My three-year old has been at Oakland Montessori School for the past year, and my older child spent almost a year there before starting kindergarten. It is a low-key Montessori preschool in the Dimond district with caring teachers and management and a lovely, large playground. There are two classrooms in separate buildings (former houses) on either side of the playground, and I think some of the older negative posts may have had to do with surprises about kids being in one classroom vs. another. So if you are interested in OMS, be specific about asking which classroom your child would be in. There is some overlap - e.g. one of the teachers does Spanish for both classes, plus field trips, after-school care, etc. They also have people come in for art and gymnastics (for an additional fee).

This is a pretty high-involvement preschool compared to others we have experienced. Parents are expected to ''volunteer'' 10 hours a year per child (they charge you if you don't), bring snack materials for the class two weeks per year, and provide your kid with diapers/changes of clothes and lunches. Volunteer opportunities include chaperoning the numerous field trips, helping with holiday celebrations, odd jobs, and an annual clean- up day. Lately they have started having evening get-togethers for parents and teachers as well. Field trips have included the Nutcracker, SF Symphony, Hall of Heath, Lawrence Hall of science, a farm, and the Oakland Zoo. Pretty ambitious and the parental involvement is what makes it possible.

I don't know how intensely rigorous the Montessori curriculum at OMS is (one classroom has 2 certified Montessori teachers, the other has one who is also a certified elementary teacher, plus an aide), but how intellectual do 3-5 year olds really get anyway? As in all Montessori schools, they learn about the solar system, holidays, numbers, the calendar, and weather. One of the teachers is from Guatemala so they have a unit on that country each year. They have free choice time each day, and the options include practical life work - pouring, cleaning up, etc; sensorial work - touching, tracing - and more traditional reading/writing stuff. I think Montessori emphasis on procedure is great for little kids - all those wooden puzzles do seem to help them learn organization. They do learn how to put things away! OMS parent

The archives have only 2 comments about Oakland Montessori School, one about the now non-existent elementary school and one about the pre-school that is very negative. Do any other parents have experience with the school, either good or bad? I'm considering sending my daughter there in the fall. Thanks for your help! Molly G

Education at OMS is personal,interest driven and flexible. One year a planned two week lesson about indigenous people was so interesting to the kids that it stretched out over most of the year because they kept bringing things in and discovering more of interest. It is Montessori based (supported by a prepared environment)with ongoing staff development. The Owner/director was educated in the Montessori system as a child so the fundamentals are deep rooted. Our kids were happy to go to school, busy when they were there, allowed to be themselves and developed healthfully. The older daughter spent a year primarily writing poetry when she was seven.

Montessori is hard on some parents becuse it is different from the compliance based education or teacher directed education so many are used to. After pre school many families moved their children to ''real schools''. We ended up leaving because, in both cases, there were no same age peers remaining. In spite of being ''unreal'' all the OMS graduates I know of have done very well in all kinds of other schools.

I would recommend interested persons visit the school and get a sense of how it feels as a fit for you and your child. While we were there every year was different because of that year's mix of children and faculty. Our kids met teachers, children and families from a variety of cultures, social backgrounds and attitudes. In all it was a rich experience to watch children become normalized, confident in themselves and devel tagjag

Our son attended OMS last year (2000 - 20001) for kindergarten, and it was a great experience for all of us. Because of major miscommunications and foul-ups with our local public elementary school, we applied very late, and felt very lucky that OMS had room. Our appreciation for the school continued throughout the year, even though we discovered that two of the 23 elementary students had some behavior problems. The teachers dealt with the children well, intervened when students acted out, and discussed how bad behavior affected other students (both individually - with victim and perpetrator - and with the class as a group). I found that the teachers and the director were happy to address any concerns I brought to their attention. Our son thrived in the mixed grade format of the school. He loved the music lessons, and came home telling us all about jazz and Louis Armstrong. He loved the gymnastics, cooking, and art, as well as the "work." Our only disappointment was that OMS only goes through third grade. Since we knew that getting into other private schools after that would be difficult, we chose to enroll him elsewhere for this school year. Thanks for letting me put my two cents in. Sherry

My daughter attended this particular school (OMS) in the second and third grade. It's pretty small and the grades were combined. By the fourth grade, the number of students at that grade level was so small, it was time to move on. Also, if I remember correctly, OMS wasn't going to offer anything above third grade. She then transferred to Head Royce in the fourth grade. OMS did a great job in preparing her for Head Royce. My daughter is now 18, so some of my recollections are pretty vague. I know that in general, I was happy with the quality of teaching there. Another classmate from OMS was also admitted to Head Royce at the same time (there were only about five 3rd graders). Since Head Royce is pretty selective, I think it says something positive about the quality of teaching at OMS. Olga

One day, when school was almost over for the year, my son was punched in the mouth before quiet time. He was told to lay down and rest. Nothing was said to the other kid. When he got up, his upper lip was shockingly swollen. The aide told him to go outside and play. Fortunately I happen to arrive fifteen minutes early for pick-up that day and found my son injured and only semiconscious. He was so out of it he could not form a simple sentence. Worst yet was the fact that several staff saw his condition and nobody even thought to give him first aid or to report to anyone else that an injury had occurred. My son received first aid only when I demanded that ice be brought immediately. When I told the director of the injury, I was told to take my kid to the doctor right away. Fortunately, his lip was only split on the inside and his teeth were not knocked loose.

Later I requested an interview with the director to discuss her first aid policies and how she trains her staff to deal with emergencies. I did not blame the kid, I don't think he meant to hurt my son, I think he was acting out things he had seen on TV. At the meeting the director refused to discuss any of her first aid policies or how she trains her staff, claiming that what she did was good enough and not any of my business. Present at the meeting was a head teacher who had not witnessed any of the preceding events. Both of them began to attack me, on a personal level. I was literally told that I was a "bad mother" and that I was totally over-reacting to the event. It was all I could do to stay focused on my agenda, school safely and staff training, and not start screaming back at them. Helen