the school is staffed by exceptionally competent, amazing and caring staff. All of my kids have…read moregone through the school so I have lots of diverse experience of the school. The school is bright and divided into 3 connected pods, great-sized library, computer lab, and a gym, with state of the art stage and sound system, and wheel chair accessibility to the whole school and bathrooms. The Principal, along with the PAC have managed to create a resourceful Community that supports the students and their needs. I just wish the school was designed with air-conditioning.

Great school for families who see the their kids as future as LGBTQ+ non-profit workers or BLM…read moreactivists. From the kindergarten grade kids are emerged in a world of gender studies, trans awareness and race activism. Each year school dedicates more and more academic hours to social justice curriculum, moral and political Issues. Kids are encouraged to explore and discuss their gender and sexuality. The school is dedicated to provide the goal of turning young minds into good global citizens. The curriculum is strongly influenced by Critical Race Theory and SOGI pedagogy. School library is labeled as "Safe space" and holds a wide range of feminist literature.

This preschool had a major impact on my daughter. The healthy independence she gained from the days…read morein the forest and the healthy free play were incredible. We absolutley loved Branches and were very sad when our daughter graduated. We highly recommend this school and only wish they offered kindergarten.

Thought this was a good preschool until I witnessed a severe breach of my child's privacy and care…read moreplan. Multiple attempts were made to rectify the situation by me but instead Alisha decided to kick my child out of the school with 3 months left in the school year. Alisha admitted that my daughter's privacy was not maintained as per her care plan and my agreement with her on multiple occasions. Her treatment of a child with special needs is disgusting and I do not recommend this preschool to anyone especially anyone with a child with special needs. I have begun and will continue to pursue this matter as a health violation, human rights violation, discrimination, and civil matter. UPDATE: Fraser Health Authority has confirmed an investigation took place and that there WERE violations in regards to this matter.

This review is for Oakridge Montessori School. My child went through most of the Junior…read moreKindergarten year. Unlike teacher communication at OMS, this review was written 100% without the use of AI. OMS, if you would like to respond, please consider not using AI. Prospective parent: Unless you are ultra-wealthy and have at least one caregiver who does not need to work, stay away! (You might also like to own a Tesla). You will need all of the above to shuttle your child back and forth to many field trips and special events (not on the school calendar) that last ~2-3 hours in lieu of actual school, plus you will need to pay extra for every single one of them (plus up to $10k more for auctions...as the principal said, "It's Report Card Season!"). Essentially this is an (aspirational) feeder school for elite private schools in the area, and tries to behave like one. Oh, and you should also read/write Mandarin and have the WeChat app in order to participate in the parent group. This school has absolutely nailed their target demographic. I don't think the school needs to change, because it works well for said population. I'm writing this review so that those who don't fall within this particular demographic can go in with eyes wide open. We didn't, clearly - because who can really be that choosey about childcare in Vancouver? - but I think a heads up might have helped. OMS is a self-proclaimed "organic Montessori" school. They do screen time, and they seem a bit light on some other parts of Montessori (my kid reports that they don't really clean their environment, for e.g., though I take their report with a grain of salt). What concerned us early on was the use of reward/points systems to motivate behavior in the classroom through their ClassDojo App (which, btw, suits the school well - always asking for money - and which we hate with a passion). To the school's credit, when I raised this issue with the teacher, the school principal(?)/"Director of Education" called me and addressed it, claiming it was a communication error and that the points were not to be used with this age group, only Grade 1 & up. They did seem to stop using it after this. (Though are points really appropriate for Grade 1 & up in a Montessori school?) Continuing to give credit where it is due: Teachers and staff have taken the time to answer our concerns, and have called us during what I am guessing are their lunch breaks. While the AI responses really rub me the wrong way - because these are the people teaching my child to read and write - I acknowledge that being in charge of 16 4ish-year-olds is really no mean feat. I do believe that the staff and teachers care about the students. Moreover, my child did learn to read and write quite willingly during their time at OMS. IN SUM: Our family is an outlier at OMS - we don't own a car, we aren't trying to send our kids to elite private schools, and having to pay $55 per adult to attend my child's "Spring Tea" concert (which is 1.5 hours long with no regular school) is a bit painful. And so attending this school has been a bit awkward and logistically burdensome for us. You might say there was a mismatch in values, but of course no daycare or school is going to mesh with our family's culture completely. No irreparable damage was done, we did our best to make a few friends among the parents, my child has been mostly happy......but we will not be continuing our "OMS journey".

Expensive! 2.5 hours a day! 3 programs running a day. No wonder the teacher turnover is high. It…read morefeels like a prep school for private schools with charges for every extra detail. Fees are going up $5000 next year, insane.

I also looked at this Montessori school and it's decent. The location is their best feature. There…read moreis staff turnover and the materials are just OK. The reviews I've read are good but it's more of a first impression from my visit a few years back.

