STAY AWAY - This review is about the school administration/ownership, not the teachers or staff. This place has completely fallen apart under the new administration. If you're considering this Montessori school, run the other way -- especially if you're expecting something remotely resembling Montessori philosophy. The owner (Priya) herself admitted, "This isn't a real Montessori school. It's just the name." That sums it up: pure false advertising. Let me be clear: the teachers we interacted with were lovely and hardworking -- when they were still around. But thanks to horrible management, staff morale is rock bottom, and the teacher turnover is insane. We saw incredible educators come and go faster than you can blink. Most of the original team was fired, including the PE teacher, who was replaced by... a TV playing exercise videos for toddlers. I'm not joking. They've raised tuition, added charges for early and late drop-offs (so yes, they charge you for "not" taking care of your kid), and what do you get in return? A mess. Want to participate in Thanksgiving or cultural celebrations? Great -- you'll be told to bring the food, but then you're not allowed to join the kids. Just drop off your dish and go. Our child was held back in the younger classroom due to "staffing issues" even though developmentally ready to move up. We were told the academic teaching will be the same there wasn't enough room in the upper class. And the favoritism is real. At graduation, they refused to let our child walk with their peers even though she had reached the right age and was transitioning to TK. Meanwhile, a younger child (yes, younger than ours) was allowed to graduate and walk -- because clearly, they pick and choose who gets what experience based on who they like. Absolutely heartbreaking and unfair. Communication with the administration is a joke. They scheduled a parent-teacher conference, and when we showed up -- no one was there. Not even an apology. They never answer calls, and if you try to reach Priya, good luck -- we had to physically show up to the school multiple times just to talk to her. Then there's the sunblock incident. They failed to apply our child's labeled sunblock and when we raised concern, they said we never brought any. We showed up and -- surprise! -- the bottle with our child's name was sitting right there. I was even called a "bad mom" by the administrator for dropping my child off late. What kind of professional school says that to a parent? The worst part: our child had an accident at school -- fell and cut her lip. We were told there was "no blood." At pickup, there was clearly dried blood. Took her to the ER and found out she had a 1cm cut that could've needed stitches. We were never given an incident report, just vague phone calls with no documentation. Completely unacceptable and dangerous. When we gave notice, they refused to return our deposit -- said we needed to "prove we paid it," even though paying the deposit was a requirement to enroll. Complete scam behavior. They also refused to disable our auto-payment on the Brightwheel app during our final month. Priya told us to "reach out to the app," but Brightwheel clearly told us that only the school has the authority to remove the charge. They just didn't want to do it. The graduation ceremony itself? A joke. No refreshments for families (unlike the year before), and they invited a guest speaker wearing inappropriate, revealing clothing to speak to the whole school full of toddlers, preschoolers and parents. Completely tone-deaf and unprofessional. We deeply regret sending our child here. It's not the same school it used to be. The leadership has turned it into a chaotic, unprofessional, unsafe, and unkind environment -- and the kids are paying the price. Again: this review is directed at the school's ownership and administration, not the exhausted and underappreciated teachers doing their best despite a toxic situation. read more

Amazing school and program. I have 2 kids who attend Prodigy and their growth and development since starting has been wonderful. The emphasis on their learning has been amazing to see and will prepare them for the next steps in their educational journey. Priya and her teachers (Ms. Theresa in particular) have been great to work with and care for the kids as if they are their own. They upload pictures throughout the day, so that when the kids say they did nothing, I can ask them about the pony they rode earlier in the day because of the pictures. Throughout the summer the kids days have been filled with tons of fun activities that leave them gleaming at the end of each day (pool day, pony rides, reptile day, etc. ) I have seen some of the negative remarks as of late and must disagree with a lot of those opinions, from my perspective. These negative remarks seem retaliatory in their nature (who leaves their kids with people they don't trust). I find it refreshing that there are events for the kids in which parents are not allowed. This is important for their social development, and it is reassuring to know that parents are not welcomed in the space where my kids are present without parental consent. This is not to say that there are no events with parents, but those are scheduled far in advance so that all can attend. Priya has been transparent about everything since day one and we feel the schooling is affordable in comparison to some programs that are just day cares. read more

