Pacific Coast Montessori Academy - Lomita, California

Stephanie P.

Our twin boys have been attending Pacific Coast Montessori for a year, and we have had a great experience. The staff is friendly, communicative, and truly dedicated to each child's growth. What stands out most is the exceptional communication between the staff and parents. We always feel well informed and involved in our boys' progress.

The teachers and staff foster independence and curiosity, encouraging the kids to explore and learn at their own pace, which has significantly boosted our boys' enthusiasm for learning. They are excited to go to school every day and have made impressive strides in both confidence and academics.

The facility is also well-maintained, providing a safe and engaging environment with beautifully organized classrooms and inviting outdoor play areas.

I can’t say enough good things or recommend it highly enough. PCMA is a fantastic choice for any parent looking for quality childcare. It’s clear that the staff cares deeply about the children's development, and we feel lucky to be part of such a supportive community.

Ashlee R.

I recently visited Pacific Coast Montessori as we are looking for the first school for our 2 year old. I was impressed by the clean facilities and updated classrooms. The rooms were bright and materials looked new and up to date. All the staff greeted us as we went from classroom to classroom and children were busy with activities. The playgrounds are really big and spacious, we had to carry our little one out since he didn’t want to leave. The Director, Eliana was very informative and went through all the pricing in detail so we understood where all the fees were going and what is included in their program. They have a great lunch program and cook on staff! We were so impressed with the school that we will be enrolling our two year old to start over the summer. If you are looking for a Montessori program that is authentic, fun and staff that seems wonderful, you should tour this facility!

Shadrach F.

We have had excellent experiences at Pacific Coast Montessori. Both of our sons have attended the school, and we know the staff quite well. The communication between staff and parents is very clear and open, and we receive updates and photos throughout the day on the parent app. We particular love the Spanish program. Our kiddos have learned so much while in the Spanish inspired program. The Montessori work is the same, but both English and Spanish are used to teach the lessons. We really enjoy when our boys come home and tell us what new Spanish words they have learned. We are so happy that they can learn a second language at such a young age. We highly recommend Pacific Coast.

AARON G.

We have been at Pacific Coast Montessori for about a year now and have only great things to say about the school, the staff, and the curriculum. My child is excited to go to school every morning. Ms. Denise is so kind and always brightens our day when we see her! We are so pleased with her advancements since enrolling, and she is always so happy to go to school and is eager to learn thanks to all the wonderful teachers.

Kristin B.

We are incredibly happy with our experience at Pacific Coast Montessori. The facility is brand new, with spacious and clean classrooms. The teachers and director are welcoming and my kids run up to them each morning excited to see them. The activities and curriculum are engaging and educational. They also have a lunch and snack program so that parents don't have to prepare lunches for each day, which for me was a big deal! One day recently I went to pick up my kids, and I could hear my daughter laughing from the playground... it's a great feeling to know that your kids are having fun and well taken care of. Highly recommend if you're looking for an amazing preschool experience!

Lola N.

We are so happy to have found Pacific Coast Montessori Academy! Unfortunately, my two boys went through about 4 preschools during the pandemic— each business closing temporarily or permanently, meaning we got to try a whole bunch in the last three years. I felt like a preschool tourist. Then we found PCMA— and please trust me when I say, this school is awesome.

It is a fairly new business— so they are very organized and the classrooms new and clean. The teachers and admin are experienced, dedicated and easy to communicate with. Personally, I just love their green outdoor spaces with shady trees, and their big, bright classroom windows that let in natural light. The furniture, toys and activities are all true Montessori— meaning wood, educational and sensorial, not plastic junk. Outdoors, they have jungle gyms, tricycles and even a garden. Teachers use a handy app (Procare) to communicate, can help with potty training and seem so loving towards the kids. They have a hot lunch program, staffed front office, and very importantly— a parking lot, so no walking kids through street traffic. They set up outside guest presenters like firemen, dentists and scientist shows. Their summer semester was more like summer camp— they had many water fun days, and even a carnival. My boys loved it all, and my eldest was sad to graduate. Only “con” I can think of is that the schedule pricing is very strict and the owners will not work with you to create a schedule that fits with nearby elementary schools— you’ll just have to pay more. But overall it’s a great school, we’re so glad we found it. Your kid will safely learn and grow at PCMA. Highly recommended.

Clay L.

This review spans our experience from the Toddler room starting in Jul 2023 into the Pre-Primary room in Jan '24 and leading to my 2.5 yo getting expelled on 3/8/24. My son is an IEP student with a speech delay - adding an additional layer of neglect to this story.

