Emerson Montessori School, Palo Alto Campus 2800 West Bayshore Road, Palo Alto, CA 94303

"UPDATE: a school is only as good as its teachers; administration and philosophy can only take things so far of course. Emerson had two great teachers, but for whatever reason it did not re-contract with its upper elementary teacher this year. She was heading towards a decade at Emerson, universally loved by students and parents alike; a high performer, who's students transitioned into middle school effortlessly. Whatever the reason it can't be a good one, and as such I have become hesitant to recommend Emerson. The rest of my review below still applies if they can replace this star and address the administrative woes that led to her loss. Imagine a school in session the same number of days you work, and for 9 hours each day so you can drop off and pick up your child outside of work hours. And no more stringing together camps and vacations to cover school breaks designed to allow farm children time to work the harvests because the school only closes for legal holidays. Now imagine your child wants to be in school that long, and doesn't miss the breaks. Why? Perhaps they appreciate no homework, the same way you like to leave work at work. Or they don't realize the length of the day because its filled with a full curriculum, including art, music, P.E., two languages, sciences, history, and of course the core subjects. They also likely appreciate being able to advance in the core subjects at their own pace. Second grade math, fourth grade reading; wherever your child is and however they progress, Emerson's teachers will help your child learn. And progressing at their own pace means there is nothing to fall out of step with, so you take vacations whenever and for however long you want. The only thing left to wonder is why all schools are not like Emerson. "

"This is our 2nd year at Emerson and we are really happy with the teachers and the strong academic program. In addition, they have P.E., art, music, spanish and chinese. They have many field trips that tie into projects they are working on at school. The teachers really understand and care about the children, the class sizes are small and the teaching is of a high standard. We love this school and our kids don't want to leave at the end of each day."