Big Leaf Montessori School

I wanted to love this school. Academically, it is quite sound. My child attended Big Leaf Montessori for two years, and while I noticed amazing work from the classroom, the emotional support required in elementary classrooms was not present. My child was bullied for two years, by two different students, and these problems were not remedied by the teacher or the head of the school. After repeated meetings and communication about each situation, it became apparent that no one was going to help us. The teacher, unfortunately, needs better classroom management skills, as Montessori teacher training does not typically seem to cover this subject. She would send out emails to parents about the behavior of the class, but didn't seem to know how to deal with it herself. She also had a small class (under 20 students) and a full-time assistant, and while the students could be distracted and off-task at times, their behavior while my child was there was really not terrible at all. The board is made up of four parents of children at the school and one outsider, but the parents are actually two couples, one of whom gave money to the school to help with startup. This weighs decisions about the school in favor of those on the board, which hardly seems equitable. I've also noticed that when enrollment is low, they allow students to attend who truly have abhorrent behaviors and could be a danger to the other students.