Central Park Montessori School

safety, progress, brilliance. The finest pre school in New York City. My daughter attends Riverside. Faculty and administration are warm, whole human beings. And they practice the Montessori philosophy with great aplomb.

This school is really excellent for kids of all ages. Whatever their personality, the teachers will really help them finding their own way to become more self confident. They learn at their own rhythm more than what any other kid of the same age would learn. At the end of the cycle, they can almost read and write, and are completely comfortable in any kind of situation amazing!

Perfect! This is the word I would use to describe our experience at Central Park Montessori. The administration, teachers, facility, curriculum and community all exceeded my expectations. My daughter tells me on the weekend that she misses her teachers. Every time I ask, «where did you learn that?» her answer is «at school». The teachers at Central Park create a family away from home. They really know my daughter — they challenge and support her, helping her to grow with self confidence and manners! Thank you for all that you have done!

I am writing this after I called the school wanting to enroll my child there.
My first impression of the staff was not great.
I spoke to the director of admissions and she was short, impatient, and would not let me talk or ask questions. She kept cutting me off, she asked if I know about their teaching modality and when I said that I know very little she told me to read the website. I was hoping I would get some information from her (basic not a long speech). She did tell me to go to an open house to learn more, and that is a good idea, but I left the conversation without any desire to send my child there.
She could have been a little more courteous and nice.

This school is a part of the Twinparks Montessori schools in Manhattan offering 3 different locations under the same director and administration.
My daughter was at the Central Park Montessori location for over 2 years and had a wonderful experience going through the toddler and early childhood years. This school is one of the reasons she was admitted to a great private school. The staff and teachers at CPM are very attentive and provide a fun and stimulating environment for learning and socialization.
The facilities and classrooms are new, cheerful, and bright (many face the park) and are full of age-​appropriate toys and activities that were thoughtfully picked. There is a daily schedule and curriculum to engage children in song, socialization, skill development and group activities such as cooking, yoga, going on field trips and even doing science experiments such as caterpillars becoming butterflies, leaves changing colors, and other fun things.
There is also a great and involved parent community where parents come to present a profession or a place in the world in the «Around the World» program. There is a spring picnic and other parent socials that are very helpful in engaging parents.
I understand that some parents may think there are too many days off but this is typical of most school that follow the ISAAGNY (private school) curriculum.
All in all, the school provided a great foundation of learning and socialization for my daughter.

Two of my children went to this school — my toddler and my baby, so I know their services well.
The problem is that they have over 60 days off during the school year, so it’s very hard if you’re a working parent. And, the contract we sign as parents is an annual contract with no refund policy. So, if you move out of the area, or find a better school, you can’t get out of your contract. You’re stuck.
One day, I picked my toddler up and her pants were soaked. I asked one of the teachers about it, and she said she «must have sat in water.» Turns out, it was urine from a diaper that hadn’t been changed in hours. The wet pants went from her waistline to her knees.
My poor toddler had a painful diaper rash, and acted very sad, for days. It must have traumatized her to sit in urine for hours, being ignored. As a mother, I feel that I had failed her. I put her in an unhealthy situation where she was neglected.
Don’t let the hardwood floors and pretty classrooms fool you. This is not a well-​run school with a curriculum and daily lesson plans. It’s just a bad, expensive daycare with underpaid miserable teachers.