Village Montessori Academy

I visited many preschools in the Diamond Bar Area, before choosing this one. Both my girls started on their 2^nd birthday. I was drawn to this school when I visited because of the way the CHILDREN behaved. They all were sweet, adorable, well behaved children. The larger room I visited had more than twenty children (between ages 2 – 4) and each child was working independently on their own activity quietly. How could this be possible? I was completely amazed. The teachers were also very kind and sweet to the kids. The kindergarten class (5 year old) were doing very advanced math such a fractions, geometry (diameter, radius, etc); creative writing in cursive! The school is also extremely clean, and warm like a home.
They practice by the true Montessori philosophy, and the main teacher is Montessori educated. They have 3 classrooms which kids are age 2 – 4 are in one room, and a fourth kindergarten class where kids 5 years or older work. They do not have toys but instead have Montessori activities in which each child works on independently at their own pace. Each of the activities have a purpose that are a foundation for daily life, math, reading, etc. The younger children learn from the older children (strive to be like them), and the older kids help the younger kids. Helping one another teaches them «grace» and «courtesy»; I thought this was such a funny idea for little ones (especially since mine were still throwing tantrums before they started, but now my children are kinds, caring, graceful and courteous! My girls say please, thank you, and are extremely sweet. They encourage independence in the kids and give them responsibilities (no helicopter type parenting). My daughters are proud to be helpful and are very confident. I give them total credit for making my girls amazingly behaved children!
My oldest daughter started in Butterfly Class and she had Miss Gabriel, Miss Sandra, and Miss Sabrina who she adores! She learned Spanish from Miss Sandra and knows more Spanish than I do from my High School Spanish class! For Kindergarten I considered having her go to public school as Walnut School District is Extremely Distinguished, but the teachers and owner were so thoughtful to ask me to sit down with them to discuss this further; I was informed of how everything learned up to age 4 Montessori is materialized in the kindergarten year. I remember how advanced the kindergarten class was when I initially visited, and after exploring further I decided to keep my daughter there for kindergarten in the Dragonfly Class with Ms. Quintero, Miss Claudia and Miss Jessica. I am so happy I did! She is learning so much and it’s only been 6 months since she’s been in kindergarten and she is doing all the amazing things I witnessed when I initially visited the school! She has completed what’s equivalent to 1^st grade homework and continuing to progress! I feel like it’s such a great foundation that she is going to have such an easy time in elementary school, and have the confidence to be successful!
My younger daughter is also currently attending the Bumble Bee Classroom with Miss Lee and Miss Sally. I have heard really good things from the other teachers about this classroom, so I specifically requested for it (as the don’t encourage siblings to be in the same room). She has now been there for exactly 2 years and doing exceptionally well! She knows all her ABC, phonics, colors, number to 100. It’s really hard to tell what they are learning, but I know I will see it materialize in kindergarten so I am looking forward to see her blossom!
I highly recommend this school, and so happy that I chose to send my children there! Take a tour, watch the kids and you’ll be impressed too!

My daughter has been attending Montessori Academy for 3 months now and I have to say I am extremely satisfied with the admissions department, teachers, teacher aides, curricular activities offered, extra curricular activities offered at an additional fee (piano, dance, Chinese, etc), and the cleanliness of the building. Christina is the girl that I usually speak to at the front of the office and she is a sweet heart! Yes, they do ask for a $ 500 deposit to hold a spot for your child but ALL preschools that I’ve visited, require a deposit to hold a spot. I believe $ 200 of that deposit was credited to first month’s tuition bill.
My daughter thoroughly enjoys going to school and playing with all the children and speaks about her teacher, Ms. Lee, constantly. I’ve watched my daughter engage with the teachers, the other children, and when she is working on an activity individually; and must say that she is in a positive learning environment that I am comfortable taking her to Monday-​Friday. If anything happens to my daughter through out the day I receive an incident report and speak with the teacher or teacher aide about said incident same day. I feel that my daughter’s verbal skills and social skills have blossomed since attending Village Montessori Academy of Diamond Bar.
The only thing I would say about the staff is that their professionalism may be mistaken for being a bit rude. If you come poking your head into the classroom, the teacher or teacher aide will ask that you wait outside. At first this infuriated me but it is rude to disrupt the learning environment and all of the children WILL stop what they are doing and stare at you.
So all in all I highly recommend this location and applaud their staff that I have come into contact with on a daily basis.

My daughter has been there for 2 years. She attended Butterfly class at first. Ms. Sandra and Ms. Gabriel are pretty nice teacher. They are really patient for the kids. After she turned five, she went to kindergarten class. Ms. Quintero is a
knowledgeability and experienced teacher. My daughter learned a lot of things from her. I truly recommend this school. My daughter become nice and helpful. She loves her school so much.

My child was enrolled in Mrs. Sylvia’s lady bug class and it was a nightmare. She went to school for 3 months and we had to pull her out mid month. This teacher was very rude and tried teaching me how to raise my child. When you ask her a question about your child’s performance, she thinks that the parent is making a big deal. She has nothing to teach but how to have attitude. Please do not put your child in her class. All other staff is respectful except for her.

