Both of my kids (soon to be in 3rd grade, soon to be in 7th grade) are thriving at Wellan. It's a…read moreterrific learning community for pre-K through 8th grade; ~300 children, from pre-K to 8th grade, with small classes and skillfully staffed. It feels like a traditional schoolhouse model right in the heart of Newton center. The Montessori method leverages a child's interests, inspiring curiosity, creativity, and a desire to learn.

I recommend NMS to anyone that I can. When going on tours of various preschools for my son a…read morecouple of years ago, I had no real knowledge of what Montessori teaching was. Honestly, I thought it was very "hippy dippy", kids just doing whatever they wanted all day. When I took the tour (Deanna is awesome!), I was amazed... like jaw-on-the-floor amazed. The things she was showing me in the classroom just MADE. SENSE. It was like a light bulb went on, and I knew my son had to go there. We are now in our second year at NMS and couldn't be happier. The building is filled with people who care, immensely. The amount of planning that goes into a classroom is insane. NMS has a great community around it, the events held for student and families outside of school, educational events for parents (like Montessori in the Home), and fun events for parents too. The administration at NMS is amazing, every teacher is amazing, the specialists (library, music, language, etc) are amazing, the Parent Association is amazing, the early/late care staff are amazing, the office staff are amazing. I know that I am doing the best that I possibly can for my son by sending him to Newton Montessori. I've already seen the difference it has made, and I know that it's really the best environment for him to become the best, happiest, smartest, kindest, little boy he can be. And those are all things that will serve him throughout his life. Everything in his classroom is there for a reason, whether it works on fine motor skills, or how to hold a pencil, it all builds on lessons throughout the Montessori classroom years.

RSM is an after school private enrichment program for mathematics. It caters to children from K-12…read more I attended RSM about 10 years ago when the school was still small. I was forced to go every single weekend for about 2 hours of extra math by my parents. I lived in Andover, which at the time didn't have a branch of RSM, so the only option was in Newton. Trust me, driving an hour for math was not my idea of a fun weekend, neither was getting stuck in traffic for an extra hour both ways when I had weekday classes. For some reason, my parents never complained about the drive- I guess because they knew it was for my own good. Class sizes at the time were pretty large- from what I remember there were only two levels. When I first began, I strived to be in the advanced class and worked up until the point when I was moved up- the occasional McDonalds trip with my father helped that motivation too. I also consider the homework at RSM an integral part of the curriculum. It is extremely important for children to actually sit down and do over the course of a week, not the 30 min car ride homework session right before my class that I would sometimes try get away with. What is taught in the 1-4 hours of class time is not enough for a child to retain for the next week or in a year, at least in my case. Throughout the constant battles of doing homework with my parents, I realized that the times when I actually spent 2-4 hours on my homework, would be the most benefiting classes for me. I have actually spoken to a lot of parents and their kids in the past couple of years who have/currently do attend RSM. A lot of parents simply send their children off to RSM and expect their kids to "do" the hw. "Doing" homework like it is done in public elementary schools is just not enough anymore. I have a younger brother who scribbles god knows what on his paper, hands it in, the teacher draws a big star on the sheet of paper and gives him 100%. I'm sorry but 9x9 does not equal to 75-- effort should be awarded, but how is he going to learn from his mistakes if the teachers don't even take enough time to look at his mistakes? And this is why I continue to love RSM. I probably received about 50 C's,D's or even F's on my homework or quizzes.. why? Because each teacher I had took the time to grade each problem-- looking for key strategies taught in class, including the correct answer! It wasn't until I entered high school that I personally realized what RSM had done for me. I was in honors classes all throughout high school, took AP Calc and AP Stat and did pretty well. --Don't get me wrong, I wasn't a whiz to begin with, but RSM developed critical thinking skills in me from childhood that helped me understand and grasp new materials easily. SAT's at this point, seemed like a piece of cake- thankfully, I was able to avoid the annual SAT craze. The SAT craze is what I call the obsession for SAT cramming in sophomore/junior year of high school. Andover had a huge SAT craze as the local parents went crazy for the "best tutors" for their children in high school. I completely disagree with spending hundreds of dollars an hour during sophomore/junior year in high school trying to cram information into a child's head. Of course the SAT's are all about tricks, but you also have to have a solid foundation of the material in order to complete the test quickly and correctly. Throughout the RSM curriculum, by the time I was in 8th grade, I took my first SAT test for the Johns Hopkins Competition. Believe it or not, I did better than an average junior or senior in high school. By my sophomore year, I did not have to take any additional tutoring sessions and now was the one with all of the free time. While my friends crammed in 4-6 hours of SAT prep, multiple times a week, with extremely expensive private tutors, I scored in the high 700's for the math portion of the SAT I and SAT II, and got to finally relax on the weekends of my junior and senior year. On top of the quantitative proof of the results of previous RSM students and their astonishing accomplishments at higher institutions of learning, RSM fosters a place of personal development and growth. I grew up spending most of my weekends at RSM and ended up making friends who are actually my roomates in college now. I treated RSM as an activity, like any other sports team--I went to learn and even made a few lifelong friends along the way. In conclusion, Many of us have seen the new "Waiting to Superman" documentary which was right--how can we expect the next generation of children to advance the world if their education is limited? Well, the solution is in your hands and RSM is here to help.

