We have been *beyond* pleased with Guidepost Montessori! The staff are all loving and welcoming, and we feel our daughter is safe in their care. On the occasional morning when our toddler decides she does NOT want to go to school that day, I can usually hear her tears turn to laughter before I even leave the building. Separation anxiety is normal in small children, and the guides at Guidepost know what they're doing! We enjoy their frequent, clear communication as well as their hours, campus equipment, and the various specialty activities that they offer such as a yearly Saturday pool party or pajama days. If you're in the market for a daycare or preschool that will teach your child(ren) REAL life skills such as cleaning up after themselves as well as subjects such as math, science, and reading, Guidepost is the school for you. read more

Being in the military, we have moved around a lot and have experienced many different childcare centers. Guidepost BY FAR has been the best experience. I had 2 children enrolled for the past 2 years and have been blessed to interact with all the staff in the different programs from Nido to Childrens House. They are all absolutely wonderful, especially the Director Caroline and the Assistant Director Liza. Staff go out of their way to assist with difficult transitions and they even show up to birthday parties when invited! I was a sceptic of the Montessori based curriculum but after seeing my kids make huge progress, love learning and teaching us things they learned, and really THRIVE, I am an avid believer. This place is more than a childcare center, this is an extension of family/friends that I truly trust to care for my children. It has been an amazing experience. read more

The teachers are so amazing and really connect and work with you to make sure your child has the best experience. We love it here!! The price is high, but I think you're getting an amazing experience because of it. The place is super clean and we love the sense of community. read more

We love Guidepost! They hire the kindest souls to work there. The approach to caring for little ones is research-based and it shows. Some of the behavioral issues my son had at a previous daycare went away as soon as he was transferred to Guidepost. I'd like to think it's because he's in a more nurturing environment. I've watched my little one gain so much confidence over the year he's been there. He is truly thriving because of GP. read more

We came to Guidepost after our child was abused at a different local school with a very good reputation. Immediately, the staff were extremely caring and committed. Early on, I offered for the school to meet with my child's psychologist to learn about how to help him recover. I was shocked that the school director, Courtney, assistant director, Caroline, and both teachers came to the meeting for a full hour. Our last school would barely give us fifteen minutes with the assistant director when the abuse was first uncovered. Since then, our experience at Guidepost has honestly changed our lives. For the first time, our child likes going to school. Here are a few things that come to mind: Approach to behavior problems: Our child developed some attention-seeking and clingy behaviors after the abuse he suffered. The teachers were incredibly patient and supportive, and they had sufficient staff to give him extra attention as long as he needed it. We never once felt like he was labeled as a problem kid. Montessori method: I believe in the Montessori method in general, but it was especially effective for our child. Every classroom has a bathroom, and the children can go when their bodies tell them they need to go. There are no class trips to the bathroom, where everyone has to go at the same time. Likewise with snacks. Children can serve themselves snacks when they are hungry. They do not need to sit at a table at a designated snack time and either be forced to eat or sit there bored while other kids eat. Concerning work time, the children choose what they want to work on, because the Montessori method is highly structured to promote freedom. Teachers: Every teacher I have encountered has been incredibly kind and generous with her time. Teachers not only receive on-the-job training but take classroom courses in the Montessori method. My impression is that they stay a long time, because many of them have children that attend the school. Our teachers, Johnika and Ashley, talk to me extensively every single day. Again, there are enough staff at Guidepost that there are always others engaging with the kids. Class sizes: The class sizes are phenomenal. Our children's house class has 12 children and 2 lead teachers. At our last school, class sizes at this age were 24 with 3-4 teachers. Outdoor time: The playgrounds are massive. That means that classrooms do not have to rotate going outside, limiting everyone's time to be outside. Everyone can go out at once. That means that if it is a beautiful day, the kids can spend a good part of the afternoon outside. Safety: Every classroom has a door. No doors may sound nice in theory, but in my experience, it simply does not work with toddlers and young preschoolers. And the playground is fully gated. Allergy safety: Guidepost takes allergies very seriously. When one of our teachers, Johnika, was new, she was fully versed in our child's allergy on day one. There has only been one incident where our child took one bite of something, and the teacher literally dove to snatch it away. They called us immediately, and the director, Courtney, sat with him for the rest of the afternoon until we arrived. At our last school, we had allergy incidents about once a month, and they would either downplay it or, worse, deny it. Organized and reliable: We receive weekly emails with updates from Caroline. At our old school, these were supposed to be monthly but were actually quarterly in practice. And the school is reliably open during holidays. So far, there have not been any closures for things like HVAC issues. Diversity: There is a lot of diversity among both the teachers and the students. Guidepost offers scholarships, and I think they said about half of students receive them. Parent connections: Guidepost hosts regular parent events so that we can actually get to know other parents. For example, the fall harvest/halloween party had a catered dinner, healthy trunk-or-treat, pumpkins for each child, petting zoo, costume parade, photo backdrop, and carnival games with prizes. read more

