just don't see that as a priority.

That's unusual for any kindergartener, it's possible your kid is simply naturally gifted at math and this has nothing to do with his school. Most kids do not start doing multiplication in K, whether Montessori or no.

It's not that people want their kids doing drills for standardized tests. Most parents hate that stuff. But pretty much all parents want their kids to learn to read, write, and do math at a competent level. Montessori often relies on the idea that children will naturally gravitate towards those things if they are offered in the right way, and for some kids that's true. And for some kids it's not true. It's easy to believe that your 3 yo will do well in Montessori, but once they've gotten past the pre-academic stuff, lots and lots of kids gravitate not towards academics but other things, and need more structure and focus in order to learn these basic skills.

I guarantee there are kids in your son's K class who can barely do any addition. And the question for them is whether they will get enough math this year to keep them at grade level. And the issue compounds after K because you are no longer doing foundational work but building on foundations. So if you lack sufficient phonemic awareness or have not mastered the concrete mathematical concepts, it is basically impossible for you to work on your reading comprehension or abstract math skills at grade levels.

Which is why parents often leave Lee and other Montessori programs in 1st or 2nd. It's not that they desperately crave rote memorization of standardized testing subjects. It's that their child is not performing at grade level on basic subjects and they worry that if they wait too long, the problem will compound and become harder to address. Parents with kids who LOVE math and reading and push themselves to go further in these subjects on their own don't get it and like to feel superior. But criticizing parents because they want their children to learn to read and do math is ridiculous.

Montessori is not for everyone, and it is especially not for everyone past ECE.

Anonymous wrote:As a current parent at Lee, with a kid in the open grades, I can confirm the academics are lacking. The teachers are nice but the majority of parents I talk to all have tutors for math and/or reading. Yes, some of the problems with reading can be attributed to COVID but not all. The school even had tutoring for the kids last year taking the PARCC. The community is great but if you’re looking for academics this isn’t the place. I wish I had done more research and I think if the school put as much effort into the academics as they do restorative justice (which they don’t even do properly) you would see a big improvement. But they don’t because they are coasting on the decent ECE and the fact that it’s a nice campus with an involved parent community.

Wow, this is alarming. For 1st and 2nd graders?!

Anonymous wrote:My eldest is in K at Lee and is working on precursory skills for multiplication after having already done addition and subtraction. The parents who complain about "lack" of academics likely don't understand how the Montessori method works, and probably would feel more comfortable at a school that drills their kids to do well on standardized tests. I just don't see that as a priority.

"Do well"? How about "not score a 1 out of 5"? Believe me, when you're a little bit older you will indeed think that learning to read and do math is a priority.

Why are Lee's test scores worse than other Montessori schools'?

Anonymous wrote:As a current parent at Lee, with a kid in the open grades, I can confirm the academics are lacking. The teachers are nice but the majority of parents I talk to all have tutors for math and/or reading. Yes, some of the problems with reading can be attributed to COVID but not all. The school even had tutoring for the kids last year taking the PARCC. The community is great but if you’re looking for academics this isn’t the place. I wish I had done more research and I think if the school put as much effort into the academics as they do restorative justice (which they don’t even do properly) you would see a big improvement. But they don’t because they are coasting on the decent ECE and the fact that it’s a nice campus with an involved parent community.

Thank you for your candor, PP. Are you going to stay at Lee, or leave?

My eldest is in K at Lee and is working on precursory skills for multiplication after having already done addition and subtraction. The parents who complain about "lack" of academics likely don't understand how the Montessori method works, and probably would feel more comfortable at a school that drills their kids to do well on standardized tests. I just don't see that as a priority.

