University Place

I truly believe Poe was a good school at one point. My parents and sister have lived in this neighborhood for over 25 years and a lot has changed. And if you have a child with any type of learning difference, please run; and, make sure that your future school can provide interventions.

I generally enjoyed my time here, but I would suggest that the parent(s) give the child extra education, as the school material is generally too easy and your child might have difficulty in a good middle school.

I am actually writing about this school from the teacher perspective. I once was employed by this montessori, however this was not my first experience with montessori's. It was indeed my worst experience. The name "Montessori" carries great respect and has an outstanding reputation for nourishing and developing the child. Unfortunately, the village Montessori does NOT follow this tradition. Parents pay attention. Ask questions. What is your child learning everyday. NOTHING I tell you. They have a few puzzles, a couple bags of rice, and a few dolls that they consider a form of education. No real interaction is being exchanged. The teachers can't offer any real educational instruction due to the fact that most of the teachers have not excelled past the highschool level. The director and her daughter are constantly at wars with each other about who's boss and the teachers are too busy partaking in gossip. This is an expensive school so please do your research and put in a real effort into getting to know who your children are spending most of their time around and what they are learning. The oldest class is a bunch of 3,4, and 5 year olds all stacked into one over cluttered class. The teacher is never present and when she is she makes up the curriculum from the top of her head. I have also worked for a Montessori in fort bend and the 3 year olds were already reading so it was a major shock to me to know that a 5 year old could not write her name. I'm writing this because I feel extremely bad for all the parents that send their children there. The parents I saw were caring and loving. My suggestion would be to find another school.

The school has potential to be excellent,but as of now they are average. Some of the faculty and administration in the lower school need to be more educated and update their knowledge. Curriculum and expectations are outdated for young children. Things should not be the same as they were in 2001 or 1980. There are some kind and loving teachers. We very much enjoy the other families.

We moved from New England in the summer of 2020. One my wife's new colleagues suggested SHMS in lieu of our ability to go tour schools due to Covid. We signed our 2 year old daughter up believing that we could move when everything opens up. She is now in Kindergarten at SMHS and our son, who wasn't born at the time, is now there as well and we couldn't be happier. caveat - Neither of our children are disabled or have major behavioral problems. Things of note - 1. We are paying almost $1000 less PER MONTH than we did in New England. Now that we've been here for a while, there are cheaper options for sure, but it felt like a MONSTER discount when we got here. 2. For additional fees, they offer soccer, ballet, spanish, and piano lessons during the school day. 3. There are schoolwide events - Fall festival, spring rodeo, Halloween, Christmas programs, etc. 4. They do offer kindergarten. It is small, 2-4 kids per older classroom, 3-4 classrooms, who combine together for "socials," field trips, and lessons together. 5. Siblings often cannot be in the same classroom so that they do not distract each other and can develop their own identity. 6. I have only seen 4 of the classrooms, 3 younger and 1 older, but every single teacher I have met cared a great deal for my children and helped them through potty training, teething, tantrums, learning to read, learning to do math, working out problems with other children, etc. 7. They have a FANTASTIC summer program which includes a pool! Older children get to swim, there are lifeguards. 8. One downside, other schools we have seen provide digital pictures or video of your child on a daily basis. This school does not have an app or (at the time of this review) even a website. It definitely feels like a word of mouth restaurant. 9. There are multiple parent-teacher conferences throughout the year. There aren't grades (before kindergarten) but they do give you written feedback on behavior, learning milestones, etc.