Arrowhead Montessori

We have my youngest step daughter attending this school, this was her first year and they treat her with so much respect and understanding. She struggled so much with tradition school system and she’s been able to learn so fast in subjects where she struggle before. We’re grateful with all the faculty and excited for her to continue here next school year.

I’ve been trying to schedule a walk through for MONTHS and I have just been getting the run around or no response back. It’s very unprofessional and I’m done wasting my time with this school.

Both of my children attended this school. First off, it is a beautiful looking school. I appreciate the vision of the owner to create a school that is open with sunlight and the director’s efforts in creating a wonderful outdoor environment. Every child should have access to a school that looks so beautiful. Unfortunately aesthetics isn’t everything. Our children experienced racism and bullying on several occasions at this school. Both my husband and I work in education and we attempted to remedy these situations but we’re unwilling to continue sending our children to a school that tolerates hate and racism. The director was very defensive whenever we brought these issues to her attention. First, the school lacks culturally relevant and responsive curriculum particularly for Black children but also other cultures. Secondly, the school did very little in response to multiple racist remarks from a child directed at my daughter about “brown skinned people.” The first time it happened, I talked to the director, the owner, and even this child’s parent. Then I offered my colleague’s support, who is a professor in early childhood education, to do professional development around inclusion and diversity. These offers were ignored. Later, this same child made more racist remarks. I wasn’t notified when it happened even though my daughter went to a teacher sobbing. Later after I spoke to the teacher, this teacher explained that my daughter never cries when the kids are mean to her but this time she was clearly hurt and was sobbing when another child yelled at my daughter saying “I know why people don’t like brown-skinned people.” It was not until the following day that I found out what happened when my daughter told me she no longer wanted to attend this school because the kids are mean and they make racist comments to her. The director’s response to this incident was completely ridiculous. I requested that this child be temporarily removed while they pull together an adequate plan and policy to ensure that racism is addressed and so that my children feel safe and included in their learning environment. The plan was inadequate on many levels and they did not put together a policy. So we removed our children from this school. There is a lot more to this story but my reason for this review is to warn parents about this school, especially parents who have children of color and/or care about their children being an environment that values diversity, social justice, and equity. Unfortunately, it is not an inclusive and safe environment for children of color. Right now my youngest is attending Sunrise Montessori. So far, I’m happy. And oldest attends a very diverse charter school called Sonoran Science Academy in Peoria. There are many kids who look like her and she feels included and loved there. Plus the principal is very responsive. It’s challenging to find a place in this area of town that will meet the academic, social, and emotional needs of ALL children. Arrowhead Montessori is not the place.

Arrowhead Montessori is such a great school. The owner, Lynnae Cisco, expects the best from her staff and they follow through. Each teacher cares about the safety and well being of your child. They work at your child’s own pace, keep you informed on where your child is in the classroom and they form the the best/closest relationships with the kids. These teachers love what they do and it makes the environment so much better! The school also has such a well put together outdoor area, which the children are allowed to explore and work in. Outside they will learn skills like plant/animal care and even get to help on projects throughout the year before events, where their families get to come. Outdoor environment gives the children independence and pride in their work alone with an opportunity to gain skills they wouldn’t have in a traditional classroom.

Arrowhead Montessori is the best preschool. The owner and staff are knowledgeable, loving and so kind. They care so much about your child and their individual needs. The owner and her teachers are all certified Montessori teachers. The owner and teachers are always available to conference if your child is struggling in a particular area. I also really like that they do not tolerate children who are out of control. They are very good with discipline and advising parents. Robyn that posted a negative review is completely crazy and would not take her review into consideration. She was at the school over 4 years ago and is still posting bad reviews. She is mad at the owner because her child has ADHD and it wasn't a good environment for him and she didn't want to take ownership herself. Instead of taking care of her children she lashes out at others.

We love AM! Arrowhead Montessori’s education recognizes that children learn in different ways, and accommodates all learning styles. My daughter is free to learn at her own pace guided by the teacher. Their outdoor environment is beyond amazing and my daughter comes home with new life skills to show me, almost daily! The staff is kind, easy to work with and make my daughter feel important! Looking forward to the future with you, Arrowhead Montessori!

It is so very sad that the owner and management are not nearly as amazing as their environment is. Our unfortunate history here is very lengthy so I will just do bullet points for what we experienced. One of our sons went there for 2 1/2 years and our second son for 6 months. My son went there for over two years. He always was in trouble for not being able to sit still. They had him off doing manual labor or anything so he did not disturb others. Keep in mind this is suppose to be a school not a daycare. The owner would tell us he did not have ADHD and was not autistic. She said taking him to public school would be the worst environment for him. To make a very long story short, my son is very high functioning Autistic and has ADHD. We moved him to public school and he has been thriving ever since. He is in gifted math and the structure is exactly what he needed. The owner of this school knows absolutely nothing about disabled children and what they need. We had to sue the owner to get the money she owed us. The owner is extremely unprofessional and is very difficult to deal with. In a nutshell, when we left we just wanted back the one month tuition we were owed for one of our sons. Unfortunately, we prepaid so we were at her mercy. She refused several times. I went to the Attorney General, 3 on your side, BBB, etc. She still refused to pay us what was owed. So, I was left no other choice but to take her to court. Technically, they owed us over $4,000.00. I filed a civil suit and she finally decided to pay, obviously based on the smart advice of her lawyer. To think, she could have just parted ways with paying us the small amount we requested. Instead she ended up paying us thousands. To summarize: -We paid, in advance, for our 3 year old to be in their primary classroom. However, he was placed in a “transition” room, separated from the other children, which is against Montessori principles (and not to mention not what we paid for). They also napped our son against our wishes in leui of the afternoon workcycle we had enrolled him in. • Accounting and billing is terrible. We received “ghost” charges and lost scholarship money do to their incompetence. • When we left the school they kept our money for a month without justification. So some advice, if you do go there, do not pay in advance. • Owner of the school accepted raffle prizes donated to the school’s charity event. The items were supposed to be raffled to raise money for the school. To all of our shock, the owner herself would win several of the prizes herself. So, she essentially got the money and the prizes . Talk about unethical. • They would share private family matters (i.e private conversations, private parent teacher conferences, etc) with other parents at the school. We were a witness to many of these conversations personally. • Poorly managed operation • Not a certified Montessori school • High employee turnover • Progress reports promised but never provided • No goals or benchmarks to move children forward - parents would give specific directions on what their child is to eat and not eat but they would often not honor those wishes and thought it was funny. This school is getting away with things that would not be tolerated in most other industries because they are a private school which means one governs them. In my dispute process with them, I have come to learn that the consumer has no one to turn to should you be victimized by a private school. There is no accountability. They can do what ever they want. My situation has proven that they take full advantage of this. The fact that private schools don’t have to account to anyone is very scary and needs to be changed. You think because you pay out of pocket for private school that you will be given the best treatment and education. Arrowhead Montessori has proven that this is a huge misperception.

As an interested grandmother and retired teacher, I have observed many beautiful moments of learning and love in this beautiful Montessori environment.