I have taken my son to a different school program from ages 2 to 6, and unfortunately, I had to remove him because I did not feel it was a safe environment or that it provided a strong educational system. Due to that experience, as parents we made the decision to homeschool for some time. Now, I have two sons, and after doing extensive research, I came across Prodigy Montessori School, led by Ms. Priya. From the very beginning, Ms. Priya was extremely informative about the school system, tuition, early and late pickup times, and overall expectations. She made sure I fully understood everything and always made herself available to answer any questions at any time of the day. That level of communication made me feel confident and reassured as a parent. It was clear she genuinely cares not only for the students but also for the parents. It has now been 10 months since my children joined this program, and I can confidently say that safety is never a question here. I feel completely at ease knowing my children are in their care while I am at work. In terms of education, the progress has been incredible. My oldest son started at Prodigy Montessori while he was still in speech therapy. Under the leadership of Ms. Priya and the teachers, he improved so much that I was able to remove him from speech therapy. He is now very talkative and uses many new and advanced words. As a parent, this makes me extremely proud. He now sings his ABCs, writes his name and other words, and even knows how to add and subtract. His confidence has grown so much, and he is proud of himself as well. My youngest son just turned two years old, and he is showing amazing progress too. Both of my children have made tremendous improvements in their education and development under Ms. Priya and her teaching staff, and I am truly grateful. Regarding some reviews mentioning things like fancy meals or refreshments for celebrations, I cannot speak to those expectations, as many school systems do not provide those extras. When paying out of pocket for a child's education, it is important to be informed about what the program includes, such as contributing monthly snacks for the children. Personally, I am more than happy to bring extra if needed.. I also want to add a message to fellow parents reading these reviews. If at any point you feel that a school environment is not safe or that your child's education is not meeting the proper standards, please do not wait until the school year has ended to take action. As a parent, your child's safety and well-being should always come first. When I felt my child was unsafe in a previous program, I removed him immediately without hesitation. Reading some reviews where parents felt uncomfortable but chose to wait is truly sad to me, because as parents we are our children's only voice and protection. Overall, I am very happy with Prodigy Montessori School and thankful for the care, education, and dedication provided by Ms. Priya and the entire team. I highly recommend this school to any parent looking for a safe, supportive, and educational environment for their children. read more

