One World Montessori School

We went everywhere and looked at a dozen or so schools — sometimes twice — for our twin 18 month olds.
One World was the only school that impressed Mom, Dad, and crazy old school Grandparents who believed the best place for babies is inside their own home. After ten minutes of observation, Grandma said «Sign them up»
Our girls have been at the school now for two months and within that time, they now come home and automatically put their own shoes away, carry their plates into the kitchen after they’ve finished eating and whenever they hear «clean up,» they begin putting their toys back into their bins.
Are you SERIOUS!!!
Their teachers are soooooo thoughtful and kind and always take a moment to answer our countless annoying questions and the administration including the «Finance Lady» have always been organized and accommodating. I love you Liz.
One World was the best find and fit for our family in our search to find a place that taught our kids responsibility and community. Husband and I keep saying that we are damn lucky to have found them.

We looked at 6 preschools for our 3 year old.
We choose One World Montessori because it was the most traditional Montessori school that we visited.
For some parents, that is a turn off. You should do some research on the Montessori method and see if you would be comfortable with your child learning how to string beads, clean a table, fold napkins, take care of a garden and chickens, and write in cursive.
Also the school promotes a consumer free environment (no cartoon characters on apparel etc), community (volunteer hours for parents are mandatory), good eating (no candy, chocolates)…again, you need to ask yourself if you are ok with this.
At our initial visit (mandatory for admission, both parents need to be present, no children allowed), we had a list of questions for the administrator, did our observations and then met with the head of school and founder, Rebecca Keith.
The parent handbook was given to us in advance so we knew what the school’s expectations were in regards to tuition, donations, volunteer hours, consumer free environment, tuition payment system (they use Smart Tuition-​easy, convenient and has all the invoices online for your Dependent Care reimbursement).
What impressed us most at our observation:
each child was focused and quiet on their task during their «work» time, A child reading a book, one playing the xylophone, a child working on multiplications, an older child helping a younger child on a task
We also loved the back outdoor area. There is grass and chickens and a big sandbox. Most schools we saw had the usual modern playground with astroturf!
We saw a difference her first day. She came home calmer than when she was at her previous daycare. And within a week, she would tell me she loved it there and would cry when it was time to go home.
The majority of the guides (teachers) in her classroom have been with the school for years, they are caring, affectionate, and work with our daughter.
Its been a year and we are very happy with our decision.
Some resources:
Tomorrow’s Child
Wall Street Journal: Montessori Mafia
How To Raise an Amazing Child
Montessori Answers

My child went to the Santa Clara campus, then the Foxworthy campus and then the most recent Pearl campus. While I love the teachers. parents and the support staff, the administration is the must frustrating bunch of people I’ve ever had to deal with. The finance woman that manages the billing is absolutely the rudest and most unhelpful person I’ve ever had to deal with. They are scattered and disorganized and feel that the new upper elementary teacher is experimenting with the kids instead of providing a structured learning environment. Nurturing is excellent and communication is just outstanding, but I really don’t feel that my child, now going into 5^th grade had an advantage in the elementary years over public school or other schooled children. K-​2^nd was great, but it sort of went downhill when one of the teachers went on maternity and teachers were shifted around. I believe they really do care about the children sincerely, but paying more than $ 15k a year makes one expect more. My child will be going through some tutoring to prepare her for her new school sadly.
I would highly recommend the primary school for pre K to Kindergarten, but not entirely sure about the rest. Again, they are great at nurturing your child, horrible administration and billing staff, parents and teachers are wonderful, learning structure in the upper elementary is too unstructured and frustrating to understand. If your child is highly disciplined and organized on his/​her own, then this might work, but I have a textbook child that doesn’t project manage and organize to the level expected. My child needs more guidance and not too many choices. I also don’t agree with the practice of no homework unless the student chooses to bring work home. I don’t believe in a ton either, but maybe 1 page of math problems or 1 story to read and answer a couple questions.

