Jamaica Plain, MA
Copper Beech Montessori

Teachers Are:

OVERALL RATING: (3.8)
Full of energy and seemingly happy in job
Patient and affectionate with children
Talks with children and listens carefully when they are talking with him/her
Praises children for accomplishments and good behavior
Provides feedback on what my child does during the day
Shares insights on my child that are helpful and accurate
Identifies my child’s strengths and weaknesses
If necessary, provides additional support to my child during pickup and drop-off
Resolves disputes quickly, calmly and fairly in a manner that allows children to learn from the dispute
Notices children who are not on task and/or engaging with other children appropriately and quickly reengages them
Manages the energy level of the children so that all children feel safe and able to learn
Provides additional support to a child when s/he is clearly failing in her/his efforts
Strikes the proper balance between active and quiet play for children

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Parents' Comments on Individualized Teaching

Parent #1
The art teachers are fantastic and very engaged with students. They also provide excellent feedback. The lead teachers are not present at pick-up, so there is little time to talk about how the bulk of the day went. My children love their weekly time with the 'specialists' - art, music, creative movement. From the main teachers there is no format for sharing insights on the children's strengths, difficulties etc, except at the two parent-teacher conferences annually. Any details about the day must come from your own child.

Parent #2
The school has a very enthusiastic art teacher (preschoolers have art class one morning a week) and a wonderful music program run by a teacher from the 'toddler room' who has a background in music and music education.

Parent #3
I answered always to every question, but I wouldn't say that I received feedback each day in each area or observed enough in the classroom each day to really say 'always', but my interactions with both the lead teacher and the supporting teacher were always very helpful and very positive. I never observed them interacting with the children in a way that made me unhappy. I picked my daughter up mid-day, so I did get to see some classroom dynamics. They were always very helpful with pick up and drop off and my daughter could be very 'high-maintenance' at these times. I never really got to observe the art and the music teacher in their classrooms, but their curriculums (curricula?)were excellent and their personalities while different from each other were both very patient and seemingly inspired.

Parent #4
Our son spent a difficult 3 weeks at this school. Both of us believe that the 2 of the 3 teachers assigned to run the transition room are uninvolved and on the clock. After hours of observation, there was NO enthusiasm from the teachers, no support system in place for transitioning children, and my child was left alone with a full diaper, without lunch and to lie on a dirty mat covered with wet areas from crying. Only one teacher seemed to have any caring for our child. The others just observed and gave our son no encouragement and support. Simply put, this school was a terrible experience for our son and us as parents.

Parent #5
The transition lead teacher is not good and very rude. She is leaving next school year, but unfortunately she is opening her own school in Hyde Park.

Montessori? Waldorf? Play-based?

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

View an example from the Savvy Source guide to learn more.

Trace around your child's foot, with shoe on, on a piece of white construction paper or card stock. Have child cut out the shoe print and add a spooky face. Glue it to a popsicle stick and you have a ghost stick puppet!

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