Teachers are rude and insufferable. They dismiss you and call you stupid and demean you if you are…read morenot "smart enough" to answer questions very quickly. Also, very dirty. No positivity at all in here.

Both of my children have attended Upper Falls Nursery School. Their experiences have been…read morePHENOMENAL! UFNS has helped my kids learn to interact with their peers in constructive ways as well as develop self confidence. Randi and Linda are both fantastic with the kids. They are experienced in child development and it shows. My favorite thing about UFNS is how inclusive it is. In the 2 years we've been going there, my children have had classmates with so many different backgrounds, heritages, and families. It's an amazing experience for my young children to get to meet other kids who aren't exactly like they are.

UFNS is so much more than a nursery school. Randi and Linda have become a part of our family. Under…read moretheir masterful guidance, our daughter was able to thrive in her first school setting. We are so grateful to have found such a great community school and I can't recommend it enough!!!

I wanted to share our wonderful experience with Kindernest Montessori!…read moreThis daycare, run by Firouzeh, is the only place where I truly felt at peace leaving my son while I go to work. Firouzeh is incredibly kind and professional, always welcoming the children with a warm smile every morning. The rest of the staff are also very caring and attentive, spending real quality time with the kids. They offer so many fun and educational activities, from yoga and music classes to water play in the yard. Unlike many other daycares, they allow parents to stay with their child during the first week, which makes the transition so much easier. My son got used to it by the second week and now goes happily every day! One of the best things about this daycare is their amazing chef -- they provide healthy breakfast, snacks, and lunch daily, so we never have to worry about packing food. Honestly, I can't recommend this place enough -- you just have to experience it yourself

We love Kindernest! The teachers are caring and detail-oriented, and my kiddo is learning so much…read more The food is so fresh and smells amazing, I wish parents got to eat it too.

I can not say enough good thing about the commonwealth learning center and about my child's tutor…read moreAmy. my child was struggling with reading was diagnosed with dyslexia and was becoming so discouraged with his school. since Working with Amy his reading has improved tremendously and his confidence. Amy works so well with my child always keeps me up to date with everything they are working on and my child is comfortable working with her. We are so so happy with this learning center .

My daughter and I met with Alex, the director, for an initial consult. Alex was well-prepared,…read morehaving read, highlighted, and annotated the test results I sent to her ahead of time. She also was prepared with a set of questions based on that material. Alex is caring, thoughtful, and even during the initial meeting demonstrated deep knowledge and experience. We are so happy to have found them.

I am so impressed with Smart School. Smart School hired me recently as a math teacher, and it's…read moreshocking how advanced all the students are there. They have fifth graders happily solving tenth grade math problems! In general I've found the students at the school are an exceptionally bright bunch, but I believe their success at Smart School is not due to natural aptitude alone. It's also the culture at Smart School, where they take children of all skill levels and make them the best math students they can possibly be- by challenging them just the right amount. I've seen several students go from hating math to enjoying it and feeling proud of their skill level. It also helps that the classes are tiny (1-4 students) and there's a great deal of individual attention and encouragement.

