Testimonials

Recent email from a student from 1960/61! Awesome!

From: Margaret Swain
Sent: Friday, March 15, 2013
Subject: Memories of 1960/61

Greetings,

I was a student at Spring Valley for kindergarten in 1960/61. I still have a wonderful memory of dancing with scarves that has stayed with me all these years, and other less specific memories of enjoying the school day.

Something prompted me to look at your website today. I feel that I was very fortunate to start my schooling at Spring Valley.

Best wishes,
Margaret Swain

Famous Montessori Graduates

Joshua Bell: American violinist
Jeff Bezos: founder of Amazon.com
Dr. T Berry Brazelton: noted peditrician &author
Sergey Brin & Larry Page: co-founders of Google
Julia Child: first TV chef & author
George Clooney: Academy Award-winning actor
Sean "P.Diddy" Combs: rapper/muscian & producer
Eric Cornell PhD: Nobel Prize winner
Anne Frank: Dutch diarist from World War II
Katherine Graham: owner/editor of The Washington Post
Friedensreich Hundertwasser: Austrian painter & architect
Helen Hunt: Academy Award-winning actress
Gabriel Garcia Marquez: Noble Prize winner for literature
Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis: editor & former first lady
Jimmy Wales: founder of Wikipedia
Prince William & Prince Harry: English royal family
Will Wright: designer of The Sims

From a Parent's Point of View

Our daughter, Katie, entered Spring Valley when she was three years old. Even at that age she exhibited many of the traits we take to be Katie’s true nature; she has always been competitive or goal-oriented, and extremely truthful.

Her Spring Valley education has not tried to mold her into something
that she isn’t, rather it has allowed her to mature along the lines
that is “Katie.”

In her pre-primary days the satisfaction of earning a gold star satisfied her goal-oriented nature, while in middle school it was the challenge of making the math hall-of-fame. Katie has learned that not every violation of rules (“the boys were listening to the radio when it wasn’t allowed”) needed to be reported to the authorities (teachers), rather that one had to gauge the seriousness of the act and report those acts that caused damage or put other children at risk.

One thing that always pleasantly struck us about Spring Valley was how well spoken and confident the graduating 8th graders appeared - we felt like we were attending a high school graduation. This confidence was learned through activities such as the public speaking opportunities during show-and-tell, memorization and recitation of poems, science fair presentations, various report presentations, and acting and singing opportunities during school performances... Katie exhibited similar confidence during her appearance at the regional spelling bee as a representative of Spring Valley.

During the process of searching for Katie's future "high school" home,
we were very happy with how well Spring Valley had prepared Katie
for her continuing education - she came across as the mature,
confident, and intelligent student.

As a student Katie learned much about environmental awareness through the various classroom recycling/waste reduction programs, science classes and associated science fairs, and watching fish eggs mature into salmon and then releasing those young into the wild.

Katie has learned much about the social and cultural differences in the world. Spring Valley provided her the opportunity to learn about the French language and culture, to visit France and observe the cultural differences first-hand, and to make friends with various exchange students who have attend Spring Valley.

Spring Valley students have learned to be mature, intellectually curious, and respectful - as a parent it was extremely pleasing to see how well behaved the students were during the French trip, this maturity was not lost on those around us, many times the students were complimented on their behavior.

We wish to thank the Spring Valley Montessori teachers, administration, and students for the wonderful job done preparing the children to face the challenges and adventures awaiting them in life.

-Lori and Robert Boyer

From a College Student's Point of View

My name is Sarah Lorch, and I attended Spring Valley for preschool, and then again from the third to eighth grade. Currently I study at Georgetown University in Washington, DC, where I recently completed my freshman year. At Georgetown I am in the School of Foreign Service, am learning Arabic, and plan to major in International Politics. I am also a member of the cross-country and track team.

I feel that my education at Spring Valley and the valuable skills it
provided me with have played a big role in helping me to succeed.
The Montessori method of education taught me how to be an
independent and self-motivated worker; these qualities have helped
me through high school, college, and life in general.

At Spring Valley I was able to study many interesting subjects with some wonderful teachers. To name a few, Madame Baslé was an amazing French teacher who cultivated my love of languages, and I also learned a lot from Mrs. Kayihan’s very interesting and interactive science classes. I will never forget all the great plays and performances I participated in as well. I really enjoyed my time at Spring Valley, and am very grateful for the fun, interesting and valuable education I received there.

-Sarah Lorch
2002 Spring Valley 8th Grade Graduate