Northwood Montessori

Is there a wait list for the woodbury location? I saw that they are opening fall 2012. Is there a way to get on the wait list now?
 
Jenita143 said:
Is there a wait list for the woodbury location? I saw that they are opening fall 2012. Is there a way to get on the wait list now?
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Damn--wish I had the cash for a my own Montessori. These places are total cash cows in Irvine. Multi year wait lists and guaranteed cash payments month after month.

The Woodbury location I believe is an off shoot from Great Foundations located in the Northwood Town Center. You can probably call that location for their timeline on the WB opening.
 
Called Northwood Montessori yesterday and got the snooty vibe too.  My friend ended up sending her kid to Westpark Montessori because they are frendlier and also has less kids.  Northwood Montessori told me I need to hurry up and come in to get on the waitlist because its about 2 years long.  By that time, one of my kids will almost be in kindergarten. 

My husband called Great Foundations and I think he told me that the Woodbury location is not opening until January, I think.
 
We're still on the snooty list as well, been about a year, still a couple years wait, as for my daughter, I don't think I can take out of her current school, seems she made some pretty good friends that might continue with her to public school, being in the same school district.
 
I signed up on the email list for great foundations. They had some problem with getting the city approval but now finally approved. The last email i got says they will open the one in Woodbury in February.
I signed my daughter up for waiting list for all montessouri since she was born (now 2.5 years old) none of them have actually called me. I heard you just have to keep calling them to make sure that you're on the list still. so frustrating but thats what everybody is doing.

Great foundations have actually called me already within a few months. I am considering going with them instead of the Irvine M. Any one has any opinion on IRvine M vs  the Great Foundations?
 
My daughter is attending Irvine Montessori right now.  While I like their flexibility in scheduling, we are not crazy about the teachers (she is in the toddler 2 program).  A few good teachers left at the beginning of the school year.  My daughter doesn't seem to acknowledge her current teachers when we ask her about them, whereas she was very attached to her previous teacher. 

She is on the waitlist for Northwood Montessori and can probably attend this summer.  Right now there is an opening at the new Great Foundations school for her.  I am wondering if I should switch her to there or wait for NW Montessori to call.  Does anyone know how the GF school is?  Their Woodbury location supposedly is short on the outdoor play area space (they had to get the city approval for the slight shortage of square footage).
 
irvinehomeowner said:
Which "Irvine Montessori"?

The Montessori Schools of Irvine (I think there are 4) are highly recommended.
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I think the poster is referring to a different school. Irvine Montessori is located on Cartwright & Main St near the 405/Jamboree area. The owner also runs Newport Montessori. Here is their website:http://www.irvinemontessorischool.com/

There are way too many Montessori/LePort schools to track in Irvine ;-)
 
Yes, it's the one iacrenter mentioned, located on Cartwright.

They don't enforce their late pickup rules strictly - I like that aspect since I picked up my daughter late on several occasions and they didn't say a thing.  :)  However, I am not sure that the quality of the teachers is good enough (at least not in the toddler 2 program).  When the previous head teacher left, they moved the teacher's assistant from the toddler 1 program to be the head teacher for toddler 2.  She doesn't show a warm, loving attitude toward the kids.  My daughter doesn't respond when I ask her who her teacher is.  I suspect that she doesn't like this teacher.
 
Ahh... okay so there are actually 4 "brands" of Montessori in Irvine:

Montessori Schools of Irvine (Northwood, Westpark, Village, University)
LePort (Woodbridge, Westpark, Spectrum?)
Great Foundations (Northwood, Orchard?, Woodbury?)
Irvine Montessori

Did I get that right? Of the 4, I think the first has the best rep because it's the oldest (and unfortunately, the longest waiting lists).
 
Yes, you got them right except for the one at Orchard Hills.  That one is LePort.  I like LePort, but it's much more costly than the other schools.

The NW Montessori (and the other schools by the 1st "chain") and LePort schools seem to follow the Montessori program more strictly than Irvine Montessori.  I don't know about Great Foundations.  I like their existing facility on Jeffery, but so far I am not impressed by the way their staff handles their communication to us about the opening opportunities at the new location.

Seems like Irvine parents like to send their kids to Montessori preschools.  Is there really a major difference resulted in learning and behavior between kids attending Montessori schools and regular schools at this age?  I haven't seen much difference in the kids that I know.  My daughter is actually acting worse than when she started almost a year ago.  Not sure if it's terrible 2 or something else.
 
