Franciscan Montessori Earth School and St. Francis Academy 14750 Southeast Clinton Street, Portland, OR 97236

"We're not a religious family, so we were hesitant at first, but FMES is wonderful in so many ways. I could probably write pages of instances of the teachers and staff there being helpful, engaged, and communicative. More about how much they focus on each child's needs and create an environment of learning through self-guided exploration. Or, the thought and effort made to bring all the families into a community. Most recently how Sister Therese and the other parents have been so understanding and supportive through some difficult times. Like I said, I could write pages about how great they are, with only one minor complaint. Sometimes they share a little too much of the details of the comings and goings and events."

"I was a guide and parent at FMES for 7 years. My children received the best, most loving care from all of the outstanding guides at this school. I will never again be able to find a group of individuals as dedicated as the staff at FMES is. If you are looking for a school for your child, I would encourage you to 'kick the tires' of every school you visit and spend some time observing the children. You will find a joyful group at FMES. My oldest spent 7 years at FMES and still misses it everyday."

"I am a parent of two lower elementary students, one boy and one girl. My children attended FMES for 3.5 years, leaving mid year December 2018 for our local public elementary school. We chose FMES because we assumed academics were excellent, that it provided many additional educational and social community building opportunities, and it reinforced our values, specifically honesty and kindness. My intent in writing this review is to relay my first hand experiences during the time my children attended FMES. A significant number of students did not return to the school for the 2018/2019 academic year (approximately 53 of the 350 enrolled). I found this curious. Guide (teacher) turnover is high with about 75% leaving in a short time period and the assistants to the guides having an even greater turnover rate. I witnessed poor classroom management during observation days and during informal visits to the classroom. From other parents, I learned of several instances of unsafe student behavior leading to dangerous situations that were not addressed by the teacher or the administration. Unfortunately, one of my children was bullied by another student ultimately resulting in a physical confrontation. Upon inquiry into the situation, I learned there was no documentation and no acknowledgement of the seriousness of the incident. Because of poor classroom management, rooms were not sufficiently controlled or quiet to promote self-lead learning, a cornerstone of Montessori instruction. Each classroom assessed children at different times using different measures resulting in lists of projects developed and completed with little to no documentation of actual student achievement of student mastery. Practically speaking no one could provide what the student learned even in the fundamentals of reading/writing and math.This made it extremely difficult to translate student attainment and progress to a non-Montessori environment and to determine how a student places among their peers. Although FMES does have someone in the guidance counselor position, (her credentials are not written on the website nor anywhere at the school) the school lacks critical personnel such as a nurse, a reading resource specialist, anyone in special education, a psychologist, a computer instructor, IT support, a special education teacher, and a talented & gifted instructor. Since FMES does not receive government funding, students have no resources or support for those with special needs in specialized or supplemental instruction like IEP’s, 504 plans, and Gifted and Talented instruction. Many parent/school organizations and events were dissolved including the PTA (replaced by a newly appointed paid staff position entitled “the Volunteer Coordinator”), weekly newsletter, Meet the Makers. In addition, students were not allowed to play before or after school in the majority of the green space and parents were asked to speak off school premises. This made forming friendships and fostering a sense of community increasingly difficult. Several “remarkably different” school programs were no longer offered, including nutrition and Aboriginal. The frequency of foreign language and PE instruction have decreased and the duration of the gardening class were reduced. And at least 8 extracurricular activities are no longer available (Robotics, KidsFit, Aerial). I came to realize that there was a lack of continuity and coherence in the academic area, a lack of transparency, and a lack of community building. Moreover, I found that the core values that I once thought were closely aligned with mine were missing in practice. Consequently after much debate, we moved our children to our local public school. FMES is a private Catholic school with its supervising religious authority on the East Coast. UPDATE: I am wondering if Claudette would share what affiliation she has with the school?"

"This is our 7th year and our children are thriving at this school! The wonderful caring staff nurtures and supports our children and the Montessori method is a great way to guide them to be the best student and person they can be. Our children will graduate from this school as critical thinkers, creative problem solvers and they will know how to learn. These are invaluable skills that will help them through out their entire lives. If you are reading this review you are probably looking at schools for your child/children. Please come to an open house or schedule a visit so you can see for yourself all that the school has to offer. Be sure to ask about some of the great programs such as Earth Experiences (overnight camping trips), Gardening (on the 10 acre campus) and Foreign Language (beginning in 1st grade)."

"Even though it is several years after Mother Francine's passing, I am reminded of her good sense of humor, twinkle in her eye, belief in and unconditional love for everyone, generosity and big heart. She believed in me and others when we needed it the most. No doubt she is still rooting for us.This is a blessed school. Much appreciation to all for this very special place!"