LePort Montessori Huntington Harbor

We absolutely love LePort, our toddler son is thriving. He began in Ms. Jimenez’s infant room and really came out of his shell after being home with a mom/grandma/nanny for the first 14 months of his life. She was a wonderful first teacher for us to send our baby off everyday. He's now in Ms. Hawkins toddler class and doing so well. She’s down to earth, practical, caring and kind my son has simply blossomed in her class. I feel great sending him off to such loving and warm school everyday. Every staff member I interact with is truly lovely and they do such a great job with COVID-19 precautions!

My son started attending Leport at 10 months old after being home. We toured the school when I was still pregnant and were blown away by the independence of the children in the infant room. It was a totally different environment from the other schools we toured. My husband and I left the tour having made our decision. We were placed in Ms. Zappa's class and could not be happier. Our son has learned so much in the 4 months that he has been attending class. When he first started, he still wasn't sleeping through the night. He was waking up every 45 mins to 2 hours. It was exhausting. Ms. Zappa guided us on how to introduce a floor bed and prepare his bedroom in a way that would foster independence and sleep. I was initially hesitant but gave it a go since nothing else had worked for us. Within 3 days, our son was sleeping through the night. He would fuss a little but put himself right back to sleep. Now he sleeps 12 hours, continuously, a night. We thought this day would never come! It is not a daycare; it is a school with structure, routine, and high expectations. It required us to change the way we did a lot of things at home, but I feel these changes have made us better parents. The growth of our child justifies the cost of tuition. I am so happy we made this decision! Thank you to Ms. Zappa, Ms. Fells, Ms. Briseno, and Ms. Martinez for the exceptional care and education they provide to all of the infants in B8.

As two attorneys that both work extended hours, it was important to us to find a daycare that provided an environment that would be like a second home to our son and also focused on teaching important life skills from a young age. We got very lucky that our son is not a “crier.” Unfortunately that meant that in his first day care he was often ignored while the teachers soothed the babies that made the most noise. As a parent, I can totally understand the desire to soothe a crying baby. But because my son wasn’t a squeaky wheel, he was constantly being ignored, left on a play mat with little adult interaction. And then he started to fall behind on milestones. I started looking elsewhere to take him and found LePort. I expressed my concerns about my son’s current school ignoring him for the sake of the crying babies. I am SO grateful for LePort. I saw an immediate turn around with my son and his milestones after enrolling him at LePort. Within days I could see a difference in how excited he was to go to school and how happy and fulfilled he was when he would come home. Now, several months later, he is excelling in every way and is advanced for his age in many skills and milestones.
His teachers are so attentive and he loves his head teacher Ms. Zappa. She has consistently discussed with us ways to make sure that the skills they are teaching him are consistent at school and home. She is always full of good ideas on ways to help our son grow and to address concerns we are having about issues with sleep, eating, or anything else. We seek out and take her advice on many subjects we have encountered with our son. It is sad to admit, but because of our schedules, our son spends more time with his teachers at school than he does at home with us. But we couldn’t be happier with them. They genuinely love our son. Both of us and our son will be truly heartbroken when he has to switch classes eventually and leave Ms. Zappa’s class for the next stage class.

When it comes to education we were adamant that our daughter goes to a real school, with a real classroom and an actual educational environment. LePort is that and so much more. Think amazing teachers that are kind, sweet and gentle and that teach your child everything from basics of life to math and reading. Every activity is centered around learning (even playtime). Children are encouraged to discover the world through their own eyes (and experience)- from simple things like washing their hands to more complex like geography. Our daughter started going there when she was 18 months and we immediately noticed an improvement in her life - from the things she learned to the discipline that she brought home.
There is parent involvement - which i like- you can volunteer and help in the classroom and you can participate in the various school-driven activities and events, etc.
I believe this is an outstanding school by any standard- (and I have really high ones)
:)

Le Port Montessori offers a very unique program—Spanish Immersion. We already love the Montessori Method of instruction, but having it in Spanish was a dream come true. Mrs. Del Valle and Mrs. Tryon are very dedicated and wonderful teachers. They are both native Spanish speakers from Mexico and Colombia, respectively and license Montessori instructors. Our child is learning so much at this school. We struggled with finding a school that was a good fit, and are extremely pleased with Le Port. The proof that our child loves being at Le Port is best expressed by the request at pick-up time, of having 5 more minutes to interact with friends. This five minutes many times turns into 10 or 15 minutes as all students are engaged and actively learning and no one wants to go home. The children just love being at Le Port. The best outcome of this program is that just within the four months of being in the Spanish Immersion classroom our child is responding in Spanish when spoken to in Spanish. What a tremendous accomplishment and much valued skill in today's international, interconnected and high tech world. Now if only, Le Port offered a Mandarin Immersion program or at least Mandarin classes after school. Children completing multiple language programs will be such invaluable members of this diverse society that is California and the rest of the world. Thank you Le Port for this wonderful experience.