Bridges Montessori - Stuart, Florida

Misi S.

I cannot say enough good things about Bridges Montessori.My son has been at Bridges for five years, and our experience has been exceptional. I can be very hard to please when it comes to education. I am an educator, and I was raised by an educator. That being said, I have been very impressed with every teacher my son has had at Bridges. Each of them has been very caring and knowledgeable. Also, Sally Padgett has been wonderful anytime I needed help. She has been thoughtful, kind and compassionate to our family from the very first meeting to tour the school.
Currently my son is in the middle school program at Bridges, and what a wonderful environment! The teachers are so creative with the way they present concepts and encourage hands on learning. There is no dependence on electronics to do the teaching or occupy students. They are reading real books and talking about them. As an English professor this excites me! When we came to Bridges we were leaving a terrible experience at another school. I was so nervous to take a chance on Bridges, but it was a godsend for us. My son is neurodivergent, and he has truly blossomed at Bridges. All of his teachers have been excellent in assisting him. His middle school teachers truly go above and beyond. As a result of their attention and care, he is more confident in his academic work and engaging with his peers.

Melissa Q.

My child has been attending Bridges for the past two years and is thriving ! Sally and the teachers go above and beyond,—-making this an incredible place for children to learn and grow. I highly recommend to anyone. Any concern, or questions I have, Sally and the teachers are so quick to respond and help We are so grateful for this beautiful school.

Jessica M.

My child is a neurodivergent 6th grader. I enrolled him at Bridges for 2024-25 school year and was very transparent with some past behavior issues. Bridges seemed like a good fit as I know Montessori encourages individualized learning and smaller class sizes/more one on one interaction.

Initially Sally (head of school) said she was willing to work with us and mentioned that she thought it would be a good idea for my son to have an ABA therapist a few times a week in the classroom. She suggested I use the ABA company that already worked with the school. As I researched I had several concerns with the in-house company and chose to search for an alternative ABA company for my son.

Over the next couple months it became clear that none of the staff at Bridges have any training in how differently neurodivergent children learn, respond, and interact. (When I enrolled him I provided a detailed report from a previous evaluation, which included many suggestions as to how to help learn/navigate at school. Easily accommodated things like frequent breaks, assignments broken down into smaller parts, etc). No effort was made to learn what worked and didn’t work for his learning style. At one point they texted me at 8:20am (20 mins into the day) that I may need to pick him up because he wasn’t having a good morning and did not want to join the group. This text was accompanied by a picture of him sitting calmly at a desk with his head down.

ABA therapy was finally approved by insurance for the return from winter break in January with an RBT observing for 6 out of the 7 hours of the school day.

The week 1 report I received from the RBT was surprising and disappointing. Overall they believed he was bored. RBT said the kids spent majority of the day on computers, reading, and being lectured to. Math was primarily through a computer based program. At least two days, 1 out of the 3 upper school teachers was absent. Rather than providing a substitute the students were expected to complete quiet independent work/read for those periods. This ran completely opposite to my understanding of the Montessori method of education.

The RBT communicated that my son was never praised for accomplishments but seemed to be targeted as the instigator whenever there was any kind of issue amongst the classmates. (As a constant observer, RBT could confirm that he wasn't actually the problem).

When the RBT began, my problems with Sally also began. She questioned why the RBT was arriving ‘late’ each day (my insurance didn’t cover the entirety of each school day) and stated that my son was not allowed at school AT ALL for ANY period of time without the RBT. When I questioned what precipitated this change she stated that safety was her first priority. I asked in multiple emails, multiple times for any specific instances where she felt my son had done anything that was ‘unsafe’ towards any child or staff. (Physical aggression? Verbal aggression?) Sally could not provide a single specific example, but continued to insist that the RBT was required for the ENTIRETY of the day for him to attend. I pointed out that the BCBA, RBT, and his therapist, (who have degrees related to child behavior and are intimately familiar with his past behavior issues) did not think it necessary. Sally became increasingly uncooperative. She demonstrated an unwillingness to listen to other more educated professionals regarding the appropriate protocol. Ultimately Sally unenrolled my son. The ABA company told me ‘I have to be honest, this is some of the harshest criticism I’ve seen from a school towards a student- with no problem behaviors displayed this week’. Especially towards the end, Sally showed her true colors. She showed no compassion or concern for the wellbeing of my child and was hostile and unprofessional to the ABA company I hired for my son at her request.

