Montessori Discovery Academy - Bountiful, Utah

Lisa N.

I LOVE everything about this school! My son started in the toddler class and is now in the preschool class. I love the teachers and all the staff. They do an amazing job and I love the Montessori method of teaching. My son has advanced so quickly and he loves it! They have a wonderful shaded playground and do great field trips and special events. They are very flexible with my schedule and are very organized. I wish I could give them 10 stars!

Eric H.

We’re lucky to have a Montessori school in Bountiful since it’s such a good environment for children to learn in. Lorna is a teacher for ages 3-6, and her cabin classroom is really cool. She’s invested in her students and really goes the extra mile to make sure her students have a good experience and she keeps parents well informed. I recommend this school to anyone in the area looking for a better learning environment for their children!

Olivia H.

This school and its staff are amazing! When I toured the school, the head teacher took me around to every classroom, showed me every lesson that my child would learn, reviewed her teachers’ certification and educational background with me, and was so nice and friendly while addressing all my questions and concerns. The Montessori Method, while not for everyone, is a proven method and one that provides a well-rounded educational experience. I’m so glad that we were able to get my son into this program. They also provide music lessons and, for an additional cost, several fun extracurricular activities outside of school time. Everything is done at the child’s own pace and they can work on anything they need to or advance ahead if necessary to challenge them and help them grow. Discipline is not a timeout but a proven method that helps the child work out his or her own issues and come to a resolution. In addition to academic learning, children are taught real life skills and problem solving. I highly recommend this school and program!

Jennie S.

My two children go to this school and have for about 1 1/2 years, it's an amazing school! The environment is friendly, warm and loving, and I know that my kids are receiving the best possible education with one on one attention! All of the teachers are Montessori certified and I can tell they have a true passion for the children. Definitely recommend this for anyone!!! Just so you know also, they accept children as young as 18 months and go through 6th grade!

Danielle R.

My daughter adored this school and we were heartbroken when we moved and had to switch schools.

She started at 18months and left just before she turned 3. The teachers were AMAZING with her. She has gross motor delays, fine motor skills delays, and severe speech delay but her teacher was so wonderful and accommodating. They helped her grow and become a wonderfully independent toddler and I attribute her ability to drink from an open cup to their patience. Thank you for the love and care you should my little girl!!

Sarah W.

This is a great school for the right child! I just had one issue. If your child has any type of behavior issue it doesn't seem to be worth the effort to the teachers to work with them on it. I explained my concern and son's situation to the owner and three teachers and after i still felt he was just getting pushed aside because he kept getting in trouble and some of the things he would get in trouble for just didn't make sense to me. I started to get the feeling that my son was just a burden to some of the teachers. Because some teachers made him sound like he was this trouble maker (which is a kid i don't know), but then other teachers would tell me how great he was and how when you make the effort to approach him his way he's really smart. It's a great clean school. They do a lot of field trips and other cool activities, but if your child is high energy and at times may need a little more focus on being approached his/her way to get engaged - look into other schools before deciding. Also they do not escort the children to the bathrooms - which for 4 and 5 year olds i feel should still be done.

P.S. The person below me does have kids in the school, but also works for the school.

Michael ?. R.

Overall School ★★☆☆☆
The school at first showed that they do teach some of the Montessori basics but are lacking in having a fully trained staff that practice the Montessori method. We quickly noticed there was also a lot of turnover, we just showed up to different teachers. That is hard on young children. From our experience, we would never recommend anyone take their kid under the age of 4 there as they have a low tolerance for kids who are still learning the rules, and or have never been in a pre-K program. They serve toddlers but they are licensed as a school not child care therefore not held to the same licensing standards as a daycare.
They don’t keep track of kids well, two instances in 2 weeks took place were three kids escaped the log cabin and were running out in the parking lot. No teachers followed them and they made it all the way to the main building before another teacher took them back. Second instance we went in a class room to find our child’s items and found instead a fellow student crying in the corner. She said her teachers left her in the class room and she did not know where they were. Because they don’t take attendance when moving kid’s locations, the aftercare teacher had no idea this child was even at school!
The school does not seem to be tailored to working parents. Aside from the aftercare issues, the school is closed whenever Davis School District is closed. They close for one week between school year and summer camp, and 1.5 weeks between the end of summer and school beginning. If you want to use the aftercare (which I don’t recommend) you will pay extra for that. Remember you paid the same tuition for these months as the months with no days off. This was the absolute worst aftercare experience we had! After taking my daughter one day I ended up taking the rest of the week off work because it was so awful!

After Care ★☆☆☆☆
I’m just going to cut right to the heart of this. You pay for a teacher to toss the kids into a room or on the playground while they sit outside the door doing their own thing. Or in the room on their cell phones. No enrichment or learning activities take place. Not only that the ratio for kids to teachers are way off and all older kids get tossed in the same room as the toddlers. We witnessed little kids being injured on the playground from being caught in the older kids age appropriate rough housing.

Field Trips ★★☆☆☆
It was a bit much to think about a 2-year-old going on a field trip. The center transports children in their van, and rely on teachers and parents to drive the rest of the children. Personally we were not comfortable with anyone else installing our child’s safety seat and transporting her. Toddlers are required to have a parent attend with them. So, if you are not a working parent then it might work for you. The locations are fun and exciting but the care is lacking. On one of the field trips we volunteer on we watched as the parents spent more time wrangling the kids up while the teachers sat back. The poor staff at Wheeler Farm were stressing out as there was no controlling the kids. One child was left behind while the class was on the wagon ride. Teachers had no attendance lists and there was no attendance taken once we arrived at the location.

Summer Camp ★☆☆☆☆
Basically, this is just aftercare in the hot sun on the playground. The kids will spend hours out in the sun with little water. We were also disappointed to find out from our child that they watched TV during the day on multiple occasions. I could get a babysitter at home for cheaper if I wanted her to watch TV all day.

Conclusion. We ended up pulling our kid from the school and have no intention of returning.
If you are a stay at home parent who just needs preschool I would recommend them. If you are a working parent who wants to know your child is receiving a quality early education as well as safe child care don’t do it.

MyDuck B.

My child attended Discovery Academy for a year, and it was a disappointing experience for her and me. The school is advertised as Montessori Accredited, but many of the teachers are not Montessori trained. My daughter is at a more prominent Montessori school in Salt Lake City, and it has been a night and day difference.