Morningside Montessori School

My daughter is a current student there and she loves it and we love the school. The modified Montessori method they teach has had a demonstrable effect on our little girl and we intend on sending our younger daughter there next year.

Morningside Montessori is an Upper West Side gem. I can't imagine a better place to start school, especially in NYC. Our son spent two years here before going on to the Bank Street School for Children, and our daughter is about to start next year in the three AM/week program. As a product of Montessori preschool education myself, I knew I wanted Montessori - but I also wanted a warm, down-to-earth community of both teachers/staff and families. MMS offers all of that! The small size helps make it feel like a large family. The teachers truly love children and are warm, patient, and very experienced and effective. The administrators are always easily accessible - and they all know each family very well, which is wonderful - and also helps tremendously come exmissions time. My son and our family at large made lifelong friends. He loved going to school and grew so much - at MMS he started writing his name, labeling his feelings, navigating sharing (often via tricycle play on the great rooftop playground), doing yoga, identifying the continents as well as the planets, pouring his own glasses of water, ... even learning about Nelson Mandela ... the list goes on! I have to say that I was very impressed at how much intention the teachers brought to their plans for the day and how much respect they always show the children in terms of the potential they see in them. Their results made me realize how much more these little people are capable of grasping and mastering than we often think at first. By design, the Montessori method allows for a lot of "free" work time which is great for building intrinsic motivation and creativity, but there was also ample structure and direction. Our son learned a lot more than I even expected he would, across all areas (i.e., literacy, motor skill development, socioemotional development, math, science, practical life skills, etc.) We have such happy memories of my son's time there - he even excitedly visited his old class as an "alumni" this past week. We look forward to having our daughter have just as enriching an experience starting in September!

We have been Morningside Montessori parents for almost two years now, and I can not speak highly enough of the school. From our first encounter, we knew that the warm and nurturing environment, coupled with the school’s commitment to providing children with a Montessori education modified based on today’s best practices, would be the right fit for our daughter and our family. This instinct about the school has indeed been proven correct, as our daughter has thrived there. She looks forward to school each day, and has learned so much, not only academically, but about practical life and social skills as well. We have taken advantage of the School’s language program, which offers Spanish and Mandarin, enrolling her in the Spanish section, which meets daily. With one year left in her time there, and our son beginning this fall, we look forward to several more years of being members of the Morningside community.

Morningside Montessori School is a wonderful, caring preschool that will help your children grow and develop a life long love of learning. As a former teacher, I remain deeply impressed with the extensive, engaging Montessori curriculum that have helped my children learn to read, write, count, add, and subtract. But more importantly, my children have learned how to make friends, work on a team, express their feelings, and how to grow in a community. MMS has dedicated, loving teachers and an accomplished, helpful Executive Director and administrative team. Lots of involved, friendly parents. MMS has dedicated, loving teachers and an accomplished, helpful Executive Director and administrative team. Lots of involved, friendly parents. MMS' Executive Director was extremely helpful during the private school application process. My son is now happily in Kindergarten at a competitive NYC private school. My friends have also said that the Executive Director was great at helping them navigate the public school Kindergarten process as well. EXCELLENT Preschool.