The Montessori Academy Edison Lakes, Mishawaka | Fees, Rankings, Address, Admission, Vacancies, Reviews & More

Our daughter left this school 1.5 years ago now and is so much better off for no longer being subjected to a Montessori Program. She attended in the lower elementary for 1.5 miserable years where by the second year she came home crying daily. She suffered frequent headaches and stomachaches, exhibited signs of depression and low self esteem. She thought she was a horrible student because of her treatment at this school. The environment is distracting and chaotic with each student performing different tasks all at the same time. Our daughter was labeled with focus and attention issues and struggled to complete her work timely. When we discussed our concerns with the teacher, the recommendation we received was that she repeat a grade because she wasn’t mature enough to focus on her work. Our daughter began reading at age four and was reading novels by age seven. All others who encountered her in a variety of settings commented on how intelligent and mature she was. When we transferred her to a local Catholic school mid-year, her first observation was that her new classroom was “sooooo quiet!” She told me that when the teacher said to “Sit down” and “Be quiet”, the students listened and did their work. She was amazed that school could be enjoyable. A very short time after transferring out of TMA she was surprised to find herself performing extremely well in school and not having any difficulty focusing or completing her work timely. After being beat down emotionally for nearly two years, we are still working to build her confidence and self-esteem nearly two years later. Oh, and if you decide to leave the school mid-year like we did, don’t expect any consideration from the administration. When we informed them of our decision to leave we were formally reminded that we had signed a contract and would be expected to pay the remaining second semester of tuition whether she attended the school or not. We shared our concerns about our daughter’s physical and mental well-being and the answer we received was just short of “tough cookies”. I would not recommend this school to anyone, particularly for any child who might be prone to attention issues. The school makes their program sound wonderful and advanced, but it really caused significant setbacks for our daughter. I wish I had never believed the hype and had never enrolled her.

My daughter came to TMA from a public school which was the only school she attended until the transfer. I just couldn’t allow her to fall through the cracks because she was barely able to do the work by herself. Her anxiety was escalating and her love of learning was evaporating right before my eyes. I had to do something. I tried to speak with her teacher and principal. The teacher just said speak with the principal if there is an issue. I did his response was to put the blame on my child. That was the last straw! I did lots of research and scheduled to check out TMA along with a couple other private schools in the area. I was blown away on my tour. She started and not only did they help her get back on track with her core skills but she is able to read a book by herself and have critical thinking, time management with confidence in every step. She not only knows it’s what she needs to get done but has the desire to do it. TMA has changed her life for the better and it is absolutely 100 percent the best choice I could make for her future. Thank you to all the amazing staff and TMA community.

My daughter started in the Early Childhood class in 1998 and graduated from TMA in 2009. My husband and I could not have made a better choice for her. TMA encourages and inspires a curiosity and love of learning for their students. Montessori follows the child, celebrating the successes while giving them a safe place to fail and building their confidence through both. There is a strong sense of community, which explains why I am still involved almost ten years after my daughter graduated! Our students demonstrate compassion for others and develop an understanding of how their actions effect their community. The faculty and staff at TMA are the best, creating a true Montessori environment in their classroom that allows the students to discover who they are and what they want to be. This is #whyTMA.