I attended here in my youth. I'm glad it got shut down, so this isn't really doing anything. i just want to share my story. The owner, and main teacher, was a groomer. if you ever sent your kid here, ask them about 'tickling'. She had two students volunteer to go up behind her and "tickle" her, which was massaging her back with our fingertips and like ruffling her hair and like all the way down her back. She was in her 70s btw. And she manipulated us into being enthusiastic about it. She is the reason I have to take anxiety meds now. She was also incredibly cruel. One time she locked us outside in 100 something degree heat for two hours because she had a meeting. She didn't let me go inside to get my water. Her name was Nikki. We didn't call her Miss Nikki. Just Nikki. She had us sing this song and it went "I love Nikki in the morning, I love Nikki at noon, I love Nikki at dinner time, I love Nikki all the time". And she like manipulated us into liking her and making us think she was really nice and good and awesome. Also she would yell and scream at students and belittle them and call them names. She once called this girl who was having a meltdown "Eowyn jr" my like irl name is Eowyn. Like??? Tf did I do. She held grudges against me and would never punish this other kid Nate because she liked him and thought he could never lie ever. Even though he literally once almost KILLED ME. He almost drowned me at a birthday party. But that's a story for another day. She thought I was like. Satan 2. She would also scream at students for crying. Also if you didn't get three pieces of work done in the morning you wouldn't get recess. Also one time she didn't let us have half of our lunch time. One time I tried to comfort my friend cuz she was crying cuz she didn't get enough work done, but Nikki got mad at me for it. Also at the end of each week, in front of the whole class, she would count how much work each student got done. I almost always got the least. And always got shamed for it. Also she would send letters to my house for holidays and stuff. She also somehow found me and my friends phone numbers, I guess through files somehow, and made a group chat with us. Also YEARS later, like 8th grade, she found my dads phone number and sent him pictures of me and said that she remembers me. Also one time she grabbed me by the wrist and dragged me to the principles office. Also, I have this friend I met last year, and apparently his little sister went to the same place. Now this was years after I left, she's like 8. And one time apparently Nikki gave her a black eye. Luckily it's been shut down. Also, an autistic little girl got EXPELLED for having too many meltdowns. Also, one time, a boy kissed a girl without her permission, and they were on the web, which is this huge playstructure. Nikki didn't punish the boy, and blamed the girl for not getting away. Maybe she's just used to defending people like herself. also, I got treated unfairly. I scored 7th place in the national French contest, and got a bronze medal. Yet, when someone else the next year also got 7th, and another person got 8th, they BOTH got silver medals. clearly a bias against me. and also, she had this thing called "generals". She had three literal first graders patrolling the classroom and getting up and telling people to get back to work and bossing us around. They're the ones out of their seats, why are they telling me to work?? And Nikki only did this because she didnt want to actually do anything herself. She also made us do chores for her and get stuff for her, like her coffee. Also, the recess lady once did nothing when a boy punched me. Also, every time a student got in trouble, or an accusation or anything, she would start an 'investigation'. they usually lasted for 2-3 hours. i was once the target of one because I took the ball from someone in soccer. She gaslit me into thinking that's not what you're supposed to do in soccer. I was standing there for three hours as she got all of my classmates stories, letting them all shame me for 'lying'. also, she made fun of only children. She made a mocking song about only children and how their spoiled. she YELLED at only children for being on children, and not doing chores. It's none of her business. Also, she once got mad at me for putting butter on the counter, and accused me of lying when I said thats how we do it at home. Also, she once got mad at me for saying I had no pencils at home, again, accusing me of lying. She also once got mad at me for supposedly knocking a poster down. I said I didn't, because I didnt know I did. She told me next time to just admit to it and say I didn't mean to and I didn't know. So next time, I did. guess what? She got mad at me and accused me of lying. I hope she rots in hell. read more

We LOVE this school and we love the staff. Our son has thrived here. I have never felt anything but love and honest care for my son and our family. I appreciate so much their code of ethics they uphold, to support and protect our kids safety. I see some negative reviews here and honestly, I think there might be some upset parents who's kids had a harder time in a Montessori setting. There is a lot of independence and responsibility that Montessori allows for, and that's not for every kid that might need a different kind of support that a public school could provide. But if you are looking for a school setting that is so uniquely special and really gives your children a ton of love and an advantage in not just their education, but also their growth as a person, this could be the place for you. read more

