Magnolia Montessori For All in Austin

Category	Rating	Details
Test Scores	6/10	The Test Score Rating examines how students at this school performed on standardized tests compared with other schools in the state. The Test Rating was created using 2025 State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR) data from Texas Education Agency.
Student Growth	8/10	The Student Progress Rating measures whether students at this school are making academic progress over time based on student growth data provided by the Department of Education. Specifically, this rating looks at how much progress individual students have made on state assessments during the past year or more, how this performance aligns with expected progress based on a student growth model established by the state Department of Education, and how this school's growth data compares to other schools in the state. The Growth Rating was created using 2025 Percentage of students meeting growth target data from Texas Education Agency.

Posted: February 18, 2026

Magnolia Montessori for All Middle school is a fantastic alternative to a traditional public middle school. The 2025/2026 school year was the first year to have six and seventh grade students. My kid is a sixth grader. I have been very pleased with the administration and the teaching staff. The reason I only gave four stars on the part about students are excited to learn. Is that middle school students are a rough crowd in many respects.Magnolia does a great job to reach every kid its just the age group is not always so motivated. What I like about Magnolia, is there focus community, setting all kids up to succeed, and realizing that everyone doesnt learn the same way. They work hard to help each kid be successful. They do a good job, finding the balance between providing support and expecting accountability. I also love the social emotional aspect, the fact that direct teach is only a part of the curriculum and that there is a lot of opportunity to do personal discovery projects and group projects. Most people agree that middle school sucks. But, Magnolia believes that it doesnt have to; they are little school with big opportunities! I recommend them enthusiastically!

Posted: March 19, 2025

I do not recommend this school it is very sexist around dress code one day I got dress coded because of my shorts they were purple for context it was spirit week the theme for the day was your classrooms door color I was in a class with a purple door when I asked why I was getting dress coded they say because of the color and they are inappropriate they were at my fingertips for context, I was walking to recess with my friends talking about how it wasnt fair as we see three boys pass by with no shirts on first of all this is very inappropriate and very sexist. I cant name a single rule regarding the boys dress code. Another thing about the school is the Montessori way. They say that they are Montessori school but love to take away the privileges that make a Montessori school a Montessori school for example, if you dont listen to the teacher within five seconds of ringing, a bell/chime you lose the privilege to talk or to stand out out of your seat. Basically, the things that make it a Montessori school. The only thing kind I can say about the school is their campus. The campus is very pretty and open, but thats all I can say about it. I do not recommend their school for your children. You can find very many different schools that could be better.

Posted: March 19, 2025

Posted: October 26, 2023

Very nice school with a diverse and inclusive environment.

Posted: October 26, 2023

Posted: August 23, 2022

Wonderful environment for children with a lovely campus. My son absolutely loves his teacher, school, and caring staff. Hes thriving in the Montessori environment.

Posted: August 23, 2022

Posted: May 27, 2022

My children were at this school for 8 years since the beginning. It has been a great journey. There are many caring staff and teachers there and it's a nice campus. They also have good parent involvement and a good sense of community.

Posted: May 27, 2022

Posted: December 18, 2021

I think anyone reading a review should be wary of the single story. There is no way that a single review can encompass a community or a school campus.

That being said, if you love passionate, open minded, loving, interesting, and motivated individuals, then Magnolia is the place for you! The teachers go out of their way to make sure that the children have what they need both mentally and physically, that they are kind and thoughtful with their actions, and are also teaching them way beyond what they would find in any other public school. They offer a truly classical education with art, music, cultural experiences, and so much more. As a previous review stated, sometimes it takes children a while to learn how to focus and be self-motivated with Montessori learning, but the payoff is incredible!

This is the best free public education around!

Posted: December 18, 2021

Posted: May 27, 2021

Wonderful school with caring teachers and Montessori philosophy focused on the whole child, not just academics. My kids have totally thrived and love school.

I once visited my child's classroom and was immediately greeted by two students who politely offered to make me tea. They set the table, clean up after themselves, and teach each other lessons. It's beautiful to see the self-worth this instills, allowing older students to mentor younger ones. I love the flexibility - my child can do their work outside on the patio if they want, can choose the order of their work, can work with the teacher to overcome obstacles, can explore things that interest them. The mixed-age classrooms are a huge benefit and my child is testing well above their grade level.

In the younger grades (Children's House), my child loves the practical life skills. He has learned to sew a button onto a cloth, cut bananas, arrange flowers, make watermelon popsicles with a mortar and pestle, polish metal and water the garden. Plus the academic basics, of course.

