Full Circle Montessori School

When we begin looking into public schools for first grade, we were not considering Montessori at all. Our son had spent pre-​school and kindergarten at another Montessori and I just decided to go to the Full Circle open house on a whim. My husband and I were pleasantly surprised by how elementary class was conducted and the initiative shown by the kids. That’s when our relationship with Full Circle began.
After the observation day, the administration team and especially Christie Yang really spent a lot of time and effort answering our questions and addressing our concerns. She was following our thought process very closely and put us in touch with the parents to help clarify our values when it came to education for our son. This was close to the beginning of summer and with all the chaos, we were very impressed with how good the administration was in following-​up and we thought that if this is the care and professionalism they show to kids’ education, then chances are our son would be in the right place.
Since our son has begun at Full Circle, we have been extremely happy. It’s a unique environment where we also feel like we are going through our education again, but with a different perspective. It’s very positive and while its pure Montessori, it’s a very entrepreneurial environment where they try new things and adapt to kids’ educations needs. Its definitely not traditional and we put a lot of trust in the teachers — but the entire group of elementary teachers is amazingly smart, positive and collaborative.
Our son has been so happy here and loves learning what he does, because it usually stems from his own interests. He loves his teachers and also the group of kids and parents are very easy going and nice. Even the entire administration is wonderful to work with. Overall, Full Circle has made our son’s elementary education a very pleasant, rewarding, and fun experience.

Our two daughters (10 and 8) are currently in the Elementary program at Full Circle Montessori School (FCMS). We have been part of this incredible community for over three years now and our daughters have attended Montessori school since they started preschool at 2.5 years old. While we certainly struggled with the idea of paying for school while living in arguably one of the country’s best school systems, I can tell you without a doubt we consider this the best gift to and investment in our daughters. Our girls are completely different in every way and yet they are both receiving SO much from their time in this environment. It is clear that this method works because it is so thoughtfully designed to meet each child where they are, it grabs the child’s attention and continues to teach them a love of learning, a sense of exploration, a way of thinking and examining and problem solving, a self-​motivated and self-​driven method that uniquely balances academic and social skills. I really could go on and on and not begin to do justice to the Elementary program. My oldest is in the Upper Elementary program and my youngest is in the Lower Elementary program. FCMS builds upon what was established in the Primary Montessori program and then takes the children in so many incredible directions. The teaching methods are true to Montessori but the team/​family spirit present and constantly fostered and nourished at FCMS makes that much more of a difference to the experience any child and family will have here. The entire staff from the Founder & Director to the Administrator to the Classroom Directresses, to the Classroom Assistants, to the Support Staff all exude such compassion, love, joy and care. They want to be where they are, doing what they are doing for the children each day. We have always felt supported and as though our daughters were in the best possible environment. Even when little bumps in the road have popped up, as will happen in life (especially when kids are involved), FCMS has handled everything with such incredible tact, skill, graciousness and timeliness that we always feel very good about where we are and lucky that we are there. We have seen our girls grow and develop in ways we never thought possible at the ages they are. They have been challenged with support in phenomenal environments and given opportunities they never would have had elsewhere. Again, I could go on for days. I encourage anyone even remotely interested to investigate further. This is something that will benefit your child forever.

Fast fwd a couple yrs… we now have all three of our kids at FCMS. Our eldest is in the Lower Elementary program, our middle in his final year of primary and our youngest is in her first year of primary. Our youngest got the opportunity to start in the toddler pgm, Young Children’s Community, last year and it was UNbelievable. Initially we enrolled her bc the teacher/​Directress is one of «those» teachers. You’re going to remember her forever and you want every child to be able to experience the love, passion, and joy she exudes, but soon we saw the puddin’. It’s still hard to imagine how she corrals these little beings into creating this amazing little true Montessori environment… I haven’t ruled out fairy dust.
As for the other two, our eldest has become incredibly self driven, curious, considerate, and transitioned fluidly into this next plane of development. It’s a little scary bc I’m already having to outsource information gathering to my little brother,“Thaaaat sounds like a question for Uncle Clay’bo”. As for our boy, he was a veeeeeeeeery timid little 2.5 yo when he started and now he is a leader in his classroom. He stands up for what’s right, he is incredibly thoughtful, confident, and there is nothing he enjoys more than when his Directress gives him a new lesson. I think that’s my favorite part, instilling and nurturing the love to learn… nothing cooler than that.

Full Circle has had an undeniable impact on our family. They have taught how to understand our children, how to treat them, how to talk *with* them, and how to fully enjoy them. We love this place.

I’m so glad we chose Full Circle for our two children. My girls are very different from each other, yet each thrived at Full Circle academically, socially and emotionally. I believe the Montessori method of following each child as an individual, rather than steering all the kids as one big group from activity to activity, contributed to this. I’ve always noticed that very young kids can have very long attention spans when they are doing something they are interested in (something they choose for themselves), and the Montessori method is perfect for this. I don’t like how other kids’ programs constantly bounce kids to new activities every 15 minutes, fostering poor attention spans. Other adults often remark on how well my girls can concentrate and stay focused on a task all the way to completion, skills which their time in Montessori definitely helped develop.
We kept both girls at FCMS through their «Kindergarten» years and it ended up being a great decision. Each girl was able to continue to learn at the level appropriate for her, not start over with things she already knew how to do. For my youngest daughter (with a late Spring birthday) in particular, being in the Final Year of the Montessori Primary Cycle in the mixed-​age classroom has given her the opportunity to be in an older, leadership position… an opportunity she doesn’t get at home as the youngest child or in many other areas of life so far.
Not everything has been perfect, of course, over the 6.5 years (!) our family has been with Full Circle — no school experience will be perfect — but the teachers and leadership of the school have always responded to any concerns right away and gone out of their way to be available to talk or meet. We’ve been so impressed with all the staff at FCMS and with our daughters’ directresses. Additionally, Full Circle has such a strong and warm network of wonderful parents, many of whom have become our permanent friends.

My daughter thrived at Full Circle Montessori for three years. Over the years, she became an incredibly independent, responsible, creative, and self-​directed little girl. She developed a true love for learning, especially as she learned how to read towards the end of her schooling.
Full Circle has a strong network of parents with sweet children whom we still keep in touch with even though our children are now at elementary school.
Our teachers were amazing, following the Montessori method in its pure form, and were a loving and guiding influence on my daughter. I attribute my daughter’s love for learning and positive outlook to her teachers, who were and are so very dedicated.
I would send her to Full Circle again in an instant.