Alcuin Montessori School

Alcuin is simply a wonderful place for my children. The teachers are caring, thoughtful and inspiring. The works are challenging and fun — at the same time. And perhaps the best testament to the place is that my girls beg to go to school even on days off. It is really a special place.

We initially started Alcuin when our oldest was 2 years old. Our initial plan was to go to Alcuin for a year and then look around the area for other preschool programs. However, after researching several preschools in the area, Alcuin seemed like the right fit for our family. Fast forward 4 years later, we now have 3 children at Alcuin. Two of our children are in the Junior Elementary (1^st — 3^rd grade) program and our third is in her second year of the Primary program (pre-​school). We could not be happier with our decision to keep our children at Alcuin.
The teachers are top notch. The Montessori philosophy has each child with the same teacher for 3 years. As a result, they really get to know your children and their interests, strengths and weaknesses. They provide a nurturing and caring environment, without losing the academic rigor. Our children love to learn and are always wanting to «research» new topics they find interesting. I love that every work they have in the classroom, even at the Primary age, has a purpose.
Another wonderful aspect of Alcuin is their enrichment programs. They are exposed to Spanish, Art and Music in the Primary level. As they move to Junior Elementary, they students go to swimming, gym, theater and art once a week. The assistant teacher in the Junior Elementary program is fluent in Spanish, so they children are learning Spanish everyday.
Alcuin truly commits to the Montessori philosophy and we have had an incredible experience there.

This is a very traditional Montessori School meaning that they really follow the child. To do well at this school, your child has to be quite self directed. One of my children is like this and so is thriving at Alcuin.
My other kid needs more direction and so spends a lot more time walking around doing nothing and just watching other kids. While the teachers do make an effort to engage each child, children who need more direction would benefit from a more normal/​non montessori classroom experience. My child is very bright but is left to wander around for most of the three hours he is there. When I observe in the classroom there are always come children walking around doing nothing, while this is usually OK because they are in transition from one work to another, I have observed 4 year olds spend 45 minutes sitting on the floor doing absolutely nothing while they are supposedly changing their shoes. If your child feels like they need 45 minutes to change their shoes then they will get that time to change their shoes because that is the montessori way. follow the child.
Further the mixed age group situation of a Montessori class isn’t for everyone and it is your luck that hopefully there aren’t too many difficult children or bullies that might pick on your kid if they are younger. In one classroom in particular I was unimpressed with how the teachers dealt with difficult children who are terrorizing their classmates which is why they lose a star.
Overall I like this school but Montessori isn’t for every child or family. Alcuin has exceptional teachers in all levels and the school is extremely academically rigorous.

This bad review is for the Business Manager, with whom parents will work for contract and money.
Our daughter was in Alcuin 2011 – 2012. Our family had to leave U.S. before the school year ends for some reason. We sent notice to all the involved PIC in Alcuin, informing them our departure date. We had a refund check from the school, but the business manager mailed it out 10 DAYS after it was issued and 3 days after we left the country. We had no chance to receive or deposit the check and it expired after 120 days. This summer, we moved back from overseas. We sent email to Alcuin requesting a renewed check of the refund, but nobody replied after 10 days until we had to put the principle in the mail exchange. It did work. We got an immediate reply from the business manager saying she would issue a new check to us. In our email, we advised our address change and requested the check payable to only my name, not my husband, because he was on business trip and will not be back in 2 months. While, the manager still issued it payable to both of us and even sent it to our previous address. Apparently, their business manager has no interest to read our email. She also did not want to give us any convenience in depositing the check soon.
Updated on 3÷10÷2014
As I wrote at the beginning of this post, this bad review score is only for this stuff of Alcuin who continuously ignored our emails. The teachers did a great job and the parents were very nice. Our daughter had a good time in Alcuin and always missed her teachers. While, on the down side, as you can also see in the reviews of other parents on Great schools, the administrative office is in complete disarray in 2008. Unfortunately, according to our experience in 2013, it is not improved enough yet.

As an employee of Alcuin, I can speak highly of this school’s teaching faculty, who are among the most intelligent, talented, and committed Montessori teachers I have met in the field. The families who send their children to this school seem highly committed to helping their children reach their highest potential, and see their children as whole beings with social and emotional needs, as well as academic ones. As a teacher here, I have greatly enjoyed my relationships with parents, as they have been so collaborative and positive. We have newly begun a terrific adolescent program, and I encourage anyone interested in finding an alternate middle school, or a high-​quality educational program for any age child to inquire. I have been so happy to work at this fantastic and excellent school, which is truly a haven for Montessori teachers who love to nurture and challenge children!