Ridgewood Montessori Learning Center Pre-School, Ridgewood | Fees, Rankings, Address, Admission, Vacancies, Reviews & More

Enrolling our two daughters at MLC has been one of the greatest parenting decisions we’ve made so far. My oldest daughter, now almost 5, started at MLC in the toddler room in 2020 and just graduated this month. She did not cry that first day—or any school day in the three wonderful years she has spent there. The school environment is small, nurturing, safe, and fun. The daily routine is soothing and consistent, as you’ll see during many parent/teacher conferences, back to school nights, and classroom celebrations. True to the Montessori philosophy, the children are given a balance of both structure and developmentally appropriate freedom in the classroom that has allowed my daughter to thrive socially, emotionally, and academically. The academic curriculum is both supportive and challenging. Despite her summer birthday, my daughter is well prepared for Kindergarten. She has felt inspired by her teachers every single day, who have lovingly guided and celebrated her development in math and language. The director, who also teaches at the school, is incredibly warm, responsive, and professional, as are all the teachers at the school. The teachers here are masters of differentiated instruction and classroom management. They communicated with me about my daughter’s progress every step of the way. My 2.5 year old recently joined MLC. Her teacher personally reached out to me throughout her first week to let me know how well she was adjusting. MLC is a treasure and we highly recommend the school.

When we visited and interviewed with the school, we very much enjoyed our experience. Then a month in, they changed our sons teacher with little notice. It was unfortunate, but we gave them the benefit of the doubt, and assumed it was not the schools fault. The school was not the least expensive school we visited, but we thought what they offered was worth the expense. When Covid changed the curriculum, from in person shared classroom experience, to online classes, we were again disappointed. I assumed as many friends and family experienced at other schools, that the school would either refund the tuition for the final 2 months, or provide a credit for next year. After a month and 1/2, of hearing nothing from them, I called and asked. I was basically told that no refund’s, credits or discounts would be given. So they decided to keep my money for a service that was not provided for the final 2 months. My son is 3 years old. 3 year old’s do not have the attention span to sit through a 30 minute zoom class. While I appreciate their effort, it was not what I paid for, or what I wanted. If I did that to my clients I would not have any clients. Not to mention the person I spoke with was rude, and after 15 minutes she said her doctor was calling and hung up on me. Very unprofessional.

My daughter attended the Montessori Learning Center in Ridgewood for two years, and she thrived there. She was is the Bird’s Nest class with Ms. Amy and Ms. T, both of whom are dedicated, nurturing, and patient teachers who have a true talent for working with young children. She also enjoyed the Spanish classes taught by Ms. Rocio. The environment and array of in-class activities helped my daughter achieve notable social and age-appropriate academic growth while encouraging independence. She was well prepared for kindergarten. And most importantly, she had fun, felt safe, and made friends. All in all, we had a great experience with the Montessori Learning Center.