happy families

“How does a person adequately describe Maria Govoni? It's not at all an easy task. To say she is an extraordinary teacher doesn't begin to explain how we feel about her. Our daughter, Violet, has had the privilege of having Maria as her teacher for the last year, and she has absolutely blossomed under her care. Maria is the epitome of a fantastic educator. She is patient, calm, deeply loving and dedicated, and 100% dialed into each child she works with. On class lessons, she takes the time to do a deep dive on any chosen topic so that her students leave the classroom with sincere knowledge on the topic and excitement about sharing that knowledge with others.

As a Montessori educator with many years of training and experience, she is able to give parents new insight on a child's perspective. In fact, we rely so much on Maria's expertise that my husband and I have looked at each other multiple times over the year and said, "We need to ask Maria about this. I bet she could help us understand." And for the record, we have asked her for insight on not only our daughter who she teaches but also our son who is not in her class! She just gets kids. We have also had the opportunity over the year to see her help her students use their words to express their feelings. This is such huge work, and Maria is excellent at it. She helps children not only find the words to describe how they feel but then also encourages and supports them as they share those feelings with others.

We will always see our time in Maria's classroom as a true privilege. She has created an educational and social emotional foundation for our daughter that will serve her for a very long time, and it is our sincere hope that we will know her for many years in the future!”-Kelly Goodpastor, Former Parent

“I give them a glowing review! We've sent all 3 of our kids there and it is truly a unicorn of a school! We could not have imagined a better place for our family to be! Everyone who works there is a kind and lovely soul.”- Jackie Jones, Current Parent

“We have been there 5 years and honestly it has been a godsend for us. We absolutely love it there, and our parents even said how wonderful it is for our two kids to be there. Beyond being a great community and a great school, it's a wonderful place for them to learn and our kids are thriving and are so happy and we wish we could stay there forever. The teachers are supported and the kids are loved and cared for deeply. I am amazed at the skills my kids have at this age. I am constantly wowed by their progress and happiness. Because Ms Maria started as a teacher and is a parent she is able to understand multiple perspectives and that really suits her so well as the director, that is such a rare quality to have and we really appreciate it!”- Katie S., Current Parent

“Maria is the warmest, most caring, most kind and creative educator I have ever met. My son spent 3 years in her care and after relocating from Los Angeles to Austin, it was so seamless. He was there from year 2 to year 5 and I love the community so much there. We are still close friends with the families that we met there. I can't recommend them enough. Any family who is considering them would be lucky to go there!”- Eileen C., Former Parent