Hammer Montessori Elementary at Galarza

Hammer Montessori School is the best-​kept secret in the South Bay public school system. I’ve worked in public education for 25 years and, as a parent, was looking for a public school that provided an engaging, thoughtful approach to learning, caring and creative teachers, strong leadership, and a great family community. We have found that in Hammer Montessori. We actually started out at our neighborhood school (also a highly rated school), but within weeks saw our son’s love of learning plummet due to the worksheet culture of the school. He went from a very active hands-​on preschool to a Kinder classroom in which he was seated at his desk with worksheets for most of each day. After 12 weeks, we decided we needed to do something, and switched to Hammer Montessori. It turned out to be a great decision, he looks forward to school every day, and our younger son will join the Hammer Montessori family in a few years. If you seek a school that cares about your child as an individual, provides stimulating self-​directed learning that meets California state standards, and involves your family in meaningful ways, please visit Hammer Montessori. Every family deserves to love their school!

We found out about Hammer via word of mouth in 2010 and two and half years later, I feel very grateful that my son is part of such a vibrant, caring and unique learning environment (the only public Montessori elementary school in Santa Clara County). I am pleased with how much (and how well) he has learned; highly recommended.

This is our second year at Hammer, with my oldest in 2^nd grade and youngest in Kinder. Being the only public Montessori school in the area, we were very happy to get a spot in this magnet school.
Generally speaking we are very happy with the school, the teachers are amazing and do a tremendous job (especially with 30 kids in the classroom starting in Kindergarten) and there is also a pretty big parent participation.
On the not so perfect aspect: 30 kids in Kinder is way too much in my opinion but there is unfortunately not much that can be done given San Jose Unified School District budget, communication from school direction could be better. Finally, the fact that there are 2 schools on one site can be an issue given that the parents involvement is very different at Hammer (huge parents participation) and Galarza (not so much). There is only one PTA for both schools and it seems to me that Hammer would benefit from having its own PTA.
Hammer also benefits from the Hammer Foundation which is a non-​profit that funds programs like music classes, arts, etc. My kids are loving these programs and we are very thankful for the parents who handle this foundation.
I highly recommend that school if you’re looking for Montessori school.

We just started kindergarten this year and my son loves it. We just had our first parent teacher conference and he is excelling according to state requirements for kindergarten (granted it is kinder so I am not expecting too much lol). We love his teacher (Mrs. Phillips) and I know through friends that have other teachers that they are pleased as well.
We are lucky to have many parent volunteers in the class because the 30 to 1 ratio in the district is not ideal for any school especially for kinder– imagine being the only adult in charge of 30– 5 year olds for 8 hours. What does that mean? It’s up to the parents in any sjusd school to get in there and help out. I feel that because this is a magnet school and you have to apply and take the tour many of the parents that send their kids here have a vested interest in their child’s education and are more likely to volunteer and help out in the class. They also have the PTA and all school yahoo group to help all parents stay connected.
Hammer Montessori School has to take all the same tests and meet the same requirements as traditional schools in the district. Here is a run down on Montessori lesson and structure for those curious as to how it works.
Children receive lessons at the various stations (sometimes individual and sometimes as a small group) and they can only work in areas and on items that they have had lessons in– they have to prove to be proficient in that lesson before moving on to a harder one at that same station.
The stations include: Language Arts (literature, creative writing, grammar, spelling, sentence structure, and hand-​writing); mathematics; and cultural subjects, such as geography, history, science, art, music, movement and practical life (which in include working on real life skills and motor skills). They also have a music teacher come in the mornings along with time in the library and computer lab (that has a great computer program for their age)
Montessori has the belief that you don’t learn just from instruction but by doing it yourself. So for example they have the kids count with physical units and then match the corresponding number to the units they have been working with. They start by learning in cursive because kids are more prone to write in circular motion rather than start/​stop. When they do the alphabet they learn it phonetically which has helped my son start reading.
Go on the tour to get all the details but in just the past three months he has learned to sound out words and has started reading easy books, he knows all of the continents (North America, South America, Asia, etc.) he has learned to count into the thousands and simple addition, and because of the personal responsibility that they encourage in this program he has taken better ownership of his things and a few chores at home. I am VERY gald that this school and Montessori is a public option!

I am so glad there is a public Montessori school in San Jose Unified. My daughters are in 4^th and Kinder, and are thriving here. I see them taking ownership of their learning experiences, and growing in confidence and leadership. They have had great teachers who draw out the best from them. Like all public schools, Hammer struggles with lack of funding; however, the parent community has rallied to raise money through a foundation — see
. I’d really recommend visiting to see the Montessori method in action. Call the school to arrange a tour: 408−535−6671.