Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can anybody speak to 1st grade at Lee lower elementary?

Not directly - but my kid's cubby is outside the 1st grade classroom, and from what I see, the kids are incredibly engaged and doing cool things (drawing anatomy of the digestive track) considering that many were new to Montessori when they entered just 7 months ago. All my interactions with this teacher have been so fantastic that I am already ready to lobby hard for my child to be in her class when the time comes.

Please don't "lobby hard" for your kid to be in a particular class.

She does seem great.

Anonymous wrote:Can anybody speak to 1st grade at Lee lower elementary?

The elementary teacher is amazing. Very excited about my child moving into her class next year. All the teachers are good but she's particularly impressive. There will be an assistant next year too and 18 in the class. This year there are only 7 or 8, so it's not the full Montessori experience but it seems to be going very well. In elementary there is more group work and the kids start "going out" which is the Montessori version of field trips. (They are all planned and initiated by the kids themselves).

BUT -- my understanding is that there are no spots for 1st grade next year and they won't be admitting any new students unless they have unexpected attrition from the current K students. So it's very unlikely that you'll get in. Also, if both you and your child will be new to Montessori it may not be an easy transition for either of you, even if spaces are available.

Anonymous wrote:Can anybody speak to 1st grade at Lee lower elementary?

Not directly - but my kid's cubby is outside the 1st grade classroom, and from what I see, the kids are incredibly engaged and doing cool things (drawing anatomy of the digestive track) considering that many were new to Montessori when they entered just 7 months ago. All my interactions with this teacher have been so fantastic that I am already ready to lobby hard for my child to be in her class when the time comes.

Can anybody speak to 1st grade at Lee lower elementary?

Any thoughts on waitlist movement for pk4?

Our family loves aftercare too.

We also love the Lee teaching staff who are lovely, very educated and knowledgeable. The school seems very supportive of teacher professional development and growth.

It is a small start up school so every adult in the building seems to know every child.

Ooops, looks like I duplicated the other poster, but sounds like we're in agreement on the aftercare.

Forgot to mention before care. The breakfasts are really good according to my three year old and are healthy. The other day they had tarragon scrambled eggs and pear crisp and I wanted to stay to eat! No charge for before care after 830.

Anonymous wrote:Can any current Lee families speak to the quality of the before/after care for PK3?

It's amazing. One of the best things about the school (and there are a lot of good things about the school!) Affordable, especially for the first hour- only $4 this year. MOMIEs tlc teaches a great persons series so your child will come home spouting facts about Louis Pasteur or Mary McCloud Bethune, but they have so much fun they don't really know they're learning. There are also karate, yoga, Lego robotics, and dance this year. Kids sign up for no additional cost. I'm not sure if all those specials will be the same next year, but they're really awesome. Oh. And they go out and play, too, in most weather. My kid loves it and it seems like the others do as well.

^ sorry that should be legos, not logos.

Anonymous wrote:Can any current Lee families speak to the quality of the before/after care for PK3?

My child only occasionally attends before care. It seems quiet and peaceful when we arrive; most before care kids seem to eat breakfast there and then there's free play with logos, coloring, etc.

My child does aftercare every day and it is excellent (and really affordable). There's club/activity programming you can sign up for (karate, dance, yoga, lego robotics) and/or your kid can attend "regular" aftercare, which is run by MOMIES TLC (which is an independent, nonprofit operator). MOMIES programming is great -- there's a famous person series, fun group activities and games, plus free play outside on the playground. They've learned about Mary McLeod Bethune, Jesse Owens, Louis Pasteur, are now doing a segment on women's suffrage, etc. It's been really wonderful to hear my 3 yo come home and tell me about these people/movements; not dissertation level knowledge but a really great introduction and age-appropriate understanding of the social issue associated with the individuals.

Can any current Lee families speak to the quality of the before/after care for PK3?

+1

Anonymous wrote:Any clue on where their next or permanent location will be?

Still planning that it will be Ward 5 and within 1 mile of current location. We likely won't know until the end of the year. Of course nothing is definite until the lease is signed.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If anyone has info on how many spots they have for PK3 after siblings/preferences, I'd greatly appreciate the insight!

If I had to guess it would be between 20-24?

My understanding is that there are about 30 spots available across the entire school, with most in PK3. There are 3 or 4 PK3 siblings starting next year. I think it's 25 for PK3 minus those siblings to 22 or 23.

Any clue on where their next or permanent location will be?