Guidepostmontessori Reviews

If your kid is different this is NOT

If your kid is different this is NOT the school for you My name is Simona Zion and I m the mother of Noah Boris Zion who used to attend Guidepost Montessori in Hollywood How do I even start with this I m so disappointed and so frustrated My son is a 5 y o boy who has a speech delay and is not as verbal compared to his peers All of which was explained at the interview before starting the school year At the interview I was assured that the staff was prepared after all that is why that is a private and not a public school and I was told that the school had kids with much more serious disabilities which are doing amazing in the program Yes but not exactly Five months into the school year we had a parent-teacher conference in which we were informed by Miss Viviana Head of School that our son needs extra help and more one on one attention and they cannot provide it because their staff is cut in half because of COVID Which I m not sure how is our fault since we re paying 100 of the tuition Which is 2100 per month I want to add to this that our son goes to speech therapy 4 times a week after school So Miss Viviana suggested that we have to hire a Shadow Teacher Monday-Friday who we have to pay out of pocket on top of the school tuition And for your information a shadow teacher costs between 40- 50 an hr And she basically said that if we do not agree we would have to find another school No need to explain how frustrated my husband and I were after this meeting but we were trying to find a solution that would work for both parties since our son was loving the school and his teachers And he was at least in my eyes progressing so much He is five and he knew how to write all letters and numbers and how to write short words too So we decided to hire a professional therapist since no one in the school is a specialist and hire the shadow teacher based on the suggestions the therapist gives us Before the therapist even got the chance to go for evaluation and a few days after the first meeting we got called for a second one in which Miss Viviana informed us that we have to find a new school for our son please keep in mind that this is in the middle of the school year When asked why she explained that they cannot support our son the way they want and she also added that our son is not socializing like the rest of the kids and is basically not a good fit for their community So I want to ask and please correct me if I m wrong what example does your school gives to the kids that attend it That when someone is different or has challenges in something we re not helping but we re kicking them out and ostracizing them so we don t have to deal with it And is this what you stand for as a teacher to give up on those who need you the most I guess I will never find answers to my questions

DISCRIMINATION AGAINST DISABILITIES

The school has a good infrastructure and it all looks great However my experience was horrible The teachers and the principal don t even speak proper English The security is a joke One time I was able to pick up my son and put him in the car while the kids were playing outside and nobody even noticed My son who is very high functional and autistic was accepted in the middle of the pandemic They took the deposit and ensured me that they are prepared to work with him He doesn t have sensory issues and is verbal The communication level is not as expected for five years old but still a very well functioning child Few months in - the principal called my wife and me to let us know that if we don t hire a shadow teacher he will no longer visit the school Even though the cost adds 7500 month to his tuition we agreed to that When they realized we are going forward with their proposal they backtracked by saying that he can t go to their school even with a shadow teacher It makes me sad that these people with all of their ridiculous certifications are incapable of giving my child an equal opportunity and proper care I felt extremely discriminated against and offended by the way they handled the case We went through their process and evaluation and now that everything is back to normal and they don t need money as much they are getting rid of the bad ones Forget this school with all of its false promises for a bright future Guidepost Montessori is a business and money is a priority They don t care about your kids or their success If you want your child to be educated by people that barely speak proper English send them to this Montessori School It s hard to imagine what other parents are going through when they have a child with disabilities and cannot afford private schools speech therapies shadow teachers and all this other BS

Discrimination as corporate policy

Sadly the other reviews on this platform echo my family s experience with Guidepost Montessori in a deeply uncomfortable way The only difference is the location we were in Brooklyn but the corporate policy seems clear enough The same pattern of discrimination the same language and lack of reasonable accommodations for children with disabilities Shameful

Money over children

This company has a dangerous set of priorities designed to keep tuition money rolling in by doing and saying whatever they feel will keep their customers the parents happy and blissful Our 3 yo child spent almost an entire year getting socially shunned by most of their classmates but nobody in the school thought of telling us We also recently spoke to a former employee who knows about another student in dire need of early intervention therapy but said that the school did not want to alert the parent because they were afraid of how the parent would react at the suggestion that their child was not developing totally normally This should be a massive red flag to any parent who wants the best for their child and is an extremely dangerous and irresponsible way to handle a pivotal time in early child development A school ought to be the first to raise a flag if they have any concerns so that parents can make informed decisions and seek outside help if needed Guidepost prefers to ignore the issue and avoid their role Yuck

Are rainbows a political symbol in the year 2023

Its been a good experience But with that being said if you want your child to come home and start arguing with you about rainbows send them to the school

Discrimination

I went to tour the school and they said there is space available for my daughter I told them she is autistic and if it is possible for her therapist to visit her at school They said they will get back to me They totally ignored me and I haven t heard back from them So Disappointed at least they should get back to me if they allow the therapist or not but totally ignoring me means they don t want to deal with disabled kids

