International Montessori Academy - West Bellevue

Stacey H. 

on Yelp

6 years ago

We enrolled our daughter in IMA in July 2019 and have been very happy with it so far. The Montessori approach is great and focuses on helping your child to become more independent through teaching them life skills, which is a great fit for our parenting philosophy. Yimin Chen, the owner, is responsive to emails and very clear and direct. Our daughter is in Ms. Luz's toddler classroom. Ms. Luz is everything you could hope for in a teacher - very knowledgeable, caring, and experienced. We regularly get photos of our daughter d... read more

Marko H. 

on Yelp

7 years ago

Our child attended the elementary program for 1st and 2nd grade. The teachers at IMA are kind and very supportive of their students. The student to teacher ratio is low and the children receive a lot of 1:1 attention. During her time at IMA, our daughter went from knowing no Mandarin to speaking, reading, and writing. We were so pleased with her progress and the approach the school takes to support children learning a second language. In addition, the administrative staff and support staff are professional and willing to ... read more

Katie P. 

on Yelp

7 years ago

My daughter started at IMA when she was 18 months old and we'd just moved to Bellevue from Seattle. She's now a little over 3.5 and we're still loving it! She's teaching me words in Japanese that she's learning, and she loves all of her teachers. Sometimes I've missed out on hearing about things but I think they are working on all that with expanding the school and using the Brightwheel app to simplify communications. She's learning and happy and I feel that they've been taking great care of her. We've been on vacation at ... read more

Tina D. 

on Yelp

7 years ago

Both of my sons attend IMA. My oldest, who is 3 years-old now, has learned so many things from the toddler and now the primary program. I love the Montessori teachings. They take the time to explain the teachings to parents in weekly newsletters so we understand things like why over praising children can cause praise junkies, can steal their pleasure, and reduce their interests, because now children are not learning for the sake of learning but for the sake of seeking approval from parents. So when the kid turns 16 and ... read more

Jennifer H. 

on Yelp

8 years ago

Our daughter joined the IMA elementary program during the 2017-2018 school year. We are very happy with her academic progress and the language immersion model. She is excited about learning Chinese! The staff and teachers at IMA are helpful and kind and strive to create an environment that is fun, supportive and academically challenging. 

Alissa A. 

on Yelp

8 years ago

Our family was interested in Montessori as a method of teaching but really wanted to have our daughters learn Mandarin so we were excited to find IMA. Our older daughter has attended IMA since Fall 2016 in the mandarin immersion class and our younger daughter just started attending this year in the toddler class. Our older daughter loves going to school each day and especially loves her afternoon class. Our daughter stopped napping at 3 years old so it is nice that she has the option to go to an afternoon class and is contin... read more

A Z. 

on Yelp

4 months ago

I would give it a zero if I can. I would not recommend this school to families looking for a safe, stable, and child-centered environment. The biggest issue is the lack of consistency. Policies are not applied fairly or reliably, and schedules change frequently--sometimes day to day--which creates confusion for both children and parents. A Montessori environment should provide structure and stability, but that is not what we experienced here. Staff professionalism is also a serious concern. There have been multiple incid... read more

Dejun Q. 

on Yelp

9 months ago

First of all, the list of items that parents are required to prepare is really quite long. I understand the intention -- things like emergency biscuits for earthquakes are for safety -- but honestly, if a real earthquake happens, shouldn't the school be able to provide such basic emergency supplies? This has created unnecessary stress and burden for parents. Second, I feel it's unreasonable to expect a two-year-old child to manage their own belongings, follow strict rules, and not be allowed to bring a favorite stuffed toy ... read more

Sangdrol W. 

on Yelp

2 years ago

1.1. The food provided is unhealthy, consisting of non-organic chicken and numerous complex additives on a daily basis. 2. My child attended for four days, during which no specific curriculum was arranged. There were no summary reports, and no information on my child's afternoon activities was given. Basic care was also lacking：Diapers were changed only once a day, and this was done solely when my child had a bowel movement. The milk and water we sent remained untouched and were returned in the same condition. Teachers were ... read more