Claremont Montessori School

I was a student at Claremont Montessori many years ago. I loved my school, and it was the one school that allowed me to explore my talents in reading and writing. I'm now finishing my degree in NYC and am going into publishing to be an editor.
Claremont is not a public school. It cannot be judged by a black and white standard- the Montessori style of education reaches into a child's soul and retrieves the best of the fruit by nurturing a child's innate talents rather than focusing on making the child well-rounded. This has the fortunate and unfortunate effect of creating a specialized knowledge base; this did happen to me, and while my parents were concerned, I thrived.
My parents pulled me out after 6th grade. I started attending St. Andrew's School in Boca Raton and eventually graduated from there. I did very well, but the rigid structure and mass amounts of homework left me little desire to pick up a book and read for pleasure. After writing form papers, I didn't feel like writing stories in my journal (which I used to do literally every morning for about 3 hours in a corner of the 9-12 room).
I support my parent's decision to pull me out when they did. However, I know that I would not have been the same young woman today without my Montessori education. I attended Summit Private School for grades 1-3 and then moved to Claremont for grades 4-6. Those 6 years were so crucial to my development... today I gladly thank Harvey and Nancy for all they did to further my education.
I highly recommend this institution. The one thing I will say, though, is that every child is different. If your child does benefit from a more structured environment and is not an adventurous sort, this may not be the ideal situation. I hated rules and the freedom alloted to me here allowed me to explore my own interests, and thus succeed. Your child has to be self-motivating, energetic, and excited to learn. If you believe your child is this or has this potential, do not hesitate to send him or her over to Claremont (kids that are said to have ADD, disciplinary issues, or just a general sense of wonder are good types... I was dismissed from a Catholic school at age 5 for discipline issues and then did very well at Montessori).
Anyways, I just wanted to put my two cents in. Hope it was helpful.
-Laura

We did not have a good experience at Claremont Montessori School. Individual education concerns were not addressed and personal attention did not materialize. I would not recommend it.

Comments (1)

sad - 09/24/08
I would not recommend the school, my kids lost a year. Bad leadership, understaffed. Loosing students every day.

Unfortunately, our 12 year old daughter faced terrible consequences of receiving an inadequate education as determined by two local parochial schools and a Michigan public school. They had tested her before and after attending Claremont. We posted a public letter at healthcomply.com.

Comments (2)

ak_man - 09/12/08
I have been a parent at Claremont Montessori for 6 years and after reading Peter's web letter it is clear that it was written with a great deal of anger. I am sorry his daughter did not have a good experience, however, it is well known that Montessori is a process; not something you can try on for just one year. This is why students stay with the same teacher for 3 years. I am most sorry that he felt he had to publicize the academic problems of his daughter and name her by name for the entire world and her classmates to see. This is the worst possible blow to her self-esteem and it breaks my heart. Obviously this is poor judgement on the part of her parents; please don't let this discourage you from visiting Claremont and deciding for yourself.

sad - 09/24/08
We were at the Claremont Montessori school for a long time and decided to leave. The school did not instruct our children in the last year. They were understaffed and aggravated with the students. Please visit the school that way you will see firsthand how dirty and inadequate it is for your kids and go somewhere else.