Montessori Academy Of Culver City

I can’t say enough positive things about the Montessori Academy of Culver City (MACC). I HIGHLY recommend it. Not only are both of my daughters running out the door in the morning to get to school, but what they have learned has well-​surpassed my (admittedly) high expectations. Both of my daughters have been very early readers and my older daughter (4 years old) is doing first grade level math. I know that all kids will be at the same level by first grade, if not sooner, but MACC has made learning fun at a very young age. I also want to stress that the kids play, play, play at school! The rooms are bright (lots of windows), clean, colorful and full of art supplies, music, play mats, Montessori toys and books (they even have a little library/​reading room for the kids).
The teachers are caring, loving and patient and go above and beyond to keep parents updated on their child’s daily activities, friendships and overall progress. They treat each child as an individual and both of daughters have felt much loved by the teachers they have had. The school’s new director, Ruhi, is also amazing. She listens to every parent, knows every child and cares intensively about the school. As a side note, MACC offers many optional on-​site after school activities, including dance, gymnastics and yoga, which are well-​run and free up weekends that would otherwise be spent on those types of activities (for our family, at least).
I could not be happier with our school choice. My only suggested improvement is that MACC offer a full elementary school program as I would happily have both of my daughters attend for many more years.

My son has been attending MACC for over 8 month and he looks forward to going to school every day. I have several colleagues who send their children to MACC and are all very happy about their experiences. The teachers here are all very kind and nurturing, most of them have been working at the school for a long time and they seem to work together as a highly effective team. I am amazed that at my son’s age (2.5), he is learning how to hold a pencil and trace lines, circles, different shapes, as well as practicing other fine motor skills. My son would not stop singing all the songs he learned at school and always talks so happily about his friends and teachers.
In addition, the school is very flexible (no potty training required) and offers a school schedule that has minimum shut down time (only one week in summer), which is so helpful for two full time working parents. Almost all the other schools I visited takes about 4 – 5 weeks off a year.
The new director, Ruhi, is very easy to talk to and has great plans for the school. We look forward to our experiences under the new direction.

I have a 5 year old son who has been attending MACC for the past 6 months and he has learned so much since he started. I really like the Montessori method and the academic environment of the school. I feel like my son will be more than prepared when he leaves, both academically as well as socially. He has made many friends and loves his teacher who I believe is very caring and experienced. I also love the fact that the school is in a free standing building in a quiet neighborhood. It is very secure and makes me feel that my son is safe when I drop him off every morning. I definitely recommend MACC to any parents who are looking for a school for their child!

Great school and teachers! The new director, Ruhi, is wonderful and listens to all questions/​concerns/​goals for our child. Can’t beat the parking lot and great location too! Our daughter learned so much this past year and we attribute a lot of this to MACC!

MACC has been a wonderful experience for our 3 year old. In the past year we are amazed at how quickly she has grown under the care of Ms. Williams and the team at this school. The school is clean, well managed, and the staff genuinely care for their wards. I can’t recommend them enough. When we did have an issue with how something was handled with our daughter early on, a simple 5 meeting with her teachers and the matter was cleared up easily. No fuss, no muss. She LOVES going to school here, and looks forward to the days we take her. As she heads off a new school in the Fall, I know she does so with a strong foundation under her.

I have a 4 ½ year old daughter who has been going to this school since February of this year. In 8 months my daughter has excelled tremendously. If academics is important to you then this is definitely the school I would highly recommend to all parents!!! Apart from having an excellent curriculum for the students, the school also offers an excellent after school program! To date, enrolling my kid in this school has been the best decision I have made as a parent! My husband is 100% in agreement with me on this!..:)

Note: We did not decide to enroll our son in this school. We were about to enroll him, but there were the following red flags:
1. When asked how they deal with conflict resolution between the children, we were given the answer that they really don’t have conflicts between the children therefore there is no set policy regarding this. It seems odd that a school with at least 20 – 40 kids wouldn’t have any conflict between children. Children at this age are still processing how to be generous (sharing), learning how to be expressive of their feelings, etc. I can’t imagine not having conflict, seems unrealistic.
2. There was some sort of misunderstanding on a message we left with the owner/​administrator. I acknowledged it was either a miscommunication or misunderstanding– basically we asked to be called back within the week because we had to make a decision and had additional questions and she didn’t call back. I pointed this out and she kept pointing out that because my child was not yet enrolled she didn’t feel the need to call me back right away and she wasn’t told it was important. Way to make new comers/​prospects feel important and that we will be valued.
3. When asked about the communication expectations (who do we talk to if we had questions or issues, when does it escalate to her (she is not there every day), what is a typical time frame if we have some thing to address with her that she would return a call, etc.), she became very defensive (I pointed this out to her and she scolded me on using the word defensive). I tried to explain to her it wasn’t an attack on my #2 issue, and that I think she was misunderstanding my question. I just want to know if my expectations were reasonable to her and if she had set policies regarding how parents/​staff/​owner communicate so that if there was ever a case, we did need to address something, we know what to expect as parents. She stated that she wasn’t sure why were even having this conversation, why I am asking her these questions since my child is not even enrolled and was some what raising her voice. She became very rude and rolled her eyes a few times at me. I realized we were not getting any where and some how I have offended her because she was quite defensive in her responses to me. I thanked her for her time and she didn’t bother to say bye or return my thank you.
I am very glad this happened prior to me enrolling my son. I don’t understand how an educator or an owner of an educational institution for young children can have such little patience, easily jump to conclusions and judgement and is overall rude. I want my child near people who are loving, understanding, calm and polite so they can teach my child how to act similarly; this is not someone I would want to help mold my child. I was very disappointed.

