Arborland Montessori Children’s Academy

When I visited this school I found it to be dirty and old but even worse then that they didn’t notice I was there until more the 5 minutes !
If I can get in and have time to do something bad who else could of done horrible thing. This school no safe and has Oder /​fix safety first !

I joined Unilocal just to write this here as I had put it previously on my Facebook page.
My 2^nd grade daughter has been at Arborland more than 4 years and she loves it.
I’m so impressed by how much these kids can thrive and learn when allowed to advance to their full potential!
Combined with group projects, various arts and sciences, and early exposure to languages, diverse cultures, and public speaking, these children develop a confidence and genuine love of learning.
I planned on switching to public school after Kindergarten but there is just little flexibility for young kids to move at their own natural pace in each subject. When children become proficient in a skill at Arborland, they move on to more challenging work which motivates them to excel. There are several ways presented to learn the same concepts.
There are no grades (ie A, B, C) so kids do not feel labeled by a letter. The teachers are so aware of each individual child’s capabilities, learning style, and motivations.
I do not think my own daughter is cognizant of how advanced much of her academics are compared to most children her age. And that’s a good thing!
Yes, you do pay tuition, but the brain of a young child only forms once. I want to give my daughter the best I can in her formative years.
Right now, she is excited for vacation to be over and get back to her class! (Grade 1,2,3 combined)

This is a wonderful Montessori. My son is enrolled in the summer primary program and we plan to continue during the school year. The teachers and administrative staff have been really easy to communicate with. This little school may be exactly what your child needs! Check out their website, really good rates on before/​after care as well.

My child attended Arborland starting at age 19mo. From day 1 I have felt 100% confident knowing he is in good hands, it has been amazing to watch him learn and develop under the care of all his amazing teachers. The teachers and staff have always been there to patiently answer any and all questions I might have, including prior to deciding to enroll my child here (as a parent looking for the right school there were a million and one questions!). This is one of the main reasons we chose Arborland, it is just as important that the school and staff are the right fit for the parent as it is for the child. Dr Chen and the entire staff are dedicated educators and this is clear to see by the genuine care they show the children and involvement with the parents. The school and Dr Chen is always looking forward to see how to best enhance the experience and quality of education offered to the students. We are very happy here, it is not only an investment for the child but also for the entire family.

Proud parents of the Arborland Montessori Children’s Academy.

I love Arborland! My son is now 27 months and has been going here since he was 18 months old.
He is currently in Ms. Joy Santiago’s class. Ms. Joy has the perfect name. She seems always happy and is so loving towards my son. He adores her. Ms. Joy has a lot of general teaching experience as well as Montessori teaching experience (I believe she is certified in both Montessori infant and toddler methodologies). It shows! My son has learned so much in her classroom and has a zest for learning that she has helped cultivate. I think what I love most about Ms. Joy is how much pleasure she takes in her students and how unruffled she is by toddler behavior. I love chatting with her about the funny thing my son said or did that day, and appreciate her wisdom when it comes to how to handle discipline or potty training or whatever.
One thing that was important to me when picking a school for my son was the teacher turnover rate. I wanted my son to learn from teachers who were well treated by the school and were happy to be there so that he could develop long term, stable relationships with them. Ms. Joy has been at Arborland for about 10 years, and many of the other teachers have been there that long or longer. This is not the case at many other preschools!
When you tour Arborland, you will notice that the campus is clean and well cared for, but not sparkling new. This is actually a plus for me. I like how homey it feels. Some of the other schools I toured felt too clinical and institutional. The preschool room is actually in what appears to be a small house that has had all of the interior walls removed. There is a small kitchette and a (non-​functioning) fire place. Oh, and a bathroom with teeny tiny toilets for the teeny tiny bottoms that will be toilet learning there.
The only thing that is a minor annoyance for me has to do with holiday breaks and summer break. Day care during holiday breaks is provided at the Hughes campus (about 10 min drive from Arborland’s Valencia campus). It is a little stressful for my son to go to a classroom and teacher he’s not used to. This doesn’t seem to be a big deal to some of the other kids, though. And though Summer is in his usual classroom with teachers/​assistants he knows, the terms are in two-​three week blocks. It would be more convenient if we could pay for summer in one week intervals so that we didn’t have to pay for time when we went on vacation.

