Montessori of Alameda

I am an employee of Montessori of Alameda and have worked here for several years. The Administration is great. As staff we are treated very well as the Admin takes a collaborative approach and we all have a voice in making decisions about our community. True, some teachers have been here for over 8 years others may only stay a few. Most staff leave to open their own schools not because they are unhappy or not well treated. I love working here as this is the only Montessori school where the mission is Montessori for Everyone. They have a sliding scale program for low income families and they also accredit adults to be Montessori teachers. Most of the staff is sponsored by the school via a scholarship program , a great value as otherwise we would not be able to afford to become Montessori teachers. I thank the Administration for investing in us and also making Montessori available to low income families. All staff are paid well, have excellent benefits, etc. All classrooms have Montessori accredited teachers as well as students who are doing their student teaching. The owner is amazing. She has brought Montessori to everyone via The Ivy School and Maria's Place.
—Submitted by a teacher

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The school looks great but they rip the teachers off and treat them like sh*t. Alot of the teachers that work there are still in school and never got a Montessori certif. I feel bad for anyone that works there they do not care at all about there staff and because of this the teachers there will only stay for a year or so . This school is ran on greed and greed only all they care about is your money. there teachers are way over worked and they never get over time for working over 40 hours a week and they almost always work 50 + a week. and then have to do all there planning on the weekends. The owner will do anything to make more money . she even will give them pay cuts without telling the teachers. most of the employes are on food stamps because of the pay they get.they will put a assistant in as a head teacher and pay them the same. I could keep going on and on but the bottum line is this school eather needs to be closed or sold to some that cares.
—Submitted by a parent

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My child has been exhibiting some undesirable behaviors, our counselor asked about consistency. After digging deep, I see that the school is the problem. More specifically, the greedy owners. This school has tremendous turnover and is understaffed. This makes the teacbers and their assistants stressed, how can this NOT rub off on the children? Where is the peaceful altruistic Montessori environment I expected? Many employees regularly work 50-70 hours a week, with no overtime. They must clean their own classrooms - as there's no cleaning service. Weekend and after-hours meetings are the norm. I would prefer that my child have the same teacher every day instead of the constant variety that is necessary because they are understaffed. I'm not saying they always are...but the lack of administration support for tbe staff has caused problems for my child. Shop around, ask about turnover from the last 5 years. Workers need a 40 hour week - even if the owner chooses to work 15 hours a day. There are problems here. I suggest a time clock and a parent board with guest teachers in attendance.
—Submitted by a parent

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The administration of this school is a big, big problem, in my view, and it eventually drove us away. The director is extremely difficult to deal with, and she seems motivated by money, not by education. At every turn, we were nickel and dimed. All of this spills over -- many staff (teachers) were demoralized and, inevitably, some of them quit or abandoned ship. It's a shame.
—Submitted by a parent

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