Guidepost Foothill Ranch CA

If I could give a zero I would This is my personal and direct experience as a parent who sent their kid to this school Most of these 5-star reviews are parents who were encouraged to do so during a raffle We were encouraged to write the best review RED FLAG I am writing my personal review because a great deal of parents like myself rely on accurate social media reviews to chose a daycare or school for our children Since my son started there June 2022 2 head of schools left 1 assistant head of school 3 lead guides 1 later returned after trying to seek a nanny job and 5 assistant guides 1 got terminated for physically and emotionally harming the children-which I will get into more detail because my son was one of 7 children affected That is a total of 10 people in a year who have left not including the person who returned No consistency for our children RED FLAG During the months of October 2022-March 2023 my son would cry during drop offs and pick ups We didn t know why we thought it was normal toddler behavior We were then notified that our son by the current head of school at the time on 3 2023 that our son experienced abuse by an assistant guide who was first put on administrative leave then terminated a few days later after interviewing staff who corroborated the allegations Specific examples of witnessed abuse against my son included this person intentionally tripping him when he was running outside pulling him by his arm and pinning him down in his chair to sit by his shoulders These were only the witnessed accounts The current head of school told us that these concerns about abuse were told to prior head of school who left end of 2022 but nothing was followed up Which breaks my heart as a parent to think all this abuse was ongoing without further investigation RED FLAG We wanted to leave at that moment when they disclosed all the abuse information but the head of school insisted we stay to make things right since that employee was terminated We agreed only under the contingency that if we saw any emotional distress in our son we would be leaving the school He was having serious behavioral issues changes He probably didn t feel safe at that school so we left I would never recommend this place Another huge RED FLAG is when there are multiple violations posted on their front door for the public to view Hope our feedback and experience help other families make an informed decision

I am writing to express my profound exp at Guidepost Montessori School in Hollywood FL with my 2 yr old son in the toddler classroom

I am writing to express my profound dismay and utter disappointment regarding the race discrimination that I have experienced at Guidepost Montessori School in Hollywood FL It is with a heavy heart that I find myself compelled to address this matter as it goes against the very principles of equality respect and inclusivity that any educational institution should uphold It has become painfully evident that a culture of racial insensitivity and bias exists within the school s environment I have witnessed instances where students of diverse backgrounds have been subjected to unfair treatment and derogatory remarks solely based on their race This behavior is not only unacceptable but deeply distressing as it undermines the values that should form the foundation of any educational setting As parents and caregivers we entrust our children to Guidepost Montessori School in Hollywood FL with the expectation that they will receive a safe and nurturing environment that fosters their growth both academically and emotionally It is devastating to realize that the very institution we have placed our trust in has failed to provide this essential environment for all students regardless of their race or ethnicity Please understand that my frustration and disappointment stem from a genuine concern for the well-being and emotional development of all the students attending Guidepost Montessori School in Hollywood FL

Parents- Avoid This School

Parents do not even consider this school as an option for your child A teacher locked my 4 year old daughter in a bathroom while she was upset She held the door shut and said YOU CAN COME OUT WHEN YOU RE DONE CRYING The school did not tell us about this incident and attempted to cover it up After 1 conversation with the head of school the full story came out It was abuse of a student and it was admitted to by the school Yet they still attempted to cover it up Placing a student in seclusion is illegal in the state of Florida But more importantly for you- a parent searching for a good school- it s explicitly against the Montessori principles that supposedly guide this expensive daycare My oldest daughter was a student for 18 months it started off well Then her teacher quit Then more teachers quit Then even more teachers quit She was left in a classroom with a revolving door of offensively under qualified Assistant Guides Calling them babysitters would be a compliment to them but an insult to babysitters It became clear that her initial good experience at Guidepost was not due to Guidepost- but due to Miss Gina- her original teacher Guidepost does not exist to serve your children It exists to make money That s fine- as long as you are providing the product that you claim to But Guidepost does not They use the Montessori principles as marketing material It s a bait and switch A very expensive bait and switch There were many other issues during our time at Guidepost and for the sake of respecting your time I ll make a brief list 1 During pickup there was a creepy guy circling the parking lot I watched him do this 6 times then circle back a further 2 more times I notified the school and they laughed it off I then called JSO The man was a registered sex offender When I presented that information to the school they laughed it off again This is important because Guidepost is NOT a secure building They put no effort into keeping the building or your children secure They look for the cheap and easy way out of everything Even after this incident they did not put any effort into creating a more secure environment When I say not secure I don t mean not Fort Knox I mean that the side doors are open unlocked and flapping around all day 2 The front door has a lock mechanism that unlocks via code Any logical adult would think that this code should remain secure and only be issued to parents or guardians for drop off or pick up Not Guidepost When they issue a new code they simply print out about 100 copies on small paper They then place those codes in a basket outside the front door The same front door that s unlocked via the code It s so beyond mindless and completely renders the code useless as any person can come grab one and enter your child s school as they please 3 Another student broke my daughter s glasses This is not an issue- kids will be kids and things break The issue is that the school did not tell us If you re checking out Guidepost you ll see that they pride themselves on transparency of classroom however this is another marketing lie designed to get your money The school attempted to cover up the reason why my daughter came home with broken glasses and once again did not follow their own policies nor live up to their own principals 4 Guidepost is NOT an accreditied Montessori institution A simple google search will uncover that Guidepost is using the term Montessori to market themselves They have no relationship nor credentials from the American Montessori Society On the surface that s fine I don t really care about Montessori per se However it shows how deeply flawed and duplicitous this organization is For the sake of your time I ll cut it right there and implore you to NOT SEND YOUR CHILDREN HERE I m a very patient and forgiving man- but I also have a line Guidepost crossed that line They are a hypocritical organization that does not care about the education or emotional well being of your children