Far Horizons Montessori is fantastic. If you are looking for a place where your child will be well…read morecared for and learn in a nurturing environment, you have found it. My daughter first started going to FHM at the age of 3 and was in Lisa Cairo's class (I've dubbed Lisa the child whisperer!) for 3 years. My daughter loved it! She loved Ms. Lisa, loved all the school activities, forged close friendships and was so excited about reading and learning. For 1st grade we made the transition to public school. The joy of learning and reading was quickly snuffed out to the point where she didn't care if she had bedtime stories anymore. She did well academically and liked her teacher, but she hated that all activities (especially recess!) were rushed. The punitive nature of the public school with being tardy (to my daughter it meant she had to walk to class without a parent), the overcrowded and very congested classrooms, the high teacher to student ratios, the lack of music program (sometimes they sit and watch tv if the music teacher was absent) created a stressful environment which contributed to her lack of excitement in going to school. My daughter is very social and makes friends where ever she goes, yet she spent 7 months without making a single friend. At FH, they have large classrooms, a primary teacher and a secondary teacher with each class, time to complete their work, fantastic projects and a style of pedagogy that meets the individual needs of each student. I am so glad my daughter is back at FH. She's her happy, social, confident self again and has gone back to embracing her heritage, our culture, and begs for bedtime stories. She reads and does her workbook pages without being asked. She reads all the time, loves chapter books, and has started to write a few of her own.
The owner, Lynn Rodrick, is a sweet person who knows how to run a school and educate kids. Lynn took over FH during my daughters 3rd year (December 2018) and has revamped the school. Door are now locked, website is much better, and she has set up an online pay system. Lynn changed the check-in system within months after she stared but now she has staggered drop off and pick up times. She personally checks-in each students, measures their temp, and assess for signs and symptoms or exposure to COVID. Lynn and the teachers' transition during COVID was exemplary. My daughter had in person school (there was an online option but my daughter needed to be around other kids) since Sept. 2020. All safety and precautionary measures were taken and Lynn and her team of teachers did what the other school districts in the area couldn't. The school went to great measures, incurring extra costs, to protect our kids without triggering anxiety in the kids. This school is truly a community. My daughter continues to thrive at this school and has done so well with the support of Ms. Kelli and Ms. Tarsa this past year. We are indebted to the school, to Lynn, and to the teachers. I have only one wish, and that's for Lynn to find a way to accept kids up to the age of 14!!! It would be amazing if our daughter could go through the tumultuous teenagers years under the care and supervision of great educators.