Little Acorns Montessori

My daughter started Little Acorn Montessori at 17 months and I have met amazing parents, amazing children, and amazing staff. They are so understand and worked with my schedule. There compassion for my daughter was amazing and they help her develop in so many ways. They knew exactly what she needed and exactly how she learned. Hands down one of the best schools in the area ! My daughter abilities to interact and socialize is amazing. Her confidence is great and she is so advanced in so many ways because they knew what worked best for her to learn. This school follows state licensing’s rules amazingly and left my mind at ease knowing my daughter was safe, well cared for, and most important happy! My daughter loves her teachers so much, you would think they are her family. Thank you so much, it is so hard to find quality care with quality people!

I had been considering sending my daughter to Little Acorns, but had a lot of second thoughts. The school is physically beautiful, and the Montessori curriculum is definitely appealing, but in asking around, I’ve heard the school is really in turmoil these days. Very high teacher turnover, which is a huge red flag right there. Apparently, there were a large number who left just recently and the school is scrambling for replacements.
I went for a tour, and was very put off by the owner, Mindy. She seems really pretentious and honestly… she doesn’t seem to like children! I saw her being kind of brusque with some of the kids there, just in the short time of my visit.
She had a lot of rambles about her philosophy that sounded kind of half-​baked. I just really had a bad vibe from her. Seemed very insincere.
Too bad. It would have been convenient for the location, and I am a fan of Montessori education, but this place just seemed… off.
And then, I saw the review below (under «reviews not currently recommended») and yikes! Wow… please read it if you are considering this school. It definitely made my jaw drop.
Still looking for a good place… This sure isn’t one.

I will start with the
Pros: Very nice facility, well maintained, lovely playground and garden and lots of interesting art projects.
Cons: Racial bias in handling behavior issues and a teacher who made racist comments.
— To be more specific, my son is biracial and on 2 or 3 occasions a teacher in the toddler class made racist comments — comparing him to children of color she had taught in the inner-​city.
— My son was having behavioral issues including aggression in the preschool class. One meeting was held to discuss this. My husband and I followed through on all recommendations including having a specialist provide a classroom observation accompanied by written feedback. The school never responded to the feedback or even acknowledged receiving it. I should also note, I am a child psychiatrist and at home we consistently worked worked with our son on behavior and communication strategies and saw significant improvement. Despite all this, a month later, without any additional meetings, a letter was sent home kicking him out; they did not have the courtesy to tell us in person.
Our son was the only boy of color in his class. Other children with behavioral problems extending longer periods of time were not asked to leave.
In speaking with parents of children at the school and a former teacher, all suspected race played a role. Since leaving we have heard more general negative feedback from a different former teacher and a pediatrician in the community about how Ms. Gillen runs her preschools.
Of note, since leaving the school, our son has done much better — he is no longer displaying aggressive behavior in preschool and his self-​esteem has dramatically improved.