Guidepost
Montessori

at Alicia
.

Tours & Events
Alicia.
Monday-Friday | 7:00 am – 6:00 pm

Toddler - 18 months to 3 years
Children's House - 3 to 6 years

25261 Paseo de Alicia Laguna Hills CA 92653 US
Ivana Cantuna
Guidepost Montessori at Alicia in Laguna Hills, California is a premier Spanish-Immersion Montessori school that offers education for toddlers, preschool, and kindergarten students. Our programs for ages 0-6 combine hands-on materials and personalized learning to create an environment where curiosity flourishes, independence grows, and academic excellence becomes a natural outcome.
Ivana Cantuna . Head of School
Tours & Events
Child crawling with toy

Learn more about Guidepost from the comfort of your own home!

Just starting your childcare search? Not ready to tour in person?

You’re invited to Making the Most of Childhood: A Virtual Tour of Guidepost!

Get your questions answered and learn more about our:

  • curriculum and approach
  • schedule and a typical day
  • communication & collaboration

explore our programs.

Our approach is designed to empower each child to achieve independence by combining our hands-on curriculum with personalized learning to create an environment where curiosity flourishes, independence grows, and academic excellence is a natural outcome.

We want your child to see and believe: “I am capable!”

Spanish Immersion.
For children ages 18 months to 6 years old
Toddler.
A launch pad for toddlers to “do it all by myself!”
Children's House.
A preschool for hands-on reading, writing, math and more

what makes us stand out.

How is the Guidepost Montessori approach different from conventional education?

At Guidepost, we join with parents on their mission to help their child grow and live well. Together, we design an education to empower each child to build the knowledge, skills, and confidence she needs to craft an independent, flourishing life.

Though there are many differences between the conventional approach and Guidepost, here are some of the most important:

Conventional Education vs Guidepost Montessori
What is the Guidepost Mission?

At Guidepost, our mission is to support each child in achieving her own independence. To do this, we help her gain the knowledge, build the skills, and craft the personal character she needs to flourish. Above all, our goal is to cultivate joy—in the pursuit of knowledge, in effort applied to work worth doing, in the achievements of herself and others, and in taking the steps to author her own life.

Read more about the Guidepost Mission.

Learn about the key milestones we support—from infancy through high school.

Read more about why we educate for independence, and how we support independence for infants, toddlers, preschoolers, and elementary-age children.

What are the outcomes of your programs?

Montessori education is known world-wide for having positive impacts on both academics and social and emotional skills.

At Guidepost Montessori, when we design an environment to meet the developmental needs and interests of children alongside personalized care and support, the child can learn advanced skills at an accelerated pace.

Our students, for example, regularly learn to read by the time they’re 4-years-old and can perform all four math operations with 4-digit numbers by the end of their Kindergarten year.

The language and math skills of our kindergartners are on a par with what children in conventional programs learn in 3rd grade or beyond! What’s more, our students learn advanced academics joyfully—while simultaneously developing deep focus, self-discipline, and positive social skills.

Read more about the Guidepost Montessori advanced Language Curriculum in Children’s House.

Read more about the Guidepost Montessori advanced Math Curriculum in Children’s House.


Do your programs include Kindergarten?

Yes! The third year of our Children’s House program, designed for 3- to 6-year-olds, is the capstone kindergarten year. In this year, the child has been well-prepared to experience an explosion of literacy, learn advanced math concepts, and use her hard-won ability to focus, problem-solve, and persist through challenges to then make advanced gains across the curriculum. Children who continue with Guidepost through Kindergarten are often well-ahead of their peers when they enter 1st grade.

Learn more about the capstone Kindergarten year at Guidepost.

Learn more about the next exciting stage: the Guidepost elementary program.

Following elementary, students continue on to our Montessori middle and high school, the Academy of Thought & Industry: a school that combines a classical liberal arts emphasis on history and great books, and a Montessori emphasis on independence and agency.

How does Guidepost partner with parents?

At Guidepost, we want to make the best education the best for children and parents. This is why we provide year-round, extended-day programming at no extra cost, enabling consistent and uninterrupted access to the care and developmental support parents expect. We invite you into your child’s world—with daily photo and video updates, regular milestone meetings, and parent-child events that showcase your child’s progress. We work to understand your unique context and needs, so that we can provide support for milestones at home as well as at school.

In everything we do, we strive to cultivate joy as you watch your child grow!

Read about Transparent Classroom, the app that provides a window into your child’s day.

Read about recent family events such as Grandparent’s Day, a cultural celebration, and a spring celebration.

discover the benefits of our spanish immersion programs.

Children under the age of six absorb language effortlessly, which is why we are pleased to offer bilingual environments. In our Spanish Immersion program, children learn both Spanish and English literacy skills, however, the prevailing language spoken throughout the day is Spanish. The overall emphasis on Spanish rapidly increases fluency, as children feel naturally compelled to communicate with their Spanish-speaking guides. Learn more about our Spanish Immersion program here

The gift of language: Spanish Immersion at Guidepost Montessori

take a peek at our school.

what parents are saying.

