Testimonials

"Our 10 year old son is in his third year of the elementary program at Norwood Montessori School. He began attending after his second year in public school, which was second grade. The public school system in our town has always had an excellent reputation; so good that our town population has grown tremendously because of the amount of families moving in specifically because of the school system. However, when he was in the first grade, Common Core moved in. Thankfully his teacher was very old school and fought the change as much as she could get away with, but there were still changes that she couldn’t prevent. Testing began in the spring of his first grade year, and for the first time our learning loving boy (who up to that point would cry when it was school vacation time because he didn’t want a week off) said, “I don’t want to go to school today”. Not only had the way he was taught math completely changed into something close to impossible to figure out (for him and us), he was suddenly being told he wasn’t reading fast enough and being given test after test to determine if he was where he should be by the end of his first grade year. He was 6 years old. By second grade, we knew we needed to make a change. The testing increased. The pressure of reading quickly and solving math problems quickly increased. The amount of homework was absurd, and many times included lessons they had not even been taught. There was no learning, only memorizing. Rather than being taught a curriculum, the children were being taught how to take tests (which many of the teachers were not happy about, either). Our son went from a little boy who loved to learn to a little boy who was doubtful of himself and stressed out daily. My stomach would hurt every day at pick up because I knew he was going to feel lousy about some inconsequential thing that was made into a huge deal by his teacher. We needed to find a way to bring his love of school back, to fulfill his love of learning and of knowledge. I started doing my homework and learned that a Montessori education sounded like a perfect fit for him. I didn’t think that Montessori education went past kindergarten, so I was ecstatic to find the elementary program at Norwood Montessori School.

The education that our son has received at Norwood Montessori School is incomparable. The small class size provides an almost one on one type learning environment, which would never happen in a public school classroom of 30 kids. In a Montessori classroom, children are given the opportunity to learn at their own speed. If they are excelling at math, they are able to go ahead what the normal public school curriculum would allow. If they are struggling with math, they are given the opportunity to learn at their own speed until they understand it. This gives them the opportunity to understand mathematical outcomes rather than just memorizing it so they can quickly move on to the next lesson. The knowledge that is instilled isn’t forgotten by the time the next lesson begins. I can remember saying that our son shared more knowledge with us in the first 6 months at Norwood Montessori than he did in both first and second grade combined. He loves to learn, and is able to do that in his classroom. Mr. Mike is a parent’s dream; he is incredibly intelligent, creative, and is quite possibly the most patient person we have ever met. I don’t think the kids even realize that everything they do throughout the day is a lesson because it is so enjoyable. Our son’s handwriting has improved, his love of reading has grown and he is doing really well with algebra, which is not something his public school friends have started yet. His focus has improved, his confidence has returned, and he continues to be the kind, compassionate boy he has always been. The only thing he missed about public school was the cafeteria (and he only bought lunch once a week, he brought it every other day), and Pizza Fridays have been the solution to that problem. On top of the joy of having pizza, the elementary children help cut up fruit and vegetables to go along with everyone’s lunch. What a confidence builder, to be trusted with such an “adult” job. After lunch, they add the scraps to their compost bin outside. Everything these kids do at Norwood Montessori School is a learning lesson.

All of the teachers at Norwood Montessori School do what they do because they are passionate about teaching, and they love our children. They care about helping them become intelligent, kind members of our society, and they invest a good part of themselves for that to happen. I am thankful every day that we found them."