703 Shepherd St
Durham, NC 27701

Day 3 at Jordan High school and I remember why we left public school before. He was told by the counselor to go to the counselor office by Friday to fix his schedule. First period coach won’t let him go that he should go during another class…. so the coach wants my child to leave a core class like math to go fix his schedule instead of leaving PE. Then once we get to the school because I go in person because he’s not missing his lunch *again* and going the whole day without eating because they insist on kids trading their lunch for fixing administrative issues. The counselor is darling. She helped us but then we had to go to the media center and we talked to very nasty and said he has to come at lunch to fix his login account even though I was very positive and kind I explained he’s not missing lunch again to fix it and she said he can come after he eats, but in a very fatty tone for what reason I’m not sure other than I guess The first of the year stress but no need to take it out on me. Then upon leaving, I asked the office to give my son an excused tardy because he was handling school issues and should not be counted tardy, and the administration looked at me like I had two heads and Active, as though he should have a tardy which I argued he should not. Then they said the counselor should’ve given him a excused tardy and I said she didn’t so we need one and the administrative personnel argued with me about why he was denied the ability to go when the counselor told him to go and instead said I should have emailed which I had no email and I said it doesn’t make sense for me to email if my child is having a face-to-face conversation with his teacher and has proof of the email. Why should I go behind all of that and also email for him to have permission to go to a counselor‘s office that may take days to respond and back and forth when he literally has proof of the email and a direct conversation with his teacher should have been enough. I’m glad my son is making friends because if it wasn’t for that, we’d be unenrolled TODAY.

Just a word of caution if you expect "Montessori", what you'll find instead: so much testing. The current administration is obsessed with testing. Students have a test every Friday and they practice for standardized tests a lot. They also do a lot of worksheets. They have so many worksheet packets that they have to do on their own because the teacher has to teach 2 or 3 grade levels in each class. What this means in practice is that students are given worksheet packets and complete them at their own pace in mostly loud and chaotic classrooms. The packets are graded too, which is too early in 1st and 2nd grade. The AIG program isn't consistent either. In our previous school, kids would get pulled out consistently in small groups. Here, all the groups seem to focus on testing techniques or more worksheets. There is no longer a separate science program at the school because the position was apparently cut. The Spanish class is just more worksheets and cartoons that are shown in English, not Spanish. The teachers are mostly very caring and the classroom assistants are fantastic but there is a high turnover. Curriculum wise, it has been a disappointing experience and we wish we had not been redistricted. The PTA is the saving grace because they are fantastic, truly above and beyond, and provide a lot of enrichment opportunities after school. The parent community really lifts up the school. Overall it's an OK school if you live in the base zone and many students walk or bike. It's also small and that is probably the best thing about the school, though that is changing because enrollment is growing, but I would think twice about accepting a lottery seat there if you expect a Montessori experience. Unless you get one of the very few Montessori trained teachers, and even then, that's not what you'll get because of standardized testing and dps curriculum requirements.

Overall, I have been extremely pleased with Lakewood montessori. My daughter has done very well here. there are several after school activities for kids to participate in, both athletic and non-athletic. There is a strong emphasis on fostering independence, which is great preparation for high school.