From the owner: We offer a broad range of classes and private tutoring provided by top quality teachers. Our…read morecourses include math, chess, SAT preparation, English, physics, and chemistry. Our teachers are capable professionals who have demonstrated advanced expertise in their subjects and a dedication to teaching. In addition to offering private lessons we have group lessons. All groups are small - up to 4 or up to 5 people. It enables us to provide individual approach to every student.

We have been fortunate enough to have our son at Needham Montessori since he was 15 months old (he…read moreis now 2.4). He can't wait to get there each day and engage with his excellent teachers and friends. We have noticed a big difference since he started there with his independence and helpfulness around the house. He helps set/clean the table, feed the dog and empty the dishwasher, all without prompting! He also makes sure each plaything gets put away before he takes the next thing out. We feel he is so cared for and loved and he is thriving!

Needham Montessori has become a part of our family. We are so fortunate to have found a place with…read moreteachers that are so caring, loving and nurturing. Our son has absolute thrived here. He has blossomed over the past year into a bright, happy, social and confident kiddo. We are absolutely thrilled with his progress. The teachers foster his interests and encourage his independence. My husband and I also have a totally open line of communication with the directors and teachers. This is so important to us! The directors Christine and Allen are 2 of the nicest people you will ever meet. We love Needham Montessori!

Suzuki is a wonderful school. The school schedule is flexible, tuition is reasonable, and the…read moredirector is helpful. The teachers cares and loves the kids. The artwork they bring home are creative and beautiful!! The school emphasizes on fun activities, loving environment, and cognitive development. Their program includes music, Chinese, art, PE, violin, and piano. It's the best school for our kids. It is so fun that I wish I could go there, too! Highly recommended!

My daughter is thriving since enrolling at the Suzuki school. I can't believe that at 3 years old…read moreshe is already writing her name, learning music/violin, and having so much fun she wishes she went to school on the weekends too! The teachers are amazing and really thoughtful about each child's needs. They've done a great job during COVID as far as putting protocols in place to keep everyone safe. Deb the director is super responsive and has been flexible to work with our family's changing schedule. I do wish it was a year round program but they pretty much follow the Newton Public School calendar, and then offer summer camp for the majority of summer.

As I know, the owner will end up responding to this review with false allegations and blame…read moreeverything on us instead of being appropriate and professional about our feedback (which we brought up to her over and over in a documented way for our safety), I will not put in writing all the reasons that we took our child from this program. The concerning things will come up over time and not during the initial tour or even the first few months. After we left, we had many parents (past and present) sharing with us that they had "unpleasant interactions" with the director and describing similar behavior we experienced. Some prefer to avoid drama and go with it, and some spoke up and had a direct conflict with her that led to them leaving the program. The bottom line is that while I think your child will be safe in A to Z, any interaction with the director when you are not pleased or have a concern will most likely end up being an unpleasant one and you will end up feeling attacked if you will not back down. This is a cheaper program, but we feel that there are much better programs out there that can combine nurturing environment for your child AND more pleasant and cooperative interactions with the director and staff that are worth the extra cost. When I read Tiffany's review, and based on our experience, I believed her without knowing her and her story, but the patterns are the same. I can also see that the director's patterns of blaming it all on the parents and not taking into consideration any feedback haven't changed in the years since it was posted.

This was a suggested "Like" for me on Facebook, and it reminded me of the experiences I had with…read morethis place back in college when I used to babysit. Glad to see this place is still thriving! My interactions with staff during pickups were always friendly and pleasant, after the first few times when the director wanted to be REALLY sure that I was authorized to pick him up, and the little boy I babysat often did not want to leave his friends and teachers when I would come to pick him up. Once I was able to pry him away, he would babble to me all the way home and all through his dinner about his day playing on the playground, all of his friends, and what he learned that day (I can't believe they teach Spanish to pre-schoolers! I wish I had gone here myself!). If I lived closer (and who knows -- maybe in the future I will), I would not hesitate to give this place a visit when selecting a preschool!

Our coach has done amazing with my daughter. She has gone from failing subjects and not caring…read moreabout school, to being completely accountable, and achieving an award at school for most improvement. Our coach is Meghan, and we now believe in this process!

I was recommended Beyond Book Smart by a neuropsychologist who diagnosed our teenage daughter with…read moreADHD. I set up a call. The intake person, Stephanie, never phoned me at our appointment time despite several emails reminding ME of our appointment. If this is the face our their company, then no thanks.