Montessori Discovery Academy

This is a wonderful school! My son started over a year ago at 17 months old. He loves it here! There are days he does not want to leave! At a pediatrician check up, the doctor commented on my son being advanced for his age. This is a school and not a daycare as referenced in a previous comment. As with some private schools, there is before and after care at an additional cost. In addition, I was aware of the extra cost for when school is not in session as stated in the enrollment paperwork when I enrolled. There are times when the staff has made accommodations for me when needed as a working parent. We cannot always make the field trips. I was concerned with someone else transporting my child, so this is why I chose certain field trips I can attend. If you personally cannot take a toddler on the field trip, see if a family member or someone else can take your child. These field trips add enrichment to the child's learning experience.

My daughter adored this school and we were heartbroken when we moved and had to switch schools. She started at 18months and left just before she turned 3. The teachers were AMAZING with her. She has gross motor delays, fine motor skills delays, and severe speech delay but her teacher was so wonderful and accommodating. They helped her grow and become a wonderfully independent toddler and I attribute her ability to drink from an open cup to their patience. Thank you for the love and care you should my little girl!!

Overall School ★★☆☆☆ The school at first showed that they do teach some of the Montessori basics but are lacking in having a fully trained staff that practice the Montessori method. We quickly noticed there was also a lot of turnover, we just showed up to different teachers. That is hard on young children. From our experience, we would never recommend anyone take their kid under the age of 4 there as they have a low tolerance for kids who are still learning the rules, and or have never been in a pre-K program. They serve toddlers but they are licensed as a school not child care therefore not held to the same licensing standards as a daycare. They don’t keep track of kids well, two instances in 2 weeks took place were three kids escaped the log cabin and were running out in the parking lot. No teachers followed them and they made it all the way to the main building before another teacher took them back. Second instance we went in a class room to find our child’s items and found instead a fellow student crying in the corner. She said her teachers left her in the class room and she did not know where they were. Because they don’t take attendance when moving kid’s locations, the aftercare teacher had no idea this child was even at school! The school does not seem to be tailored to working parents. Aside from the aftercare issues, the school is closed whenever Davis School District is closed. They close for one week between school year and summer camp, and 1.5 weeks between the end of summer and school beginning. If you want to use the aftercare (which I don’t recommend) you will pay extra for that. Remember you paid the same tuition for these months as the months with no days off. This was the absolute worst aftercare experience we had! After taking my daughter one day I ended up taking the rest of the week off work because it was so awful! After Care ★☆☆☆☆ I’m just going to cut right to the heart of this. You pay for a teacher to toss the kids into a room or on the playground while they sit outside the door doing their own thing. Or in the room on their cell phones. No enrichment or learning activities take place. Not only that the ratio for kids to teachers are way off and all older kids get tossed in the same room as the toddlers. We witnessed little kids being injured on the playground from being caught in the older kids age appropriate rough housing. Field Trips ★★☆☆☆ It was a bit much to think about a 2-year-old going on a field trip. The center transports children in their van, and rely on teachers and parents to drive the rest of the children. Personally we were not comfortable with anyone else installing our child’s safety seat and transporting her. Toddlers are required to have a parent attend with them. So, if you are not a working parent then it might work for you. The locations are fun and exciting but the care is lacking. On one of the field trips we volunteer on we watched as the parents spent more time wrangling the kids up while the teachers sat back. The poor staff at Wheeler Farm were stressing out as there was no controlling the kids. One child was left behind while the class was on the wagon ride. Teachers had no attendance lists and there was no attendance taken once we arrived at the location. Summer Camp ★☆☆☆☆ Basically, this is just aftercare in the hot sun on the playground. The kids will spend hours out in the sun with little water. We were also disappointed to find out from our child that they watched TV during the day on multiple occasions. I could get a babysitter at home for cheaper if I wanted her to watch TV all day. Conclusion. We ended up pulling our kid from the school and have no intention of returning. If you are a stay at home parent who just needs preschool I would recommend them. If you are a working parent who wants to know your child is receiving a quality early education as well as safe child care don’t do it.

This school and its staff are amazing! When I toured the school, the head teacher took me around to every classroom, showed me every lesson that my child would learn, reviewed her teachers’ certification and educational background with me, and was so nice and friendly while addressing all my questions and concerns. The Montessori Method, while not for everyone, is a proven method and one that provides a well-rounded educational experience. I’m so glad that we were able to get my son into this program. They also provide music lessons and, for an additional cost, several fun extracurricular activities outside of school time. Everything is done at the child’s own pace and they can work on anything they need to or advance ahead if necessary to challenge them and help them grow. Discipline is not a timeout but a proven method that helps the child work out his or her own issues and come to a resolution. In addition to academic learning, children are taught real life skills and problem solving. I highly recommend this school and program!

My 7 year old son, who's high energy and dyslexic, has attended Montessori Discovery since he was in preschool, and WE LOVE IT! The Montessori Method is perfect for his hard charging self. The class sizes are small. The teachers are caring and attentive. And they are super flexible with schedules. There's very affordable childcare before and after school. Plus they go on tons of great field trips. We had tried other childcare preschools in the area and it was terrible and traumatic for my son. Discovery teachers have always been patient yet firm with him. And now he's happily doing chores around the house because they teach him actual life skills. It's amazing! I highly recommend this school and childcare.