Guidepost Montessori at Lake Norman

I have been a guide with Guidepost Montessori at Lake Norman for almost three years now. Since I’ve started I have watched our students grow into independent workers. It amazes me how eager they are to learn and do it their work on their own without assistance. My children have attended the summer program and the curriculum and work was so intriguing yet fun that they couldn’t wait for camp each day. The students, parents and staff are truly amazing and everyone here feels like family. I wouldn’t trade it for another school! You’ll love it here too!

My son, Jackson, has been a student at Guidepost for almost 2 years now. We have been thrilled with the experience, love, and patience that he has been shown there, in both the Nido and Toddler Spanish Immersion classes. Many times when I go to pick him up, he is in no rush to come home with me; the best compliment a child could give to a caretaker, in my opinion.

I’m writing this so other parents will not find themselves in the situation we were in. We chose this school for the Spanish immersion program. During our 15 months there we experienced countless  negative experiences. Some worth detailing include the insane amount of turnover. In our first 9 months at the school my daughter had 10 different primary and secondary teachers in her specific classroom. Additionally, the school had 3 different principals and 3 different vice principals. That is 16, yes 16 different people my daughter experienced in less than a year. Additionally, the class was supposed to be for children age 3-6. Due to the high turnover in staff there was a mass existing of students and the school allowed 2 year olds to move into my daughters class. They did not enroll any older children to offset the ratios. That left my child (4yrs turned 5) in a class with many children substantially younger. My child did not advance academically due to this and would have been behind had we not pulled her. Furthermore, my child did not have a great opportunity to learn Spanish. With all the turnover each teacher would come in and speak English in a effort to develop some control over the class, and just as she became settled, the cycle would repeat. Many assistants choose not to speak Spanish to the children even when it was their native language.

As a concerned parent I reached out to the highest level. I emailed the CEO with all of my concerns (including several not listed in this review). Ultimately, he flew in to town as there were issues in many classes and countless parents complained. We ultimately had a town hall meeting with approximately 40-50 parents and the CEO. Management made several promises (some of which they did fulfill), but at the end of the day we left due to the school being poorly ran. Please note I hate to write this review, but I wish I would have been made aware prior to enrolling my daughter in this school. If I had only known, I would not have enrolled her in this school.

We love Guidepost Montessori at Lake Norman, both my boys are going to this school and their guides have been amazing!! We truly feel the guides are genuinely loving and caring for all the kids. For us it was an incredible experience.

I wanted Montessori and Spanish Immersion. I heard this school was the best and got on the waitlist (which was overloaded). The school 30% more expensive than others, but markets itself to have cutting edge bilingual curriculum and well trained teachers. After less than a year in the toddler room there were three different lead teachers and assistants, everchanging caregivers at lunch during naptime resulting in my daughter NOT napping as a different stranger put her down all the time, three different principals, three different assistant principals and we finally left because my daughter kept sobbing and refusing to go each day at drop-off. This was happening to many of the children in the room and as a working single parent consistency and being well trained was key. We moved to this area for the school and it is obvious the CEO is running a business, not a school. My daughter didnt learn Spanish and I was stuck on waitlists with nowhere to go so I finally hired alternate care because the careproviders were so inconsistent and NOT montessori trained (many were Amazon workers). This place is a scam, save you and your family the heartache and disappointment.

I am I mother of a 3 year old and a 4 year old who started attending since April of this year. Before I was a stay at home mom and I am beyond pleased with the professionalism and the love the teachers have provided to my children! My children have been exposed to many many different work materials that give them the opportunity to learn more and more each day!

Years on the waitlist and moved to LKN because everyone said it was the best montessori around. The principal and assistant principal left just before we arrived and in 9 months two more principals and assistant principals left as well. My toddlers lead and assistant guide changed three times, different people were putting her down for nap daily (one was a male who she was terrified of whenever she saw him). If she stayed late afternoons there was a revolving door of assistants. She didnt learn a word of Spanish and moat of the time the guides were english speakers filling in until they could find someone willing to take the $12/hour they paid. The school charges a fortune for promises they dont keep. After abuse allegations, another lead teacher quitting, I hired private care and have thankful we found The Davidson Green School. Their curriculum, teachers (with very low retention rate) and approach is so much more stable AND far less expensive. This company that runs this is a business and they do not care about your kids. They pay guides peanuts and put smart, personable people in leadership roles to appease parents. Dont put your children and family through this money hungry place.

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