All
10
Google
5
Yelp
5
KekiAlex C.
Sep 10 on yelp
My daughter attended for a year from Aug 2023 to Aug 2024. As many kids which only one parent speaks Spanish, my daughter understood Spanish but replied back in English. She was 4yo when we enrolled her at Guidepost Montessori at Alicia and within a little over a month she was already speaking so much in Spanish!!! I couldn't believe it. After a year she became amazingly bilingual in Spanish and English. Their Montessori program truly changed my daughter and she became very collaborative and self starter at home, and she continued her academics with numbers, letters etc. to be ready for Elementary School. We will miss the extremely dedicated team of professionals, that became like a family for all of us, and the parents community that revolved around the multiple school organized events. Having my daughter enrolled in Guidepost has been so worth it and my only regret is that we didn't do it before, we are no longer in SoCal as she would have taken preK/Kindergarten here for sure. I can't recommend Guidepost at Alicia enough. Thank you Miss Ivanna, Ariana, Brenda, Jenny, Angelica, Natalie....
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Jen P
Nov 27, 2023 on yelp
We are so happy with our decision to enroll our child in the Guidepost Alicia Toddler Classroom under the lead of Ms. Norma, and guides Ms. Natalie and Ms. Zaira. It is a wonderful, clean atmosphere where children can learn and grow in a nurturing yet stimulating environment. The Toddler Classroom team are amazing at fostering independence, curiosity, and respect for themselves as well as others. An aspect that sets Guidepost Alicia apart from other learning establishments is that they provide a rich and immersive Spanish language experience that helps our child develop bilingual skills and cultural awareness. In addition, they welcome and are supportive of the unique cultures and customs of the various toddler's families who wish to share their traditions with others in a safe, educational, caring and respectful manner. We've been able to learn about other cultures through our toddler as well as share pieces of ours with great joy such as fruit or traditional food through the presentations that they hold and post through the parent app. It's pretty dang cool to say the least. Since being enrolled at the Guidepost Alicia community, we have seen our child flourish. We have seen how much our child has grown and thrived in this environment even throughout the not-so-great and difficult toddler behavioral moments. Guidepost Alicia's proactive and on-going feedback comes from a place of care and support; working with parents to help us navigate these times together to help ensure our approaches at-home and at school are aligned (even when it comes to wrapping our minds around potty training). Their insight and guidance is deeply valued. In addition, they listen and follow-up even to the smallest observations that you as a parent make to other members of the Guidepost Alicia family whether it's from Ms. Ariana and/or head of school, Ms. Ivana. Before you know it, they're following up and it's beautiful. Simply said, you feel that both you and your child are both seen and heard with the utmost care and warmth. Another thing we wish to add is the limited days off. As a household of two working parents this is an incredible bonus of not having to rush around to find alternative care choices or having to resort to taking a day off of work. Throughout our time at Guidepost Alicia, we've witnessed our child bring home the skills they've learned. We are confident that our child will continue to acquire the skills and values that will help them succeed in life and make a positive difference in the world. We can't recommend Guidepost Alicia enough to anyone who is looking for a high-quality and holistic education for their child and to be part of this special community.
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Yulia F
Sep 25, 2023 on google
I don't know where to begin. This school is a pure definition of a kids paradise . This is the 6th Montessori school we have been to due to moving from place to place and having three kids. Our family has never experienced such a great service . We absolutely love the teachers, we love the management. We love the facility. It is very clean, welcoming and homey. This is the school and the people I will never forget. This is Harvard for toddlers. My son started when he was 18 month old. And I will not be exaggerating if I say that the amount of new words, numbers and simply a change of behavior we noticed is more than we could ever teach him. It was never easy for me to drop of my kids and not worry about them, however this school ( Miss Natalie, Miss Norma, Miss Zaira, Miss Ivana, Miss Ariana and Miss Jenny ) made it possible. I can't say enough of great things about this school. I think the most beautiful, talented and kindest people work there. My son is a better kid because of the approach they have, the true care and love they give to every kid. We love love love the school more than anything we ever experienced for our kids. I believe that the way we show love to our kids while not next to them is to ensure they are safe and well taken care of. Well, the staff at Guidepost gives this times 100. They are the super stars!!! If I could I would keep my kids there forever. The changes I see in my son is something I have never seen. They truly care. They are God sent teachers and management. 100 out of 10 is what these beautiful people are!!!! Shout out to everyone who works there. Our family thanks God for you!!!
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Jaclyn L.
Jun 7, 2023 on yelp
I should've written this long ago, but writing this now encompasses our entire 5+ years here at this amazing school. Our family has been with this school...
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Joel C.
May 29, 2023 on yelp
This is an overdue review but I feel the need to post this due to the care and outstanding work of the teachers and staff at Alicia. We were eying our son...
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Brenda C.
Oct 19, 2022 on yelp
