San Francisco, CA
Glen Park Montessori

Discipline

OVERALL RATING (3.5)

Parents at this school, on average, believe that conflicts between children:
...are handled extraordinarily well in a way that not only gives me confidence in the safety of my child but also reassures me that my child (and his/her peers) are learning the early skills needed to socialize effectively with one another

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Director's Description to School's Approach to Discipline

Peaceful negotiation either between child and child with teacher assistance as needed or between child and student. The Montessori classroom is based on respect: for each other, the materials and the environment. It is recognized that unusual behavior may be caused by fatigue, hunger or on-coming illness. Parent conferences are often helpful if school-home strategy needs to be implemented.

Director's Response to a Sample Discipline Scenario

Description of how teachers handle the following scenario: Child A and Child B are good friends and usually play together. One day, Child A decides to play with Child C and tells Child B, 'I don't want to play with you today. I'm playing with Child C instead.'


We try to make sure that children 'team up' with a variety of children to avoid such a situation. If child 'A' needs to do activities without child 'B' that is certainly honored but with kinder language (i.e.. I would like a turn with child 'C' now but I can play with you later.) Child 'B' would be introduced to materials of interest and perhaps paired with another child 'D'.

Parents' Notes on Discipline, Health and Safety

Parent #1
The site is beautiful.

Parent #2
Not enough outdoor space and the building is often very cold.

Parent #3
This school uses non-toxic and earth friendly soaps for the children, has organic and healthy snacks, and functions in an open and beautiful space.

Parent #4
Children are given time out if they can not follow the rules. There is no tolerance for violence of any kind.

Teachers are firm but fair and in general there aren't any problems.

Parent #5
The facility is very secure - much more so than the other schools we visited. Also, the children are served healthy, organic snacks and meals.

Parent #6
I can't say enough about how this school fosters self-control and self-esteem really in the kids in their interactions with each other and the adults present. Conflicts are resolved between kids first, then with teacher encouragement and then with teacher intervention. The building and toys are fine. The outside toys could probably be refreshed. They largely eat organic and other natural foods that aren't heavily processed.

Parent #7
The outside space is naturally beautiful with plenty of room for the children to play in three distinct environments. The play equipment itself could be updated.

Parent #8
the space is what drew me to the school and it has remained inspiring. Good, affordable, pristine,creative child-centered space in the city is hard to find, but you can find it here. The toys rotate so there new games/montessori objects introduced; the space is always clean and orderly, and the children are taught to clean up ( and they do).

Parent #9
The school brings nature into the large, bright classrooms with large potted plants/trees, small animals and bugs (that my kids love.) It's a really inspiring workplace.

Health

OVERALL RATING (4.7)
Temperature and overall air circulation is comfortable
Healthy and nutritious snacks are provided
Toys and furniture are cleaned regularly

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Safety

OVERALL RATING (3.7)
Screen and identify all visitors
Parents may not bring sick children to school where they may infect others

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Montessori? Waldorf? Play-based?

What school type is right for your child? Is one model better than another? What does the research say?

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