Sapientia Montessori School

Great school for a kid’s overall development.
Mr.Hector has been a great teacher for my 4 and a half year old boy. My son has improved a lot in the last 6 months with the school. Thanks to the school and the staff.

There's something very special about this school!  We have 4 small children and have tried a few different schools over the years but feel we have found a home here.  It's great to see a school that sticks to the core values it was founded on.  One of the most important aspects of this school for our family has been that they don't utilize screens for teaching.  It has been great to hear about the lessons presented by the teachers each day.  Also, they have a sort of whole child approach where they emphasize not only the teaching of concepts but they have an old school emphasis on citizenship - manners, norms - and more importantly learning to get along peacefully and cohesively with peers, learning and respecting different viewpoints, backgrounds, cultures, etc.  Beyond that they ask that parents provide only healthy foods - it's so much easier to get kids to eat well like this, where the efforts at home aren't derailed at school but rather only reinforced. Lastly, we feel a general easy-goingness from the whole staff that puts us at ease as we watch our kids walk from the car to class each morning.  The staff here does a great job of keeping communication to only the very important things.  We are not barraged with texts, emails, calls - they simply take care of it and the kids are thriving.  We are thrilled with this school.

Both our daughters attended Sapientia, an AMI certified school, for close to a combined 12 years, and thrived! Starting at age 2, they went through the toddler, primary and elementary programs before moving to traditional school for 6th grade.

The Head of School, Ms Kalika, with her very hands-on "whole child" approach really sets the tone of this school in making sure that all teachers and students follow the authentic Montessori method. Classrooms are well-organized and uncluttered. Children are taught to work on their own and to be responsible by taking care of their own needs and belongings. Our girls learned through one-on-one lessons, observing and working with a mixed-age student group, lots and lots of hands-on practice and self-correction, all under the close supervision of their teacher. These qualities have enabled them to become self-directed learners. Since classrooms are mixed-age, the older children have the opportunity to teach and mentor the younger ones, who in turn learn to collaborate with and learn from their peers.

A big part of our learning at the upper elementary (9-12 years) level was the incredibly enriching Montessori Model United Nations (MMUN) experience. Each participating student represents a specific country and plays the role of that country's delegate. Student delegates research and prepare position papers and speeches on complex topics like Cyber Security, the Arms Race in Outer Space, Protection of Global Climate, Food Security, etc. for the culminating MMUN conference in New York.

As parents, we loved the small community feel and how everyone is friendly ,kind and gracious. The staff always goes above and beyond to make sure the child is emotionally comfortable and all their needs are being met. Our girls flourished at this school, both socially, and academically.

We had no trouble transitioning to traditional school. Currently in high school and middle school respectively, both girls qualified for above-grade level curriculum when they moved to middle school. They have continued to excel ever since - an outstanding testament to the solid foundation for life that they gained at Sapientia.

Our children love going to school each day. My son, who is about to turn 5, has gone here over 2 years now and is advanced in reading and mathematics thanks to his wonderful teacher. Not only this, but he enjoys learning and seeks out challenges. Even throughout the pandemic, the school did a great job adapting and communicating with families about what was going on. I also love how the school focuses on the whole child and not just academics (e.g. encouraging healthy eating and teaching children to be mindful of their emotions). The stability in teaching staff compared to what I see in other local preschools is also greatly appreciated. We are so happy with this school that we continue to commute to it despite having moved almost 15 minutes further away.

My children have been attending Sapientia since 2016.Between the kids, we have had great experience with the school's toddler room, primary room (pre-k) and elementary classrooms.
This review hopes to summarize our experience pre-covid and during the covid times
(1) Leadership: The principal Ms Kalika is in general, on top of things. Her leadership was particularly evident when the school  transitioned from in-person to remote learning in a snap during March 2020.
(2) Quality of education: Montessori based learning is very hands on and engaging. My children love working on their lessons and would always be excited to show off their lessons during watch me work day, which during the pre-covid times, happened twice in a semester. In order to retain the hands on experience as much as possible with remote learning, the school provided high quality printed materials at the start of this school year.
(3) Staff retention: Having seen our share of daycares across the many states we have lived in, it goes without saying that this school has a high staff retention ratio, which has offered tremendous stability for our children
(4) 1-1 attention: the class teacher is always in tune with the child's needs and abilities.
(5) communication: Whenever we felt the need to talk about our childrens performance, how they adapted as they moved classrooms etc, the teacher/principal was very accommodating of our schedules to meet and discuss. Being a first time mother, and still learning how to handle various emotions and behaviors of a child, the school teachers have been quite a guiding force that I would always be grateful for.
(6) connecting with young children during remote learning: remote learning has been challenging for children in general and is particularly hard on young children. The teachers in the primary room have demonstrated quite a knack for holding the child's attention for the entire duration of the class -be it general learning or arts or spanish language.
(7) practical life: From an early age, there is emphasis on self-reliance and independence. Children in the primary classroom are taught practical life lessons such as kitchen skills, cleaning, taking care of themselves and their environment.
(8) child's character: The teachers strive to bring out the best in the children. There are rules, boundaries but I have never seen these rules affect my children in any negative way.
(9) extra -curricular offerings: The school attracts high quality teachers for many extra curricular activities such as chess, piano etc.

For any parent that is looking for a caring, nurturing environment for an overall development of a child in addition to learning, look no further than Sapientia Montessori.

My two older sons attended Sapientia and Cedar Park Montessori from 2017 until this year and we are really happy with the school. They loved their teachers Miss María Elena and Miss Josie. All the teachers are loving and caring, they have done absolutely everything to care and guide our children in their educational path. Our oldest is now on regular school, and he truly misses Montessori. I would recommend it to any parent that would like to teach their children critical thinking, independence, curiosity, leadership and give them the opportunity to learn on their own rhythm (children learn really fast when they are free to do so!) <br>You have to know that this is a school, not a daycare. They use the school district&#39;s schedule, so you have to have a backup plan for those days off. Also, by now you have to provide all meals and snacks. If you have that flexibility, I think is worth give it a try. <br>They truly are a great montessori school.

We toured this location this morning, planning for when our infant is able to start at 18months Kalika is very knowledgeable and her school clearly focuses on the entire child development, not just education (as we current societal standards see it) but also Craig for others, learning responsibility and leadership as well as respect and compassion. We have not made a final decision yet and our daughter is not even a year yet so we have time, however, we wanted to highlight our tour observations. <br><br>I know that for some the Montessori model is not ok. My recommendation is that you do your research. Do some reading on Maria Montessori and how and why she developed this way of formal education. The first 6 years are really key in development and set the tone for the rest of the child&#39;s mental dexterity and adaptability. Should we enroll our daughter here full time I will update the review after a few months with classroom interpretations.

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