Lake Mary Montessori Academy

If as a parent, you are looking for a school that makes your child independent, calm, free spirited, creative, self-directed, then LMMA is the place to be. LMMA is doing a wonderful job with the children giving them a whole round development which is seldom found in a public school. Their teachers are all Montessori trained and know how to maintain a balance between freedom and structure. When I visited their classroom for the first time, I thought a magic spell was cast upon all the kids where they had the freedom to choose their own work and doing the work in a calm environment. The classrooms are so bright and orderly, my daughter looks forward to going to school everyday. The personalized attention and the affection from the teachers is what makes LMMA unique. The feedback would be incomplete without mentioning the founders of the school. The passion with which they conduct the school is commendable. We are extremely thankful to LMMA for laying a strong foundation in our daughter's formative years.

LMMA is run extremely well and is a very positive environment for our children. Our family has been welcomed from day one and our transition from out of town to here has been especially smooth thanks to the efforts of the administration, teachers, and support-staff. We have children at each level, and have been very pleased with their growth. Teachers have gone out of their way to build on our children's strengths and have also identified and addressed areas where they needed improvement. The smaller class sizes and the impressive background of the teachers has been a big plus for our children's development. LMMA has an effective online communication tool that keeps you up-to-date on what is happening every day and the teachers are always open to meeting when and if you want. The weekly morning visits for parents to go in to the classrooms is a fantastic way to stay on top of what each child is learning and to ask questions and receive pointers from their teachers on ways to help them at home. We would highly recommend LMMA to others!

As the parent of a current LMMA Elementary student, I can't shout loud enough regarding the out of class internship opportunities afforded! The mini internships allow for the student and parent to attend. Last Friday, we had special pit passes and an inside tour of the Daytona Speedway and it was abuzz with preparations for the upcoming Daytona 500. Our small group met with executives and drivers and our children were able to ask the "experts" first hand questions ranging from the aerodynamics of the cars to how do they market tickets to their various races - awesome. Other opportunities have had us at a Geo-technical Engineer's office where our students presented their in-class engineering projects to these professionals who rated and critiqued them; as well as on another occasion visiting with a locally/nationally/internationally known architectural and design firm showing us their current projects in Orlando and London. Parents in my neighborhood are in disbelief as opportunities such as these are typically reserved for high school and college students. My child moved up from pre-school to Kindergarten to now Elementary and my wife and I know LMMA is the place to be.

From our experience, a school is only as good as its teachers. While this school has a few wonderful teachers, there are teachers at LMMA that are shockingly bad. Also problematic, LMMA leadership fails in their communication and honesty to the families (as an earlier review also noted). Due to our negative experience at LMMA, we chose not to return. Instead, we enrolled our child at an alternate private school in the area. Our son now comes home with a folder each day, which allows us to see what he is working on, and his teachers frequently communicate with us as to his progress in class. There is a partnership. Our son also has re-developed his love for learning, which has increased his self-confidence. He is excelling academically, and we are all much happier! So, our advice -- don't immediate accept the LMMA sales pitch, be sure to check out all schools in the area, as there are much better choices out there for preschool / elementary age children.

This school really allows for an individualized learning plan for every child as much as is possible and desired. The environment is warm and caring, the families are fun and welcoming and the education is really great. My son's 3rd grade teacher, Mrs. Martinous, is kind, yet pushes him to really succeed and do his very best. I think my son has really stepped up and taken on a sense of pride in his schoolwork and he loves his friends there too!