Our daughter has taken a giant leap in her development since she started at Skinner Montessori School. This School offers a full educational experience in a safe and peaceful classroom. The teachers are kind, loving, patient and passionate about the work they do. read more

**PARENTS BEWARE**. Look at other Montessori/preschools in the area. The current administrator at this school is extremely unprofessional and "fake" in sincerity. The lack of communication, frequent closures, and significant cost of the uniforms caused me withdraw my child. I had to contact the BBB to enlist their assistance with getting my refund back! We are loving our new preschool and other Montessori's have been wonderful. read more

Does not follow Maria Montessori teachings or school guidelines. Yells, belittles children, and calls them outside of their names. Singles them out and are not allowed to ask for help or questions. Nikki makes fun of them and behaves herself like a bully. Nikki is forgetful and she is the one doing all of the above and more. Horrible experience. She pushed my child, I asked her about it and she didn't take accountability. I walked in on another kid who dropped hot boiling water for her coffee from her desk. The child could have seriously injured herself. Her credentials are definitely not up to date and neither are the staff she leaves in charge to teach when she's not there. Her Montessori school material is out dated and only has one for each of the lectures instead of meeting the student ratio like other Montessori schools. I've attended a few, and by far, this is worse than a public school. This school and staff looks like it was defunded a long time ago and keeps putting off permanent closure. read more

Structured Montessori. Great education for the money. Best money I've spent in a long time. They are the best.

I myself was a student here 30 years ago. Now I'm a Mom and my 3-year-old daughter is in the preschool class, and I plan to keep here there through kindergarten at least. The Skinner sisters have built a wonderful educational institution, true to the principles of Montessori teaching. It's amazing how they are able to "tame" my very active daughter and encourage her to direct her energy toward educational exploration and learning. They very much value independence self-sufficiency, which is something I think a lot of schools lack these days in favor of only the formal sit-down-and-listen type of teaching (which they also incorporate, but in a good balance with independent exploration.) For those who wonder if "independent exploration" means unorganized playtime, it very much does not. It works like this: there are a variety of "tools" and stations set up around the classroom, running the gamut from numbers and letters to sensory to life skills. Kids are given formal lesson on a tool or activity by the teacher, usually one-on-one, and once they've shown they understand how to use it properly they are able to choose that station during independent study time. The days are intermixed with lots of larger group lessons and activities/projects. I love how in addition to learning about the letters, numbers and geography (and French, of course), the preschool children also learn life tasks such as washing their dishes, wiping and sweeping up their messes, pouring water into a glass from a pitcher, caring for plants, slicing foods, using zippers, clasps and buttons, tying shoes, etc. The children are encouraged to take responsibility for their learning actions- not in an overly strict way, but in a way that makes them feel proud to do so. It's a great thing they have going here, and I think there's a reason that kindergarten and 1st grade teachers uniformly love kids who came from Montessori preschool. And Skinner School does Montessori right, as they have been for generations! read more

All My grand kids have been to Skinner. Nice school with great teachers. Friendly staff. And good education.

We have attended with our children for several years and have gone from believers to completely frustrated like many others before us. If it was only a school for PreK and primary students I would give the experience 5 stars-they will have your child reading and writing well above grade level. The problem is if you continue into the upper level (K and up, more $$). There used to be more choice in teachers so you could avoid the one with a bad reputation but that is no longer the case. The teachers left are the owner and her sister and it is a no win situation. The sister teaches K-2 and shouldn't be teaching anyone but adults (and would have a hard time succeeding at that if not for the family business) Parents are leaving in droves each year once they experience her: she cannot tell you your childs progress; she doesn't reply to phone calls, emails, notes; she refuses parent volunteers and uses those of us who do insist on volunteering as secretarial staff instead of working with our children as we did on the primary side; she is inconsistent, contradictory, emotionally insensitive and borderline abusive to parents and children. Children are traumatized and afraid. Avoid. read more