TL;DR - Send your kids elsewhere. Safety, environment, and business practices declined with new owners. I also experienced same things as other reviewers, so I'll try not to repeat them. It used to be a great school under Ms Anu. After becoming Prodigy, new owner Priya let go of Ms Anu MID-DAY, sending a message to all parents that effective immediately, Priya would take over operations. No chance for goodbyes with Ms Anu. Priya also attached her "resume" with only testimonials... like who does that? That pattern continued many more teachers would suddenly be "on leave" (permanently) or was let go "effective immediately". Never a chance for goodbyes and my child always asks why her teachers were suddenly "no longer friends with the school". She doesn't understand why teachers are "leaving" her. Before Priya took over, the graduation ceremonies each year were fun-filled events with refreshments where we celebrated the graduating kids, and the lower classes also got awards like "most reliable" or "best smile", etc to keep everyone involved. After the takeover, this year's celebration for graduating class was lackluster, and the lower class would quickly perform a song and be ushered back to class without parents able to even wave at them. In addition, it's especially frustrating when your own child is older in age and academically/emotionally more mature than the kids graduating because Priya picks and chooses who to move up to the graduating class (hint: seems to be based on if the student started before or after the ownership change). When kids get injured, there's a lot of shady CYA behavior from the school. Once in a while, you'll see an incident report for minor injuries in the app, but anything larger than a minor incident will be verbal. Any attempts to get a documented message in the app is met with a phone call days later instead, and refusal to message in the app about it. Every month, parents always signed up to bring snacks to the school. However, after the takeover, the signup process became electronic and it required you to sign up for a very specific number of items you "volunteer". Often, it was things like bring rice krispies + paper towels + bags of fruit that's good for minimum of 40 students, which became ridiculous because enrollment dropped to around 20 and we still had to supply for 40. Where was everything going? There's been many disagreements/issues that we've had where Priya is in the wrong, and Priya never apologizes even when it's her fault. Blame gets redirected to teachers and parents. If you as an owner and director of the school do not have the etiquette to apologize, but rather redirect blame to the other party, then what kind of things are you teaching the kids? Speaking of teachers, they are NOT allowed to talk to the parents on the app, everything has to go through Priya. Here's the thing, Priya says do not message outside of school hours (which is fine), but then she messages us outside of school hours sometimes with last minute actions we have to take before the next morning. How about following your own advice? When we DO message during school hours, Priya won't respond. When trying to catch her in-person, usually she's not there. When asking where she is, teachers answer "I don't know, try calling her". When we call, she doesn't pick up. IF we DO catch her at school, her excuse is she's too busy with the kids to respond to messages. So we can't message in off hours and we must message for on-hours, but for on-hours she's not reachable and will not respond because she's busy. WHAT? FYI save all messages because she deletes incriminating ones. Special events have terrible communication and inconsistent messaging. For example, one of the holiday events, we had asked about whether the parents are invited to celebrate with the kids. Answer: "we'd love it if you could donate your time and items to the event". We had to clarify if that meant parents are invited or not, and the answer was still vague 3x times until finally we got "this celebration is just for the children". The next day, we drop off food and see half the audience are parents because suddenly that morning "parents are welcome". This inconsistent messaging is frustrating since parents need to PLAN/take time off to be there for our kids and if they can't give us a straight, CLEAR answer, then be ready to waste a LOT of time that you don't have. Also, good luck getting your deposit back even when you follow all the rules. To the person who says these bad reviews are retaliatory, it's the opposite. There are more parents who haven't written a review because they are afraid of retaliation on their kid, which is in line with what the owner would do. That's why the bad reviews are coming now, AFTER school year ended. Pricing is cheaper than others... you get what you pay for. So pay more for your kids. Pro Tip: before trusting the 5-star reviews, click the reviewer's profiles... you'll see what I mean. read more

We love Prodigy. Our daughter started coming here in September 2024. We have seen such great growth with our toddler. She has always loved numbers and letters but she is really learning in a structured environment. Ms. Olivia, Ms. Teddy, Ms. Youhana, and Ms. Priya are just wonderful with the children. We are excited to see how much more she grows and develops in the next year. read more

Amazing school!!! Nice staff and the owner and really involved in providing the best education and values to the kids! read more

My child has been at Prodigy Montessori since 2024, and we've been really happy. The teachers are caring and patient, my child actually looks forward to going to school, and we've seen a lot of growth both socially and academically. I have to say, I'm really surprised by some of the negative reviews here because my experience has been the total opposite. The school is clean, organized, and feels safe. Any time I've had a question, I've gotten a quick response. Events and celebrations have always been fun for the kids and inclusive for families in my experience. I also noticed someone mentioned "fake accounts" posting positive reviews, but as a real parent with a child here, I can say that's just not the case. Parents like me are writing positive reviews because we're genuinely happy with the school. When someone says they were afraid of retaliation and waited till graduation, if you are a caring and reasonable person, would you leave your child at such a horrible place when the safety, wellbeing and happiness of your child is under threat? I will not leave my child at such a place for even a minute. I have received calls from some past parents asking me to post a bad review and I have declined to do so as I strongly feel disgusted with such behavior. These unfair reviews are written by parents who didn't want to follow rules and when the administration enforces they get angry. I can say this based on conversations with the parent who wanted me to post a bad review. I have had multiple detailed conversations with Ms. Priya about the staff turnover as I was equally concerned. She doesn't compromise safety of children or gossips and is happy to replace any staff that compromises on those things. Ms. Priya follows rules and expects the same from her families, which I personally think is good for the children. Having a conversation with Ms. Priya has always helped me as she is very considerate. No school is perfect, but we've had nothing but good experiences at Prodigy Montessori Cypress and feel lucky to have found this place. read more