Arborland, Arborland, Arboland… I do not even know where to start, because I have so much to say about this school.
Growing up in Private School was the key for deciding where to send our daughter. My husband did his search and went for his first visit. He met with Mrs. Martinez and did his tour, he knew immediately that this would be the BEST school for our daughter. The next day, he took us for our first visit to Valencia Campus; I told my husband «this is it», it was like love at first sight.
Our daughter was placed in the most wonderful, caring, loving, smart and beautiful teacher Mrs. Mullen’s class. We felt from the beginning that we do not have to worry about our child’s education. Mrs. Mullen’s teaching method was phenomenon. Our daughter spent two wonderful years with her and I personally would like to say KUDOS for your hard work. We do not have enough to say about you Mrs. Mullen, you are an Angel sent from GOD.
We love, respect and adore everyone in this school.
Mrs. Martinez, my every day to go to person, it could be over the phone or in her office; she is the most loving and caring person. Thank you so much for the care you are giving us.
Ms. Michelle, your care and kindness is infectious. We really appreciate it from the bottom of our heart.
Ms. Kandy, thank you so much for your great ballet and tap dance lessons, you are an amazing instructor.
Ms. Lopez, Ms. Lina, Ms. Ashka,…thank you so much for your care and support. We even miss former Child Care teachers Ms. Archunde and Ms. Britney.
Currently, our daughter is in Ms. Cynthia’s class. Thank you Ms. Cynthia for giving an outstanding education and care to our daughter. We are looking forward for few more years with you and I can not wait to see the greatest accomplishment of my daughter.
Very Proud Parents,
Selam and Zek

I can’t say enough great things about Arborland! My son was so scared to go to school, & had a bad case of separation anxiety. Mrs. Mullen was so wonderful in making me feel comfortable in knowing he was in great hands, & even more amazing with him. She updated me everyday on what he was learning, which I really appreciated. We weren’t sure if we were going to keep him here through elementary, but after a few weeks in her class we knew we’d be here for years to come, thats how great she is! He was in her class for two years, & learned so much! He made such great progress in his speech, reading, writing, etc. I just love her! My husband & I think of her as part of our family.
He is now in Miss Cynthia’s class, & we are looking forward to what this year will bring. I’ve heard nothing but great things about her.:)
We also love Miss. Michelle, Miss. Lina, Miss. Fitzgerald, Miss. Melissa, Mrs. Martinez, Dr. Chen & everyone else at Arborland. Every teacher knows every child, regardless of if it is their student or not, & truly cares about them. That is rare, & a big reason why we’ve chosen to keep him here at arborland. I would definitely recommend this school to anyone, it’s worth the investment in your child’s education, & your peace of mind.

I love arborland. I just graduated 6^th grade from there, and I know I am ready for junior high. We have a lot of fun, we learn literature, science, social science, math, Spanish, music, art, and p.e. The p.e. Teacher is Mr. Rojo. They also have swimming, tennis, tae kwon do, and dance. I do dance and it is amazing. The dance teacher is Ms. Kandy. She is an amazing dance teacher. She starts with dancers 3 years old and up. She has assistant teachers helping her with the younger ones. I am a helper with the Friday at 3:30 — 4:30 p.m., and 4:39 — 5:30p.m. Then I have tap class for another hour. I have so much fun. I also do ballet, jazz, and I have private lessons with her after my jazz. Which is on Monday from 5:30 — 6:30 p.m. Ballet is from 4:30 — 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday. She has other classes also if you want to enroll your child into dance. She is great with kids. The teachers there are just wonderful. They help you one on one when you need help. You do the winter and spring recital which is really fun. The 6^th graders get to emcee it. The principal also talks at the beginning and end. Also the 6^th graders every Friday get to do broadcast. They prepare all week on the computers. Then Ms. Simms reads through it and we start practicing. At the end of the year the 6^th graders go on the end of the field trip.

It seems Unilocal is holding hostage all the good reviews as «Not Recommended». Please read those to get a full picture of this school.
My son attended Arborland for 3.5 years from the time he was a toddler until kindergarten. My son absolutely loved it, and so did we. The teachers really care for the kids, and they learn a lot. This school is a jewel.
We made the very difficult decision to put our son in public school for kindergarten. He entered kindergarten reading and able to add and subtract which put him ahead of every other kid in his class — so that gives you a good datapoint for how well they prepare their students academically. Our son is a thinker, so he thrived in the Montessori way that really teaches kids the concepts behind what they are learning and not just blatant memorization. Now that he as finished kindergarten, he reads at a 1.5−2.5 grade level!
One of the factors we used in choosing this school originally for pre-​school is their hours. Not many schools are open 6:30am to 6:30pm. That worked very well for our work schedules. Additionally, we wanted a pre-​school that was attached to an actual school and wasn’t just a daycare center that offered preschool.
Arborland has it all! Great academics, great teachers, and great hours!

My son attends this school and I am filled with gratitude that I found it when I did. My son has a learning disability that affects his receptive and expressive language and while he has no behavior problems or cognitive impairment, other schools and playgroups have not been able to successfully meet his needs. Before finding this school, I did my research and observed a number of other classrooms from private Christian schools, to public and other Montessori Schools. This school respects the students learning style and applies the Montessori philosophy very successfully; meeting students needs by individualizing their program to meet their academic, social and emotional development. While it may not be a ascetically appealing to some, comparative to more modern recently built schools, it is clean, it is maintained well and it does have (& use) a security system. The administration have always made themselves available for questions, and made me feel my concerns & feedback are important to them and all the teachers and classroom assistants seem very passionate about their work and the families they serve.

