Montessori Academy of Chicago

bad food , bad teachers, bad teaching, bad people

Over the past four years, this school has been in a steady decline. The administration consistently prioritizes its own interests over the students, staff, and community. Each year, we lose more high-quality educators due to mismanagement and a literal absence of leadership.While a small group of dedicated parents is working hard to rebuild the community post-COVID, a growing "drop-and-go" culture has stripped the school of its neighborhood feel. Safety is a major concern: fights and bullying are constant, and the school has undergone numerous soft lockdowns due to parents fighting on campus—yet there are zero disciplinary repercussions.The academics have also suffered. What was once an accelerated curriculum is now taught to the lowest common denominator. If your child isn't placed with one of the few remaining veteran teachers, they are left to struggle through a year of endless substitutes and busy work. Furthermore, the front office staff is unprofessional; I have witnessed the receptionist bring children to tears when they arrive injured or tardy. Notably, every teacher who had a child enrolled here has already moved them elsewhere. My advice is to set roots elsewhere; without caring leadership, this former gem will only continue to decline.

Our child had an amazing early childhood experience at Suder! The teachers were exceptional and the curriculum was strong and engaging. The kids had so many field trips, recitals, and school-wide events. Social emotional learning (SEL) was taught (which we highly value) and information always sent home about how to reinforce those lessons.There were plenty of opportunities for our family to be as involved in the school community as we wanted like fundraising, volunteer opportunities, and classroom activities. Any emails I sent to the teacher or admin team were promptly responded to. Plus, Suder uses a school wide messaging app that was very effective for news and events. The school was a nurturing environment for our child and I'm writing this review to say you can receive a great Montessori education in CPS.

Bennett’s administration frequently failed to communicate effectively. They neglected to inform us when initial problems with our son began, leaving us unaware until situations escalated. School leaned into the behavior concerns and did not see the connection between behavior and academic challenges. In one instance, she called to discuss my son's challenges while he was in the room, ignoring the privacy and sensitivity of the matter.School recommended we have our son tested, because they did not know what more they could do and ‘maybe’ medication was an option. So, yes we had our son tested and learned he has an IQ is in the gifted range and a reading disability. He is a 3rd graders with 1st grade reading skills. Thanks to CPS, he has access to a special education teacher, and in-class support to ensure he can fully participate. Bennet is a great option if your kid does not need support. If you kid needs help, school administration becomes passive aggressive till you leave.

Our son has had a full academic career at Intercultural Montessori Language School spanning pre-K through 8th grade. The strong cohesion between the school's dual language and Montessori programs makes for an exclusive education. Ms. Xiang sets expectations high with her leadership in the Chinese Program! It has been a joy to watch our son grow from simply reciting his numbers and colors in Mandarin to developing a command over the language, both in written form and contextually. Exposing him to one of the most different languages at the age of 3-years, when his brain was hard wired for language reception in an environment that fosters peer and group collaboration, allowed a simple mean of communication to blossom into an integrated love, respect and objectivity for the complexity of cultures that shapes his outlook of the world today. His schooling is light years beyond the obligatory 2-year foreign language high school requirement that I grew up with and not something our single-language family could have offered him otherwise. We greatly value the outcome of his full 11-year immersion education. The school has a strong English reading and writing program as well. I've been impressed with the diversity of our son's writing skills, something that will serve him well as an adult in any profession. Math was an academic weak spot during our time there requiring supplemental support outside of school however, speaking to some of the newer families, that inconsistency is being effectively addressed. You can opt out of the standardized tests the school offers (NWEA MAP). That said, we found them a practical device for measuring strengths and weaknesses and helpful learning experience for him when preparing for the high school entrance exams. Praises for the way Intercultural handled the Covid 2020 shut down! The children were sent home on a Friday in March and by Monday morning, they were fully virtual. Come September, classes were back in-person with social distancing measures in place and a strong Covid protocol on how to handle a community outbreak without shutting down the entire school. Intercultural didn't miss a beat the benefits of a small school with strong leadership!Our family had a comfortable experience with the administration. Any issues were addressed quickly and respectivelyNo school is perfect and you will have to advocate for your child along the way, but I whole-heartedly believe that Intercultural is one of Chicago's distinct gems!