It hasn't always been perfect (lots of teacher turnover in my older child's old classroom) but overall we couldn't be happier with Magnolia.

Posted: May 27, 2021

Posted: July 25, 2019

My child isn't of an age to have homework assignments.

Posted: July 25, 2019

Despite the schools best efforts, my daughter had three different teachers in a matter of two years. I'm hopeful about her third teacher.

Posted: July 25, 2019

I like that this school integrates diverse cultures into their activities and creates a foundation for acceptance that will fend off prejudices.

Posted: July 25, 2019

The administration at this school is great. It's obvious they care about every student and are passionate about education.

Posted: July 25, 2019

The environment I sense when I drop off my child is very warm and friendly. This includes the students and their actions between themselves.

Posted: July 25, 2019

I am really happy by child is attending this school and am eager to see her progress going forward. Other than too many exchanges between teaches which may have negatively affected my child's education, I really like this school and strongly believe my child will reach her potential at this school.

Posted: April 30, 2018

There are all school meetings and the planning and thinking is clearly laid out.

Posted: April 30, 2018

I would say that Montessori does this more than the school. The child uses their own way/individuality to solve problems.

Posted: April 30, 2018

I think they are working hard to make a great school, with everything against them in our political climate. Even some parents (on this thread) seem to be focused on politics and not the school. They have built a brand new school, and that is a huge task. They have tried to create a school full of diversity when they probably could have created another private Austin Montessori where you would pay $22,000 a year. So I dont understand peaople bashing them as they are not doing it to get rich, or to accomplish anything other than making a school for all. Montessori teachers are harder to find in Austin, its a speacial path to teach in this way, and so creating a Montessori for all is not easy.
My son is pre-k and already reading basic books. He can add easily and loves to do his homework, I am very lucky as he has a passion to learn. He has his own little desk (like all the kids) and will spend hours on one project in his class. He works in a brand new, brihgt, modern, clean classroom with a bathroom closeby. (A problem in some big older AISD schools) Overall I think its a great school and as the current pre-k kids go on to test later, I think the test scores will show huge improvement. Its important to note that lower income kids coming here may come from lower performing schools and being thrown into Montesori is hard, its very different way of working. It may take time for those kids to improve but I believe the Montessori way is much better for overall learning and this is the best "free" option for Montessori anywhere in Austin. My son saw some kids playing chess and now he has taught me how to play. We now have hour long matches and I believe that is the type of learning and passion for learning you will get here.

Posted: April 30, 2018

Its up to you as the parent to make sure your kids get homework and do it. My son forgets his sometimes(He is pre-k) but we make sure that he remembers to bring it home. Its simple now in pre-k, reading simple books and then adding numbers, cutting out photos and placing them as described in the book etc but his math is already solid.

Posted: April 30, 2018

Teachers in pre-k work hard to make sure kids get the focus they need. With such a diverse school that can be very hard if a child is not used to montessori or used to focusing for long periods of time. As with any school its very hard to keep great teachers around but ours is great and communicates well.

Posted: April 30, 2018

Being Montessori, kids stay in a class together for three years. The reason being that the older kids teach the younger ones. Its great in that just having a pre-k child age 5 teach a 4 year old a skill or a math problem teaches compassion. To see a 5 year take the time to be patient and teach a younger child a skill is amazing and why we love moontessori.

Posted: March 2, 2018

Lots of show without substance. Sure the design of the new buildings are beautiful but no substance in the education there. Give it another decade and things may be great but currently in its beginnings with the current leadership, I would not recommend.

Posted: February 16, 2018

We are fortunate to be a part of Magnolia Montessori for all. It's an incredibly diverse and high quality learning environment that's transforming education through a vision for the future of education.

Posted: February 16, 2018

Posted: February 10, 2018

Every teacher that my children have had has worked their behinds off to love and care for my kids. They've responded to calls and emails at all hours, they've partnered with us to solve behavior problems, and they've actively supported our kids to be the best that they can be.

Posted: February 10, 2018

I can't write enough words to express how impressed I am with the work that students generate and the environments that they flourish in: student-led fundraisers for planting trees, the Maker's Market with all student-produced goods for sale, students planning their own field trips, and a curriculum that is inclusive of all types of people.

I couldn't be more proud to send our kids here!

Posted: February 10, 2018

I think that the leadership at the school is maturing every semester. The school has taken on an enormous amount of work in its infancy: from revising Montessori curriculum to be in line with state requirements, to building a new facility within the first four years of its founding, to tailoring teacher training to the demands of a Montessori/state standards curriculum.

