Cherry Crest Elementary School

I regret deeply sending my child to this school. My child was so confident when she joined the school but over disciplining approach that teachers and school follow completely made her unhappy. She begs every morning not to go to school. Education quality: the teacher expects your child to know the topic and if child ask question, she was told that since all children understand so only you do not understand. My child was confused if asking question when we do not understand is a problem. There is very less space and patience for learning. There is overall insensitivity towards emotional learning and empathy, I was surprised when I went for my child's birthday, I was told we will not sing happy birthday because we don't have time. My child felt very unimportant on her birthday. Teachers ignore your emails and don't reply for any concerns. Homework is not to encourage practice, it focuses on non-sense board game creation (every week), writing math raps (every week) and is not meant to make your child successful in the class. It's a total show-off. Absolutely zero appreciation from teachers when your child achieves something. If you are looking for a school where your child will love learning and wholistically grow as a person, this is not a place for your family. If you want to put your kids in this fragile age in rat race, may be this is the right place for you. Be prepared to be hearing non-sense from the teachers and the new Principal on made up data. Some handful of good teachers were there in previous grades and they also left after new head of school joined on single day notice. Horrible school and is not a healthy environment. Your child can achieve many things outside of this school. You don't need to send them here to break their spirit. I will carry the trauma from this school forever in my family.

Highly unprofessional and misleading conduct. My son was admitted to the center, and I paid a deposit of over USD 3,000 to secure the spot. The original start date was set for the end of the year. When my plans changed, I contacted the center to request a revised start date. I was explicitly assured, both over email and verbally, that this would be accommodated and that the deposit would be carried over.The center has now reversed this position and is not honoring those commitments. They required us to repeat the tour, during which the staff member conducting it was dismissive and disrespectful. They are also requesting an additional assessment. When I asked whether the deposit would be refunded if the assessment was unsuccessful, they explicitly refused.Withholding such a significant amount of money under these circumstances is unacceptable and raises serious concerns about their business practices. This reflects poor ethics, lack of transparency, and unprofessional handling of families. Commitments made in writing and verbally were not upheld.

The Director, Ms. Rangan, came across as very rigid and inflexible, often presenting a “my way or the highway” approach and at times misrepresenting facts. We also observed high teacher turnover and felt that many staff members were insufficiently trained to meet the needs of very young children.We hope the school uses this feedback to improve staff training and communication, as these are critical in early childhood education.

Elementary at Living Montessori is more like a glorified preschool. Lead teacher is not credentialed as a Montessori teacher which was a shock to us. She used to work with preschoolers until she was abruptly moved up to elementary to cover for a the teacher who left. In one year there has been an exodus of staff including four assistants, vice principal, accountant and regional director. While writing and language art seem to be on par, math is severely neglected. Parts of math will be omitted without notice (subtraction) and long newsletters with floral language is an attempt to cover up and keep parents at bay. Late fees are unusually high with no grace period. Summer camps are horrible with students teasing and kicking. Repetitive behavioral issues are not dealt with and chaos ensue at every corner. If you get your child assessed on academic preparnedess midyear, you will see there's barely any progress made except writing and coloring.