Dearcroft Montessori School

” This is our fifth year at Dearcroft and we continue to love this school. Our children love their teachers, classmates, and environment so much, and are having their best year yet. The things we love most about Dearcroft are the values that the staff demonstrate: nurturing curiosity and a love of learning, kindness, and empowerment. With the support of their teachers and peers, our children have not only gained confidence, but have also learned how to build up their classmates with kind feedback. The Montessori teaching model has been a key factor in the tremendous social, emotional, and academic growth we’ve seen in our children. The school has put in place creative and effective solutions to ensure that cohort sizes are small and the integrity of each cohort is maintained throughout the school day, which we especially appreciate during this Covid-19 pandemic. The teachers adapted quickly in the spring as the pandemic started, and have continued to go above and beyond to make the experience amazing for the children. Instead of restrictions being obstacles, they’ve been turned into opportunities. For example, since singing isn’t allowed at the moment, their music teacher decided to teach the Junior Elementary students to play the ukulele. The staff truly have a passion for education and Dearcroft is a place where they have the space to exercise their creativity to the benefit of the students. “

” My kids spent their elementary and part of their secondary at Dearcroft before moving to a new country. Dearcroft was not only a school to us, it became our family and the kids enjoyed every single day during their time… Not to mention, Dearcroft provided them with the best education and taught them many life skills that will remain with them forever.. Special thanks to all the staff, the administrator and of course Mr. Phippin. “

” My daughter has been attending Dearcroft Montessori School for the last five years. I can not begin to tell you how wonderful this school has been for my child. She is confident, supported and feels very secure in her surroundings. The owners are amazing people with big hearts, the teachers are passionate, caring and always pleasant. “

” Two of our children graduated from Dearcroft, the youngest just this month. From the moment they started at this school we had a good feeling. The teachers, the owner and the environment all gave us a very positive feeling of safety and caring. The enthusiasm of Gord Phippen is great for the students – he is so passionate about their learning and really provides great opportunities for the students to learn so many things above and beyond the “normal” public school type curriculum. The end of year expeditions are amazing travel/learning experiences. Being involved in the United Nations in New York City was an incredible lifetime experience for them. The bonding trips were a good time for the kids to get to know one another, while learning. These trips provided an opportunity for our children to learn geography and history and also important life lessons. The small class numbers made for an incredible student to teacher ratio which you cannot put a price on. All of the teachers were fantastic, and sincerely wanted the best for our children. This contributed to a feeling, for us as parents, that our children were being dropped off daily into a very healthy, safe environment. We loved that security. A big thank you to Gord Phippen and all of the teachers at Dearcroft Montessori School. “

” An amazing Montessori school – HIGHLY RECOMMENDED I work in education and visit schools and teachers around the world and I can confidently say that Dearcroft is easily one of the top learning environments I’ve had the privilege of participating in. I am proud to put my 3 children in this school despite all the other great options available in Oakville. The teachers are personable, empathetic and caring and true to Maria’s Montessori’s teachings they develop the whole child. The kids I’ve interacted with from Dearcroft are exceptional – they are respectful, industrious, and helpful. It’s an absolute pleasure to volunteer for school events and interact with the school community. Some of the other schools we looked at had a ‘sterile’ and ‘luxury’ feel to them that I didn’t like — Dearcroft feels more down to earth. That said — the facilities could still use some updating — and in our previous Montessori school the kids did get more french. “