My daughter went to this school for the last 2 ½ years she is 5 years old now. The school has been great for her. The teachers pay attention to each and every kid individually. They take a lot of care for their development. Besides tutoring them in English, math, geography, etc. they also teach them good manners and develop their social skills. They make learning fun. My daughter loves to go to school. Her reading skills have developed great for her age. She started school when she was 2 ½ with Miss Anna, later on with Miss Stephanie, and lastly with Miss Melody. Her last day of school was today and she definitely had mixed feelings. We are thankful to the school for what they have taught our daughter. With a great foundation built at this school we hope our daughter will do great in the future not only for her but for others around her too. Thank you Montessori Academy of Culver City!!!

RUDE!!!
I called and asked about the enrollment process because I’m planning on sending my daughter to preschool next year. Person on the phone replied, «We don’t have any room.»
Okay…
Can I come by for a tour? Is there paperwork to fill out? A waiting list?
When I asked what tuition was, her response, «It’s $ 1065 a month»
Okay…
Full time? Part time? 3 days a week? 2 days a week?”
«We don’t have two days a week.»
and
«We don’t have any room until next year»
Great. Thanks. Good luck to the students that go there. I hope you don’t learn your manners from the administrator on the phone.
I’m pretty sure there are plenty of other preschools in my area that will have room at some point between now and when I plan to send my daughter to preschool NEXT YEAR.

This school has been our home away from home for the past two years. Our older daughter left for Kindergarten last September with a love of learning and a second-​grade reading level. Our younger daughter is currently finishing up her second year and is having an equally positive, loving experience. We’ve now moved across town and find ourselves facing the challenge of finding a new Montessori pre-​school. I’ve been reading a lot of reviews, and I realized I very much needed to write one of my own.
The choice we make as parents to send our children to pre-​school to spend their days in the care of others is HUGE. For that reason, it’s really important to do your research, talk to parents at any school you’re considering and make sure it’s the right fit for your family. Montessori Academy of Culver City has been that school for us – it is a nurturing and stimulating environment, filled with teachers who care deeply for their students. Ms. Gaby, Ms. Melody, Ms. Stephanie, Ms. Ana, Ms. Shuly, Ms. Williams and Ms. Marilyn have all played a role in helping my daughters blossom into the engaged, curious & happy girls they are.

Fantastic School. Thanks to Mrs. Shuly my daughter has excelled so much in so little time. Thank you Montessori Academy!!!

‘Do not send your child here!’
Bad, bad, bad! Beware of the false face the director puts on so well. Apparently, inquiring about the level of education her teachers have achieved is a not an appreciated inquiry. All of the sudden the ever so calm demeanor that I was presented with turned ugly and mean. Other parents on other websites have also complained of Melanie De Silva’s bad attitude.
Plus, I witnessed one of the teachers aggressively grab a marker from one of the children. Not exactly a behavior I want my child to learn, or even be exposed to! De Silva is also reported to have been witnessed grabbing toys from her students.
Another aspect I did not like was that they really do not want parents stopping by to visit their child, because it disturbs the other children from their work. Inherently, the program seems to deter social development, and the truth of the matter is that children only have a small window of time develop essential social skills needed for future interactions with peers. If De Silva, or her teachers had even passed a standard run of the mill Child Development course, they would know this. Once the window of opportunity for social development has closed, they will never be able to go back and get what they need.

A great school. My daughter and wife love it. She is excelling so fast here. And, they are extremely flexible.

Great school. Fantastic teachers. Clean facility. We have both of our kids there and they are very happy there. They actually enjoy going to school which is wonderful beginning for them I think. I took off one star because it’s not exactly cheap. But we shopped and shopped around and that’s the going rate. The current rate is $ 890 for 2 – 3 yr old, more if you need extended care.
If they would give parents with multiple kids a bigger break then I would give them five starts. However, the discount is only 7% =(. In any event, kids happy = parents happy.
If anyone else out there knows of a nice facility at a reasonable price, please do tell… We can really use a little break.