When we moved to Northbrook in mid-2022, we left an amazing daycare in the city and were…read moreheartbroken to move our daughter out of the care of the people who had helped us raise her for almost two years. We came to Guidepost on a referral from friends who attended and it has been nothing short of a truly wonderful experience. We did not come here as Montessori-fanatics, but quickly realized what wonders it was doing for our child. Her growth, sense of independence, and creativity have flourished here. All of her teachers have been loving, attentive, and communicative. Abbey and Christine, the school leadership, are always reachable and open to discussions when I have questions/feedback. We love sending our daughter here because she know she is safe, loved, and engaged in her learning. We would absolutely recommend Guidepost Deerbrook to any family looking for a home for their child!

We've been with the Guidepost for a couple of months and it's been an outstanding experience!…read moreTeachers and staff are friendly and resourceful, and communication is prompt and clear. I compared over 10 daycares thoroughly prior to sending him here and I'm very happy with my decision. I love that my little one does a variety of creative and fun activities daily with Montessori philosophy as a foundation. I feel sincere care and love from the teachers and staff here, and I appreciate the teachers taking the time to do a parent-teacher conference to share detailed feedback on the child. It helps parents understand where we can better support him to enjoy his day and grow. I also like that the school puts lots of effort into building a community. The monthly gatherings/ events for families and kids, sending out weekly newsletters, and having a FB family communication page... they go above and beyond! I highly recommend Guidepost to my family and friends!

My son is in his second year here and also attended camp this past summer. We love the school and…read morethe teachers. My son is happy and excitheted to go to school every day. They are very flexible with days/times each child attends so we could set a schedule that works well for our family.

Love HP Montessori! Both of my daughters have been to HP Montessori for the past few years. We…read moremoved from the city mid-year; they were able to accommodate my older one easily. My younger one started the following summer in their 2-3 classroom and has progressed to their 3-6 (she's in her 3rd year now). We love how kind the teachers are and helpful the entire staff is. It is a well-oiled machine, but takes the time to work with each family's unique needs. They have been very helpful when my work schedule fluctuated - allowing me to switch days or add hours as needed. My younger daughter is reading now - not because anyone is pushing her, but because she enjoys it because of the Montessori process. Their educational model is American-style Montessori, so even though there are rules to be followed, their is much nurturing and compassion that accompanies learning activities. She has learned about all different cultures and some French, Spanish, & Italian! Lunches are amazing - Chef Don makes gourmet food that your kid will actually eat. I am so impressed by how dynamic my girls' palettes are now & I'm almost certain its because of those lunches. We have also really enjoyed the Fun in the Sun Summer Camp. Affordable, fun, and - a big for working parents - reliable with quality instruction and care. Would highly recommend to anyone in the area looking for a preschool that prepares kids well for elementary education.

This is an overdue love letter to St. Mark's for how they helped guide my two children into…read moreDistrict 57 schools. My kids are now 17 and 20, so I have no recent experience, but cannot imagine much has changed since we spent four years under their care. From the administrator Cindy to each and every teacher (especially Peggy and someone else whose name escapes me at the moment), it was a place chock full of learning and love. And somehow this flowed down by creating a very strong bond shared between the other families and Moms and Dads which did not diminish with time. Thanks again to everyone on staff for creating a nurturing, warm, highly competent educational experience for my children.

The teachers at St. Marks are amazing. Every day my daughter learns something new and absolutely…read morecannot wait to go back the next day! The teachers treat each child like their own. Their attention and care for children is second go none. The lessons are theme based each week and when my daughter comes home she cannot wait to talk about (ie: weather, eating healthy, writing...) whatever the lesson is. St. Marks has very accommodating hours (630am-6pm) and flexible scheduling options. I believe that this is a school/daycare that is truly 100% invested in the children and not just here to run a business. The school also provides a variety of heathy meals. There is also a large gym for the kids on gym days (I haven't found many other schools with this). A++++