Mind you, I’m giving this school only 2 stars, because of 2 people who worked there with profound profession and love, not because of anything else. My daughter came to Arborland Montessori in the summer session of 2011 because I wanted to enroll my daughter into school so she’d start learning her basics (aside from me) and to play with other children. When I first came to this school for my personal visit with the administrator. I can tell you I was truly disappointed. Maybe it is because the school is old, or out of date, I don’t know but this school was one of the most uncleanliness schools I have ever seen. You would think that because there are so many students and small toddlers around that the school that it would be more clean … however in comparison to the other schools I have visited and been to (and this is pertaining to at least 8 schools or more) this was by far the most dirtiest of schools I have ever visited. Aside from that, there are no security systems on the doors and they DO NOT LOCK the doors during school hours. so any random person can come in and out as they please. on top of that, staff administration barely did any ID check on my own parents when they came to pick up my daughter from school (NOT OKAY). Also, parking really SUCKS, so you’re better off parking on the side of the street instead of in the campus. I felt that the teachers and staff only cared about two things; their own students and whether or not the school was getting paid. For the most part, I noticed that many of the other teachers barely cared or paid any attention to any other child or student who wasn’t in there class. Only two teachers came into heart and mind for my daughter’s whole stay at Montessori. Ms Michelle and Mrs Santiago. Ms Michelle was teaching the Summer toddler class while Mrs Santiago was away for summer vacation. She actually loved and took care of my child with all her heart. Ms Michelle was the only teacher that I noticed that went out of her way for all the students (regardless of what age) and comforted all the students when they were sad. Mrs Santiago was my daughter’s full time teacher in the beginning of the fall semester and gave the same amount of love and care to all her students. I believe with certainty that these two teachers were the foundation of my daughter’s success into transitioning into school. If it weren’t for the long commute or (what I felt) was the unfit environment of the school, I would have let my daughter stay at Montessori till the end of the school year. Aside from that the desk administration would only chime about whether or not my daughter would be leaving or how much more I’d have to pay to keep her in longer. Ms Michelle and Mrs. Santiago — YOU TWO ROCK!

If there was a negative star, I’d give one… or two. I really thought Arborland cared about the students, but turns out they REALLY care about the money. I gave them a deposit before the school year started and decided not to start my son this year. I wanted to wait one more year. I asked for the refund. They agreed to give it to me, but forgot to remind me that I need to give them a 30 day written notice. I guess a verbal notice doesn’t count. I, of course, argued about it. But then they said that even if I did give them a written notice, it’s for 30 days; which means that my son has the right to attend school for those 30 days. Why would I send my son to school only for 30 days?! Also, since I didn’t pay the tuition and only the deposit, the 30 days worth of school was taken from my deposit. Therefore; NO ONE would ever get their deposit back… EVER! I was really going to send my son to school there next year, but not anymore. Last year, we sent him to a different Montessori (before we moved) and they even waived the deposit because I didn’t have enough at the time. My son really liked that school and the teachers were so great!
Hey Arborland! I hope my $ 300 dollars was worth it. It’s pennies to you guys, but a lot for me. You definitely lost both my kids as customers. Plus, I’ll be sure to tell all my friends NOT to send their kids to your campus… Valencia and Hughes.
Thanks for nothing Dr. Chen. You just took my money and didn’t offer me anything until it was too late, when I couldn’t even accept any offer.

I started attending Arborland when I was 3 years old and I graduated from the elementary program in 1996. Arborland helped me a lot as a child. I used to be very shy and my parents knew that I would be lost in the crowd if I went to public school. They enrolled me at Arborland because they knew that I would get a lot of individual attention and a nurturing environment that would help me grow.
Because I was so shy, my parents were worried that I would have trouble when I went to junior high. However, I had no trouble adjusting to public junior high school and found that academics were relatively easy. Because my academic foundations were well-​built at Arborland, I was always on the honor roll in junior high and was also accepted into the GATE program. My strong academic foundations carried me through high school where I graduated at the top 5% of my class and completed the International Baccalaureate Program. I was very excited to go to Cornell University after high school, where I majored in Biology. All of this was possible because Arborland started me off with a solid academic foundation.
I definitely blossomed in the Arborland learning environment. But academics aren’t the only strength at Arborland. When I went to a public junior high school, I realized that I learned a lot of things that many of my friends didn’t get to learn. I took music, Spanish, PE, and art classes at Arborland, included as part of the school curriculum. After-​school, Arborland provides piano, voice, kung-​fu, tae-​kwon do, tap, ballet, gymnastics, and more. What’s great about these lessons is that my parents didn’t have to pick me up and drop me off somewhere else. I could stay at school and learn after-​school.
Another Arborland specialty is its focus on public speaking. I point this out because I was so shy when I was little. Every year, all students at Arborland get to perform at least 3 times for their parents. They have a spring recital, a winter recital, and an International Culture Day. Even the toddler classes perform. Then upper elementary students (4^th-​6^th grade students) are given more public speaking training and responsibilities. In addition to their own audio broadcasting show, much like a radio talk-​show, 6^th graders also MC the recitals. By the time I graduated from 6^th grade, I was no long shy at public speaking because I had so much practice and training at Arborland.
Arborland is truly a special place. I would highly recommend Arborland Montessori Children’s Academy to everyone!