Guidepost Foothill Ranch, CA If I could give a zero, I would. This is my personal and direct experience as a parent who sent their kid to this school. Most of these "5-star reviews" are parents who were encouraged to do so during a raffle. We were encouraged to write the "best" review. *RED FLAG* I am writing my personal review because a great deal of parents (like myself), rely on accurate social media reviews to chose a daycare or school for our children. Since my son started there June 2022, 2 head of schools left, 1 assistant head of school, 3 lead guides (1 later returned after trying to seek a nanny job) and 5 assistant guides (1 got terminated for physically and emotionally harming the children-which I will get into more detail because my son was one of 7 children affected). That is a total of 10 people in a year who have left (not including the person who returned). No consistency for our children. *RED FLAG* During the months of October 2022-March 2023, my son would cry during drop offs and pick ups. We didn't know why, we thought it was normal toddler behavior. We were then notified that our son by the current head of school at the time on 3/2023 that our son experienced abuse by an assistant guide who was first put on administrative leave then terminated a few days later after interviewing staff who corroborated the allegations. Specific examples of witnessed abuse against my son included this person intentionally tripping him when he was running outside, pulling him by his arm and pinning him down in his chair to sit by his shoulders. These were only the witnessed accounts. The current head of school told us that these concerns about abuse were told to prior head of school who left end of 2022 but nothing was followed up. Which breaks my heart as a parent to think all this abuse was ongoing without further investigation. *RED FLAG* We wanted to leave at that moment when they disclosed all the abuse information but the head of school insisted we stay to make things right since that employee was terminated. We agreed only under the contingency that if we saw any emotional distress in our son, we would be leaving the school. He was having serious behavioral issues/changes. He probably didn’t feel safe at that school so we left. I would never recommend this place. Another huge RED FLAG is when there are multiple violations posted on their front door for the public to view. Hope our feedback and experience help other families make an informed decision.

We have absolutely loved this school We have absolutely loved this school, the teachers and the staff who run the school. Our son does the Spanish immersion class with Ms Gaby, Ms Myrna and Ms Sol. They are three excellent teachers with wonderful communication, they are fun, approachable, friendly and warm. The classroom is run beautifully and we always feel welcomed. Since going to Guidepost our son (an only child) has learnt to do SO much for himself. He puts on his shoes, gets dressed, clears his plate. It has made him value his independence and given him new levels of confidence as an individual. He has made some very good friends with the other students and I believe the school does a really good job of fostering friendships. We have loved the out of hours activities and the birthday parties. And seeing my son's understanding of Spanish grow has been very exciting. We've also met a lot of the other parents who are very friendly and this has been really great. It's a great school and lovely community. It's been perfect for our family.

Great start for my 1yo We made the decision to start our daughter in the Montessori Together program at a nearby Guidepost school when she was about 7 months. It's been great to watch her world expand as she meets other children, and as my wife and I connect with other families. The community of families has been great for us as new parents, and we feel well taken care of the attentive team at our daughter's school.

DISCRIMINATION AGAINST DISABILITIES The school has a good infrastructure, and it all looks great. However, my experience was horrible. The teachers and the principal don't even speak proper English. The security is a joke. One time I was able to pick up my son and put him in the car while the kids were playing outside, and nobody even noticed. My son, who is very high functional and autistic, was accepted in the middle of the pandemic. They took the deposit and ensured me that they are prepared to work with him. He doesn't have sensory issues and is verbal. The communication level is not as expected for five years old, but still a very well functioning child. Few months in - the principal called my wife and me to let us know that if we don't hire a "shadow" teacher, he will no longer visit the school. Even though the cost adds $7500/month to his tuition, we agreed to that. When they realized we are going forward with their proposal, they backtracked by saying that he can't go to their school even with a shadow teacher. It makes me sad that these people, with all of their ridiculous certifications, are incapable of giving my child an equal opportunity and proper care. I felt extremely discriminated against and offended by the way they handled the case. We went through their process and evaluation, and now that everything is back to normal and they don't need money as much, they are getting rid of the "bad ones." Forget this school with all of its false promises for a bright future. Guidepost Montessori is a business, and money is a priority. They don't care about your kids or their success. If you want your child to be educated by people that barely speak proper English, send them to this Montessori School. It's hard to imagine what other parents are going through when they have a child with disabilities and cannot afford private schools, speech therapies, shadow teachers, and all this other BS.

Discrimination I went to tour the school and they said there is space available for my daughter. I told them she is autistic and if it is possible for her therapist to visit her at school. They said they will get back to me. They totally ignored me and I haven't heard back from them. So Disappointed, at least they should get back to me if they allow the therapist or not but totally ignoring me means they don't want to deal with disabled kids.