Tawanka Elementary School

We've been with this school since 2018 and have 2 children there. Our kids have excelled at this school in their montessori program so much so that we've continued their education through 1st grade. It does cost more than many daycares, but it is truly a school in that it has specific educational goals, a curriculum designed to reach those goals, and incredibly talented staff with strong backgrounds in education. The facility is nice and well maintained, with all of the materials you'd expect for montessori education. Beyond the day to day education, there are many extracurriculars they have offered through the years, such as french, art, ceramics, music, science/STEM, chess, and soccer among others. These programs have varied throughout the years, but are often offered during the school day at no additional cost. Pre-covid they often did field trips as well.We have had minor issues with other students and even had discipline problems with our own kids. The staff have always approached these situations with care and compassion, with a focus on emotional development and educating the children on soft skills like coping with their emotions, handling conflicts, and caring for their friends and their environment.The biggest challenge we've noticed is the school has had some struggles with staffing, mostly in the front office and administration. They've been good with retaining teachers for many years and handled the transition of teachers retiring very well. But they have experienced struggles and staffing issues during the pandemic as i believe many schools have. We also weren't thrilled with the decision to require uniforms starting 2022, but ultimately decided to grin and bear it because we love the education our kids are getting there.We looked at many other options in the area with our second choice being the Malvern school. I couldnt be happier with the decision we've made and the results theyve achieved with our kids. Highly recommend this school.