Guidepost MontessoriReviews of guidepostmontessori.com

My daughter has been in Guidepost since 6 mo. She is now 3.5 and super independent. Sometimes I feel like she is “too independent” (*face palm smiley*). She has attended multiple locations during her tenure at Guidepost and every transition was unexpectedly easy for our a bit shy and reserved child. I believe this could be a very important aspect to families that move around a lot. All locations are beautiful AND look the same AND teachers approach children in the similar manner. This provides so needed reassurance to the child in the tumultuous times of the move. Whether it is a geographical move or transition up to a different program.

Hello, I am proudly writing this 5 star review for Guidepost at Stonebriar in Texas. My 3 children who are the ages of 6, 4, and 3 are loving their experience. Every day I see them gaining more curiosity and in turn increasing their executive functional abilities. When I drop off my children in the morning, I observe a quiet and peaceful environment. The guides are showing great love for their work and our children. Keep up the great work team!

My son has been attending Guidepost from the time he turned one and it has been a pleasure watching him grow and achieve his milestones. The amount of independence that he has achieved during this course of time has been amazing. The most interesting part is the Montessori approach that Guidepost follows. I appreciate how they go that extra mile to meet the needs of each child and ensure that the child masters each lesson that he was introduced to before moving onto the next one. The warm and welcoming environment at the campus is something that always stood out in comparison to other schools that we toured. The teachers are so loving and caring, and their prepared environment is a place my son feels at home. He is always excited to go to school and the ample opportunity of outdoor play is something that he enjoys the most. We love that fact that the Guidepost's parent community that we get to connect with outside of school is very supportive too. Absolutely cannot recommend this school enough if you are looking for a Montessori school that truly nurtures the love of learning in your child.

We enrolled our 1 year old a couple months ago and it was one of the best decisions we made for our son. As an only child, it’s great seeing him get to play and interact with other kids around his age. We’ve seen that he’s learning things quicker by being in a mixed age classroom and playing more independently at home. The guides form close bonds with the children and the classroom really becomes a special and safe place for a child to grow and thrive. His level of separation anxiety has also decreased since going to Guidepost. Anyone on the fence, I urge you to visit a school and book a tour. Walking through the school and seeing the classrooms and how beautiful they are is something any parent should want for their child.

Guidepost Montessori has been one of the best decisions for our family because of the nurturing environment, the caring teachers, and great community for parents to join. Both of my children attend one of the Guidepost locations in Northern Virginia and I have seen their love of learning grow throughout the two years they've attended school. Above all, both of my children are so eager to learn new things, feel comfortable and confident to ask questions, and have truly grown into the Guidepost value of 'Grace & Courtesy'. They are so sweet and kind and always happy when I pick them up from school. It makes me feel reassured as I really struggled with drop-off when they first started. It's also great to see how much they have both began learning in the areas of mathematics, literacy, and practical life. They are 4 and 2 years old. My 4 year old can count to 20 and is learning addition, subtraction, and has been introduced to multiplication. My son confidently says his ABC's, prepares his own food for snacks at home (like cutting with plastic knives!), and knows all of his colors in English and Spanish. I would definitely recommend Guidepost Montessori to parents that want to help their children grow into capable human beings. I feel that the foundations for this education will shape how they function in their day-to-day lives as adults and am so happy I found this school.

My daughter has been at Guidepost for almost 2 years and she is thriving. Her Head of School is fantastic and we love seeing the progress that she has made, both academically and socially, during her time at Guidepost. It has been a joy to see her curiosity and sense of independence blossom, and it's clear that she is developing a true love of learning under the school's guidance. As a working parent, I also really appreciate the extended 7am-6pm hours.

I went to tour the school and they said there is space available for my daughter. I told them she is autistic and if it is possible for her therapist to visit her at school. They said they will get back to me. They totally ignored me and I haven't heard back from them. So Disappointed, at least they should get back to me if they allow the therapist or not but totally ignoring me means they don't want to deal with disabled kids.

Having worked for this company in a senior capacity, I can attest to the experiences of parents from other reviews. This company places MONEY before children. It capitalizes on strategic marketing and utilizes remote workers to "sell" parents the Guidepost experience. I urge parents to explore other authentic Montessori schools. Here is why: - Children are just numbers. They are all about expanding and filling classrooms as fast as possible. They will not treat your child as an individual. If your child needs an evaluation to receive funding for state intervention therapies, forget it. School guides (teachers) are told to decrease the undesired behavior without any specific special education training or support from a qualified professional... The company will not provide special education assistants. - If you are hoping your child will get a quality Montessori experience, think again. Trained Montessori teachers are required to undergo a year-long post-bachelor's in-depth Montessori training. It is called the "spiritual preparation of the teacher." The training is as much about child development and how to interact with children as it is about the specific teaching content (hundreds of very detailed lessons with specific steps and purposes in order for children to use the materials properly and learn concepts). The company hires daycare and regular education teachers and gives them online training while they are leading classrooms of twenty mixed-aged students, many of whom might have ignored behavioral and/or cognitive concerns. They say their teachers are "qualified by the state and going through Montessori training"... No, your child will not get a quality Montessori experience if the school does not value trained Montessori guides and authentic training. This is also false advertising as the whole Montessori experience rests on the teacher's ability to connect with children in a direct but very respectful way and knowing when and how to plan and present specific lessons in a very specific way at specific times for your child. Providing a Montessori education is not about a bunch of beautiful classroom materials... the children will misuse materials and not meet their potential if they are not presented and guided in a certain way. They would probably be better off with a play-based, creative curriculum than with untrained teachers in a Montessori school. - Teachers barely make livable wages with this organization and are expected to work year-round on federal holidays for 9 hours a day (not paid for the hour lunch). Low teacher morale leads to high turnover and poor quality teaching staff. Most qualified Montessori teachers are not interested in working at Guidepost because of its reputation of being for-profit, low standards of Montessori fidelity, and not caring for its teachers. - Things you want to ask if you do visit a Guidepost school: are your guides fully trained by AMI or AMS (these are the most authentic training organizations by far... if they say they are in a MACTE accredited training program, this does not equal good quality)? What is the tenure of your teachers and assistant teachers? What is the turnover like? Do you have staffing problems? Ask questions about Montessori... is the Head of School AMI or AMS trained? if not, that is a huge red flag that the program quality will not be high because the Head of School will not truly understand what to look for and how to implement the Montessori method... - Don't be fooled by the marketing and nice looking classrooms...