Ancona School

Our son is in the preprimary All Year Montessori program at the Ancona School, and he – and we! – could not be happier with the experience. While we had no prior connection to Ancona (nor were we very familiar with the Montessori approach), we have found it to be such a wonderful and welcoming community, and a perfect fit for our family. The AYM program features a dual Spanish/​English curriculum, which was a stand-​out feature for us. The teachers are absolutely amazing at identifying each child’s strengths and helping them develop at an individualized pace. They have shown such warm enthusiasm for my son’s interests and have nurtured his curiosity for learning about the world around him. Whether learning about the solar system, our city’s architecture, or African dance, the teachers work WITH the students to develop creative projects that inspire a holistic understanding of the material, often taking advantage of the city’s rich resources for real world experiences. Whatever the lesson, I appreciate that the emphasis is about intellectual exploration and true understanding, not memorizing for a test. Beyond the classroom, I have also found the staff to be exceptionally kind, professional, and connected to the students and families. The parents, too, are involved and invested in the school, yet without the sharp competitive edge that sometimes exists in private school environments. Parents are not doing assignments on behalf of their children here, much to my relief. To touch on the broader mission of the school, Ancona encourages its students to be independent problem solvers who are respectful and responsible members of their community. In addition to the academics, students are shown how to be kind to one another, and how to work together to solve problems, and how to appreciate diversity in its many forms. I am always impressed that even the youngest children here will look adults in the eye and speak to them with confidence. In sum, this is the educational experience I wish I would have had as a child (a somewhat anxious, high achiever who felt constrained by an exam-​driven curriculum). I am so glad we found Ancona, and I look forward to many more years of joyful learning for my son.

Ancona has been on our radar since our son was born. We visited a lot of schools, and honestly enrolled elsewhere for what we thought would be better from a logistics perpsective. It is hard to do that only to have in the back of your mind that perhaps you made the wrong decision. This year, we had the opportunity to reverse that decision and we are so glad we did. Having a child enrolled elsewhere, and being able to do an apples-​to-​apples comparison during the application process, really opened to our eyes to just how much MORE he could be getting out of his educational experience. It also showed us just how much he had missed out on so far! The teachers, supporting staff, current families are genuine and the results they deliver to the community and the students who graduate from there is evident! They are confident young people who are thinking about the bigger picture and the world that they live in. They aren’t afraid to challenge the status quo or think outside of the box! Over the past year we have talked to so many people who are graduates of Ancona or have children who are currently there or graduates. Not one person had a hesitation in offering their positive feedback about our decision to transfer there, and frankly neither do we.

This is a great school. My kid loves it. It’s very nurturing, the people there care and you feel like the school is about helping instill a sense of possibility. I can’t say that I quite understand the Montessori, except that my kid is learning skills, and gets to play, and work, but in a way that makes work fun. I’ve found that my child has come very far in the past two years– and I attribute this to having a bright child, ahem– but also to a school that nurtures all kinds of children. They have found a way to help my kid grow and develop. I love Ancona.