Verdugo City

After doing my research amongst the different pre-schools in the area and visiting a few of them, I decided to send my child to Flintridge Montessori School. When it came time to send my other child to pre-school, I without a doubt, wanted to send him to FMS. They both competed their toddler through TK/K program.At FMS, their teaching style is the Montessori method. It is well balanced with social, academic, hands-on learning, then they add in workbooks as they get older. The classrooms are always clean and organized, never cluttered. They have “toys” for learning, which are kid accessible, on low shelves, easy for them to reach. I like their play yard. They have age-appropriate play structure, sand pit, tricycles, rock climbing wall. I like that you can visibly see every part of the yard from the classroom locations.Many of the teachers have been there over 5, 10, 15+ years. Special shout out to Ms. Joyce (curriculum director /lead teacher), Ms. Melo, Ms. Hilda (lead teacher), – who are in the pre-school classes and they taught both my kids. Along with the other FLM teachers, they are all caring, nurturing, welcoming to my kids. Every morning, you will see them working 1:1 with the kids on their letters, numbers, lifecyles of a plant; while other kids are playing with their Montessori toys or doing an activity with the other teachers. They even had an incubator to let the student watch fertilized eggs develop and hatch while learning about biology and life cycles. My younger child went onto the TK/K class, he was taught by Ms. Jasmine (lead teacher) and Ms. Karly. Every morning, like the other classes, she is always so happy to see my child, providing me updates on his development. She too, working 1:1 with each child. By the end of TK, he was able read full sentences, do 1st grade level workbooks, solve simple math and subtraction problems, and name the state capitols. He is WAY more than ready to go into Kinder! Ms. Taylor and Ms. Rohini are instrumental to help keep the school running. We are so sad to leave, but they prepared my kids for their next stage in life while teaching them to become good human beings. I love this school and especially love the teachers. EVERYONE there deserves raises!

The only reason I am giving this school two stars instead of one is because my daughter truly loved one of her preschool teachers. Beyond that, our experience has been incredibly disappointing.There is a blatant culture of favoritism here. If you are willing to make large, extra donations on top of tuition, your child will be prioritized and supported. If you do not make these donations, you will absolutely feel the discrimination. It is highly frustrating to experience this when we already pay $1,200 to $1,300 a month in tuition. Even my 4-year-old noticed the difference, feeling left out because other kids were clearly receiving more attention and support.For the amount of tuition they charge, the programs are remarkably cheap. They do not invest back into the children's development, and there is a complete lack of modern technology or learning resources.Prospective parents should also know that the school uses faith as a marketing tool. They constantly invoke religion, Jesus Christ, and Saint Mary to attract families, but the actual quality and environment of their programs do not reflect Christian values at all.If we had known this from the start, we would have never enrolled our child here. I highly recommend looking elsewhere if you want an inclusive, high-quality environment for your child.