Research St. Anne Little Flower Montessori School private Schools in Phoenix, Arizona

“Great academics, children advance as needed which is great to move ahead. Love the atrium weekly (religious ed), kids are saying prayers before our meals at home automatically and before bed. They respect one another and are mannerly. The administration needs much work. The principal is also a teacher. The school is very small and no safe play are for the elementary kids. The teacher turnover rate is high but there are a few that have been there a long time. Not much extracirricular activities, spanish, band, or sports. The music program in minimal and not that good. No hot lunch provided must bring lunches from home. Parents must volunteer 20 hrs /yr. Uniforms are great.”

“My child has done quite well in the Montessori catholic environment. The children are able to advance as needed without waiting for others, the ratio is small and the religious education was wonderful. My child has become respectful of others and grown spiritually as well as academically. The administration however has much room for improvement. The principal teaches upper elementary which may make it difficult to run the school as well. The children receive art, PE (once a week), and music (singing) but have no play area as it is for the pre-kdg. The older kids must play in the pkg lot. Families need to volunteer 20 hours a yr with 5 of those going to the yrly fundraiser. The teachers are great.”

“The teachers are great and really work with the students. The administration on the other hand is a different story. We have stayed in the school a couple of years because of all our child has learned, but it has been a challenge for us. If it wasn't for our child's teachers, we would have changed schools a long time ago. We have had enough and are now looking at other schools.”

“I had my Daughter in this school for 2 years. The first year was disapointing. I unfortunately had her in for half days and I think she missed out on alot. So she was moved to full days at the end of that year. I felt this first year was a complete waste of money, because she was doing very little academically. Last year she was in 5 full days. By the end of the year she was reading, writing and doing subtraction and addition. The first year the school would do little fun things for holidays, but the second was fraut with political and church correctness that the children were made to have a very lack luster year when it came to fun. As far as the principal is concerned, I have very little regard for her and her business attitude toward students. More kids equals more money.”

“My child became an introvert while there and would beg not to go due to their Drill Sergeant ways. God Bless your child if it stepped out of line. They allowed my child to do the same thing every day and did with no direction to do something else. My child was so behind, I took him out within days at the new school my child was excited to tell me all about the new things learned (would not speak about St. Anne's).”

“My child has been at St. Anne's since he was 3 years old. He is now 6 and we have decided to look into other schools. I think St. Anne's is wonderful for pre-K and K, but they still have some developing to do in terms of the older grades (not enough computers, Spanish, extracurricular activities, etc.). I also love the Montessori approach and regret having to lose this aspect when looking at nearby schools.”

“My 2 girls attending part time and loving their classes. They learn so much in practical life and sensorial skill. My 5 year-old(just turn 5) is already reading and doing addition/subtraction already.She couldn't wait to be a Kinder. My 3 1/2 is sounding out the letter and doing addition. Teachers are so educated,caring and fun. Class room environment making the children want to do more in learning.”

“Being a montessori school, I thought the my child will thrive best there. There would be more of a one to one teaching by the teacher but I was disappointed. My child's teacher didn't take into consideration that he was new in this country. He can understand and talk in English but not as good as the ones born here. Extracurricular activities are almost nil. The school has no big grounds for the children to be physically challenged.”

“This is my son's second year at St Anne's. The principal is great! Ms Dee knows everybody and you really feel that you are a 'family'. Since we just immigrated here in the US 2 years ago, the school had helped my son cope up with the 'culture shock'. They have been very supportive and patient with him. Safety is of prime importance to them. That's why we came back to them this year. I volunteered recently and I found out some of their flaws. Reading and writing exercises are not done. They let the child work on their own and in their own pace. The student has a place/nook of his own and work by himself. No extra curricular activities. I was thinking more of arts and crafts, after school sports that kind of stuff. The school would be good with kindergarteners but elementary, I don't know.”

“I looked at numerous preschools and I cannot say enought good things about the teachers, the sense of community and the amount of parent involvement that I've seen. I feel the Montessori method is truly the best approach for my son--his learning is not passive and is not limited to a structured curriculum. Whether he is advanced in or having difficulty with a particular area, the class is able to accomodate him. He learns hands-on about fundamental concepts and I've noticed him become very self-directed, self-motivated in his now 2nd yr. at the school. His class consists of 3-6 yr. olds and they work in both small groups and individually with a teacher. He just turned 4 and has been placed in a 'pre-reading' group where he has learned to read simple words. I don't think he would have had this kind of opportunity at the other preschools I had seen.”

“Last year, I was alarmed to see that when I volunteered in my daugther's class that the 1st grade students were severely behind in reading. When I addressed this with the teacher she said that they were in the process of choosing a program for next year! This is a school that went to fourth grade. I could not believe that this wasn't addressed alot sooner. I have since moved my daughter to another school.”