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Oakland, CA
Grand Lake Montessori

Parents at this school would recommend this school to other parents.

Review this preschool

neighborhood: Piedmont Avenue / Adams Point ·  Telephone: (510) 836-4313  · Website: www.grandlakemontessori.com

• Summary
• General Info
• School Philosophy
  & Day-in-the-Life
• Curriculum &
  Teaching Approach
• Quality of
  Teaching
• Home/School
  Connection
• Discipline,
  Health & Safety
• Ages, Schedule
  & Tuition
• Application &
  Admissions
• Kindergarten
  Placement&Tips

Home-School Connection

OVERALL RATING (3.9)
Conducts an open house at start of school year
Conducts a parent-teacher meeting at start of school year
Conducts regular parent teacher conferences
Provides summary of child’s learning at end of year
Provides guidance on developmental goals for the following year
Provides guidance on best Kindergarten and elementary schools

source:

Separation

OVERALL RATING (3.7)

Beginning of the year separation is handled through:

- Pre-entry meetings with parents at school

source:

Parents' Comments

Parent #1
GLM is a large school, with 5 pre-K to K classrooms. Our particular classroom experienced significant teacher turnover this year, which aggravated the separation process for our child, who had bonded over the summer with teachers who were not there once the school year began.

As working parents we have not been able to take advantage of many of the opportunities GLM creates for parents to observe, participate, and contribute to the school.

Parent #2
Separation: This is in re: when my child started 3.5 years ago. I was encouraged to leave quickly after a big hug and a hearty 'Mamas and Daddies always come back!' In the beginning, the teachers phoned me about 15-30 minutes after I left, and they always were able to tell me my daughter had stopped crying within 5 minutes of my departure.

This school has a big problem with communication. This either wasn't true when my child started there 3.5 years ago, or it has become more of an issue to me as she has grown and learned a lot.

The teachers are wonderful, dedicated, and nurturing women and men, but it happens frustratingly often that various things are not clearly communicated, or are not communicated in a timely manner. Most frustrating, though, is the feeling that it's not considered a major problem by the big players at the school.

This communication problem extends to the regularly-scheduled parent-teacher conferences: only one is scheduled per year. Any parent may ask for more meetings, but it's not a regular part of letting us know what's going on. The written summary at the end, though, is very thorough--IF you make sure you understand what the learning process is through the various Montessori 'works' used in every classroom. It is very impressive to realize how much even very young children are able to learn!!

Parent #3
I love the school and my son's teacher. She is available, knows all about the nuances of my child's behaviors and emotional/social/academic needs. I feel very comfortable having him at GLM all day long. He is cared about and is thriving in this environmnet. Even so, I think that the school, for us, is good. But if one is seeking play-based, community-based, or very small class sizes, this is not the place for your kid. Even though we thought we might like some of those things, it didn't seem to be the biggest need for our child. Instead, we recognized he had a strong attention, needed lots of structure, and enjoyed individualize and personalized 'work' environments. GLM matched his needs and has continued to do that.

Parent #4
The Montessori curriculum at this school prefers that parents not interrupt the children's work during regular class times, without arranging observational visits ahead of time. Though parents are welcome to come and help with the multicultural teaching activities for various holidays, reading to the children, and other activities.

Parent Community

COHESIVENESS RATING (3.6)

Parents:

- Hold social events at the school to build community

- Fundraise

- Volunteer in the classroom

- Receive newsletters

source:

Parents' Comments

Parent #1
$200 deposit upfront refundable upon completion of 20 hours of volunteer work.

Parent #2
Am a volunteer

Parent #3
The school shares frequent news about goings-on in the classroom via e-mail.

Parent #4
None really.

Parent #5
GLM could do more to promote community among parents. Parents do a pretty good job on their own.

Parent #6
Pairs  old parents with  new parents

Parent #7
Is developing a mosaic project with collaborative community building model of leadership. We are working hard on developing community, and sometimes issues of diversity and parents and teachers being overworked, challenge that goal.

Modes of Communication Between School and Home

Parents' Comments

Parent #1
One regular conference at the beginning of the school year and any other by request. Also, the school offeres after school by-appointment hours on Wednesdays in my son's classroom.