Evergreen Montessori School

Loving it!. My family has been a part of Evergreen Montessori School for 4 years now. We really enjoy it! There are so many wonderful things happening in these kids lives with Evergreen's help. We compared and visited the other Montessori schools in Memphis and really felt as if Evergreen was the best fit for us. This school is full of greatness! Our child has become confident and I believe it has a lot to do with the Montessori way of learning. We love that Evergreen's tuition is reasonable. it's close to home and work, and that we feel our child is safe and loved. One con is that they need there own building (right now they rent from a church). Check Evergreen Montessori out!…

train wreck. Parents, all negative reviews are removed. Do your research before leaving your child in the care of this "school." My own child’s safety was seriously jeopardized by Evergreen Montessori School. In a review posted here way back in 2007 (now removed), a parent wrote, “This place [Evergreen Montessori] lets your child roam around and float unsupervised.”

Ask the administrator a simple question. If a parent contacted the Tennessee Department of Education, what would they say about this school’s record for child safety?

Although less important than the lack of basic safety, my child languished academically and socially at Evergreen but flourished at a new school under the care of competent and encouraging teachers.

Parents, please search for a well-regarded school: Grace St. Luke’s, Woodland Presbyterian, Christ Methodist, Snowden, Idlewild.

In the words of still another deleted review, Evergreen Montessori is a “train wreck.”…

experienced over time. I don't usually read reviews about our school because I've been a parent there for so long now, 6 years ago our then 2 year old began her Montessori journey at Evergreen. She is now in the elementary class and we have certainly watched all of the day to day workings of the school very closely. A friend mentioned the negative review that didn't ring of truth with our experience so I decided to check it out.

I admit that living in a world of reports, tests and hyper supervision caused some need for adjustment (for us certainly not for her). The experience for our family has been extremely positive and we are very hands on and involved, in and out of the building at different times of the day unannounced and always welcomed. The freedom to move around and make wise choices based on interest has always been observed to be discreetly "supervised" by staff in ways that fosters independence by the children. It is far different than day cares we have visited or had experience with in the past with locked classrooms and alarms so that the children have no reason to make safe choices on their own. I have to say that I have never in all these years worried that my child was not supervised sufficiently or cared for in the same way I would care for her if I were there. She learned early the consequences for behavior and to be responsible for her accomplishments in the classroom and has grown into a creative, self reliant person who LOVES going to school every day. We live within walking distance of a superior public school but choose to stay at Evergreen making financial sacrifices because of the experience over a long time that the Montessori method that Evergreen is committed to follow diligently is best for our child.

Is every single day perfect, is every teacher perfect every single day, does the administration always do exactly what I would do if it were me, no, of course not, but I've never experienced a place where these things are true. The vast majority of the time this school gets it right and that is what matters to me. If I see things that need to be improved I (and all the other parents I know who are really involved) jump in and work with "OUR SCHOOL FAMILY" to make it better. I'm not paying babysitters or traditional teachers to watch over my child ingest material, I'm investing in my child's educational/emotional and spiritual future by contributing to a school of highly trained professionals that I value and support as they guide her exploration of her amazing ability to learn everything she wants to learn. The reviewer is right there are other choices but we've made ours over and over and over and it's Evergreen.…

Don't let the size fool you . . . Real Deal Montessori. This school is fantastic. I am a former Montessori child and parent to twin 10 year daughters. One of my daughters attends a local public school's magnet program. The other daughter attends Evergreen and is in the Elementary Program. Her sister, who's learning style is perfect for "the linoleum sweatshop" as I call her public school, is gifted and was selected for the Duke University Early Talent Identification Program in the 4th Grade . . . . yet her internally-directed Montessori sister has surpassed her in several subject areas at Evergreen and frequently helps her with homework.

The staff at Evergreen is superbly qualified. In fact, the Head of School and the lead Primary teacher were trained by Dr. Annette Haines in St. Louis. Dr. Haines is considered one of leading Montessorians in the US, if not the world, right now. Even the ASSISTANT in the elementary classroom is currently being trained by J. McKeever through the Montessori Institute of Atlanta. Both Dr. Haines and Ms. McKeever were trained by the legendary Margaret Stephenson, who was tapped by Dr. Maria Montessori and her son Mario to lead the Montessori Movement in the United States several decades ago. Rest assured, there are no better trained Montessorians in the Mid-South than those at this school.

Every lead teacher is certified by the Association Montessori Internationale (AMI), which largely considered the Gold Standard of Montessori training. It is an INTERNATIONAL certification and the organization administering the training centers was founded by Dr. Montessori herself. The certification is very difficult to attain and equates to 29 hours towards a Masters degree in education at several universities including Loyola outside of Baltimore.…