Cedar River Montessori

Nov 5th, 2022

My cousin taught here for a while and really enjoyed the school. Some staff and admin drover her crazy but after some coaching they either changed hands or were let go. She said some unethical stuff was hidden but after it was exposed staff was reprimanded or let go. My cousin enjoyed it for a few years then realized it wasn't all that great of a school. She got really tired of the overbearing helicoptering parents telling her how to do her job and got extremely nit picky about the tiniest details. This is what drove her to quit and find another school.
Feb 23rd, 2020

It's unfortunate that LUMIRA JETSON made those comments about this amazing school. Yes, a horrible crime was committed by one individual who is still in jail for his actions. I know first hand the administration, staff, teacher and board of directors worked TIRELESSLY to act swiftly to make the children as safe as possible, inform and educate the families and hold the suspect accountable. They welcomed all state agencies that came in to assist in this matter. This is truly a neat school and great staff.
Oct 10th, 2019

Cedar River Montessori teacher arrested, plead guilty, sentenced 89 months for molesting students- seattlepi.com/local/crim…School lacks qualification, professionalism, and care for student safety.Our child attended CRMS for over 2 years. The teacher in our child's classroom was not even AMS Montessori certified. We asked about this and we were told that as long as the teacher is working on their certification, the school met AMS requirements. There was no one in the classroom certified.Staff turns over quickly for both teachers and assistants, low retention rates. The assistant in our child's classroom turned over 4 times in 3 months.They are not staffed to screen for or trained to offer services for any learning disabilities, despite being a Montessori. There is an overall lack of understanding how to address the individual needs of the student. Our child was tested as being 2 years behind in reading when we left and was able to catch up to his peers within 4 months once we pulled him out of CRMS.There are no sports, PE, performing arts, music, etc. offered that a typical school offers. Some students left for this reason.Our child came home with nail marks in his arms and bruises from another student. Despite trying to address it for years, it was never resolved. They have a policy that the students should resolve conflict themselves.Teachers have liberty to teach politically driven curriculum. One teacher had her student stand up every morning and recite verbiage about the land that they were on did not belong to them, that it was taken from  the Muckleshoot Tribe. This driven by the local asphalt protest.The Director blurs the lines of professionalism, attending family functions for favored students outside of school hours, despite a direct conflict of interest.The Director and school failed to disclose with us at enrollment that there was a pending case against a teacher of the school for child molestation. The teacher, who was tried and found guilty, brought students home following a field trip in his personal vehicle. He was also watching students at his personal residence outside of school hours. When we asked the director about this, she would not respond in writing. She instead called us in for a 1:1 and we were told the media got it wrong.Despite this fact, the school still does not have buses for transporting students. And now enrollment includes a field trip form stating:"I give Cedar River Montessori School (CRMS)permission to transport my child to and from school-sanctioned events off-campus and hold harmless CRMS Staff, Drivers, and all Chaperones assisting with any field trips."
Jul 13th, 2022

My daughter has been going here for over 3 years. She loves it and my wife and I love it too. The staff is very good to great. We like that it is a small student body on a large campus. They have done a great job of handling covid. Maintaining a good balance of safety and attendance. There is a lot of outdoor time and experiences, The school has livestock and the kids learn to interact with and help care for the animals. We have recommended the school to neighbors and their child attends now as well. As noted in a previous review there was a very unfortunate incident several years ago. The school made the initial report to police, Changed some practices to lessen the chances of a future occurrence and did not try to pretend it did not happen. We knew of the incident prior to enrolling and being accepted. We believe the school did everything possible to prevent a recurrence and have never second guessed our decision. I only bring up the incident due to the other review. Context and response are important.
Oct 17th, 2021