DO NOT BRING YOUR KIDS HERE. Everything parents have stated below is so true and I went through it myself. This place is unprofessional and they do not care about the well being of you children. I feel bad for taking my daughters here, they are still traumatized from all the chaos going on in this establishment. Not having a relationship with your child's' teacher is a red flag and Prodigy Montessori condones this. It took me a while to leave a review because I didn't know how to put it into words, but it seems like a few parents described it PERFECTLY. Praying for the children still attending. read more

My child attends Prodigy and we could not be more pleased. The curriculum is set up for the children to succeed. I've watched my child bloom and grow since she has started. The teachers are kind, patient and caring. I only have positive feedback with Ms. Priya, Ms. Olivia and Ms. Cynthia. I have watched each of them interact with my child and they love what they do. Pictures of my child are sent out each day with activities they are working on which I love to see. My child looks forward to going to school and will ask me on the weekends if she can go to school today. That tells me she is happy and the environment is nurturing. I'm a parent who asks a lot of questions and the staff there has always taken time to talk with me Ms. Priya has been very kind and transparent with me and that is one aspect I expect in sending my child to a private school. read more

My daughter came here for a few years and she loved the kids, school and staff. When my little girl started coming here she was heavily speech delayed and within a few months we saw a huge improvement. She was also taught to put things away after she was done using it. Ms Olivia and Ms Theresa are always so kind and nurturing to the kids. read more

I DO NOT RECOMMEND THIS SCHOOL. This place was amazing when Ms. Anu was director and Ms. Anu was the only reason I picked it. However, it's gone downhill ever since Priya (owner) let Ms. Anu go and made herself the director since October 2024. Priya waited until the school year had started and all the registration fees had been paid before letting Ms. Anu go. Some of the issues I've encountered with Priya and this school: 1. Teachers - My daughter's teachers have been amazing, however, they are often scared to talk to parents and do not look happy. I've spoken to 2 teachers who told me that the Priya doesn't want teachers talking to the parents, Priya took away holiday pay and one even called it a prison. One of those teachers got in trouble with Priya for telling the truth to a parent about an incident with the child and Priya told her to lie next time...that teacher was let go. During the last 2 years, more than 7 teachers have been let go and/or they quit. 2. Not Nut-Free. School isn't really nut-free (my daughter received easter eggs with nuts, overheard another parent ask their kid if he ate his PB&J at lunch). 3. Safety is questionable. I've found the security gate left open several times and they built a new little kids' playground right under a massive tree that drops acorns/pinecones (same tree shattered a teacher's car window). 4. Poor Communication - Priya handles all communication with parents and communication has been poor. I sent messages (and follow-up messages) through the app and had several messages be ignored. I know other parents that had similar experiences. I would have to chase her down in person (when she was actually on-site) to get a response. She's also sent non-priority announcements (i.e. snack sign up sheets, monthly newsletters) late at night and more recently said she wants parents to not message outside business hours...would be nice if she adhered to her policy. Communication between Priya and her staff seems to be poor as well...spoke to several teachers who didn't know other teachers had been let go. Also, she claimed her policy is to respond within 24-48 hours and that often doesn't happen...only thing I've found truly effective is to keep asking to see her in person which is a waste of my time but the only thing that's worked. 5. Refused to let parents attend a party - Priya asked parents to bring food for the lunar celebration. Due to the school's failure to comply with its own food policy, knowing parents were bringing homemade food, my daughter not able to communicate what she will/will not eat, and concerns about her allergy, I made it clear in writing to Priya that I will attend. However, Priya insisted that the event was for school only and disregarded all my concerns. When Ms Anu was director, she cultivated an inviting environment and parents were allowed to attend events but that's not the case with Priya. She just wants parents to bring food for students and teachers and for parents to not attend. When I inquired about the time of the event, Priya said I couldn't enter the school for the celebration because the food is only for the children. I explained I didn't plan on eating and voiced my concerns about my daughter. I reiterated I would attend. Priya didn't attend the celebration and left another teacher in charge at the event who refused to let me and another parent enter. We finally said we are exercising our rights under CA law and can enter whenever our child is on the premises. The teacher finally said we can attend but asked that we stay out of pictures so Priya doesn't see we attended. 6. Director duties - I've had several incidents where Priya didn't seem to know what was going. (1) She gave an incorrect date for the holiday party but when I pointed out that's not the correct date per the school schedule given to us at the beginning of the school year and asked why she changed it, she chose to argue with me. She responded she can change it and so she did. Then she said she's not responsible for anything a prior director communicated or did. I reminded her this is her school and she's the owner. She then said she's not responsible for anything the teachers do or say. Later that night she called me and the other parent to tell us that she had the date wrong after all and that I was correct. A simple look at the school schedule could've fixed this. Instead she just made up a date and then proceeded to argue with me. (2) She forgot about parent-teacher conferences at the end of the school year until I reminded her. (3) When asked about start time for graduation, she said she didn't know. Increasing Fees, Poor Communication, overall mess of scheduling and information, oh and good luck trying to get your deposit back or getting auto-pay shut off. I could go on. It used to be amazing when Ms. Anu was in charge but, after Priya took over, I was literally counting the days until graduation. read more

