The Maria Montessori School of the Golden Gate

Our family has been attending MMSGG since January 2014, when my daughter turned 2 ½. My son started when he was a little over 2 and not potty trained, yet. Tara and the staff have been flexible with the needs of our children, and our family. Behavioral needs are observed carefully, and addressed appropriately. The kids are safe, engaged, and loved. We have always kept open lines of communication to ensure that the good things that are accomplished get celebrated and encouraged, and the not so good things get dealt with consistently at home and school. It’s been a team effort that has worked well for us.
I will say to all parents considering preschools: 1) Have a list of the non-​negotiable needs of your family to measure the schools by, 2) Understand that preschools are a business that require the school to evaluate each family and how they fit into the community of children and resources of the school, 3) Understand that sometimes the first school chosen is not the right fit, and that’s okay.

Ms. Tara is amazing as well as her sweet staff! She guided us through a difficult time with our son as he struggled with speech and attention deficits. We ended up going to public school for the resources, but she always kept in touch to see how my son has been doing. She has also helped work with him (like a private tutor) before he took an entrance exam to our parish grammar school. She is very loving, and this has shown through her steadfast commitment to my child even after he left her preschool. The curriculum is awesome and child centered too, which is a major plus for early childhood education. I highly recommend sending your child to Maria Montessori School.

My daughter attended this lovely little neighborhood school from the time she was 3, until she was 5. She started part-​time, and it became obvious that this was a loving, caring, competent and very special place for kids. and even upon graduating, my daughter loves stopping by the school and meet up with Tara, the schools Director. She’s always met with warm, loving hugs, and knows she’s always welcome.
We were quite hesitant to send our daughter to pre-​school, as we were very protective parents, but from the moment she sat down with her new school mates, she was openly embraced by her classmates and the staff.
I remember tears welling up in my eyes upon seeing this occur, and knowing that she was in a great place.
2 more years went by, and each year kept getting better and better. Her friends from school became our family friends, and we felt we had a sweet little community around us, and that was nice also.
I think the Montessori method is really great for many children, due to how interactive and multi-​dimensional the training is for the kids. You can read reviews on line for this school, but I also suggest you read other line descriptions of the Maria Montessori method because IT IS NOT for all children. So save yourself a lot of grief and trouble by spending time reading about this, and speaking to the School Director Tara. She will be more than happy to share with you, and handle your Q&A. I HIGHLY recommend this for you before making such a big decision.
Reading and math were things that our daughter was much more advanced at when she started kindergarten, as compared to kids from other preschools and methods, so that’s something that we thought was important, but we realize that many parents don’t care much for this, and just want the kids to be in a safe and caring place. with Maria Montessori School of the Golden Gate, you get all this and more. As a cute, sweet and family run school, you get some of the longest duration preschools and great methods (The Maria Montessori Method) along with a stable, caring, committed and certified instructors.
I hope you do your research, both online and in person at the school observing, and if it’s a fit for your philosophy about preschool education, and for your child, that you attend this lovely school, and give your child a beautiful and very sweet preschool experience.

First off, the whole San Francisco pre-​school thing is beyond ridiculous. Why does a pre-​school need to know where I think my 18 month old wants to go to college? All I know is, he’s trying to climb out of his crib, and I don’t like that! We did our due diligence, went to the hardcore Montessori, asking all the ridiculous intake questions. We saw the no rules, meet-your-child-where-they’re-at, hippie school. We went to the info nights and school tours. Then we saw MMGG. It’s a no frills, straight-​up pre-​school. Sure, you have to provide your kid’s lunch. The website’s not fancy. There’s still a lot of paper that gets sent home with the kids. There are a ton of pre-​schools in SF, but this was the one that worked for us.
My kid just started there this fall. He was the crier. Everyone knew him because he had a fierce case of separation anxiety. And why wouldn’t he? I’m awesome *wink*. The reality is, this was his first time in a new environment, alone, without his grandma or parents. The kid needed to transition. Ms. Tara was real with us. He was having a tough time transitioning. Let’s try going a ½ day for a month. Let’s see how that goes. It sucked hearing that he didn’t magically want to stay at school forever. But Ms. Tara was real. If he didn’t improve, then maybe this school wasn’t a good fit. That’s real life people. If it didn’t work out, then we’d find a new school.
Then my kid started pretending he was at school at home. He made us sit in circle time. He came home proud of his drawings. He’s singing songs he learned at school and he runs down the hill now every morning. If there was something wrong with this place, I’m pretty sure my kid wouldn’t want to go here every morning.

