College Oak Montessori School

My two kids attend College Oak and the school does a wonderful job at enforcing our family’s values. Respect; for others, ourselves, other living things, our earth, is paramount and the staff does well teaching this to the children and leading by example. Most preschools incorporate many aspects of a Montessori education. College Oak follows the Montessori method more traditionally, though each teacher is free to present materials and riff on traditional methods in the way they deem best.
The Montessori method is subtile yet powerful. It may be difficult for parents to trust that their children will learn what they need to know «in time». I have seen with my children that patience is always rewarded. The children not only are exposed to reading and math but also study biology, earth sciences, astronomy, geography, world cultures, etc. The kids are very curious about how the world works and the teachers at College Oak have all of the materials to simply explain to the kids very complex concepts.
The school grounds are beautiful and feature a large edible food garden, chickens, and creekside nature area. Teachers help students get involved in caring for the chickens, composting all food waste, and tending to the garden. Students are outside all of the time and nobody is afraid of a few sprinkles or getting a little dirty.
I love that College Oak is a non-​profit organization. I wouldn’t have thought that it would make much of a difference but it does. There is a very strong community feeling at school and much generosity; families and staff are very committed to doing their part to make the school even better. We also enjoy the several events throughout the year where families can get together and celebrate.

My son is 19 months and we are looking for a new school. We contacted College Oak and they told us we could schedule a visit. They told us my son could not come on the visit. I think this is odd. I also think it’s odd that as a parent I can’t stop in when I want. I don’t like a closed door policy for a school where my child would be in school all day. I understand they don’t want disruptions but this seems extreme. I currently have my son at a school where they welcome drop-​ins ANYTIME. Windows are always open to the classroom. That transparency makes me more confident about the quality of care they my child receives. a closed door policy is outdated and reeks of strangeness. They should trust parents enough to stop in as we would trust them with our children! Give me a break College Oak and come out of the dark ages. Or you’re trying to hide something that you’re doing that’s not right? I should have a right to drop in, tour, see my child ANYTIME. Not per your schedule.

Among Montessori schools, College Oak is considered a traditional Montessori school, which means that if everything is working perfectly, the classroom runs itself, and the teacher can sit back and observe the kids interacting with the didactic games and puzzles. The problem is that if your kid is introverted, or not motivated to take part, he will pretty much be ignored all day long. This can easily lead to poor language development, emotional regulation development, and major meltdowns at home, when your toddler has been holding it together at school all day long, and now desperately craves attention.
College Oak has a lot of very fine points which makes it hard to beat: reasonable cost, gorgeous backyard with lots of room for the kids to run around, nice play structure, a well tended garden, a chicken coop, a nature walk, singing with guitar music everyday, and an authentic Californian atmosphere. Their Earth Day celebration is absolutely fantastic, with a bluegrass music band and oodles of activities run by parent volunteers.
But ultimately for us, it was our child’s emotional development that mattered the most, and even our behavioral child psychologist told us that our current teacher had not a clue. Since they have three different classrooms run by three different teachers, we tried to shift to a different teacher named Michelle. A small percentage of kids change classrooms every year, usually migrating towards Michelle’s classroom, since Michelle has a reputation for being the most talented of the teachers. Eventually, I was allowed to observe her classroom in session. To minimize the distractions to the kids, I was made to sit in one corner of the room, and not allowed to interact with anyone, or even walk around. I later learned that she handles all of the parents in a strict military style, which is unfortunate for parents trying to team up with their teacher on dealing with specific problems. When I expressed interest in having us join her classroom in the fall, to my surprise, she was brusque and almost hostile. She made it very clear that she would not like to have us as a part of her classroom, saying that a change in environment would be terrible. As parents looking for the best garden for our son to grow, we did not need any further hints, so we looked for other options. We found an excellent school across town, and 1.5 years later, we see the difference a preschool can make.
To be fair, I must add that our kids started to do much better after about a year at College Oak. They «blossomed» and began to interact with other kids, and took part in activities. We were happy to see this, and we noted improvements in our son’s behavior at home.
The Montessori Method emphasizes academic learning where the teacher views «the child as having an inner natural guidance for his or her own perfect self-​directed development.» This sounds good. We want our kids to be intrinsically motivated (as opposed to extrinsically motivated by punishment and rewards), and so child centered learning allows for unhindered exploration of textures, sounds, words, numbers, etc. But what about how to make friends, or social skills? These can’t be taught by a teacher who aspires to be a ghost or interacts with your toddler only very rarely. As humans, social and emotional needs are primary. For a child who is learning the proper response to aggressive behavior, the interaction must be modeled over and over again. Secondly, if your 3-​year-​old spends the whole day daydreaming or staring out the window, one might say «the child needs his time to meditate and observe.» Or one might say that the kid is being neglected in favor of activities focused on the kindergartners. Take your pick.

My kids have been attending College Oak for approx 3+ years now. I love this school, their teachers and overall lifestyle. They compost, garden, feed the chickens, do art all day, build relationships, gain confidence, etc — what more could you ask for in a school!