Guidepost Montessori at Stonebriar

Holly Gorton _{on Google}

Oct 2nd, 2023

Excellent school and amazing lead guides! You can really tell that the head of school, Tessa, has a true passion for our children's education.

The Good Between _{on Google}

Sep 9th, 2023

Apparently Guidepost Stonebriar is having bad reviews removed, so Im posting again.
Buyer beware! Teachers are fantastic but extremely underpaid, overworked, and stressed.
Considering the high tuition fees charged by Guidepost, it is reasonable to expect that the teachers are paid a living wage, but they aren't.
The current Head of School, hired Sept-2022, is a scapegoating leader who fosters toxic working and learning environments with ineffective, authoritarian leadership.
Teachers, students, and families deserve better.

J B _{on Google}

Aug 28th, 2023

Update-
That incident was unbearable and unacceptable. Lying and hiding footage is extremely sick for a childcare center.
However, there are teachers who are speaking up against this facility now. So parents, you didnt just hear it from the other parents; thankfully some brave teachers are speaking the truth of whats happening behind these state of the arts child care centers.
Sad.

I dont even know where to start, my heart is truly broken by what I saw on camera yesterday.
My kid comes home crying stating that he had a bad day because MS. ISA , the lead Spanish immersion children house guide hurt him by forcibly shoving his work station material in his bones and he stated he was really sad and crying.
Well i watched the video thoroughly and lets just say it was worse than he described. The teacher had no patience and acted out of pure ignorance. My child was not doing anything wrong & was actually behaving very well.
This teacher is clearly comfortable with becoming physical with children if they dont understand her.
Watching the video proved there was no reason whatsoever for this lady to physically hurt, humiliate, and belittle a child the way she did for no reason at all.
My child was following instructions as given.
Situations like this happen entirely too often, and unfortunately many reports go unresolved or swept under the rug. Teachers are becoming entirely too comfortable with getting away with violating compliance. The option to have my child switched to a different class due to an incident that happened to my child is discouraging to a child who is brave enough for speaking up which many kids dont due to fear of what may happen or being uncomfortable with the caregiver after speaking up. Its unfair that a child doesnt enjoy their own childcare experience & are taken away from friends because a grown adult does not have self control for whatever reason .
As a parent, it is my duty to try my best to protect my child from unnecessary pain or stress that could contribute to low self-esteem from someone who he should feel accepted, cared about, and safe with. Children's self-esteem during their early years is largely based on their perceptions of how important adults in their lives judge them.
I was very heartbroken to hear about my childs day at school. Especially after bringing it to the Head of Schools attention about the poor supervision of the children that I have witnessed from the teachers on the playground and inside of the classroom.
I know too that if the teacher doesnt demonstrate an interest in the child's activities then the child could become bored, or do not understand the rules and are subjected to expectations that exceed their developmental levels. For example, sitting off to the side having full off topic conversations with the coworker is showing a lack of interest in the children activities.
As a grown adult, and teacher who cares for children there is a responsibility and expectation for guiding, correcting, and socializing children in appropriate behavior. There is a way to promote positive guidance and discipline without ever becoming physical. Teachers are supposed to lead by example. If other students see the teacher physically harming another student, then students will feel comfortable being unkind to their own peers.
There was no real problem , my child did no wrong and the teacher clearly acted out of impatience.
I know that children do need guidance and discipline that is appropriate or in a matter that promotes self-control, teaches responsibility, and assists children in making informed decisions.
What the guide demonstrated was completely unacceptable.
The regional director lied for the teachers saying they were using their phone to take photos of the kids.
I pray this doesnt happen to anyone else and i will ask parents please watch the teachers closely with your kids trust me Ive taught 10 years in the past.

KM Muraguri _{on Google}

Aug 15th, 2023

During our time at GP Stonebriar from Sept 2020 to Aug 2023, our family experienced several issues that made our stay there less than ideal. High turnover of leadership and teachers was one of the problems we faced, with four different Heads of School (HOS), three different Regional Directors, and numerous Assistant Heads of School during our time there. Of the five lead teachers we had from 2020-2023, only one remains at the school.
Another significant concern was the lack of basic proactive, clear, and transparent communication from GP Stonebriar leadership and its parent organizations. We constantly found ourselves guessing or receiving information at the last minute, which made planning difficult. Furthermore, leadership at all levels lacked integrity, and we heard countless different stories related to GP Stonebriar's Elementary program. Yet somehow, leadership blamed families for not understanding their vision and plan for the program.
We also experienced a lack of community and very few school events. Even though we joined during the pandemic, we expected the school to prioritize building a sense of community - but they never did, and this remains one of their most significant missed opportunities.
One of the most concerning things we experienced was the unsupported Lead Elementary Teacher and the harsh treatment she received from the current HOS, who joined in the Fall of 2022. The HOS fired or pushed out the only Montessori-trained Elementary Assistant, leaving the Lead Elementary Teacher unsupported for the 22-23 school year. After that, the HOS constantly nitpicked and pressured the Lead Elementary Teacher over meaningless issues, making the 22-23 school year unnecessarily challenging for everyone.
Things took a turn for the worse at the beginning of the 23-24 school year when the HOS hired an uncertified and untrained teacher for their Elementary program and needlessly split the Elementary program the day before school started without explanation. The HOS put eight- and nine-year-olds in a classroom equipped for toddlers without Elementary materials or equipment and offered no explanation or plan for remedy and empty excuses to anyone who questioned the changes.
Families were left between a rock and a hard place on the first day of school about how to respond and what to do with their children. Many incoming and returning families were disappointed that the Lead Elementary Teacher would not instruct their children. In response to unhappy families, the HOS blamed and pressured the Lead Elementary Teacher to "make unhappy parents stay" (read: fix the problem the HOS created).
Despite families reaching out to all levels of leadership, our requests for a conversation and explanation went nowhere. In return, we were asked not to discuss issues with other families and to keep all discussions confidential. Leadership's lack of inaction proved there was never a consideration for the impact of this change on students, teachers, or families, and anyone who questioned leadership was labeled "demanding."
The culmination of years of premium tuition, poor leadership, and the current inept, incompetent, and ego-driven HOS pushed our family to leave, and we weren't the only ones. Five days after school started, the HOS fired the Lead Elementary Teacher because she "wasn't good for our culture" and "she was difficult to work with," a significant blow to the program and the families who valued her work. As a result, eight families, including 11 students, left the school, with 10 of those students going to a new school where the fired Lead Elementary Teacher found a job two days later.
The sad fact for Guidepost is they value profit over people, and because profit is the priority, it's an incredibly toxic environment from top to bottom. The teachers are some of the best, but they're overworked and underpaid, and the stress of that is palpable. Guidepost has an enormous opportunity to build something great, but they're burning it to the ground instead.