As a current parent at Lee, with a kid in the open grades, I can confirm the academics are lacking. The teachers are nice but the majority of parents I talk to all have tutors for math and/or reading. Yes, some of the problems with reading can be attributed to COVID but not all. The school even had tutoring for the kids last year taking the PARCC. The community is great but if you’re looking for academics this isn’t the place. I wish I had done more research and I think if the school put as much effort into the academics as they do restorative justice (which they don’t even do properly) you would see a big improvement. But they don’t because they are coasting on the decent ECE and the fact that it’s a nice campus with an involved parent community.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Montessori students gain valuable skills learning how to be independent and take care of themselves at an early age. The fine motor skills that are practiced in Montessori help the students with handwriting (they learn cursive starting in PK3).

So they can write "I am failing math" in cursive?

Oh, are you that worried that people from your IB will go to Lee now?

Not even slightly. If they wanted to go, they would already be there. I'm curious why anyone thinks Lee's math scores are acceptable, because I think there is no right to public funds when performance is this low. Even if the parents don't care, I do.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Montessori students gain valuable skills learning how to be independent and take care of themselves at an early age. The fine motor skills that are practiced in Montessori help the students with handwriting (they learn cursive starting in PK3).

So they can write "I am failing math" in cursive?

Oh, are you that worried that people from your IB will go to Lee now?

Anonymous wrote:Montessori students gain valuable skills learning how to be independent and take care of themselves at an early age. The fine motor skills that are practiced in Montessori help the students with handwriting (they learn cursive starting in PK3).

So they can write "I am failing math" in cursive?

Anonymous wrote:Montessori students gain valuable skills learning how to be independent and take care of themselves at an early age. The fine motor skills that are practiced in Montessori help the students with handwriting (they learn cursive starting in PK3).

They don’t have any PK spots open though. The issue is that Montessori doesn’t translate well once you get to into elementary. Parents get concerned when their child is not yet reading by 1st grade.

Montessori students gain valuable skills learning how to be independent and take care of themselves at an early age. The fine motor skills that are practiced in Montessori help the students with handwriting (they learn cursive starting in PK3).

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What is next, they don't have terrible test scores and an achievement gap like the Grand Canyon?

It's Montessori, they don't have to teach kids how to read and do math, they just instill a magic love of learning and the kids will learn these things on their own, at a time TBD.

This. We left Lee after PK3. My child learned very little academics. They could fold a mean towel and wash a window.

My kid is in 6th grade and still doesn’t know how to fold a towel, let alone wash a window. I now wish I had sent him to Lee.

Do they teach PK3’s how to fold a fitted sheet? Because I’m an adult and still don’t know how to fold one.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What is next, they don't have terrible test scores and an achievement gap like the Grand Canyon?

It's Montessori, they don't have to teach kids how to read and do math, they just instill a magic love of learning and the kids will learn these things on their own, at a time TBD.

This. We left Lee after PK3. My child learned very little academics. They could fold a mean towel and wash a window.

My kid is in 6th grade and still doesn’t know how to fold a towel, let alone wash a window. I now wish I had sent him to Lee.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I want to thank everyone for fulfilling my prediction of criticism of the school and questions about why they’ve gone through their waitlist!

It's not for every kid or every parent, but lots of families think it's an amazing school. I trust that the message reached people who are interested in a school like Lee and I hope some might take the opportunity to have their kid there.

For what it's worth, my kid has been there for six years. He's doing well with academics and *loves* the school for the freedom and creativity it allows. I'm so glad he gets to go there.

Knowing that each empty seat on Count Day means a loss of about $10,000, what budget cuts do you anticipate?

I anticipate no budget cuts because the seats will be filled in time. It’s a great school!

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I want to thank everyone for fulfilling my prediction of criticism of the school and questions about why they’ve gone through their waitlist!

It's not for every kid or every parent, but lots of families think it's an amazing school. I trust that the message reached people who are interested in a school like Lee and I hope some might take the opportunity to have their kid there.

For what it's worth, my kid has been there for six years. He's doing well with academics and *loves* the school for the freedom and creativity it allows. I'm so glad he gets to go there.

Knowing that each empty seat on Count Day means a loss of about $10,000, what budget cuts do you anticipate?