We love this school and teachers so much.Christine is reliable, and her passions for the children’s education is impressively high.

I truly believe that The Eastside Montessori School is one of the best ones out there. We were part of the school for 5 years and it became a second family to us. Both of my sons have completed their primary program there and my older son was part of the elementary program for 3 years.I cant say enough of what a wonderful experience it was to be part of the school and the schools community throughout all these years. The teachers were selected with the most care and I had confidence that the chosen staff was the best fit for the school.The director of the school - Christine is an amazing person and a wonderful guide. Seeing the classroom and talking to her when I first came to the school made such an impression on me that I had no doubt I wanted my son to be part of the school and that did not change for the years to come.Throughout the years, Christine has been nothing but supportive guiding me as a parent when I needed an advice or when I encountered any parenting problem with my children. She was always accessible to me and to other parents in person or by phone/email. She would always make sure we had the best experience possible in the school and we have been so grateful for that. I also appreciated the parents orientation evenings which taught me about child development, the Montessori approach to education and it really opened my eyes to many parenting issues and the ways to solve them.My sons flourished in the school; they loved going to school every day and they were striving with teachers gentle assistance to become to best they could be in every way. Their academic skills were impressive too but what I loved the most was how they learnt to be part of that micro-community created within the classroom by all the kids. I had no idea before my Montessori experience how much having the mixed-aged classroom benefits children. Children learn how to be leaders in the most kind way by helping the younger ones and being an example and it is wonderful to watch.Truly, it was a pleasure and a privilege to be part of the school and I would recommend it to anyone who is looking for a quality education and care for his child.

My daughter is thriving in this school. Shes 4, learning to read, write, and developing some awesome habits. For example, taking her plate to the the kitchen without being asked.I love the setup. I love the choices for learning. The first thing she does is wash her hands, then start drawing. Her skills have improved greatly.The teachers. I have met each one. Some are assistants. Each addresses my daughter and I with kindness and respect. They are encouraging in a soft way. If Ive ever had to address something, they have given me the time. Ive never had an issue of trying to schedule a meeting and being denied. Ive walked right in and gotten 10 minutes to discuss a situation.Overall, if we had another child, they would be attending this school as well. This school came highly recommended to me, and I would suggest it to anyone.

Our daughter attended TEMS from 2012-2016, until a change of jobs necessitated a move to California. In our time at the school we had a wonderful experience. This school is a special place; and it all starts from the top with the Directress Christine First.Christine is an excellent educator who is passionate about teaching the Montessori principles to the students; while also living the grace and courtesy rules that the school teaches within her own life. When we first encountered the school, Christine did an in-class tour with our family and spent a significant portion of the time directly interacting with our daughter. After a few minutes of observing the interaction between the two of them, we could tell that this would be a great place for our family. Seeing first-hand Christines interest, passion, and commitment to our daughters education eased any fears we might have had about a small private school.As our daughter progressed from the Primary program to the Elementary program, we got a great sense of how she was developing. From parent participation activities, to semi-annual checkins, to just being able to stop by the office if we had questions, we felt very engaged with our daughters development.If youre looking for a Montessori school who follows the original Montessori tenets, is staffed with educators who will give your child the individual attention they deserve, and is headed by someone with lots of experience and who really cares; look no further than The Eastside Montessori School!

I love TEMS, my two children just thrive there. They have been there for two and three years respectively, and they look forward to going to school to learn and see their friends. I’ve come to know that a good Montessori puts an emphasis on socialization, and in developing the building blocks for understanding the world. A lot of people think Montessori is a class where the kids just have fun and learn what they want, and perhaps that is the case in some communities.At TEMS the children have fun but they also learn. TEMS believes and knows that the intellectual development of the child is necessary for the child’s happiness. I appreciate this because I had no idea how much a young child was capable of learning. At TEMS every child is recognized to be unique, and the Director follows up with every single child, collaborating with the teachers and guiding them in their approach so that it is consistent with natural child development.As I’ve come to understand TEMS, I realized there is a profound science behind everything in the classroom, and that child development is carefully monitored and fostered according to evidence-based models. One of the most important factors about this school is that is an AMI school, which means they are regularly certified by the International Montessori organization to ensure that they are properly following the Montessori approach.I appreciate their international approach to child development because, as a seasoned traveler and lover of all things cultural, I’ve seen that children follow the same development around the world. Moreover, I love the international community at TEMS and that my children are exposed to the best of so many cultures. It’s been fun to see how children solve problems in this classroom.I’ve adopted a Montessori parenting approach, and I’ve gotten a LOT better at talking with my kids about things in the world, and especially getting better at communicating with them. I feel I get all of my questions answered and every day the teachers welcome me and my children with a smile.I researched other schools in the area and even though TEMS has modest facilities, the children have the best teachers because of all the support the admin gave them. Also, I love that this is a small school because my children know everyone and all the adults. Being a small school makes the environment manageable for my small children. It feels like it belongs to them. I definitely recommend TEMS.

It is very disappointing to pay a lot of money for a premium Montessori school but not get the true Montessori experience. The owner (Christine First) is not only the owner, she is also the director and the morning teacher and leaves by noon each day. This does not give her ample time to successfully be the owner, the director and the teacher and she is often unavailable to the parents. As a result, the children and the families suffer. Because the director tries to wear too many hats, these are the biggest issues that exist:1. Lack of communication (The AMI guide was fired suddenly and the parents didnt know about it until a week later--and the email came after the children were giving us the bits of information they got from school. The parents had to demand information so we could remain consistent about what we told our children. We should have received an email immediately letting us know that the teacher was no longer going to be teaching in the classroom. This happened again when the assistant was fired this year. We showed up to school one day to a new face receiving the children and were never informed. The parents had to ask questions and demand information and a week later we finally received an email introducing the new assistant.) I could provide many more examples of lack of communication.2. Lack of consistency (There have been 4 different AMI trained guides and 4 different assistants in 2 years and there is one teacher in the morning and one teacher in the afternoon). I could provide many more examples of lack of consistency.3. Lack of support (The director refuses to have a room parent and does not approve of parents discussing school matters with each other. There is no partnership that exists between the school and parents.. Additionally, parent info nights happen few and far between and are often times cancelled last minute. At our old school, we received weekly emails regarding the classroom and how to incorporate Montessori at home so parents and teachers were working toward the same goal, but there is absolutely no support from TEMS).4. Lack of transparency (Parents are not given the truth or kept informed on school happenings/major changes).5. Lack of priority (the director is also the teacher and leaves at noon each day, which does not truly allow enough time for her to do both important jobs well and is often times unavailable to parents. When she is available, there is significant waiting times.)6. Parents do not have a safe place to express concerns with with director/teacher because they are the same person and because the director does not promote or support open communication.I tried to speak to the director regarding my concerns, but was told to put it in an email. I was refused a meeting after several requests. I could no longer ignore the red flags so I submitted my withdrawal for the end of November on October 26, 2016. Christine First asked my family to leave immediately. I did not agree with this decision as it was not in the best interest of the children and it felt as if we were being dismissed out of revenge rather than what was best for the children. As we were applying to other schools, the director withheld school records for my children and made it very difficult for us to apply to other schools. Per WA state laws, this is illegal to do.So, if you are looking for a true AMI Montessori experience that supports a true partnership between the school and parents, this school is not for you. I have many emails that I can provide on how certain situations were handled and the way the director chose to speak to me.