Kenilworth School

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I ended up not putting my child in this school because of the director. I felt her to be very "tight-lipped" about exactly what makes the school "Montessori." The actual term Montessori is not copyrighted and anyone can use it, if the method is even remotely similar. I went to the school on two occasions and the front desk lady was very nice but not very informative. I asked to speak with the director (or someone with more info) and it was like pulling teeth to get - finally - the person in charge with the answers to come out the reception area. One of my questions was about Montessori affiliations and the director (Linda was her name, I believe) gave me two names. I had already looked them up and Kenilworth School is not part of them. They are the two main ones in the United States. I also asked her what special training the teachers had and Linda could not name even one specific Montessori training program even one teacher had attended. I found that surprising, to say the least. All she said to me was that they follow all the guidelines and that children play with toys and then put them away before getting out other toys. Hmmm ... That's it? I asked how many classes for each grade there were. I thought it was a fair question. Her reply to me was, and I'm quoting, "This is a small town. Are you from around here?" I guess she felt inferior to have to answer that her school was smaller than her previous one in Plantation, Florida. I informed her I had lived here in Highlands County for over 30 years, so I am very familiar with this area -- likely more than she is, since she has lived here a fraction of that time. I was unimpressed to say the least. In fact the school's numbers have dropped so much that even a week before its first day there was uncertainty as to what grades they would even offer. Several grades were already slashed last year and I would bet much of the negative growth is due to the way its run by this lady. If a school follows some of the Montessori principles, then say so. Don't try and pass yourself off as something you are not. What is the point? Schools (private or public) should be more open about what they offer. There is no need to pretend to be something one is not. We all know there are many wonderful schools that are not members of the American Montessori Society. For crying out loud, don't lie about it! If you have to lie about credentialing directly to a potential parent, then what else are you fibbing about? It says it all that this school dwindled down to two pre-school grades last year due to lack of enrollment in every other grade it had offered. If anyone reading this is seriously considering this school, ask the Montessori questions about credentialing and then verify on your own. You may be surprised at what you find. There are far better schools in the area that are within reasonable driving distance. I ended up putting my child in Parkview Pre-K and Prep Academy in Avon Park, which is about 15 mins away. But look around and you'll find others. And these others don't profess to be something they are not.

I absolutely love this school! I have 2 daughters who started attending Kenilworth when they were 3 years old. They were both reading and doing basic math before they even finished Pre-K. My oldest is now 9 and my youngest is 6. Needless to say, they are both very advance in school. I give all the credit to Kenilworth School! The staff is very friendly and accomodating. They have strict rules just like any other school. But they have to be strict in order to run such a wonderful school and academic program. I highly recommend Kenilworth School to everyone. My only wish is that they would expand and offer classes upt to 12th grade. Right now they only go up to the 5th grade.