I won’t tell you how great they are, I won’t tell you how wonderful they are, I will just tell you my kid experience and let you judge on your own.
Since my daughter was born I was a stay at home mom. She was used with me being next to her ²⁴⁄₇. Since she was a baby she had a big problem with being apart from me even for one hour. When she turned 2 we moved from Europe to California and her connection to me became even stronger. On top of that, transitions for her are very hard. She likes to sit and watch for hours before she would join any activity. For one year I took her to gym classes hoping she will enjoy it. But it turned out to be a disaster. All she did was to sit in my lap sucking her thumb watching the others having fun… and she did that for one year!
At the age of 3 my husband and I decided she should go to a Daycare. She hated that place. Actually, she hated it so much that she would not stop from crying and screaming. One day we ended up with her in the Emergency Room because she could not breath from all that crying. She got kicked out of that Daycare!
Close to her 4^th B-​day we came to visit One World Montessori, in their San Jose campus and my daughter fall in love with one of the teachers. She joined the school less than 6 months ago and since then she is a totally different kid. She likes the place, likes her teachers, got a bunch of friends, I know that everyday she is learning new things and on top of that she is attending 2 extra classes (Soccer and Yoga). I asked her if she wants to try Soccer and she requested to go to the Yoga one ! She was not forced to do things she was not comfortable with, for example joining the multi-​cultural celebrations they have at this school. She was allowed to just watch them, hoping that in time she will decide on her own to join them.
Since she started this school she thrives! I don’t know what they did to her, no idea what happened, but I feel like they just speak her language. They know how to convince her to do something without forcing her. It is as if their teachers know how to get into kids minds and understand how they feel, help them overcome their fears, support them to become great grown-​ups.
I know my second kids it’s gonna attend the same school !

We love the school. I feel that my son (now graduating from kindergarten) is more advanced that kids his age in terms of his understanding of the world, vocabulary, and academic and social skills. It’s great that the school is very international — you have parents from all over the world, so kids learn about other countries, other languages, and other cultures.
I personally like spending time with other parents — with or without the kids! It’s a community, rather than a place to educate your kids. There are camping trips, playdates in the park, even a hiking group. Overall it’s been a great experience and our son will continue on to the Elementary program.

This is a real, actual Montessori school, that follows Maria Montessori’s methodology and philosophy to the letter. The Head-​of-​School, Rebecca, is what makes this school so special. She’s like a magnet to the kids. My daughter (3 years old and entering into her second year) thinks Rebecca hangs the moon (and I happen to agree). As far as the school itself, there are live animals, a garden area, and everything is true Montessori, above all 1) the students 2 – 6 mixed age in the same classroom, not separated out by age, in order for them to mentor each other and 2) the «free choice» aspect, including kids not being forced to participate in circle time (though that’s my daughter’s favorite time of the day, and she sings circle songs ²⁴⁄₇!).
As far as things another reviewer said, first about tuition being higher than other schools: I think you get what you pay for. I observed at several Montessori schools before selecting this school, and none of the others measured up. Many were cosmetically Montessori, but in no other way truly so, and clearly there were a lot of parents out there who were deceived. As far as fees for late sign-​in, they always tell you the dates. From what I’ve heard from friends with kids at other schools, it’s standard for schools to charge for late pick-​up, e.g. after 5 minutes. As far as other small fees, the school makes clear up-​front what is expected, such as volunteer time, or a fee to «buy out» of this. Again, I think it’s standard, nothing unexpected. The staff has been consistent during our year and a half there, and the year before when I viewed the school. There has been turnover only in the administrative staff, not in the teachers.
Like many parents who have their kids at this school… I LOVE IT. :) The parents at this school will give their soul for it, that’s how much they believe in it. I’m a very tough critic, and I am totally in the OWM camp.

The classroom is just ok. Tthe administration is not parent-​friendly. We were nickle-​and-​dimed for things like «not signing in» with no documentation to back it up. Tuition is higher than other Montessori preschools in the area. Also, there is a large mandatory «donation.» One preschool classroom has had problems with maintaining a consistent staff. I would not recommend this school.

My children have benefited tremendously from their education at One World Montessori. They have been given a hands on preschool education that taught them the core of math, natural science, geography, life skills, reading, writing and culture. They have been introduced to multiple cultures’ celebrations, traditions and peoples. The teachers are excellent. The playground full of creative aspects — including a garden & small animals. The school is also very green — they offer organic lunches, hands on garden, recycling, green materials and teach the children about how to be green.