Montessori School Serving Parkland, Florida
Parkland families are, as a rule, unusually deliberate about education. It is one of the reasons people move here. Parents in Heron Bay, Parkland Golf & Country Club, Parkland Isles, MiraLago, Cypress Head, Watercrest, and Terramar research preschools the way other people research houses — and they tend to ask harder questions than most.
Good. Royal Palm Montessori Academy answers them well.
The credentials, first
We know this is what you came for.
Accreditation: Apple Accreditation through FACCM. Licensing: Florida Department of Children and Families, license #50-51-00898. Teacher certification: Our teaching staff hold Montessori certification. Several have taught in these classrooms since the school opened in February 2000. Leadership: Our owner/director has run the school since 1999 and holds a BA from Harvard University, a master's degree from Nova Southeastern University, and Montessori certification. Longevity: 26 years at one address under one family.
If you are comparing us against other preschools serving Parkland, ask each of them for all five. The list gets short quickly.
An accredited school with certified teachers
Two credentials do most of the work in separating serious Montessori programs from imitations, and we hold both. Royal Palm Montessori Academy carries Apple Accreditation through FACCM and is licensed by the Florida Department of Children and Families under license #50-51-00898. Our teachers hold Montessori certification, and staff longevity here is unusual — several teachers have been in these classrooms since the school opened.
Our owner/director has led the school since 1999. She holds a BA from Harvard University, a master's degree from Nova Southeastern University, and Montessori certification.
Getting here
From Parkland, the route north is straightforward: State Road 7/US-441 or the Sawgrass Expressway to the Turnpike, then east into West Boca. Families from the western Parkland communities frequently find the drive comparable to what they would spend heading south into Coral Springs. We are open Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM, so the schedule accommodates a real commute.
Academic preparation that holds up
Parkland's public elementary schools are strong and move quickly. Parents here care, reasonably, about whether their child will arrive ready.
Montessori's advantage in kindergarten readiness is not that children memorize more letters. It is the structure of how they learn. In our classrooms, mathematics begins with physical quantity — a child holds a thousand-bead cube before ever writing "1,000" — which produces number sense that survives contact with real arithmetic. Language begins with letter sounds and fine-motor preparation, then moves through vocabulary and word-picture matching into reading, at whatever pace the individual child is ready for.
The five curriculum areas are Practical Life, Sensorial, Language, Mathematics, and Science & Social Studies. Practical Life — pouring, buttoning, sweeping, food preparation — is the foundation. It builds the concentration and control that make academic work possible.
Layered on top: Spanish three times weekly, art twice weekly, weekly computer lab, physical education, and a structured moral character program covering kindness, responsibility, and citizenship. Our school garden gives students hands-on botany and science. Optional extracurriculars include Soccer Shots, Kenpo Karate, and dance through Dynamite Dance Studio.
But the thing kindergarten teachers actually comment on is behavioral. A Montessori graduate has spent two or three years selecting a task, working it to completion, putting it away, and choosing the next one. That is an executive-function habit, and it transfers.
Small ratios in large classrooms
Our student-to-teacher ratios are small and our classrooms are physically large. This combination is what allows a teacher to give individual lessons while twenty other children work productively without supervision. Ask any school you tour how many adults are in the room and how many square feet it covers.
VPK and Step Up
We participate in Florida's Voluntary Prekindergarten program. VPK is state-administered, so Broward County families can generally use their Certificate of Eligibility at a participating provider in Palm Beach County — call us and we will walk you through it. We also work with families using Step Up For Students scholarships.
Schedule a tour
The best time to visit is during a working period, when you can watch the classroom actually operating. Call (561) 483-3838 or email royalpalmmontessori@gmail.com. Tours run Monday through Friday.
Royal Palm Montessori Academy · 12532 Cobblestone Way, Boca Raton, FL 33428 · (561) 483-3838 · Monday–Friday, 8:00 AM–6:00 PM
FAQs
Roughly 20–30 minutes depending on your neighborhood, via State Road 7/US-441 or the Sawgrass Expressway to Florida's Turnpike, then east into West Boca Raton.
Yes. Our graduates enter kindergarten reading, with concrete number sense, and — most notably to receiving teachers — with the ability to work independently through a task from start to finish.
Yes. We hold Apple Accreditation through FACCM and are licensed by the Florida Department of Children and Families, license #50-51-00898.
Generally yes, since VPK is a state program. Call us at (561) 483-3838 and we will help you confirm the details.
We keep ratios small in large classrooms. Exact numbers vary by classroom level — we will give you the specifics for your child's room on your tour.