Gold Material Montessori School

Having to move out of Manhattan — one of the toughest parts of leaving was having to take our daughter out of Gold Material in Kips Bay, as we had such a great experience there.
Our daughter really blossomed there as a 2 year old. She learned so much and really developed some great friendships with the other kids. Teachers (Miss S & Miss Marie, etc.) were great and very caring. They were always willing to talk and shared great insights in the parent/​teacher meetings throughout the year. Our daughter actually didn’t like weekends — as that meant no school.
Again, a wonderful place that we had a great experience at.

So we tried this school as well. Avoid at all costs. Horrible Soviet-​Era style administration that has no approach dealing with people and children and discriminates against children who are not 100% Russian. Children that are not Russian are treated cruelly/​unfairly by owners-​administrators: for example not allowed to perform in certain aspects of the school performances such as Father/​Daughter dance. Their excuse? Father is not Russian. Ironically, the program is fully in English. Teachers are wonderful which is why the school gets 1 star, but admins/​owners, especially Varvara (who speaks very broken English) has no idea what customer service is. In addition, although the school claims to be Montessori certified, the teachers that actually teach at the school are not at all Montessori trained. None have ever attended a single Montessori class. They simply bought all Montessori tools. Do not expect this to be a real Montessori program. PM me with any questions, i will be very happy to describe my horrible experience there.

After two years at Gold Material, I wanted to leave a glowing review for the school after all of their hard work. It goes without saying that parents need to feel confident that our children are happy+ well cared for when they are at school and daycare. This was always the case at Gold Material. However, I truly feel that our family and child received so much more than loving care. He is entering kindergarten with shockingly advanced reading comprehension, and math skills. Socially, he is a VERY shy child — but here at Gold Material — he has truly blossomed. He has wonderful friendships with the other students, and a deep love of his teachers and the entire staff at school.
I do want to address some of the comments here about their communication with parents, and interaction at the door. It was absolutely an issue for us when we first started. The staircase up into the school doesn’t exactly lend itself to mingling and conversation. However, they always made themselves available to us by phone and email when we reached out with any concerns.
It is also true that this school does not have an open door policy. In all honesty, I’ve always been glad for it because that would likely lead to chaos. The staff works very hard to create a peaceful, organized environment in the school that’s conducive to learning. How are children supposed to concentrate when parents are traipsing through school in the middle of their coursework? Parents are invited in for observation on scheduled visits. I can attest to the fact that on these occasions the children are calm, attentive and deeply engaged in their individual projects.
Most importantly, my son has always been happy to march off to school without exception. He’s actually told us to go AWAY when we’ve showed up «too early». Truly, I have nothing but thanks and appreciation for everybody at Gold Material. I’d like to give a special shout out to Miss. Anna who was my son’s head teacher for two years. She is a wonderful teacher, a talented artist and a true gem. We will miss her dearly as my son heads off to kindergarten this fall.

Our son attended Gold Material for two years and I can’t say enough great things about how much he learned and how much he has grown personally. He can be shy and, in a different environment, this might have been an obstacle but at Gold Material the personal attention, rich curriculum and self-​directed learning had really brought out his curiosity inquisitive nature. He’s grown by leaps and bounds. Scholastically, I can’t imagine better, just turned five and he’s already reading, doing math, and knows more about some topics than I do! They say that they also teach the kids about life and this is true, he’s overcome much of his shyness and become a confident and enthusiastic young boy. This is the last week of his class and several of the kids are moving on to great schools like Nest and Hunter. We will really miss this special place.

We were so disappointed we had to take our child out!
They have a policy of not letting the parents in, which I get, but they go further and do not communicate at all with the parents. They don’t send any reports whatsoever.
One day I called to let them know my son would be staying home for the day. I asked what he would have been working on so I could give him some lessons at home. The teacher told me they didn’t really have a plan for the day!
The staff is rude and unprofessional. Anyone can come and pick up your child if they know their name. Seriously, the first time I picked him up they sent him away with me even though they had never met me before. They didn’t even ask my name!
The last straw was when I came to drop off my child and the director told me he was suspended because the payment was ten days late. I asked if we really should be discussing that in front of him, and she said «Yes». As she berated me about the late payment my son was hiding behind me frightened and confused. I finally convinced her to let him in for the day since I had no other arrangements. «Fine,» she said, «but I’m calling my lawyer!»
We should have read the reviews on Unilocal before enrolling him!

I had my child in this school hoping this would be the school she ll stay for a few years. She ended up staying for a month. The problem i have with the school was they dont tell the parents anything, and i mean anything. When i came to pick up my child first few times, there was always a different person seeing them off. They asked who u here to pick up and they just hand u over the child, but yet they never met me or i them. I felt that was a HUGE safety issue since anyone can come and just say the name of any child and the care takers just hand over the child u ask, they wont even ask who u r or introduce themselves or ask who U r picking up the child. I felt like there were always new caregivers and my kid was there for only a month. Also! They tell u nothing about how ur kids doing. When i asked, they’d act like im being nosy, and am taking up their precious time. I dont understand the secrecy. Whats the big deal to tell ur client how they are doing! I feel like if ur opening a school in manhattan u have to understand that parents r the ones paying for their kids and there are a ton of alternatives that parents can turn to. So why piss off the parents?
There was another instance which i wont be mentioning in detail between the directors and my self. In short they acted like they didnt need my business and were very unprofessional about payment.
After all that I took my child out of there and felt really good about my decision. Those people have no idea how to run a business.

For my daughter I give it 5 stars. She absolutely loves it. She is excited about learning. I have several children and have sent them to various schools in the neighborhood. All of the schools were fine but this is by far my favorite. It is a Montessori school and follows those ideas relatively closely. It is not for everyone but I do wish that it had been an option for my other children. They would have been better prepared for K.
The school could improve their interaction at the door for pick up and drop off but the focus is firmly on the children, as it should be, and if that means I wait a few extra minutes that is fine. I often hear the teachers speaking with parents about their child especially if the parent asks. There is perhaps not as much parent coddling as goes on at some other schools but my daughter loves it and so do I.

My wife and I agree that Gold Materials Montessori is a very special place. When we moved into the neighborhood, we looked around and were excited but anxious to find a new Montessori near our house. We started 3 days a week (we got to pick the days!) and then moved to full time after a few months. Sure, if I was running the school, there might be something here or there that I would change, but for a place where I’m going to trust my kid — 5 stars.
We love it, our daughter loves it and the grandparents think she has really blossomed at the school.