I would not recommend Bridges upper school to anyone expecting an authentic Montessori experience or anyone who has a neurodivergent child.

Audra W.

Do not send your neurodivergent kids here.
The staff at Bridges upper school is completely untrained and unequipped to deal with kids with
neurodivergence/neurodivergent tendencies.
They are looking to maintain their status quo and have no interest in supporting the wellbeing, development and learning of children with neurodivergence. Not only that, the staff at the upper school seem completely unable to handle any minor issues and call parents to pick up kids for the slightest inconvenience, such as kids putting their heads down on desks or refusing to do work. The upper school is also not a traditional Montessori. The majority of the time spent in class is reading, on the computer and lectures. When the teachers are absent there are no substitutes provided, children are expected to sit quietly in independent study.
Behaviors of the staff and especially the principal Sally are ableist, with no allowances given for children with learning differences.
Even after meeting their demands for an ABA therapist and having almost a month of time where the neurodivergent child is not able to attend school, they still will not accept him back. A month’s worth of frustrating back and forth communication has gone by, with absolutely no effort made on Sally’s part to work together towards a solution. Sally is mean spirited, unconcerned, and unprofessional. Sally and the rest of the upper school teachers seem to be purposely looking for any excuse or misstep for the neurodivergent child to be kicked out. I am EXTREMELY disappointed by my experience here and I don't recommend anyone send their kids here.

Ryan P.

Bridges Montessori in Stuart FL is an outstanding educational institution that has nurtured and shaped the minds of our three children with exceptional care. The staff and teachers at Bridges Montessori are incredibly knowledgeable, compassionate, and dedicated to creating a stimulating and inclusive learning environment. Our children have thrived under their guidance, developing not only academically but also socially and emotionally. We are grateful to Bridges Montessori for providing an exceptional foundation for our children's education.

Jensen L.

Bridges is a great school for children that need a more organized and attention oriented environment than others. Both of my children have attended since the pandemic started, and I've been nothing but impressed with their efforts to keep everyone safe since then. The Montessori curriculum is a wonderful way for children to interact with their environment in order to learn about the world. The teachers that have worked with my children have been wonderful, and the administration does their best to fit children with teachers that will be complementary to their behavior and learning type. Of course, there are some instances when children don't work out, like the review from dr. pres. ceo. dude that says hitting is normal for children. Umm... no, bro. I don't want my child hurt by yours, and neither does anyone else. I highly recommend Bridges if you like schools that don't allow hitting.

Elizabeth M.

My daughter has attended Bridges for 12 years, from Toddler through 8th grade. It has been the most amazing experience of education that I could ever dream up. They are focused on always bringing out the best in all their students, on teaching responsibility, and creating a safe learning environment for everyone! My daughter loves it there so much, that even though they don't have a 9th grade (yet) she wants to stay there next year! I wish I could have gone to this school! I would give them 10 stars if I could!!!

Ahmet E. M.

As a physician seeing many patients a day and running a company as a president and CEO, and a private consultant to major industries, my impression with your school is that you guys are substandard when it comes to dealing with minor challenges. Hitting other kids is very normal because he just started talking. Every time there is new milestone children get more aggressive( if your teacher didn’t know that that’s a huge problem). You are not good enough to observe that. What a pity. Or you are lazy to give a child a few days of extra attention. Literally one day out of nowhere you called us to say he was running around too much and hit a few kids, he should stop coming to school because we can’t chase him. Whatttt
We sent our son there because you are a Montessori school but clearly we made a mistake. I made some research and found out that hitting is a developmentally normal behavior at every new developmental milestone. You have no right to label a child socially or psychologically challenged during his normal development. Plus he didn’t cause serious bodily injury. If you call this being a teacher or education you are in the wrong profession. I know doctors who will fire patients after first missed payment or after first no show without understanding the possible underlying issue. You are no different than those money hungry doctors with big egos. I am proudly different than them.
I recommend compassion and empathy( think Tekin was your child) to you and all teachers working with you. My son will achieve great things and I ll tell him this story when he is a grown up. You will all be ashamed.