Peppertree Montessori

Our daughter has been attending Peppertree for over a year. She started in the infant program and is now in the toddler program. We have had an excellent experience with the school. Our daughter’s language development is very advanced for her age, and we like how the program encourages the children to be independent but also help one another. The older children were very welcoming to my daughter when she transitioned to her new classroom, and she adapted to the new class structure amazingly well. She also is learning so many things that she would not yet be learning in a traditional daycare environment. Overall we have been very happy and our daughter will continue here through preschool.

My daughter has been attending Peppertree for a year, and I love it. I have had no negative experiences yet, the owner is almost always there, Ms. Eve, who works in the front office is great! She knows every child by name and the parents too! My child started in the toddler room and her teachers were awesome! You can tell they enjoy their jobs and believe in the Montessori principles. She has now moved up to the next class and she ADORES her teacher, Ms. Jessi, who is amazing! She made time to meet with me during her morning to talk to me about my child’s specific interests so I could bring more ‘works’ into my home. All in all I’m so glad I found Peppertree Montessori for my daughter and can’t wait for my younger daughter to start in a few months!

Our daughter has been attending the Fallbrook location and we have been very happy with the school. The teachers and the atmosphere are great!

The pros is the cleanliness and the grounds are nice. There are some sweet teachers & staff. The cons is that if you dare bring up questions or concerns about the curriculum or safety concerns you as a parent are not validated but a bit ridiculed. For paying high prices this school I think the natural concerns parents have for their children should be taken more seriously. My child went there almost a year and the owner when there never introduced herself or welcomed us to the school which was a bit disappointing.

My son and I have been so overjoyed with the fun and educational environment that this school offers. The teachers are disciplined and teach the kids an abundance of knowledge. Eve in the office is awesome and so in-​tuned about the ins and the outs of the whole school. I highly recommend taking a tour of this beautiful facility and its great staff.

My son has been attending for almost 2 years and my daughter for almost 6 months. It’s great to not worry about food. My son was so picky and will eat a large variety of foods thanks to the chef on staff. Everyone has always been friendly. The staff turn around is my biggest concern but with a private school this is normal. This is by far the best school in Oceanside. My son is reading at a second grade level. The teachers are always attentive and know all the kids by first name. I think the negative reviews are from people that have not seen what other schools offer. This is mainly daycare and not a structured learning environment. Ceral for breakfast yes, some kids have egg allergies. Can’t come after 9, yes, they are in the middle of instruction this is explained on your first day. I wouldn’t want my child loosing time of instruction because a family is running 2 hours late. I love the Montessori system and highly reccomend this school to my friends.

My son has been attending Peppertree for almost a year now. First and foremost, he loves the school. He enrolled at just 3 years but we are moving now & its just before his 4^th birthday.
*My biggest concern from the school would be that there IS quite a large turnover in teachers there. My son has had 4 teachers since he started there. He barely met the first, was very fond of the 2^nd and had a hard time after she left after only 2 months, finally came around to the 3^rd and we started seeing progress & now she’s leaving. The 4^th will actually be the Director of the school, who I have met only briefly, & was just told she will take over for the remainder of the year. I have been annoyed and concerned about the turnover but we are moving now so I wont be addressing it. The teachers overall have been excellent and we liked them all. My son has thrived there and is learning so much. The kids seem to stick around so at least he has had the same friends for some time now. All the children are very sweet. He likes the tasks they are given and the Montessori approach is different. This is our first experience with it and we like it so far. I plan on keeping him in a Montessori school until Kindergarten.
*The teachers are not very approachable. Took them awhile to engage with my husband and I. and you have to ask questions. If I dont ask. they dont tell. But they usually tell me everything I need to know. They do kind of just stand back and watch. Not engaging a whole lot with the children. I think thats part of the Montessori way? Bothered me at first too…
*The Menu there is usually available on the Monday when I drop my son to school. It gives me every snack & lunch the kids will get for the week. The food is excellent in my opinion. I AM VERY PICKY with what my child eats. Its usually organic and healthy so for me to like their Menu. trust me its good. I love that my kid gets a hot meal for lunch almost every day. There is always fruit, veggies, protein. Yes, the snacks are a little small. Usually just crackers and juice. but sometimes it’s hummus and veggies. Lunch is salads w/​bread & fruit, shepards pie & fruit, Mac & cheese & fruit, Pasta & veggies, ect. its all usually pretty tasty sounding.
*Drop & pick up hasnt been a problem. they have been very kind, even when I was late on a payment or short by $ 10… nice people. Always willing to work with me.

