Tiny Revolution Montessori

Our son currently goes to Tiny Revolution and we love it. The teachers are kind, caring, and well-​educated in early childhood development. Our baby joined at only eight weeks old, and they were all over making sure he was held when he wanted to be. They have so many other great points — they allow breast milk, use reusable diapers, encourage diversity, music education, outdoor play area, children are placed in cohorts with the same teacher and other kids long-​term, and they get developmentally appropriate toys and activities. The only hard part has been that they do take a lot of vacation, about the same weeks off as Portland Public Schools. That can be hard for two working parents, but we work from home whenever that happens and plan to also hire an extra hand sometimes. I highly recommend Tiny Revolution and feel so fortunate our son will be there for his littlest years.

I came for an orientation to see if this place was a good fit for my child. Well, this place had horrible smell of old molding food in refrigerator, the smell of wet clothing added a musky smell. The staff change regularly, how does a child bond with their teacher. The center is in a convenient location, and the rooms are large and plenty of room for the kids to play. I do not recommend this center, do your research before in trusting you child here.

Last summer we registered our son to begin at Tiny Revolution in the spring of 2015. After we paid a deposit and first month’s tuition TR changed their hours. The hours are now much shorter and will not work for our family. They didn’t notify us of the change. We found out from friends and had to scramble to find alternative care on short notice. I notified TR that my son won’t be attending and asked for a refund of the tuition we paid (as per our contract). They are not responding to emails or phone calls. It’s been more than three weeks and we can’t get anyone to respond.

I have two children at Tiny Revolution — one in the toddler program and one in the primary program. Their teachers are top notch — thoughtful, well educated, warm, and caring to our children. There is nothing more reassuring than knowing that your children are being nurtured in such a thoughtful environment every single day! We love that our kids can see one another during the day (and drop off in one spot couldn’t be more convenient). I am so thankful for Kari and Trent, and all the time and energy they have poured in to this school. I can’t imagine how complicated it must be to build a complete infant/​toddler/​primary program!

I look for 3 things in a childcare setting:
1 — Quality of care and staff/​philosophy: TRM has philosophy down in spades to the point of being a bit preachy. The quality of care was excellent. There was a lot of turnover early on, but, to a degree, that’s to be expected. My daughter’s last teacher at TRM was WONDERFUL. But, they just fired her. Working with her on toileting was great. The 3:1 ratio in the infant room was reassuring.
2 — Environment: The facilities are decent. Not overwhelmingly beautiful, but perfectly adequate. They cater in lunch (for a charge) which was great for our family. A number of times I went to pick up our daughter and she was playing outside in the rain in a mud puddle. Their outdoor playground could definitely use some work because a large pond forms in the rain.
3 — Management, stability and trust: Here’s where Tiny Revolution falls flat on their face and where we clearly failed in selecting it for our daughter. As another reviewer commented, no, I probably wouldn’t be writing this review if TRM hadn’t failed us, but it failed us so dramatically and expensively that I feel compelled to warn other families. TRM changed their opening and closing times with 10 days’ notice to their families. They informed us of the change on Wednesday August 20^th, were closed from August 23^rd through September 2^nd and the changes were effective the 3^rd. They first told us that they were changing their hours because they were losing money from 3:30 to 5:30 (no way this holds true — this is a variable cost while their sunk costs remain the same), then because of family reasons and finally because the MLK bike plan affected their annex property (huh?) and they needed to combine classrooms. The parents began replying to all asking for the real reason, offering to pay more in tuition for later hours, begging for nanny shares, etc. and Kari and Trent were largely absent from the conversation. The day that the news of the change broke, Kari was not on site to talk to the parents. This is all after reminding the parents on August 14^th to get their September payments in early (for the full amounts) and requiring families to pay a $ 100 September deposit in the late spring. Luckily, we are not one of the unfortunate families that paid for September, but I’ve heard from many that they still haven’t received their tuition money back. To me, these are terrible business practices at best, at worst, this is deceptive and dishonest behavior. All the wonderful care and good intentions doesn’t matter if the business isn’t properly run. My family requires consistent care and TRM wasn’t able to provide it. Caveat emptor.

We were happy at first. We had great teachers in the infant room, and then the turnover started. Including assistants, my daughter had over 5 teachers/​assistants in less than a year. We were told in an email that our daughter would be moving to the toddler room about 2 weeks before the change. There wasn’t a discussion, we were told. Then there were staff changes in the toddler room, but we finally got a wonderful teacher. The icing on the cake was parents were notified before Labor Day weekend that they were changing their hours– to close at 3:30 instead of 5:30. We were given 10 days to try to find quality care for our daughter. We were told by both Kari and Trent that they would refund our tuition, on 2 separate occasions, but have yet to see the money. This was after they has us pay September tuition early. They claim this change was a surprise to them, but they kept changing their story as to why they were making the change. Horrible business practices, and I would not recommend this place to anyone.

I rated TRM 4 Stars since every business has room to improve, no one is perfect. However, I’m sure my toddler would rate 10 stars. Our little one is just over 2 and has been at TRM since 6 months old. We’ve had a GREAT EXPERIENCE with TRM.
The children and faculty have become an extended family to our son. We are thankful for the relationships, curriculum and learnings that TRM has fostered. I’m constantly impressed by the array of activities and materials used to cultivate the concentration and self-​discipline.
Each day I look forward to my report to see what happened at school. Often I read about how much he loves circle time with music. One of my favorite reads was from yesterday. My child spilled water, he recognized the spill and learned how to use the mop to clean up his mess. This kind of learning has already translated in our home — cleaning up before moving onto a new activity or brining his plate to the kitchen when finished.
Today, my son will participate in making applesauce — how cool is that?! I’m sure it will be delicious as the jam made earlier this year!
I’ve never felt discouraged to communicate with any of the staff. Multiple TRM cell numbers are saved in my phone, as text messaging works great for me. I’ve emailed numerous times and always received a timely response. Every day I speak briefly with my son’s teacher and when needed, we have a more lengthy conversation.
I can’t help myself, but acknowledge the poor reviews… TRM is a business. With any business, tough decisions are made. If they hadn’t made a change to the program, I don’t think these parent’s would have written a review. Any teacher, coach, mentor, trainer that handles children in their career, will tell you that parents are the most emotional and challenging customer. Makes sense to me as I would do anything for my son. Right now the best thing for him is being at TRM.
Anyone that wants more information, is welcome to contact me. Just ask them and give me a ring!
THANK YOU TRM!

Our child has been at TRM for 2 years (since she was 4 months old)) and we love it. The quality of care is outstanding, and she is thriving. Her growing mastery over age appropriate practical life skills, and grace and courtesy lessons, amazes us every day.
She is always greeted warmly at the door during drop off, is well supervised and safe at pick up time, and comes home with a detailed report each day of what she did, with whom she played, and what she needs (extra clothes, materials for the week’s theme project, etal).
We also love how much art, music, and outdoor time she enjoys each day. Also the numerous community events (school wide assembly/​art show; summer picnics; fall pumpkin picking; holiday feasts) that families are encouraged to attend.
We have always experienced excellent communications with teachers/​staff, and feel that there are numerous opportunities (at drop off, pickups, during parent teacher conferences, or during off hours) to inquire about any issues that need attention.
While there have been changes to the programming this year, such changes are inherent to the challenges of operating/​administering a small school or childcare center. Long story short, I have recommended TRM to friends in the past, and will continue to do so.