Hello Montessori Preschool & Kindergarten

Hello Montessori is everything I could want in a preschool. It’s tiny (max capacity of ~20 kids and often smaller). Two teachers, zero teacher turnover. Many years of experience. Full day and aftercare options for ages 4+ so working parents can actually work. Shockingly affordable for the world of early childhood. And, beloved by my kids. It’s the environment at Hello that really stands out. It’s calm, loving, and engaging. (I am a better parent, more zen and more effective, for learning from Ms. Natalee and Ms. Amanda how to set this tone.) Kids thrive in this environment, including kids who may struggle elsewhere. The kids do the most amazing things, like cook Thanksgiving dinner or sew their own stuffed animals. And then they make their own way through the classroom and seize on new ideas and do things that are smaller but equally amazing to you as a parent: write numbers into the many hundreds, draw and learn a bunch of national flags, put letters and sounds together like it’s the most natural thing. If you are online desperately trying to read between the lines to figure out what will work for your family (I’ve been there!), set up a tour and meet Ms. Natalee. You won’t regret it.

I am editing my original review to share my experience in the past year. I imagine that most parents who have had similar experiences with the school decide to not share out of concern for the repercussions it will have on the rest of the staff who's dedication and love for the children they teach is apparent - this is commendable, however passive-aggressive bullying will never be tolerated and needs to be called out. The level of unapologetic, blatant disrespect and overall decency that has been displayed thru several written communications with Jennifer has overshadowed the good this school has to offer. Since attempts at correcting this issue privately has seemingly fallen on deaf ears and since the inappropriate tones in her emails persist, I hope that this review will be a call for accountability for her behavior towards myself, my husband, (and many other parents) in a sincere desire to see this school continue to thrive as a part of the HF community. Should Hello Montessori decide to remove Jennifer from the current administration role she is in, I will happily update my review to focus solely on the academic and communal experience with HMPK. Jennifer is known, among the rest of the parents at Hello Montessori, for being disrespectful to parents while requesting (and nearly demanding) their full trust and TOTAL compliance. On multiple occasions, Jennifer has proven herself to be a liability to this school rather than an asset. I want to be very clear that, while the community benefits from having quality alternative learning institutions in the area, we are not obligated to take care of HMPK or their staff any more than the other millions of other people who have been financially impacted by the 2020 pandemic (including our family). Furthermore, it is only by the support and buy-in of the community that you will continue to sustain the reputation and investment you have made for over a decade in this community. My request to justify the invoices received for $710 per month (with a portion being for aftercare fees) while schools remain closed (without a clear, daily curriculum, consistent personal points of contact with each child throughout the week, and consistent at-home learning activities) was met with a condescending, demeaning, and hostile response from Jennifer. By their own admission, Hello has sent "18 collective points of contact in the past eight weeks". My husband is an educator and is fully aware of how difficult it is presenting a rigorous curriculum at this time. His students receive more points of contact from teachers in a week than my son has received in 8 weeks. Had the response from Jennifer displayed a sincere and humble desire to understand what we felt was not being provided for our child, our experience would have been vastly different. We were even willing to become long-term supporters of the school even after our child aged out of their program. Unfortunately, the demands to continue paying tuition for sub-par (though heartfelt) attempts that simply do not measure up to the effort and quality set forth in the earlier part of the school year were unjustified. My earnest desire is to see more alternate-learning communities in our area and I would hate to see Hello suffer as a result of the passive-aggressive bullying Jennifer displays anytime a parent (i.e., a PAYING CUSTOMER) questions the administrative, financial, or academic decisions that are made. Her careless, impetuous, and demeaning approach towards her communications with parents solidified our stance that our child nor any future children will be enrolled with HMPK in the future until the wise decision to extricate Jennifer from the school is made. I will never be okay with being silenced into submission or compliance, particularly from an organization who solely relies on the support of the enrolled families and the community to survive. I know they can do better.

I was not initially a fan of Montessori education, but I'm a Hello mom for life. Miss Natalee truly understands that children are not just little brains in bodies, but that they have social and emotional needs as well. She listens to children and learns from them in order to provide them with the education that they need. On top of creating a truly individualized learning experience for each child, she works hard to develop a classroom community. Our son loves his school, considers every kid there his friend (even when he's annoyed by someone, as anyone who has kids or was a kid knows happens from time to time), and adores Miss Mommy - I mean, Miss Natalee!