San Francisco Montessori Academy

I would not recommend MSFA to anyone who values creativity and expression. The mission statement from the Director mentions answering to the child’s individual needs, but I saw quite the contrary with my now 5 year old son who was there for one year at age 3 – 4. I agree with structure and discipline, but the rote method of memorization and hour long karate/​yoga classes were not for my son. He did enjoy doing the worksheets, and getting into the puzzles and manipulatives. But the school ONLY did worksheets and did not encourage free-​hand drawing. There is a punitive «red line» where kids go when they aren’t listening, and long story shot, my son was there a lot.
Eventually he didn’t want to go to school, and we were often met with a cold shoulder from the Director at drop off and pickup (?). In general, that is the tone there — very hard-​lined and non-​communicative unless you ask (how your child is doing). The head teacher at the time, though well-​meaning and supportive, was limited by the school itself. She actually recommended we take the spot at SFUSD when it opened up if we «wanted a happy boy» — she knew him well and understood he needed something different.
Fast forward… he has been at SFUSD preschool for a year where he is thriving (Noriega CDC). He is encouraged to work on long term projects and collaborate with other kids (something Montessori SF Academy does not encourage in lieu of individualism). He brings home creative paintings and drawings, is reading and doing simple math, and more importantly — he LOVES school. Doesn’t want to leave at the end of the day.
Above all, I value that he is taught with care by certified and seasoned teachers who know how to manage 24 children wonderfully. They hug, they encourage, and they have children paint (one example), rather than to a «red line» when they are having trouble focusing. My son is like a different person here in a good way, so it tells me that MSFA just wasn’t for him.

Choosing SFMA was one of the best decisions we had made for our son. He’s 3.5 and has been with the school for a little over a year. Despite the short time, Lucas has flourished remarkably, both in academics and social skills. I attributed that to 2 reasons: The great teachers and the comprehensive curriculum. Everyday when we picked the little guy up, he would come out wearing a big smile. Not only that, he also has become much more disciplined and neat. It’s pretty amazing to see a 2 year old cleaned up after himself without anybody reminding him!
As parents, we all want a nurturing environment for our kids to learn, grow and develop life long skills. We toured a number of places (10+ to be exact) before deciding on SFMA because we wanted to start our son on the right foot. Interestingly, the minute I stepped into the classroom I was immediately impressed. It was very clean and organized, not because they had a great janitor but because the kids were very well behaved and they were taught to clean up. The director (Isabel) was nice but firm, which was crucial when leading a classroom of 2 – 4 year olds. After that, I decided to pay a second visit to observe the class. Kids were taught a variety of subjects from geography to math to science to music and dance. There were «free project times» every day when children could each choose a project of any kind. Finally, before committing to the school, I brought my son in for a trial just to be certain. Sure enough, he meshed right in with the teachers and other children. At lunch, the food they served were healthy and tasty — That day, they had soup! My son just loved everything so at that point, I knew it was the right place for us.
It was unfortunate that we had to move out of the city and leave the school. If we aren’t moving, I would have loved to stay and send my daughter there next Fall as well. Anyhow, if you are looking for a great preschool for your little one, look no more. This is one I can’t recommend enough and I can guarantee you/​your child will love it!

We sent our son (almost five now) to SFMA the whole of 2011. Our son went to a family run day care before that. So we wanted to send him somewhere that would prepare him for Kindergarten. When we visited the place after exploring a couple of options, we were immediately impressed with how clean and well organized the place was. After talking to Isabell we were impressed with the curriculum and we enrolled. Initially we were very concerned with the old teacher they had there. Don’t get us wrong, the old teacher taught the kids a lot, and I really mean a lot but in the parent-​teacher interface we sensed a lack of affect. Eventually we figured out that the old teacher played the disciplinarian role and Isabell probably played the nurturing role. Mid-​year the old teacher left and they got Alyssa. Alyssa is a very good teacher, our son (and the other kids) gelled with her. Our son totally loved her. She along with Isabell and Luda were very very good with the kids and the parents. The learning environment she created was fun and exciting and our son loved going there (We felt like they did not teach for the sake of teaching and doing a job but had a genuine passion for it). Our son is very well prepared for Kindergarten and is well ahead of all the kids in is class now. Its has been several months since we moved and yet we often talk about our positive experience at SFMA. We really miss this place. Kudos to Isabell for putting together a great little Montessori!

This was a great school for my child. A great place if you are interested in
Structured Activities
Healthy Snacks and Homemade Lunches
Small Size School
Clean, organized, and cheerful environment
Lots of pre-​schools encourage lots of parental involvement in the classroom. This isn’t the case at SFMA. In fact, this often catches new parents off guard if they are expecting teachers to chit chat during drop off and pick up. If your child isn’t having any problems, then there is no chit chat. You get used to it once you realize the director and teachers are focused on taking care of the kids and not the parents. The children are encouraged to be independent.

this is the second time that I have reviewed this school since my first Unilocal didn’t post…,
Please read my first,
THX

My daughter went to the school and she graduated already. She loved school so much and so did we. Teachers are great and kids learned a lot from the school. My daughter loved the food there and you don’t need to prepare anything for the day since they have anything they need from school. We would highly recommend the school to all my friends.
Carrie & Ben