Guidepost Montessori at Lloyd District, Portland | Fees, Rankings, Address, Admission, Vacancies, Reviews & More

I withdrew my son from Guidepost Lloyd location with his last day set for 12/31/2023. They only offer 5 half days or 5 full day a week options for his age group. When I gave my withdrawal notice, they said they would make an exception for him to keep him at the school and would offer us a 3-day per week tuition. I declined because they had a ton of turnover and changes in staff in the short amount of time I was there. My son also had a fall in their care which resulted in a hospital visit, stitches and a big medical bill. I had been paying 5 day a week tuition since he enrolled, however, my son was only attending 3 days a week so the last stitch effort to keep him their by ‘making an exception’ made it obvious they were concerned about losing tuition. It would be very unfair to other families if they gave me that option but continued to deny other families a 3 or 4 day a week option. I had paid for my sons last month up front which I was supposed to be reimbursed for since the month of December had already auto-charged the month prior. They had to close the school for his last month because the heater was broken and they promised all families they would be reimbursed for the full month. Long story short, they ended up direct depositing the funds they owed me into someone else’s account which I have zero access to. I deleted the original account I had on file in the SmartCare app they use for tuition payments so it was not on file for over a month prior to the reimbursement. I made every effort including multiple emails and phone calls to ensure it would deposit into my personal checking account which was the only account on file at that time. They confirmed it would deposit into the current account on file but still made the huge mistake of somehow depositing it into another persons account. Their team admitted fault but after months of follow up on my end, they told me they will not be reissuing a new check to correct it. My distaste for Guidepost Montessori and Higher Ground Education is due to their unethical practice. I truly cannot believe how poorly they have handled situation. It is very clear that their priority is money and not a commitment to provide the best possible service and support to families in which they claim.

It’s really sad to have to write this review of Guidepost Montessori.  When the school was available we were quite happy with the care and development our child got from them.  The facility is new and clean.  Everyone was friendly and our child was very happy with his routine there.

Unfortunately, the poor leadership from the top down at Guidepost was atrocious.  There are plenty of reviews to read about the HVAC system that led to the long stretches of closures this past winter.  While I can acknowledge that a portion of this situation is beyond their control, their communication of the closures was poor.  They would often communicate on Sunday evenings leaving almost no time for families to find alternative childcare for the morning.

The most recent event is completely unacceptable and should disqualify them from any future familie’s consideration.  Do your absolute best to find another place for your child.  On Sunday morning we were notified that the Head-of-School, Luna Goetze, resigned the evening before.  If the story we are being told as parents is true, this is an unthinkable act of cowardness. This leaves the entire school population struggling to find alternative care ASAP, employees without a paycheck, and a massive disruption to the young kid’s routine.

For context, the original Head-of-School, who everyone loved, sadly had to resign last year due to health reasons.  She was professional in her resignation and gave almost a months notice.  Luna’s behavior is unforgivable.

They claim that they will be closed for the next 3 months.  I would assume like us, every family will move on from Guidepost rather than wait it out and see.  This means that they will have a lot of open spaces later this summer.  While it may be tempting to take one of those spots seeing how competitive daycare spots can be in Portland.  Do not be fooled, find any other option if you can.