Montessori Institute for Teacher Education at Spring Valley, Federal Way | Fees, Rankings, Address, Admission, Vacancies, Reviews & More

It took me a long time to write this review because of the negative impact our experience with the school has had on our family. As a parent, if I were researching schools, I would have wanted to know this was going on before I made my decision to spend as much money has they charge.

Our son went to Spring Valley as a toddler to preschool and we eventually decided to withdraw our son after two years. Ms. Holme and Ms. Leah were amazing, caring teachers and honestly the only reasons why we stayed so long. Because we are not parents that give up easily we gave the school multiple chances, gave leadership benefit of the doubt, but sooner or later it became more difficult to justify their actions. The main reason for this decision to withdraw him is that despite its rich history and all appearances of being an educational hub for Montessori teaching programs, this school does not in practice uphold the values and principles taught by Dr. Montessori under its current leadership with Ms. Kahiyan. We were shocked to find that Spring Valley has an environment that is discriminatory towards diversity in child development and learning styles and a school that picks-and-chooses who it wants to enroll in a punitive manner. We were seriously concerned about the leadership’s judgment and ability to communicate in a transparent and productive demeanor.

We have spoken to current and past families who attended Spring Valley and many have shared our concerns. The school has a reputation to seek out children who are compliant, “well behaved” and never raise their voice. However, the school also has a reputation to allow children who assault other children if they are children of current teachers. But if your child is one that they believe is a “problem child” they will remove your child without notice, explanation or chance for your child to learn and grow from that feedback. They do not care how it will impact your child, all they care about the image of their school and being the “first Montessori school in the northwest”.

Pros:
Beautiful campus
Spacious
Ms. Holme/Ms. Leah’s class (toddler)

Cons:
Poor leadership under the guise of “certificates and accolades in education”
Lack of transparency
Very poor communication from leadership
Lack of educational standards
Pick and chooses who they want
Discriminatory policies
Shaming culture by leadership
Lack of security (no cameras, also our son was able to leave the classroom because he saw me outside to pick up him, but the teacher had no idea I had taken him, this happened on multiple occasions)
High tuition fee without education benefits or quality programming

Basically, the educational director makes all of the decisions without any accountability or oversight. I can’t find any information about the board, when they meet or how to contact them. Our parent group found out that the school was bought out by Chinese investors, but the school tried to hide this fact. The front desk staff do their best, but are often taking cues from the educational director and perpetuating the toxic environment that she produces. I must say, they do a good job of making a good first impression and making parents feel like their child’s education is important and that they are cared for. However, once the facade is lifted, it is clear that there is nothing there.

We have a very strong – willed child, bright, and adventurous, full of joy and independence. Some of these qualities lead to really negative early learning experiences at other schools. We found the perfect school for our child at Spring Valley Montessori. The curriculum is student driven, so they kept my bright child engaged and challenged. The teachers are so experienced and knew how to work with our kid in a way that didn’t break her spirit and allowed her to feel confident and safe in her environment. I had been so stressed out by the experiences at our other preschools; being at Spring Valley was such a refreshing experience. I cannot say enough about the value of knowing your kid is surrounded by teachers who know her, love her, and want the best for her as much as you do. Tuition is comparable to any quality child care, but I would have gladly paid double for the experience we had there. The preschoolers have french lessons and music class weekly in addition to the regular classroom curriculum. My kid was overly prepared to begin kindergarten and, as the youngest in her class, is the top academic achiever in her class. I recommend Spring Valley Montessori to every single person in the Federal Way area. They are without a doubt the BEST!!!!!!

Worst school to put your kids to.
Teachers are rude and unprofessional. It seems like most of the teachers don’t want to be there but they have to because of the pay check. They don’t know how to greet kids let alone parents.
Their Montessori website defines; “The goal is to become happy and useful members of society; to achieve the ability to cope” and to “adapt” well, and to gain competence to function in the real world.” Which is not true at all.