My son began attending Village Montessori Academy when he turned 2 and has been attending since. We made the decision to transfer him from his prior preschool because we were looking for an extended day program that would meet his academic, social, emotional, and linguistic needs, and the staff at VMA ensured his development in all of these aspects.
As a working parent and educator, it is important that our son attend a preschool that considers itself, in practice, not only a day care but rather one that prioritizes academics and prepares young children for the increasingly rigorous expectations of elementary school. In our experience, other preschools tend to emphasize free play over learning of essential skills. VMA understands the importance of providing a balanced curriculum that is both engaging, challenging, and socially and intellectually stimulating. With the amount of teaching and learning going on in the classroom each day, we are free to spend our after work hours enjoying our son through talk and play rather than filling in gaps in teaching as we used to feel compelled to do when he attended other programs.
Thanks to the tireless efforts of his VMA teachers, our 5 year old is now writing complete sentences in cursive, has a strong command of number sense, demonstrates respect for others, and interacts positively with his peers. But what we appreciate most about the staff is their attention to any and all changes my child exhibits in behavior, attitude, and motivation and their prompt communication with us through periodic parent-​teacher team conferences to discuss his growth and areas for improvement. The parent-​school team approach has communicated the message to our son that teachers care about him, school is important, he can be curious, and that he is capable of driving his own learning equipped with the knowledge that he has all the support in the world behind him.
My only suggestions to VMA would be to offer more frequent teacher-​guided art lessons/​projects not only for special occasions and to provide a regular parent-​school communication note so that parents are aware of what activity was introduced to their child that day/​week, comments on their behavior, or their personal accomplishments that week. That would help parents better support their kids at home through reinforcement and rewards.
We have recommended to our friends and colleagues that they look into VMA as a consideration for their own children, a recommendation we make with great confidence that their students will experience the same growth, personal care, and safety as has our son. We are sad that it will soon be time for him to move on but are extremely grateful we made the right choice to have him spend 3 wonderful years at Village Montessori.

I highly recommend Village Montessori. From the top down, it’s obvious that they have the best interests of the children at heart.
My son and daughter began attending Village Montessori soon after they turned three. They would’ve started sooner if not for the fact that there was a waiting list for them to enroll. And, our kids continued there through Kindergarten although our home public school district is very reputable and well rated. And, we’ve been quite happy with that decision. Why?
This school adheres to fairly traditional Montessori teaching methods where the child is an active participant in their learning. You can tell they consciously try to maximize the child’s potential in all aspects: academically, socially, and psychologically. They give the kids Individualized attention, and make great effort to meet the kids where they are and the childs’ particular modes of learning. They encourage self-​exploration, individuality, independence and self-​sufficiency. But, they also stress importance of group work and community.
Each classroom is well stocked with traditional Montessori materials, and the kids are academically challenged. But that may be the easy part. Beyond the academics, the school models, not just teaches, expected behavior (courtesy, responsibility, manners, respectful temperament). You can tell this work is a labor of love for the staff from top to bottom: Owner, Director, Directresses and Aides. They are tuned in to the children and tailor their approaches to each child’s learning style.
All of this is communicated to the parents, as well, so that we can be active participants in our kids’ learning and growing. Every month, they prepare a newsletter to let us know what each class covered the previous month and what to expect for the coming month. Staff is very open and available to meet with parents to address concerns.
The staff has been humming along with this routine for many years. Yet, they still look to make tweaks to improve. And, the owner supports continued training and education for the staff.
They also offer after-​school activities including art, gymnastics, Chinese class, piano …
My kids will soon be in 2^nd, and we still refer to Ms. Quintero and what they learned in their Dragonfly (Kindergarten) class, as well as with their pre-​school class (Mrs Sabah/​Paz, and Mrs Masood/​Ms Sandra). So thankful. ;-)

We love this school. My son is now 7 and is in elementary school, my daughter is 3 and attending Village Montessori right now. We moved here from Texas about 5 years ago and found this school on-​line. Not knowing anything, we sent our son here and am so glad that we did. We spoke with a lot of other parents, and found out that they’ve tried out many other schools before finding this gem.
Location: The location is very convenient, right off of 60 and 57 highways. The school is in a shopping center, and looks sort of out of place from the outside (we were a little dubious in the beginning) but inside the school is totally different. The school is well equipped and Mrs. Fong uses all real Montessori educational material, not some cheap knock-​off. The playground in the back is great. They placed new ground so it’s spongy, and shade for the kids. From this, you can really see that they care about the children.
Education: The teachers are wonderful. All the classes have one teacher and one assistant. We believe our son is well taught and sometimes he’ll talk about stuff that would surprise us (in a good way). The school purchased additional education material for him. We feel that the education was really individually tailored. Our daughter has been attending for about a year now, and she really likes the school as well. She is quite a bit younger, so we’re not sure of how much she has learned in school.
Price: This school is actually less expensive than most of the other schools in the surrounding areas. We moved recently and all the schools near us are much more expensive. So my wife is willing to make the trip (twice a day) for my daughter to attend this school. Not only because it is less expensive, but more importantly we feel that the education and experience is much better.
Overall, we love this school and recommend it to anyone without reservation.

I enrolled my son at Village a week after he turned two and took him out only to start kindergarten the summer before he turned 5, although they do have a kindergarten program, I wanted him to have the public school experience, I mean we do live in Diamond Bar and have great public school. Any How we felt like family at village, Mrs. Shirley the owner is the sweetest lady, and Mrs, Quintero the direct stole my sons heart. The education is second to none, the is a very academic based school and worth every penny. I am a preschool photographer and have been in every school in the area, besides researching them all for my son’s care, Village was the only school, I felt like he would receive the love and education I was looking for, we were definitely NOT looked at as just another monthly payment, as some of the schools had made me feel.
My son had many teachers, but the teacher that I feel he learned best from. was Mrs. Paz, she is kind and patient, exactly was a high energy little boy needs. My son is hungry to learn but is one of those boys that would rather be outside running around on the play ground, which by the way is very nice, in the summer they turn on misters so the kids don’t get too hot. All in all I am very happy he spend his preschool years with Village, they are truly the best in the area.