My son went to the school in 2022 and 2023. We are Korean and Christian and I thought I was sending…read moremy son to a safe place. Back then my son was in preschool in kindergarten so he didn't really know what was going on but now he's in third grade and he communicates with us perfectly. While looking through his old yearbook together, we stumbled upon this teacher's picture. He said she was very unkind to him with another kid and him were trying to grab an item. He would always give it to the other kid and yell at him . He said he specifically felt singled up by her that she was nice to everybody except him and it was making him very confused but now that he's older and can understand I told him about racism. I told him there's certain people that think they're they're better than others because of their skin color and they like to abuse, helpless little children, while smiling at their occupation, saying that their Christians, that is absolutely disgusting . SHe would always pull him aside and be mean to him while smiling in our faces. My wife thought she was the nicest one there. But she is a racist just trying to cover herself. Christian Heritage Academy you should do better and you should be ashamed of yourself hiring people like that. We trust you with our kids. And we pay you very well for the services. Please get your act together. We are truly disappointed in you 10 thumbs down for you guys.

My first grader niece LOVES going to school here and a lot of it has to do with the high level of…read moreengagement and community support. The facilities and especially the auditorium are comparable to what you can find in some colleges, let alone a grade school. Top notch, I know my nieces and nephews will be nurtured and will excel because of the high quality of education they are receiving and will receive here.

We LOVE Glenview Knowledge Beginnings and cannot say enough good things about them! The staff is…read moreabsolutely wonderful and genuinely cares about our little one. We've been at KB since our little one was about 5 months old and now a year and a half later, we're just as satisfied (if not more so) than on the first day. I'm consistently amazed with the quality of the teaching and cannot believe how much my little one has learned while in their care. Every day there is a new activity, song or art project to provide engagement and learning opportunities. The teachers also work with me on specific goals, watch out for specific behaviors, and are always helpful and friendly. They truly feel like an extension of our family. The location is great and the space in the building is fabulous too. The classrooms are large and bright, there are flexible and multi-purpose indoor spaces, and also plenty of space to play outside in age-appropriate and fenced in playgrounds. As a parent, not only do I appreciate that my child is welcomed, by name, every time a teacher or staff member sees them but that I am also greeted by name each and every time I enter the building. The front office staff takes a personal interest in me and my family and are always willing to listen and troubleshoot if I have any problems or questions. I highly recommend Glenview Knowledge Beginnings if you're looking for a wonderful, loving and enriching childcare environment!

My infant son and 2-year-old daughter attended Knowledge Beginnings for 3.5 months this year, and…read moreit was not a good experience. The biggest issue was teacher/student ratios: I routinely dropped off my children into classrooms that had too many kids and too few teachers. In the most extreme instances, my daughter's classroom had 13 2-year-olds and one teacher. One day in the infant room, there was a single teacher watching 8 babies alone across two adjoining rooms. I raised the understaffed classrooms to the center's managers, including the area director, Sarah; they addressed it for one day before both classrooms were understaffed again, in flagrant violation of state licensing standards. A few other things: There was high teacher turnover; both of my daughter's teachers left in the few months we were there and both cited "mental health" in their decision to leave. In my son's room, one teacher disappeared, and two others were let go. Our last week, I witnessed a screaming match between two teachers in a classroom full of 3 year olds looking on. Clearly, this isn't a positive work environment. There were also facility issues, like a light fixture dangling loose from the ceiling where the kids play. (I was told the handyman only comes once a month and it wouldn't be fixed until then.) In the infant room, multiple times I came to pick up my then-4-month-old to find him lying on his back feeding himself his own bottle, with no teacher nearby, spilling milk all over his face. I never felt comfortable leaving my kids at Knowledge Beginnings and literally counted down the days until we could get off the waitlist at another daycare. When things got really bad, I ended up pulling them out and relying on family support to bridge the gap. Bottom line: This isn't a safe or positive environment for kids (or teachers), and nothing that I saw suggested that it was a temporary fluke--this is how they operate. I'm so relieved that my children are out of there and I hope this review helps someone else avoid making the mistake that I did in sending them to Knowledge Beginnings.

Unfortunately, our experience at Countryside wasn't great. We learned very quickly that our 18…read moremonth old child (at the time) was constantly being restrained and the only child being restrained- which goes against the montessori philosophy. After 2.5 months, we immediately removed him of this institution, despite paying that hefty tuition.

