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Foothill Ranch, CA

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Guidepost Montessori at Foothill Ranch

4.5 (53 reviews)
Updated over 3 months ago

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Diane W.

This is a long overdue review. We enrolled my daughter at GP when she was just 8 months old. We toured several places and after many interviews, we decided GP was the best choice for us. As a first time mama, returning to work was one of the hardest things I had to do. At the time, Jamie and Lan were the heads of school and I had great interactions with both. Ultimately though, Miss Abi, the Nido lead guide, is who truly helped me develop such a trust for the school and the Montessori program. My daughter is now 22 months and I wanted to share my thank you note to the Nido team: "Waaaaah! I am so sorry that this response took so long. It was stuck in my spam AND I think I was in denial with Vivi moving to the toddler class, haha. It seems like it was only yesterday that I dropped her off for her first day when she was 8 months old! I cannot express enough how grateful Jon and I are for you and your team. There's so much anxiety that parents go through when trying to find a daycare/school. Viv not only thrived in your class but she has grown to love each and every one of you. You kept our daughter safe and she developed such a deep connection and trust in your classroom. You and your team cultivated that connection and built upon it. We couldn't have asked for a better first teacher. Thank you for helping us raise a confident infant/toddler - we couldn't have survived the last year without you all. The transition to toddler has been a challenging one but we know that she will be okay. There are bittersweet moments because Vivi still asks for you and/or Ms. Gaby. That's how much of an impact you have on her life Please continue to do the magic you all do - your dedication and compassion for the babies shows and does not go unnoticed." Now, there has been some turnover in management and in my daughter's toddler class but, I do not feel that my child's safety or learning has been compromised because of it. Sure, we prefer consistency but, we adapt. The new heads of school, Ms. Lorine and Ms. Dora have made INCREDIBLE updates to the school: they transformed the lobby area into a cozy and welcoming space! There's light atmospheric music playing when you walk in, an oil diffuser with a clean scent, just little things that make you breathe a sigh of relief upon entering. The classrooms each have a mini bulletin board with updates. They have had technological/app updates that I feel are much better. This year they even offered extracurricular activities: yoga, gymnastics, dance, etc., and that's something I wanted for my child. Not only was she getting a Montessori education, but she had the opportunity to participate in other classes. I wanted to give Ms. Laura and Ms. Monica, the toddler's lead guide, a shoutout for stepping in when the former lead guide unexpectedly left. They have made my daughter's transition truly memorable. I can't wait to see what they have in store for the rest of her toddler journey. Finally, the community engagement has been much more fun and vibrant! The leadership team and staff have also been forthcoming with the changes and have kept the lines of communication open. The toddler teachers have also offered various parenting workshops: toileting, independence, etc. I feel like there is always a school function or workshop, it's truly amazing to see the passion they have for our children's growth and development. Suffice it to say, GP has only gotten better and I look forward to seeing their progress.

Edgar A.

I highly recommend this school. We have 2 little ones here and both have grown and learned so much. They teach everyday skills to help them be independent and we couldn't be happier being here.

Total Citations for Guidepost Montessori Foothill Ranch per California Department of Social Services website

Based on our personal experience of having our child enrolled at Guidepost, I would not recommend this school to any parent. While we are extremely grateful that our child's teachers were outstanding the entire time we were there, we cannot say the same about the corporation that owns all Guidepost schools, Higher Ground Education, Inc. Our child was enrolled for 10.5 months; and during that short period there were a total of 3 Heads of School, several teachers and other administrative staff resigned, and abuse allegations were made against one teacher. On March 9, 2023, we received communication from the Head of School that a teacher's aid was put on administrative leave. The e-mail was very vague and spoke about how the individual needed a break to recharge for an undetermined period to reflect on her journey in education and take some time to herself and her family. Within a week, more information came out through other parents (not the administration) that there were allegations that several children were affected by abuse from this teacher. Trigger warning: Per the police report filed with the Orange County Sheriff's Department (Report DR# 23-008774), "On 3/9/23, [head of school's name redacted] was approached by seven of her employees who were concerned about a teachers aid named [teacher's name redacted]. The employees felt [teacher's name redacted] was being both physically and verbally aggressive towards the students. The employees stated [teacher's name redacted] would verbally abuse the children by calling them "losers" and telling them to "Hit other children because they deserve it". They also alleged [teacher's name redacted] would also slam kids down on their feet hard and slam them on bicycles seats when asked to ride a bicycle." Unfortunately, several teachers reported these allegations to the prior administration sometime at the end of 2022, but due to the administration turnover, these allegations were not taken seriously until March by the new Head of School. This negligent oversight enabled the abuse of children to continue for months after the first allegations were made. We are extremely lucky that our child was not directly affected by this teacher; however, after the abuse allegations came to light, we had severe anxiety dropping off our child to school. Every day we worried that a teacher outside of our child's two teachers would harm our child. There was one day that both the lead and assistant teacher were out, so we did not have our child go to school that day because we did not trust anyone other than our child's teachers. During the 10.5 month period my child was enrolled, the school received 3 citations. One citation was because a child was left out in the play-yard without any supervision from staff (4/10/23). Another parent, who was picking up their own child, had noticed the child was alone on the play-yard without any staff present. Please visit https://www.ccld.dss.ca.gov/carefacilitysearch/FacDetail/304371143 to view citations and reports filed for Guidepost (Type A Citation Total: 1, Type B Citations Total: 6). As for security, there were no working cameras. In fact, there weren't any cameras installed in the front exterior or playground area. We received communication on May 17, 2023, that front exterior cameras were installed and that two exterior cameras would be installed in the playground. It took two months after the abuse allegations to get the cameras installed and working. Also, to enter the school only a short numerical code is required to enter and most of the time, no employees were monitoring who was coming into the school. The lack of monitoring made us fearful about the ease in which someone could gain access to the classrooms. Our child's teachers were outstanding despite all the challenging events that occurred, but it was difficult to see them not being taken care of by the administration. We truly hope Higher Ground Education will provide better benefits for the teachers because they are the heart of the school. The only reason we did not leave after March was because we trusted and loved our child's teachers. They showed better leadership skills than the administration throughout those 10.5 months. The administration has demonstrated a complete and utter disregard for the safety of children. Enticing parents to leave positive reviews in exchange for raffle tickets further demonstrates that the priority of the school is rooted in preserving its reputation, and not in the safety of children. Guidepost knows no parent is going to write a bad review in exchange for a raffle ticket and intentionally uses raffle tickets as a mechanism to garner positive reviews. I am deeply disappointed at the administration for the way they handled the abuse allegations and in the way they have handled the safety of children at the school and the well-being of their teachers.

