[Tami S]

We have a daughter entering first grade and a son starting preschool in the fall. Our daughter attended Henderson International for two years in their preschool program and we loved the school. This was before the merger and restructuring that has taken place since. She was in public school for kindergarten but we have decided we'd like to put her back in private school. The problem is we don't personally know too many people that have their children in private schools and we are having a hard time deciding where they should go. We are considering Challenger and Foothills Montessori. Besides the obvious difference (montessori vs traditional,) can anyone shed any light on the academic standards and administration differences? Thanks!

[Lazydriver]

I don't know much about those two, but I've heard good things about Mountain Heights Montessori. It's preschool to K-3. Here's the website: Mountain Heights Montessori - Gallery (http://www.mountainheightsmontessori.com/Gallery.html - broken link) I've also found some reviews online if you want to look at those: Parent Reviews of Mountain Heights Montessori - Las Vegas, Nevada - NV

[Nolan05]

All 3 of our kids attended Challenger for 3 years and the academics are second to none. After we left and put them back into public school, all 3 could have skipped a grade as Challenger operates on a 1 to 1.5 grade level higher than public school. The phonics that are taught are extremely advanced as our pre-schooler was reading and writing stories at age 4. That being said, there are minimal extras like athletics and clubs and what they have are expensive to be involved in. When our kids went there Challengers teaching staff was awesome and there was no letdown from grade to grade, but many have left and went to Henderson Inter and other private schools around. We are sending our kids to Henderson Inter when we get there as my wife just got a job there, what was the concern there? We really like the athletic programs/academic mixture compared to other private schools.

[Tami S]

Thanks for the information. Nolan05, to answer your question regarding HIS, I personally don't have any real concern, I just know that a lot of parents have switched due to administration issues and the fact that there has been a lot of teacher turnover. We had a very positive experience there but the tuition is quite a bit higher than the other schools we are looking at.

[happyhunting]

I agree with Nolan. And like you, I had stuck my two in private school (Challenger) and pulled my oldest to go to public kindergarten (thinking I'd give it a try). She was so advanced, like Noland said, it was as if she was 2 grades above. Mine are teenagers now, so much older. However, Challenger has probably the best phonics program I have EVER seen. My oldest was reading at 4 (I started her later), my youngest at 3. Nolan also is correct about the limited extras, but then the Henderson Campus of Challenger only goes to third grade anyway. At the point my oldest was in third, I pulled them both and went parochial. We've since moved out of state and our kids are in public high school and middle school, but I can say that Challenger was the BEST thing for at the very least, preschool through 3rd. In third grade my daughter was reading To Kill a Mocking Bird and entering reading competitions. I've never been to Montessori or known anyone that has, so I can't comment on that school.