I've given myself about six months after taking my son out of Guidepost before coming back and writing a considered review for other parents who, like me, want a part time preschool experience for their older child. This is not so much a review of the full time care options or care for infants. I'll be the first to admit my child, now 5 but 4 when he attended, isn't the easiest kid to have in a classroom setting. He is energetic and struggles to listen and follow directions and I can fully understand how that would be disruptive and challenging. I was forthright and open with his teachers about this and strived to keep communication channels open so that we could work together. However, we did select Montessori specifically because it is a child-led approach. I did not find that to be the case here, in fact I found that the children's house often expected children to (and expressed frustration when they did not) perform tasks and activities that exceeded their developmental abilities. I am not an expert but our experience there leads me to believe the "Montessori" claim is specious at best. As I said, my son has some qualities that make him a challenging student in a quiet, orderly environment. Like all children his developmental timeline is unique. Instead of recognizing this, discussing this, or even suggesting to us that he was not right for the environment (which I would have vastly preferred), he was constantly treated as defective and purposefully misbehaving. It has taken some time to untangle just how much internalizing that message has affected him. He woke up at night to tell me the teachers (by name) "hated" him. He will still ask me occasionally "I never have to go back to my old school right?" While, again, I acknowledge that the job of an early childhood educator is a difficult and important one, I believe the way my child was taught was vastly out of step with the current understanding of child development. I would be happy to speak with anyone about our experience. Thanks for reading. read more

UPDATE: Things have gone significantly south at Guidepost. Internal instabilities and drama in staffing. Turnover like crazy. Head of School - the original one that started with Guidepost in this location walked out without notice, claiming racism. Not sure how true those claims are, but the result has been devastating. The new Regional Director had zero clue of what Montessori is, mostly focusing on new materials that recently arrived, but having no idea that Montessori is not about the materials. She was fired a month later. One guide from the infant room quit also - that's 3 people in the past month alone. Masks are not worn even though we are reminded to send our kid in a mask. They also inactivated updates for their Facebook reviews - those are old and do not reflect the current Guidepost. Have something to worry about, huh? The only bright light at Guidepost is Ms Brittany. She is a real treasure and your kid will be taken care of. She has loads of experience in Montessori and you will see it reflected in your child's daily life. She really should have become the new Head of School. read more

Like most daycares, your experience at Guidepost will largely depend on the teacher your child gets. Guidepost gets three stars for Miss Brittany, who was absolutely amazing with our toddler, and Miss Vaneza, who was great with our infant. I have to knock stars off for the following issues: Courtney does not respond to email. If you communicate with her over the phone you will do fine, but if you are depending on her to respond over email good luck. Be prepare for lame excuses about spam filters that just don't sound very plausible. I mean, emails about billing seemed to get through just fine. When we were invited inside to interview teachers for our infant, we saw an unmasked worker. We've seen many instances of improper mask usage (the mask needs to cover the nose or it's useless). None of this was addressed by management. The corporate management is worse than useless. They seem to be actively trying to make things worse. Paulina insulated us from that, and maybe Courtney will be able to do the same for you, but I'm skeptical. The check-in process requires you to stand outside, which is fine. However despite having owned the place for over a year now the canopy at the entrance has not been replaced. So be prepared to stand for a while with your child/baby in cold, wet rain in order to be able to check in. Ultimately we left this daycare because we moved out of the area, but I suspect had we stayed in the area we would have continued with Guidepost due to the teachers. So interview your teachers, listen to your kids, and if there are any issues involving management be prepared for a difficult experience. read more