If I could give no stars to this school, I would. We had a terrible experience there. We had secured our spot on October 2014 to start on August 2015. I got pregnant with my second baby on January, so I asked Tara if it was ok to start earlier during the summer program because I wanted my son to be settled in before the baby was born. I also mentioned then that my son was diagnosed with Autism but that he was very high functioning and that I could bring his therapist along to talk to her about his current progress and answer any questions she might had. When we met her a couple of days later, she immediately said she was not sure she was going to be able to help, that she had to see how it went, very resistant from the beginning.
First day of school, and when I arrive to pick him up she tells me that my son is not ready for school, that he hit other kids, that he did not follow directions and that he needed one on one attention. I know how this will sound, but truly my son had never pushed or hit, and I was sure because it was actually something we were working on on therapy, to get him to speak up when someone took a toy from his hands, pushed him or even bite him. He would just stay there very sad and eventually he would just grab another toy. She said we could try again on January but that she was giving our deposit and tuition back so we could find other schools if we wanted. I was so shocked at the moment that I did not realize what was happening, so I said «I don’t want the money back if we are coming back on January», and again she said she wanted to give it back so we could look for other options. She did not want us there and made up this «typical» excuse which would most likely apply to any kid, but it was not our case, and anyways, it was not good enough not to take us in. Every other school I called after agreed with me and said they were sorry we had to go through that experience. They all said that a big part of preschool is for them to learn those skills and that they expect to have a transition period with the kids, so it is totally expected for the kids not to follow directions the first days anyway, but they will.
We are now in an amazing school, and guess what, they have never EVER complained about any of those behaviors. On the contrary, my son is very loved there and thriving. I am happy we did not stay there. So if you are looking for an inclusive school, THIS IS NOT IT. I could tell you more, but my post is long as it is.

This school was based on reccomendations from 3 other families that don’t know each other. I toured 4 preschools including this one. Myself and my brothers are product of montessori preschool teaching. I find the teachers to be compenent and communicative. Ms. Tara is excellent at what she does and Ms. Annie & Ms. Tiffany really are fantastic.
This is a very great community school and it helps my daughter excel. She absolutely loves attending and her skills she has learned are tremendous.
There is a waitlist and it’s for a reason. The communication is very open and as a parent I enjoy that very much.

My older son attended the school for 2 years and my 4 year-​old is there now. We have had a wonderful experience and my son was well-​prepared for getting accepted into our top choice schools. Caring teachers and we especially enjoy the musical performances.

My youngest daughter attended MMGG for a year and we were extremely pleased with it. The only reason why she is no longer there is because she got a spot at our local public preschool and that gives us a better standing during kindergarten lottery. Miss Tara and her assistants are very attemptive to the children and tailor their class to each child’s age and needs, a true reflection of the Montessori teaching philosophy. I highly recommned MMGG to any parent looking for a Montessori school in San Francisco.

My oldest daughter attended MMGG for 2 years and graduated in 2008 at the age of 4 ½, and upon leaving, I’m happy to report that she had a very healthy happy outlook, a fond relationship with all three teachers and was academically very skillful. I owe this to the wonderful program they have at the school. It is a fantastic combination of a cheerful, warm environment with just the right amount of discipline. The program is structured in a way that fosters comraderie between both the older and younger children (which is the traditional Montessori way), from which the younger children obviously gain much benefit by learning from their older role models. There is a balance of learning academically (much like they will in Kindergarten), responsibility and creativity. There is no question this has had a positive influence on my daughter. She is now in 4^th grade and is doing amazingly well. Much to my great satisfaction, there was also a heavy focus on reading books together with the teachers as well an an encouragement to read independently, and my daughter was an avid reader upon graduation. Studies show that all the great leaders in the world were avid readers as children. I currently have twin daughters who are in their 3^rd year at MMGG and have been receiving equally rewarding experiences. Over the past 12 years Ms. Tara has been the head teacher at this school and she has always given us very individuated attention… we are far from «just another kid». You can expect feedback on your child’s progress and daily activities, positive and negative, on a regular basis. She also makes a great effort to continually make improvements to the school, both to the facility itself (new lights, fresh paint and new flooring), festive holidays decorations throughout the year and «upgrades» in the teaching methodology. Most importantly, you and the children are always welcomed with warm, smiling, caring open arms and for your 2.5 to 5 year old children, what more could ask for!!!

thanks

My older daughter has attended the school for 2 years and, based on that experience, our younger son recently joined her as a student. We have been nothing but happy with the learning progress that both children have made and with the patience of the teaching and administrative staff. Additionally, we have appreciated the openness of all of the teachers and the willingness of Miss Tara to help supplement and support some of the child behavior focuses that my wife and I have tried to initiate and foster at home.
My wife and I know many of the other parents (as well as stay in touch with others through an online message board used by the parents) and can safely say that we have never experienced nor heard of anything like the negative behavior described in the other review.
We have two younger children who will absolutely attend this school when they are older and I would recommend it to anyone.

My oldest daughter attended for 2 years and now my youngest daughter attends. They coordinate fun activities and shows throughout the course of the year. By the time she left, my oldest daughter was very well prepared for Kindergarten. They both are very happy there. Priced reasonable for the hours of operation and educational activities for the city.

I was very disturbed by the teachers at the preschool. Very inappropriate understanding and treatment of young kids. My daughter was bullied by her teacher, the daughter of the headmaster…
I also witnessed the other preschool teacher yell at a little boy who wasn’t sitting absolutely still.