My main concern is the frequency and severity of reprimands witnessed. It can be a downer. Based on just in the 10 – 20 minutes per day when I am dropping off and picking up my child, I’d wager that during any given minute of the Peppertree day at least one child is being corrected. I understand that little kids need boundaries, but here it sometimes feels like a culture of correction. The sternness some of them convey when they tell a child to quiet down or slow down or sit down etc. feels oppressive. I know how the tone and facial expression of the teacher affects me, so I can only imagine how scary it might feel for a 3 – 5 year old. Teaching kids to respect rules I understand, but at what cost? I also want my child to learn kindness and warmth and to have their sense of wonder and exploration and silliness nurtured. I just don’t want my child’s spirit dampened and learn to dislike school because of constantly angry teachers.
Some teachers are actively engaged with kids and seem to enjoy their work. But observe for a few minutes (unnoticed) and you can see some staff sitting by themselves silently on the playground, chatting with fellow teachers about personal matters, not interacting with your child on arrival or departure, or being excessively harsh while scolding of one or two students so that it instills fear in the whole class. Sometimes when I walk by a teacher imitating a bump on a log I just want to grab her and shake some life into her and shout Wake Up – This Is My Child I Am Trusting You With!
There are ongoing typos in their materials, signage, and online media. This depletes confidence in the quality of linguistic modeling children receive. I have also heard multiple spoken grammatical mistakes such as incorrect words or verb tenses.
My advice is to ask to observe some rooms’ teachers prior to enrolling. And once enrolled, stick around for awhile when you pick up your kid up. Play with them or have them show you some work so you can observe the teachers. Numerous researched sources conclude the that the teacher is the most dominant factor in the quality of a student’s education, so it is vital to watch and listen to them teach instead of having a couple minutes to assess them in the irrelevant dynamic of a parent ‘conference’.
There are some great teachers here who are very engaged with kids and very positive. When I ask my child about which teachers are most enjoyed and why it is clear which ones are highly involved, love their jobs, and interactive. To those teachers who recognize the value not just in «the work» but also in the children’s social and emotional development, thank you. You are the reason I don’t home school my kid.

We love Peppertree. Polite staff, lovely facility, interesting and creative events. I’m a big fan of Montessori but after having our daughter in a neighboring facility for just 1 month, we immediately pulled her and put her in Peppertree. We’ll never look back.

Am I writing angry? You bet I am. This place is about as pretentious as it gets. They act as if they are more than a glorified daycare. Newsflash, you are a daycare to 95% of your attendees. They have the most inconvenient rules imaginable. Like keeping with the local school systems calender. December = you pay for a full month, you get 7 days of care.
Don’t even think about dropping your child off after 9am, that’s a big no-​no. Unless they have a doctors appointment, then it’s ‘relaxed’ to 11am. Today my child had a bit of a melt down in the morning so I kept her home for a few hours. When I called to drop her off I got told «absolutely not» Umm… I pay YOU?! Also, don’t expect to interact with the teachers unless it’s a scheduled parent teacher conference. That’s frowned upon. You must write them a note and they will write you back. FFS at my last place I spoke with her teacher every single day morning and evening. They don’t keep track of jackets for outside time. Twice we had brand new jackets ‘lost’.
I looked over the winter holidays for a new place and unfortunately came up with nothing, but after today I am going to look again and expand my search. This is ridiculous!
If you want high priced psuedo perfection with lots of restrictive rules, go for Peppertree. If you like keeping in constant contact with your child’s daycare provider, I suggest looking elsewhere.