Small World Montessori School

Grades: PK-KG
Student Enrollment: 51

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3.5 out of 5 | 6 Reviews

Address
308 Tom Hunter Rd
Fort Lee, NJ 07024

Phone
(201) 242-1300

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School Description
School Ratings and Reviews
Faculty Details and Student Enrollment

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School Description

Small World Montessori School enrolls 51 preschool and elementary school students from grades PK-KG. It is located in Fort Lee, NJ, which is a medium sized city with a median household income of $58,161.

School Operational Details

Montessori

School Days and Hours

School Days Per Year: 184
Note: Kindergarten Operates Five Days Per Week
School Hours Per Day: 7
Note: Kindergarten Operates on a Full Day Schedule

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This School

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School Ratings and Reviews

Overall Rating

3.5 out of 5 | 6 Reviews

The Overall Rating is the school's average rating from parents, students, school faculty and staff. The highest rating is five apples and the lowest is one apple.

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6 reviews for Small World Montessori School

Reviewed by Parent/Guardian on September 18, 2010
Rating: (5 / 5) Flag as inappropriate
Having received information about this school, I am wondering whether this school is covering some other illegal activities. The whole setting is strange ..... are employees legal ? is the school following the New Jersey State laws ? is it truly a Montessori program.
I HAVE SERIOUS DOUBTS.
To parents analyzing BE CAREFUL !

Reviewed by Parent/Guardian on September 10, 2010
Rating: (5 / 5) Flag as inappropriate
When we visited this school with our 3 year old, the director was extremely rigid and judgemental. There were two children in the school waiting to get picked up, and she had them sitting on a small mat playing with wooden cars on the floor. They were not allowed to leave the mat. We felt this was indicative of her philosophy, which we did not share.

Reviewed by Former Student on January 20, 2010
Rating: (5 / 5) Flag as inappropriate
I went to Small World eighteen years ago at 2.5 and stayed until I was 5. I learned how to read, write, add, subtract, multiply and divide whole numbers before 1st grade. I met my best friend (to this day), at the school. Mrs. Robbins is stern and has low tolerance for negligent parents. She is completely devoted to the school and her students. I attended public school for the rest of my education until college where I currently attend MIT. I have been an exceptional student ever since Small World as have all of the friends I have kept in touch with from my Montessori days. (My best friend attends UPenn) I believe this is because Ms. Robbins was tough on us, she showed us how to be genuinely engaged with learning independently. This is what is needed in Public School since in most school settings (where the student teacher ratio is much smaller than Ms. Robbins' school), teachers will not really make time for individual students in the way Ms. Robbins did for every one of us. I think some of the parents are dissatisfied because they expected their pre-school to be awestruck at their amazing children. They are correct in saying that Ms. Robbins will not tell you that your child is one in a million. But she will work with your child in every way possible to make them the best learner they can be. And she doesn't miss a beat. Ever. Every student at Small World knows this. Keep in mind that Ms. Robbins will turn away your child if she feels that the skills she is aiming to hone: creativity, critical thinking and social skills, are not being reinforced at home.

Reviewed by Parent/Guardian on December 24, 2009
Rating: (5 / 5) Flag as inappropriate
I think I know the parent who wrote all the negative reviews (yes, it's written by 1 single person). Before making all the accusations, she should have made some research:
1) The teacher:student ratio of 1:24 is very typical in Montessori classrooms
2) If you compare the cost of education at this school to other Montessori schools it is not expensive at all
3) Why would you want to pay for playground time? This school's curriculum is not based on sports/gymnastics. Why don't you take your son to the playground AFTER school hours? Besides the school has a very nice garden with beatiful flowers and a small play area that kids enjoy everyday weather permitting.
4) It's not a pre-requisite to have children to become a teacher. I know many great teachers with no children. So I don't understand why you're finding it funny that the director doesn't have any children. How is this relevant?
5) It's clearly stated on the application forms that 2 months of tuition (applied towards the last 2 months of the school year) is NON-refundable. Not sure why you would expect the tuition to be refunded if you withdraw your son in the middle of the school year...
6) If you read any books written by Maria Montessori, you would see that she is not an advocate of giving praises

Bottom line: If you're going to send your child to a Montessori school, you should do some research and your homework to see if the program is in line with your expectations. Don't expect a regular day-care or public school activities/curriculum at a Montessori school.... Otherwise you will end up like this bitter parent who wrote all these ungrounded negative comments.

My child went to Small World Montessori school for 3.5 years and the most important thing my child learned was: LOVE AND THIRST FOR LEARNING. Mrs. Robins is the director of the schools and is a great teacher.

Reviewed by Parent/Guardian on August 14, 2008
Rating: (1 / 5) Flag as inappropriate
This school is worth nothing. I managed to raise the expensive tuition of nearly a grand per month expecting the advanced curriculum from the renowned name of Montessori for my kid. However, the (...) just keeps blaming the parents saying, What is wrong with your child? arrogantly for awkward reading or math skills of the child. They never give praise for what children have achieved or made efforts for. Other children seem nurtured to be snobbish and cunning that they tend to isolate new comers to the class. To this, the guardians say that they keep an eye on every child at every second so that it never happens, despite the fact that the student/teacher ratio is 24 to 1. My child now has turned out to be introverted with confusion, isolation, and inferiority complex. I asked for their advice or solution for this, but the answer was the tuition refund that never happened.

Reviewed by Parent/Guardian on June 21, 2007
Rating: (1 / 5) Flag as inappropriate
This school is expensive (900$/month with high extra's thrown in such as 350$ for supplies) and really NOT worth a dime. In practice it only has one permanent staff member for up to 50 children; the others are just there temporarily and unsteadily, which results in a very stark and disciplinarian approach to the children. My child has come out more unsure and closed, as it seems all the guardian(s) thaught him was to 'Sit down!' and 'Be quiet!'. Kids are never taken out for walks, to the playground or any outdoor & physical activity, while the 'school' is next to a lovely park. Is this to prep them for cucicle or institutionalized lives? No healthy & active 3 or 4 year olds should be put in this surrounding. On top of all this, guardian has an arrogant approach with parents, who are quickly blamed for all that is wrong and with whom not real joint efforts are attempted. Funny note; guardian has no children and is not a parent.

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Faculty Details and Student Enrollment

Students and Faculty

Total Students Enrolled: 51
Total Full Time "Equivalent" Teachers: 4.3
Full-Time Teachers: 3
Part-Time Teachers: 2
Average Student-To-Teacher Ratio: 3.7
Percent Minority Students: 19.6%

Students Gender Breakdown

Males: 4 (7.8%)
Females: 47 (92.2%)

Student Enrollment Distribution by Race / Ethnicity

Small World Montessori School Student Race Distribution

	Number	Percent
American Indian	-	-
Black	-	-
Asian	10	19.6%
Hispanic	-	-
White	6	11.8%

Number of Students Per Grade

	Number	Percent
Pre-Kindergarten	35	68.6%
Kindergarten	16	31.4%

Source: NJ Department of Education, Source: NCES 2009-2010

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