If I could give this place negative stars, I would. This so-called "Montessori" is nothing more than a sham hiding behind the name. My granddaughter went here, and every single pickup was the same: filthy, sunburned, and clearly neglected. That's not independence, that's plain laziness and lack of care. The previous administration at least knew how to build a sense of community. They had wonderful family events where grandparents and parents were encouraged to celebrate and be involved. Under the new regime, it's nothing but a cold dictatorship. Family involvement? Completely shut out. They still expect you to provide the food, but you're not welcome to participate. What kind of school discourages parents and grandparents from being part of a child's education? It's backwards, heartless, and frankly insulting. I pleaded with my kid to pull my granddaughter out, but the waitlists for decent schools were too long. Thankfully, she is finally gone from this nightmare. To the families stuck here: you have my deepest sympathy. This place is a disgrace to the Montessori name and to early childhood education. Avoid at all costs. read more

Prodigy Montessori is a safe space for my son. He started this school a year ago at a very fragile stage, but the love, affection, and care he received from the Teachers made his transition easier. Ms. Anu and Ms Deepa are genuinely gems of a person. They care for the kids diligently and responsibly; Ms Anu is very prompt in communication. I used to bug her often in the initial days to update me with my son's schedule and send me his pictures, but she always responded wholeheartedly. Schools need infrastructural upgrades, especially the big tree roots, which are a falling hazard for kids; my son trips on them almost every day, and they should undoubtedly upgrade the play area. This is the most expensive school in the area, and suddenly, they increased tuition in the middle of the year, which was a big surprise to us. We expect some positive structural upgrades soon. Overall, my son is learning new things every day. His communication and vocabulary are remarkable. I love how they celebrate different cultures and traditions, which helps kids to grow together as a beautiful community. read more

My three years old has been going from last 12 months and he absolutely loves it. He has got really better with motor skills and surprises us everyday with new stuff he learns at school. Thank you to all the teachers for being so loving to the child. The fees was increased that came as a surprise. We expect the school administration to fix the tree roots closer to the drop off area. read more