Bayside Montessori Learning Center
| Address: | 127 Midhill Rd, Martinez, CA 94553, USA |
| Phone: | +1 925-269-9878 |
| Rating: | 4.9 |
Location
Photos 1
Reviews 4
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Anonymous User
Pesid review is FALSE! Sad there are those who wish to sabotage a school with false info. My daughter has been with Rising Stars for 2 years. After much search, we went to Rising Stars from a trusted recommendation when Jackie was the owner. As a surprise, Jackie had to leave the school. To assure the worried parents, Jackie swore she selected the right buyers with the very same philosophy and vision. It was not easy for parents including myself who loved Jackies style and nature. Bottom line - everyone was tense. During a meeting, the new owner, Naseem, announced the school was going to be Montessori based. Some parents were outraged afterwards to the point of immaturity in sending "hate" e-mail around. It was all about the "unknown". What is a Montessori School and is this type of education good for my child? I will admit the transition from Jackie to Naseem was difficult. IMO, some parents didnt keep an open mind to adjust to the idea and made it difficult, to give Naseem a chance to show her true personality. They compared her personality to Jackie - outspoken and gave hugs vs Naseem - quiet, reserved and gave handshakes. I admit even I was guilty of it. But one evening, I reached out to hear her personal philosophy and plans for my child. Naseem was honest and very personable. She had clear goals for my child. She described what she thought of my daughter, how she thinks, what she felt would be best for and asked of my goals for her. I was amazed, she knew my child and that is what mattered. And best of all she has a great sense of humor. She knew of the "hate" e-mail and took it to good nature and didnt allow it to let her down. Even with the changes my daughter loves the school – it seems more than before. She looks forward to going to school and is sad when we go on vacation to even Disneyland that she will be missing a day of school. At the age of 4, she writes her name and small words, recognizes letter sounds for reading, knows all the continents, counts to 30, add numbers, and has a good understanding of relationships -My grandma is my dads mom, My aunt is my moms sister. I can go on. She has extremely good social manners. My daughter is happy, and verbally expressive. All her classmates are her best friends. If the first review were true my child would be an extreme introvert by now. Additional information • The classrooms are small. • Important- The teachers are caring, and loving; they provide good education and structure. Many of the teachers started way before Naseem was there. Unlike many other schools, there is a very low turnover of teachers. Lets put it this way. If it was so bad one would believe that the teachers would leave too. But they didnt! • The children do "work". The children are able to grow and learn at their own pace and they are ENCOURAGED to EXPRESS themselves. The teachers know when to give more encouragement. They learn to respect property and follow guidelines and always clean up afterwards. • The school is open all year round except for a winter break, major holidays, and maybe one day in summer. Unlike some schools which closed for the above noted and teacher conferences and spring break and summer break. For us working parents there are not enough vacation hours to cover all those closed school days of other places. • Hours 7:00am to 6:00pm. Perfect for parents who dont work banker hours. • I understand there are different Montessori styles from within. I was worried being a Montessori it would take away from my childs fantasy world. While some Montessori based schools do not allow celebrations such as Halloween, Easter, or even any fictional characters such as Disney, this school is in between. They recognize the celebrations and tie it to the seasons. They do not frown upon the fictional characters. • I have met other Rising Star parents at nearby playgrounds and they are pleased overall with the school. I highly recommend them to have your child in the trust of their hands
EM
Emma - Gmail #SheforShe
I ask you to consider putting Bayside Montessori in you list of schools to visit for your precious one. I recommend that you not enroll your child anywhere, unless you, yourself, visit the place. What may seem great to your friend may not be good enough for you. I had multiple recommendations, visited 12 places (really!) in Hercules, Pinole, El Sobrante, Richmond, and Martinez and chose this one. Why? The teachers here are great: All very professional and at the same time very caring, and teach kids to be independent in a very nurturing way. They provide a good structure and discipline. After a few months, it is noticeable in my little one (we pretty much can tell what she has learned at Bayside): putting toys away, wanting projects, focused on work and being independent. The Director, Ms. Naseem, is great, too. She has given us guidance on our toddler (on various challenges for this age group) and we have really benefitted from it. The school is clean and neat, despite the number of little ones. Makes it very conducive for learning. The kids do their share of tidying up and teachers work hard. Read up on the Montessori method if you are not familiar with it. Visit the school and see for yourself why this place is a gem. It is working well for my little one. We supplement it with traditional lessons at home. She loves it! UPDATE (08/07/12): I know parents of Bayside kids all wonder how the teachers do it: the kids learn a LOT at an amazing pace, learning without pressure and being really curious about things! Case in point: My four year old came home one day asking if I grew up in Asia! And showed me where it was on the globe!
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Anonymous User
It has been an absolute JOY having my son here. I am an educator myself and have worked with many preschools. Naseem has a passion for the children and for instilling a whole person education into the children which encourages abstract thinking, self care and care for others, life in general and the environment. My son is a very happy child whom, because of the space created by Bayside Montessori, can not only tell you the name of every planet in the solar system, but also can recite the continents of the world, knows all of his fruits and vegetables (by sight) and although he does not know the "names" of his letters, like ay, bee, see....but sees letters and knows them by sound. Aaa, buh, k, deh, mmm, nnn, puh...etc...He can read several words and is moving toward learning multiples of ten for counting..
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Richard Saty
My 4 yr old started at this school in Jul of 2012. He used to go to another Montessori for the previous year. He did really well in the Montessori system during his first year but unfortunately this school closed down due to low enrollments, which left us looking for another school. We checked two other schools in the region, we were really impressed by the setup Bayside had. They had several flexible packages which we liked. The staff are really friendly. They helped my son transition well into the new system. They listen well to our concerns and help out. We have really high hopes with Bayside, to help our son get to the next stage in development in the coming year.