My daughter attends NW Montessori as I said in the earlier post.  She loves it there.  We love the teachers and the curriculum.  My daughter was reading at a 1st grade level when she was four (this might be due to more my wife than Montessori tho), but it seems like all the kids at NW Montessori are way more advanced than usual, also might be a function of parent involvement.  I actually can't believe that public kindergarten teaches the alphabet.  Umm, shouldn't 5 year olds know the alphabet already?  The Montessori philosophy isn't for everyone, but there's a reason some Montessori schools have long waiting lists.  My personal opinion on the new "Montessori" schools that have popped up all over Irvine is that someone saw an opportunity to make some money on the strong demand for preschool care and is trying to cash in on the "Montessori" name.  Those other preschools might be "Montessori" in name only.  Also, I think it's retarded to have a preschool located in a strip mall without an outdoor play area. 
 
moonchild508 said:
Yes, you got them right except for the one at Orchard Hills.  That one is LePort.  I like LePort, but it's much more costly than the other schools.

The NW Montessori (and the other schools by the 1st "chain") and LePort schools seem to follow the Montessori program more strictly than Irvine Montessori.  I don't know about Great Foundations.  I like their existing facility on Jeffery, but so far I am not impressed by the way their staff handles their communication to us about the opening opportunities at the new location.

Seems like Irvine parents like to send their kids to Montessori preschools.  Is there really a major difference resulted in learning and behavior between kids attending Montessori schools and regular schools at this age?  I haven't seen much difference in the kids that I know.  My daughter is actually acting worse than when she started almost a year ago.  Not sure if it's terrible 2 or something else.
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My feeling is the teacher is more important than a particular school (no matter the reputation). I like the Montessori philosophy and it lays a strong foundation for further education. Others may disagree and that is the beauty of having so many choices in the Irvine area.

I would caution you against changing schools too frequently or too soon. Even if you place a child with a perfect teacher/school, there will always be an adjustment period. Depending on your child's personality/level of development, it may take longer to adjust to the new environment.

I've heard good things from my neighbors about Great Foundations (original location) and LePort (Spectrum) but your experience may vary. Both my kids are at NW Montessori and they seem to learn and are happy. We used to go to Irvine Montessori but the location was inconvenient. NW Montessori is more expensive but seems better organized but our child's old preschool teacher at Irvine Montessori was better.
 
Most of the Montessori system was developed around children from birth to 6 years old... although Maria Montessori's system had "planes" for 6-12, 12-18 and finally 18-24, much of the focus and programs thereafter concentrated on the younger ages. I assume it's because the philosophy says that the child's mind is most absorbent until they are 6 years old.

Also given that there are no public preschools (yet), the demand for a preschool with a reputable system naturally leads to Montessori. And because there is actual certification for Montessori-based educators, that lends to more credibility for the the school. But there are non-Montessori preschools, faith-based ones and franchises like KinderCare, ChildTime, etc.

In cities like Irvine, where primary, secondary, high school education is top notch (and of course used for TIC's marketing), it's very hard to compete with a pay plan vs. free. I do feel there is a space for premium education from grades 1-12 but demand vs. space cost in Irvine isn't equitable. That's why you'll find private elementaries and middle schools in other cities.

 
Have you seen singers in the middle of song forgot his or her lyric and the only way to recover is to start from the beginning of the song?

Montessori parallels Confucius principle where practice makes perfect. This system of drills, memorization and repetition is the reason why Chinese acrobats, gymnasts, and platform divers are champions. For the same token in an academic setting the students are excellent test takers, math solvers and vocab spellers.

Innovation is rare among the students from these systems. Montessori sets the thinking for these children in their primary years and a learning pattern that is hard to reverse for the rest of their life.

This is not a negative system but does have it's drawback.  The Asian population is a testament to this teaching methodology and achieved a high level of success ;on the other hand, this also explains why entrepreneurism and innovation don't exist in China.
 
irvinehomeowner said:
Ahh... okay so there are actually 4 "brands" of Montessori in Irvine:

Montessori Schools of Irvine (Northwood, Westpark, Village, University)
LePort (Woodbridge, Westpark, Spectrum?)
Great Foundations (Northwood, Orchard?, Woodbury?)
Irvine Montessori

Did I get that right? Of the 4, I think the first has the best rep because it's the oldest (and unfortunately, the longest waiting lists).
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There's actually another "brand" in Irvine...Spectrum Montessori near the spectrum on irvine center drive in the same shopping area of the 24 hour fitness.  Looks really nice and the staff is friendly.  Been watching it go up as I hit the gym and they just opened less than month ago.  The wife is pregnant and went in to check it out.  The infant room is already full and they won't have an opening until April 2014.  Open less than 30 days and have a one year wait list.  crazy.  Apparently this is the second montessori school for the owner
 
There's two over there.  Leport Spectrum is on Technology and Spectrum Montessori is on Irvine Center Drive.  The Leport one is infant through 8th grade.  The Spectrum one is infant through 6 year old.  I know its confusing.  But the staff is very different, Leport is snobby and Spectrum is friendly.  Back in the market now for daycare and I learned the hard way last time around. Wife is 3 months pregnant and knew that we needed to start now. Glad there is another player here.
 
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