We speak Spanish and English at home, therefore we were looking for a school that taught Spanish, however we found a better option, their immersion program!...
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Sunny Gruber
Nov 18, 2021 on google
Our daughter has had such a positive experience at Guidepost Montessori. We have peace of mind knowing that she is in a loving, supportive and caring environment where she is able to grow and learn. The school is very communicative, and we love being a part of a community that is deeply invested in our daughter's development and well-being. When our family first moved to Southern California earlier this year, we were in a time crunch to find care for our daughter. We reviewed a variety of options and we are so happy to have found our home at Guidepost. The administration made the enrollment process seamless, and helped ease her transition into her new school with patience and care. We love seeing how much our daughter loves going to school everyday!
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Helena Garcia
Nov 18, 2021 on google
My daughter has had an absolute blast at Guidepost Montessori at Alicia. Additionally, she's learning! I can think of no better way to learn than through fun. Since my daughter has started at Guidepost, she has had consistency in guides, stability in scheduling, and a caring community of peers. The first things we noticed were that her attention span lengthened, she would ask for help rather than get frustrated and give up and she communicated with longer sentences- in TWO languages. The leaders at this school have addressed and resolved any concerns that this first-time mom could bring to their door and they've done so openly and with care. The use of the Transparent Classroom app allows me a peek into her school day and regular parent-teacher conferences make me feel connected and in-the-know about how my child is doing in school.. Nothing will prepare me enough for when she ages out. I highly recommend Guidepost Montessori to any parent!
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Sofia Najarian
Sep 30, 2020 on google
Our children (ages 3 & 4) have been at Guidepost at Alicia since they were each 2 years old. I am a stay at home mom, so the best choice for us is their 1/2 day program. The development and growth I have witnessed has been profound. I'm a native Spanish speaker, and raising bilingual children in a primarily English-speaking home has been challenging. Having the kids at Guidepost has given them a strong foundation in the Spanish language, that is much easier for me to maintain at home. Our oldest is doing addition, reading, writing, she can sew, and is completely fluent in Spanish. Our youngest is on the same path. During the onset of Covid-19 closures, we enrolled in their distance learning program which was a life-saver for our family. They participated in the program for 5 months, which allowed them to continue seeing their teachers and classmates on a daily basis. But most importantly, they picked up where they left off from an educational perspective and didn't miss a beat. We are forever grateful to the teachers and staff, they are truly like family to us.
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Andria Maes
Jun 10, 2021 on google
We are so grateful that we found Guidepost Montessori for our 2.5 year old son! As a bit of background, our son is very slow to warm up to new people and surroundings and has been home with us for a year due to the pandemic, not being around many people outside of our immediate family. He had started another pre-school and we pulled him out after 2 days, partially because I watched my son on their video cameras and he looked so sad and lonely there (too many details to go into here). Because I was starting back to work soon, we were in a crunch to find care for him, and after talking to other schools and interviewing several nannies, we decided on Guidepost. The most important things that factored into our decision was how responsive and comforting the administrative team was to my son’s specific needs and my concerns as a parent. They went out of their way to let us come for an evening tour of my son’s class before he started so he could meet the assistant director, Ms. Ivana. She even arrived early on his first day to be able to greet my son and be a familiar face for him. My son still talks about Ms. Ivana constantly and has really formed a close bond with her. The Director, Ms. Renah, is equally as amazing. She greets most students as they arrive and often carries my son in as the transition away from me is difficult for him in the morning. She even went out of her way to call me after our first drop off because she saw I was upset. Ms. Norma is the lead guide in the toddler class and she is just as incredible (as are the assistant guides) for my son. First, the class size is small and the ratio of students to teachers is low, which fits my son’s needs, since a larger class would have been too overwhelming for him to start. Their philosophy is to let the child lead and guidepost really does allow the child to lead, while providing gentle guidance in a supportive and loving atmosphere. Most importantly, my son used to think that kids would hurt him and tell us that when seeing kids at a distance, which was heartbreaking for us to hear....after just 3 months at Guidepost, when we ask him about other kids, he starts telling you all about his friends at school and how funny they are. Needless to say, he is thriving under their care and we couldn’t recommend Guidepost enough to any family looking for quality care and education for their kids. Last thing- he’s also already speaking and understanding Spanish after just 3 months! A bonus, in addition to everything else as well!
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start your journey with us.

Our team of admissions specialists are ready to meet you and get you started on your journey within the Guidepost community. We're here to provide your family with the information and confidence you need to enroll in one of our programs.

Learn more about Montessori.

Read our enrollment guide.

Book a school tour.

Submit your application.

Start your journey with us