Guidepost
Montessori

at Central West End
.

Tours & Events
Central West End.
Monday-Friday | 7:00 am – 6:00 pm

Nido (3 months to 18 months)
Toddler (18 months to 3 years)
Children's House (3 to 6 years)

4150 Laclede Ave, St. Louis, MO 63108 US
Becky Kronauge
Guidepost Montessori in Central West End is one of the most trusted Montessori schools in St. Louis, Missouri. Indoors, rooms are spacious, bright, and light-filled, creating a warm and calm space for children to work. Our school is conveniently located on Laclede Avenue, between Sarah and Boyle Streets, in the Midtown neighborhood of St. Louis.
Becky Kronauge . Head of School
Tours & Events

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!”

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.

take a peek at our school.

what parents are saying.

All
4
Google
3
Yelp
1
Lindsay Lombardo
Dec 6, 2023 on google
We have been at Guidepost CWE since June 2021. We have two boys 17 months apart, our oldest moved from nido to toddler to children's house, our second is graduating nido soon. At first, it was the only daycare we got into and it seemed like a fancy, expensive Montessori school. Our first 1-2 years lived up to the hype! Great Montessori guides and classroom activities. We were impressed with our child's development and read more into Montessori and applied practices at home. Then there was a leadership change followed by staff changes and it was a rough time. We stuck it out as there were never safety issues for us, just less Montessori, changing guides, and being frustrated that we were paying so much and not getting Montessori. If you hear bad reviews, my guess is it is from that period of time. Since new leadership summer 2023, we have seen great changes in the school community, the guides, the communication. It is even better then it was before! We love the Montessori classroom, work cycles, activities. The kids get outside everyday unless it's raining. They take nidos on walks in quad-strollers. Toddlers go on walks holding hands, so cute! There's hot lunch you can pay for monthly for toddler and above. There's a book club for parents. They have social gatherings monthly. They offer Soccer Shots weekly (pay soccer shots separately). All of the guides seem to know all of the children as they back each other up when they are out. There's the occasional short staffing, but it's covered by the leadership, and I think that is pretty common for daycares these days. It really feels like a school vs daycare. You know you're dropping your kids off and they are getting quality activities and life teaching. They're doing dishes, sweeping, learning buckles, buttons, reading, climbing, developing dexterity, cause and effect, counting, painting, building, etc. They're not just playing with a bunch of plastic toys all day. They take pictures nearly daily and send them through Transparent app. I have over 300 pictures of my oldest through the years. There's a weekly newsletter from the school and most guides discuss what they covered during the week in a classroom newsletter. There are parent-guide conferences where you can discuss any concerns and review your child's milestones. My children love it and love their guides. I'm fully convinced that Montessori is the way to raise toddlers and am thankful for the experience of a Montessori school! If you can afford it, it is worth it in my opinion. 10% sibling discount and rates go down as they age. Credits for using large amounts in advance. It is a national company, so there are templates for potty training, parent guides, milestones, basically corporate support. When the transition happened, corporate supported the school with guides and leaders from other successful schools from other cities. They offer free Montessori training for employees. They provide benefits and PTO for the guides which is better than a lot of daycares. Also, I appreciate that the leadership and guides are fully transparent, helpful, and understanding. All feedback I have given has been well received. We are grateful for our experience and wonderful care and guidance of our children!
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Stephanie B.
Feb 28 on google
Guidepost is amazing. I am so glad we decided to choose this daycare (though, there really wasn’t a competition! We pretty much knew instantly this was the place for us) the school is so nice and welcoming and the teachers are incredible. Miss Destiny, Miss Aryonna, and Miss Sydney are seriously outstanding and I feel like my child is safe, happy, and loved. I love the picture updates I get throughout the day and love that they have created a genuine connection with me and my family. I couldn’t imagine going to any other school and am so so grateful we found Montessori Guidepost!
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Samantha Bauer
Nov 8, 2023 on google
My daughter attends guidepost Montessori and I am so happy. I love the updates I receive on transparent classroom including the additional comments her teachers leave about what they worked on that day. My daughter is too small to use the strollers they have so they asked my permission if they can use her stroller from home so she can be included when they go on walks and I greatly appreciate that! They know I have a long drive home and she doesn’t like the car so they try and make sure her diaper is changed and she’s been fed so when it’s time to pick her up she is ready and comfortable. They also always hold conversations with me at drop off and pick up. I’m a FTM with lots of anxiety but her teachers have made this introduction of school easy on me and her dad.
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Kira K.
Dec 16, 2022 on yelp
I have been very happy with my child's time at Guidepost. All interactions we have had with staff at the school have been great, and I have witnessed how...
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