Both of my children, who are now grown men, attended this incredible institution. They are absolute…read moregentlemen, intelligent with tremendous common sense, and extremely successful. I attribute much of what they have become to the foundation education they received at Countryside. It breaks my heart to read some of these negative reviews because that's just not what this institution is at all. People need to realize the damage that can be done to a person or institution with just their words.

I'm a parent of a little girl who would later be diagnosed dyslexic. In preschool it's not super…read morepossible to know what is coming down the road for a child with regard to reading challenge. The head start Glencoe Montessori gave my daughter who attended 3yr through K has become so valuable to me now as a parent of a third grader. We have moved and my 6 year old twins attend the best montessori school in our new area and the literacy advantage of GMS and ALL the highland park montessori schools is unbelievable in hindsight. When I was a younger mom I found the idea of phonics in preschool to be a questionable practice because I wanted creative play emphasized. The children in the whole Highland Park Montessori sister school Network DO AN EXCELLENT JOB WITH CREATIVITY SUPPORT but they are also exceptional early literacy teachers. Go here. Stay for K if you can afford it. You are getting a value for your money beyond words. Our new school has a chicken farm and beehive the children tend and an outdoor eco lab in addition to the playground and and indoor pool with weekly lessons for pre-k and K. Glencoe Montessori is so much better than this new school (that is fabulous). My children are grateful, creative, and the one-on-one system at GMS and HPS for reading and pre-reading has saved my daughter's life practically. When you have trouble reading in the higher grades the stress for the child is heartbreaking. When my daughter attended GMS (Sue, Ro, Miriam, Beth) she was unstressed and they had her creating journal entries everyday of kindergarten that were super long and filled with phonetically spelled ideas she was having and she was proud to share her ideas and this was the best way to start out. Reading and writing was exciting for her in these early years of development. Your child deserves this!

The BEST!!! My twin boys attended the extended pre-k program here for the 2016-2017 school year and…read morethey loved it! The teachers, the director (Jenniferand ) and owner (Carol)

I would suggest avoid this school, if you want to find a great place for your little one to grow…read moreand learn, (instead of a place to stay while you go to the work), avoid this one. This is called "montessori" but it is not an authentic montessori school. I guess many parents send kids there just for the name. The director is a good sales lady. This place is very small, nasty smell is everywhere. The leading teachers in two classrooms are too old to do the great work. If you think old lady may have love like grandma, that is wrong. eg, the old teacher in 4~6 classroom are very lazy, just sit there and ask the yonger kids to copy the work of older kids, but the yonger kids does not understand anything in that way. If as a parent you ask the teachers, they will claim that your kids are not ready to learn. So what is the point that parents pay a lot and leave the child there every day. just waste time and waste money. You won't get much information from parent -teacher conference call if you really have questions. Only 15 mintues and you will be told "sorry, time runs out". For the lunch, the amount is not suffient for the kids with big appetite. When my son asked more please, he was mostly like told "no". One day, I need pick up my son after their lunch time, I was so surprised that he told me "mom, I am so hungry after lunch". Also most of lunch food are canned food,do you think that is healthy food for the kids at this age? Another big concern for me is that many times teachers ask kids be very quiet, not speaking at all. This makes teachers work easier but so bad for kids personality to development. Well, I talked to them a lot for my son's personality, they told me that is the nature of the child. I feel very guilty by leaving my son there for a couple of years, which were so important time during his growth and personaility development. So I finally thought about that a lot and made a right decision to change a school for him. Now he is so happy to go to preschool every day and tell me:" mom, why didn't you change school for me earlier?". I am glad he is improving a lot, socially, emotionally... He seems a different child and current school teachers think he is developed very well at his age. If you love your child, please take time and consider many things to choose a good school for your child.

The teachers at this school are absolutely wonderful...especially in the infant room where my…read moredaughter goes for day care. Ms. Kelly, Ms. Andrea, Ms. Blanca, and Ms. Trish are THE BEST! They provide a fun and educational environment for my daughter and she comes home every day in such a happy mood. And when picking her up, the teachers all seem to be in a wonderful mood, and are eager to share with you the details of your child's day. And they make the whole experience of having your child attend school there a special one! If you've ever thought of having your child attend one of the Montessori schools, this one is an absolute gem!