Posted: February 10, 2018

I see a school that is maturing every semester; a school that just moved into their gorgeous permanent facility; a school that's refining it's approach to teacher training; and a school that's figuring out how to meet the needs of all students. While I think that there are areas for the school to improve on, there's no where else I'd like to send my kids!

I feel so lucky that our children receive the education that they receive at Magnolia.

Posted: February 10, 2018

This is my children's fourth year at Magnolia, and we have had an overall great experience. All of their teachers have been incredibly kind, hardworking, committed, and knowledgeable about child development. My children love learning and going to school. They are also advancing well academically. My oldest child, for example, was able to read at a mid-1st grade level by the end of kindergarten, and he was already working with numbers into the thousands. My children are also incredibly independent and know how to take care of themselves from practicing it at school. They help make their lunches, prepare their own snacks, wash dishes, put their laundry away, etc.

We chose Magnolia because we want our children to develop independence, critical-thinking, creativity, self-confidence, empathy, and a strong academic foundation. Montessori is known for that! However, we did not want to send our children to one of the many private schools in Austin because 1) it's too expensive and 2) we want our children to learn in diverse environments in a public setting.

We are so grateful to have the opportunity to attend a free public Montessori school. And the new facility feels like a private school! Magnolia really feels like a second home for our children.

The other families are incredibly kind and welcoming as well. We enjoy attending the camping trips that happen twice a year, as well as the community events that happen throughout the year. There is such a friendly and welcoming feeling when you walk around campus--from the children, the other families, and the staff. I'm grateful for Magnolia and hope to keep my children there for as long as possible!

Posted: February 10, 2018

Posted: February 6, 2018

If you don't want your preschool or elementary age child exposed to information and one-sided opinions about homosexuality, transgenderism, white privilege, minorities as victims, etc. without your knowledge I would avoid this school.

If your DO send your child here, make sure you know your child's teacher and have a frank discussion with him or her about what you want and don't want your child to hear about these subjects. This MAY work for you, depending on the teacher.

The founder and many (not all) of the staff at Magnolia indoctrinate students as young as preschoolers into their own political and moral point of view, but they do not communicate this clearly to the parents. They use blanket terms like "diversity, inclusivity, equity," etc. which sound nice, but what they actually mean is that they want to teach your child to grow up to believe and follow their leftist political and moral agenda, no matter what you, the parent, believes. They are sincere in their efforts and believe that what they are doing is correct, but sincerity does not make their actions acceptable.

If you do voice an opposing opinion to the administration, or even to some of the teachers, they just might remind you that you have a choice to send your child there and if you don't like it, then "maybe it's just not the right school for you." This shows that diversity of thought is not welcome.

As far as Montessori education is concerned, in the pre-standardized testing grades, the education that a child receives is acceptable (depending on the teacher and the disposition of your child), however, once a kid hits 3rd grade, it is just impossible to mix the STAAR test in and keep it "pure Montessori."

The teachers are under tremendous pressure to pass the STAAR, especially this year (2017-2018), because if they don't get enough free and reduced lunch kids to pass, then they will likely be shut down by TEA in 2020. As much as they tout Montessori education, in the end they have to "teach to the test" just like any other public school might have to do.

In short:
MMFA aims to indoctrinate even preK students as part of its education model and does not communicate this clearly to parents.
Voice an opposing opinion and it might be subtly suggested that you need to choose a different school.
Being a public school, standardized testing interferes with "pure Montessori."

Posted: February 6, 2018

The kids just get a homework sheet that they fill out with what they read and if they did "choice work" which is chores, any extra curricular activities, etc.

Posted: February 6, 2018

Depends on the teacher. Some are great at teaching, but they also want to indoctrinate your child in intersectionality and their leftist political agenda. Some are less effective as teachers, but at least they're not teaching your kids that they can switch genders if they want to.

Posted: February 6, 2018

The founder is a gifted advertiser. She knows how to make the ideas that she has seem like reality, but in actuality, what goes on in real life is not what she describes.

Posted: February 6, 2018

There are not enough SPED teachers to be able to effectively work with all of the kids who need help.

Posted: February 6, 2018

#	Name	Type	City	State	Distance
1	Midtown Commons at Crestview Station	Apartment Complex	Austin	TX	3.9 mi
2	Anderson Mill	Neighborhood/Subdivision	Austin	TX	12.6 mi
3	Mill creek	Neighborhood/Subdivision	Salado	TX	44.6 mi

Magnolia Montessori For All

Austin, TX 78724

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Magnolia Montessori For All

Austin, TX 78724

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