Since our son had just graduated from Monarch this year, I feel it's time for me to update my…read morereview on this school. This school is definitely one of the best decisions we have ever made for our son, and this was specially evident in his transition to his elementary school education. Not only does he flourish in mathematical and analytical thinkings, his behaviors at home and at his extracurricular activities have also demonstrated his improvements throughout his life at Monarch. The principal(Ms. Grace) and the teachers(Ms. Paige and Ms. Julia) have put so much time and efforts into their kids, and the community there(among the parents and kids) is just fantastic! Just like what we have told Ms. Grace, it's really sad that Monarch doesn't have classes after kindergarten, otherwise we would leave our son there for as long as he could.

BrainSTEM Learning offers amazing programs for kids! We've hired them for birthday parties a number…read moreof times, including building rockets, which was a huge hit with the kids. And they've provided after-school STEM programs at our kids' elementary school in North Vancouver for many years. They have highly knowledgeable and engaging instructors, a huge range of program offerings, and highly specialized equipment for extended learning. The owners are amazing and care so much about the kids - such a valued business in our community!

My 8 year old daughter has been taking a class here for over a year and she absolutely loves going…read morethere. We tried a few STEM classes in other places but she chose BrainSTEM as she gets more attention from the instructor and their casual and fun approach to the subjects. I watch the class very often and it is amazing how engaging the instructors are and they are so knowledgeable and patient. I'm very happy with this place and Sarah is such an easy communicator and caring instructor with so much knowledge. I can't recommend BrainSTEM enough!

I am deeply disappointed in PMA's policies and treatment of families. After paying a non-refundable…read moredeposit for a 3-year program, we informed PMA five months in advance that our older son would leave for a elementary school. Despite this, they rescinded our younger son's confirmed spot (which we had in writing) and refused to refund the two months' tuition for our older son. This decision has caused emotional, logistical, and financial stress on our family. My younger son, who waited over 1.5 years for a spot, is now left without care due to an inflexible and unfair policy. This was an unethical and deeply upsetting experience.

Both of my children have attended Premier. The school is very professional. The majority of…read more preschools/childcare facilities claiming to be "Montessori" are not true "Montessori" environments but use the name to attract parents. This is not the case with Premier and you can tell when you walk in the door. The teachers are really excellent, highly engaged with the kids and each of them has years of experience and training. The impact on our kids has been really impressive. I would highly recommend Premier to anyone seeking a true Montessori experience for your child. You will not be disappointed.

Montessori school in south Vancouver close to Granville and West 70th Ave near Fraser River Park in…read morea light industrial area. They offer Pre-School from ages 3-6 and Elementary from grades 1-7. My kids went here from pre-school all the way through grade 5 and it was an incredible experience. A early Montessori education really helped them develop their hard-working and inquisitive personalities. French is offered from pre-school on and their level will exceed most public schools except for French immersion schools. Both French language and culture is taught which is nice so the kids have a practical reference for use of the language. They have both class observations where the parents can observe their kid in the normal class environment and parent/teacher conferences. Year-end show is fun where the elementary kids all present skits, songs and plays for the parents at a nearby theatre. Competition to get into the pre-school program is quite stiff so register early to get on the waiting list. Dedicated, long-term teachers and staff, highly recommended!

We have been lucky enough to put our 3 children through Extra Steps, first discovering this gem…read moreover 10 years ago. Teacher Robb made our eldest, and us, feel comfortable leaving him for the first time. Our son took a few days to get adjusted, then didn't want to leave. The 3.5 hour duration and choice between am or pm classes are such a benefit. Our daughter attended a year later and loved teacher Christa. Our youngest is now in his final year of preschool and he loves Larry and Nicole (and Christa too!). The preschool space is bright and fun, teachers take the kids to the nearby parks and/or senior centre everyday and our kids always tell us how much they enjoy/ed the school. The teachers support each child's development, offer to assist with any learning requests and instil the confidence and love of school which led to our older 2 thriving in private school kindergarten. We have recommended Extra Steps to numerous families over the years, even those who have been hesitant due to poor experiences at other schools, and they have all been so grateful for sharing this wonderful preschool with them. Kids are all treated with kindness and respect, which allows for personal development. As our time with Extra Steps will end at the close of this year, we wish to express our appreciation to the teachers for the love and support our kids have enjoyed- we really can't recommend this preschool enough. Larry and Nicole also run the most fabulous outdoor program on Saturdays, which our youngest loves and will continue to do next year.

My son used to go to preschool here and he loved his teachers a lot. Originally he attended…read moreanother preschool half of the week but the head teacher at the other preschool was terrible and treated him like he's challenged kid and she even talked to him like one. At Extra Steps Learning, they helped him to come out of his shell and helped him improve with his personal development without judging him any different from other kids. He improves tremendously ever since he attended preschool here 5 days a week. He's now in Kindergarten and he still talks about his teachers especially Ms. Christa. I like all the educators there but my favourite one is Ms. Christa. She really helps my son to develop social and personal skills there and always treated him with kindness.