We absolutely LOVE Guidepost at Gambrills! We tried 2 other daycares before coming here and were so nervous on our first day. They provided such excellent material to prepare my child and it was seamless on his first day where there wasn't even a tear! The teachers are amazing and really care and are dedicated to the child's development and learning. My son's speech, development and independence has improved significantly since being there! We absolutely love our teachers and management does a great job communicating and having community events. We are so grateful we found this school! read more

Our son has been at GPMS for 2 years. He loves it! The weekly pictures and the caring staff have made it a great place to be. Even with staff changes, my son still loves being there everyday. read more

Our daughter just started at Guidepost Montessori in Gambrills in February at 15 months old - we are so glad we made the switch from her prior daycare. It's like she was meant to be in Ms. Caitlyn's classroom all along! Ms. Caitlyn and her co-teachers have been so welcoming and really eased the transition for our daughter. read more

So glad to have found this wonderful school and community! My daughter is flourishing!

Our 2-year old son enrolled at Guidepost in February 2021; Guidepost was his first prolonged exposure to people other than his parents, including other kids of his age, and we were concerned about how he would handle that novel experience. The young gentleman has clearly been placed in an environment which encourages his growth. His communication has picked up, he is initiating conversation and articulating his needs and wants. Our son is in the Toddler program, and all the guides are just amazing! We are happy with how the guides and administration constantly communicate with the families to keep us in the loop of school development. Our son is transferring to a virtual platform since we are traveling, and all the arrangements to enable that and begin his virtual Montessori experience have been seamless. The ease and timeliness of communication around these transition plans has been outstanding. If you are looking for a school which will guide your child to independentce, embrace diversity and develop the skills necessary to successfully navigate life and has educational journey, based on the evidence that we have seen so far, we recommend Guidepost Montessori. Thank you to Ms. Paulina and her team for a sterling job! Thank you for your service. We appreciate you Ms. Stephanie and Ms. Rachel for your impact on our son. read more

Let me tell you a story about how this daycare only cares about $$$$. THEY reached out to me in April to talk about their financial aid program and encouraged us to apply for it - $45 fee. Then we enrolled on the waitlist - $100 fee. As soon as we joined the waitlist? Absolutely zero communication or transparency. I reached out multiple times to try and understand (a) where we were on the waitlist and (b) when we could expect a spot so that we could appropriately plan for our childcare needs. I sent an email in May that went unanswered - "I enrolled [daughter] on the wait list back at the end of April. I was wondering if you had any time today to talk for a few minutes regarding how the waitlist works and whether we can definitely expect a spot in September or if there are multiple people ahead of us? Please let me know if you have some time to chat or if there is someone else I can reach out to to discuss these things." We were told when we signed up for the waiting list that they were waitlisting for September availability, so I decided to trust the process and that we would have a spot in September. They FINALLY responded to me on August 5 to tell me they wouldn't - leaving me two weeks to secure daycare. Nobody apologized for the lack of communication, nobody apologized for the terrible position they put us in after taking $145 of our money, and to make matters worse, when I suggested they should provide updates to families on waiting lists (or, you know, respond to inquiries about the waiting list) they said "oh thanks, that's good feedback" --- no, that's waiting list 101. That's your job. Honestly? If the daycare ever goes out of business they should all go into car sales or something. We'll see if this actually gets a response - unlike the phone call and at least a dozen emails I've sent them since May. read more