The truth must be known about this experience, we hope the other families in our class and new enrollees understand the nuances that PCMA will spin about our family. We sadly bear the weight of PCMA’s lack of the ability to provide the one thing their business is built on: care for kids.

THE POSITIVE
We had a great experience in the Toddler Room. Ms Denise is a wonderful human. She's passionate about Montessori, engaged with our son, helped him thrive/grow and also worked with us to extend her curriculum at home. Ms. Grace is a great support teacher; she loved our son and shared so much about his day with us. We even exchanged lovely holiday cards with Ms. Denise that expressed a mutually loving partnership. He talked about them EVERY DAY saying “Denise FUN '' and “Grace FUN”.

THE NEGATIVE
The Director and Asst. Director and 4+ teachers left abruptly right after the new year. Several temp staff shuffled in/out and they were never introduced. It was odd to see strangers caring for my kid.

There is blatant kid favoritism in the class. It was obvious seeing his lead teacher holding and coddling specific kids and the rest just fending for themselves. Our son frequently had a soiled/dirty diaper, wet clothes, and snot/food all over his face at pickup. I’m not sure there was ever an positive/happy story shared about him EVER during pickup other than a generic “he had a good day”.

He soon became more crabby and attached at drop-off. He couldn’t articulate to us exactly but he was clearly regressing and stopped regularly saying school was fun - he was NOT happy. The basic emotional need as a child, the first principle in childcare by CA law, is to provide love and safety and there was none of that.

Communication to us was limited to general updates to all parents, only negative incidents or requests for supplies. I rarely had any conversation lasting longer than 5 minutes with any staff. The lead teacher started early and left early so if we didn’t come before 4pm, we were left with a temp, or a floater who knew NOTHING about our son’s day.

I provided ALL of this feedback to the interim Director on Mar 13th, the day they put my 2.5 year old on a behavior plan (more on the plan later). Much of it was denied, apologized for in a patronizing way and any ownership was passed off to others.

We’ve undergone significant emotional damage and blatant discrimination based on my son’s behavior, which is not too far off what most people and professionals deem normal btw. PCMA’s lack of love/attention to my son’s basic and special needs (IEP student) and their targeting of my son as a class bully resulted in a heavy emotional tax paid by our family. Not to mention lost hours of work for two working parents. This behavior plan would go on to be violated by PCMA, and looking back - it’s an approach of malice, policing, and frankly too harsh for a child.

After the behavior (biting and hitting) escalated to a point where PCMA deemed it necessary to enact this plan. PCMA breached the contract by expelling my son prematurely. This absolutely took us by surprise and never gave our son an opportunity to get the support he needed to get off the plan. The school prioritized other kid’s over ours again - even citing egregious/false claims that kids went to the hospital and that teachers felt abused by my son. He’s 2.5 years old, not a predator. The interim Director lied to me about details of communications between us and most egregiously, passed the buck and blamed the previous staff (who had left for greener pastures - a new school with better pay).

I reached out to the school’s corporate Director to share my story and ask for some ownership of issues, only to be met with more lies, more passing of the buck, and feigned empathy.

I am disgusted and disappointed.

Ian P.

My toddler has been with Pacific Coast Montessori Academy for a few months now (around when they first opened in the area in October) and I could not be happier with their program. The initial signup process was a breeze and the fees are competitive for the location.

I'm happy my son gets to spend a couple days a week with 8+ other children and instructors who are so patient and kind. At pickup time I'm always so excited to come through the door and catch him in the middle of enjoying time with his friends, doing some "work", or eating a snack. Their lessons/curriculum change from week to week and focus on the seasons, weather, holidays and other current events. The school offers a meal program with a decent amount of variety which really helps save additional time each day.

One of my favorite things about PCMA is they use an app that keeps me looped in with my little ones activities and events throughout the day. They let us know what he ate and how much, bathroom times, and we also get photos of him playing and enjoying classtime. Sending and receiving notes with the instructor is simple and we are able to check in easily if necessary. The app also makes sign-in and sign-out super simple and when I'm in a hurry I can easily perform pickup or dropoff without any hassle.

The children all have little cubbies which helps keep track of their extra clothes and school work I can check in with each week. Each week the director sends an email out to help my wife and I keep track of what PCMA has been working on with our child each week.

We're in the toddler program now, but I'm excited for the pre-primary and primary programs in the coming years!