Foothill Ranch Guidepost!
V P.

Carnival day at school! Thank you team for hosting. Our kids had a blast! Bouncy houses, artwork, painting, popcorn, cotton candy, were all great!

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Ask the Community - Guidepost Montessori at Foothill Ranch

My daughter's birthdate is Feb 9th,2019. We are looking for preschool during 7/29-8/9, is this timeline acceptable?

Hi Bonnie, We can potentially assist with a short term enrollment. Can you please call our office at 949-340-1695 and I would be happy to assist you!… 

View All 2 Questions

Review Highlights - Guidepost Montessori at Foothill Ranch

“. I'm so grateful to be a part of the Guidepost family and highly recommend those considering it, give it a shot”

Mentioned in 4 reviews

Read more highlights

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My son thrived the moment we switched him to Fulbright Academy. After years of struggling in…read moretraditional classrooms, he found what he needed here: teachers who see him as an individual learner, hands-on work that actually holds his attention, and a genuine culture of critical thinking instead of rote performance. Ms. Cherish and the team don't just teach--they coach. My son went from dreading school to running toward the door in the morning. This microschool model isn't flashy, but it's what we should have found years ago. I notice a lot of 1 star looking at some old reviews- there was a change of leadership a couple of years back and the new Director, Ms. Maha is amazing. She is always there in the morning to welcome all the kids with a warm smile and greeting. She is very involved with the community and runs a tight ship. You can tell she genuinely cares about her students and her staff and I think that's what has made a difference with our experience.

My daughter attended here for their elementary program and absolutely thrived. You're not only…read moregoing to get superior education but you are joining a family. A family, spear headed by the lovely Ms. Maha, that will have you and your child's best interest, both in school and out. Ms. Cherish is AMAZING. She knows how to teach in a way where my daughter was confident and wanted to come home and share what she was learning every single day. That speaks volumes in terms of a different montessori she used to attend. She is attentive to your child's specific needs, both educationally and personally, and to be honest I could not have asked for anyone better to help guide my daughter throughout her upper elementary education.

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Portola Hills Elementary School - Principle Alison Bruner

Portola Hills Elementary School

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My daughter graduated from this school in 2015. I later found out that most of her teachers (not…read moreall) were just awful to her and her classmates/friends. Up to this day she and her friends would talk about how awful some of these teachers treated them. The teachers absolutely showed favoritism to students whose parents practically did their job by volunteering everyday and will not let any parents do so. My son was attending at this school but their Special Education is less than satisfactory because they had nothing to offer him. I ended up transferring him to Foothill Ranch Elementary and it was best thing that ever happened to him. When my son strarted attending Foothill Ranch Elementary, they sent me a letter saying that they were opening up a class accommodating my son's needs and that Portola Hills is his home school. I told them that he will never return to this school. I saw my son get bullied by these kids in front of my eyes by purposely not including him to their reading groups during Dr. Seuss birthday celebration in their classroom because he read slow. He read slow because he's autistic. My daughter is forever scarred by this school but fortunately, she overcame it with my constant re-assurance because this school destroyed her confidence. By the way, Cookie the office woman was just awful to my son. She would get upset if he comes in to the office to ask for help. If you are a brown nosing parent you will thrive in this school but if you are working mom who cannot always be there. I wish you the best but keep an eye on your children or you can transfer them to Foothill Ranch Elementary. For what it's worth, Mrs. Shanton, Mrs Morrow, Mrs Lindenhoffen (my daughter's teachers) are wonderful teachers. Mrs Lau and Mrs Franco are wonderful as well, they were my son's teachers. The rest, well...Good-luck along with the principal Mr. Ledaux (if he's still there)

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Portola Hills Elementary School - The 4-6 grade PE teacher. Unacceptable

The 4-6 grade PE teacher. Unacceptable

Portola Hills Elementary School

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Alpha School - Foothill Ranch - Photo of Lead Guide and one of the students!

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Alpha School - Foothill Ranch - Interaction between Lead Guide and a student

Interaction between Lead Guide and a student

Alpha School - Foothill Ranch - Meditation Garden in the classroom where students learn to regulate their minds after a full day of learning and personal development

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Alpha School - Foothill Ranch - Featuring our students from their rock climbing workshop!

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Featuring our students from their rock climbing workshop!

Guidepost Montessori at Foothill Ranch - preschools - Updated October 2026

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