FAQs

 
  • Please follow the links below for details:

    View the Digital Open House

    Learn More About Our Learning Centers

  • Parents are advised to complete an online application for their student during the application period, generally the month of January, and the lottery itself takes place during the first week of February. Once the lottery is complete, emails are sent out to everyone with an update on their student’s status – either an offer for enrollment or a waitlist position. If offered an opening for enrollment, parents are asked to accept or decline the offer, submit their child’s supporting documents, and attend an Introductory Parent Meeting in April/May.

    Once offered an opening for enrollment, you will be asked to submit your child’s supporting documents, outlined in the Enrollment Checklist.

  • CM is a publicly funded charter school and there is no cost to attend. 

  • Transitional Kindergarten is the first year of a two-year Kindergarten program.  Beginning in the 2024-2025 school year, students who turn 5 years old between September 2nd and September 1st of the applicable school year are entered into TK.

    Note: Starting in fall 2025, TK students will attend the Learning Center for 3 hours per day (M-TH) during their first 8 weeks

  • Students that turn 5 years old on or before September 1st of the applicable school year are entered into Kindergarten.

  • Yes, CM has a special education department.

    If you have specific questions, please reach out to the Director of Student Services, Niki Sestina at nsestina@myelement.org or 619-279-6529.

  • Community Montessori is a TK-8 school and the Santee and Poway locations only serve students in TK-6th grade. Once students age out of Community Montessori, they may choose to enroll in Dimensions Collaborative (part of Element Education), or any local, public, private, or charter school in their area.

    For more information on Dimensions Collaborative, please visit the website at www.dimensions.org

  • No, CM is authorized through the San Diego County Office of Education and only accepts applications from San Diego County residents.

  • If you have any questions regarding the enrollment process or lottery, please visit the enrollment information down below for a timeline regarding the lottery and additional documents.

    If you have any questions about the program overall or specific learning centers, please contact the learning center nearest you.


 

Learning Center Tours

Join us for an on-site tour
and learn more about
Community Montessori.

Tours will not be held during a school holiday/summer break.

 

“The goal of early childhood education should be to activate the child’s own natural desire to learn.”

~Maria Montessori

Enroll

 

Enrollment for Community Montessori is based on an annual lottery that takes place in February. Enrollment documents will be collected upon offer of enrollment. 

If you have questions, please contact the Learning Center nearest you. Informational meetings will be held on the first Friday of each month, beginning in September - please view the "Informational Meetings" page for details.  

 

Now Offering
Transitional
Kindergarten (TK)

Children that turn 4 by September 1, 2025, will be eligible for Transitional Kindergarten for the 25-26 school year.

Transitional Kindergarten students start on the first day of school.
Open Application for the 25-26 school year begins January 6th.

Lottery Information and Important Dates

Hello prospective families! The application period for the 2025-2026 school year will open in January 2025.

Applications for the lottery will be accepted from January 6th - January 31st, 5pm.

2025-2026 Lottery Information and Important Dates

Thank you for your interest in applying for the 2025-2026 lottery. It is strongly suggested that you attend an informational tour at your preferred Learning Center location prior to February 10, 2025. Please request a tour on our website or by calling your preferred learning center.

Oak Hill (North Escondido): 1-760-359-8494

Mary Lane (South Escondido): 1-760-740-9307

Carlsbad: 1-760-359-8517

Santee: 1-619-562-0252

Poway: 1-858-401-7204

Below is a general timeline and important dates regarding the lottery process. Please mark your calendars and note that the majority of our communications will be via email. With that in mind, please be sure that the email used to create the online application or is a valid email that is checked regularly and please add the following email addresses to your contacts to ensure that future emails do not get automatically filed in your “junk” or “spam’ folders:

-      registrar@cmcharter.org

-      jmagner@myelement.org

-      esnow@myelement.org

January 6th – January 31st: Open Application Period

Parents can complete a Community Montessori application online through the enroll page. Online applications must be completed by 5PM on January 31st to be included in the lottery.

February 10th: Lottery

The lottery will be held on February 10th - more information to come.

February 14th: Status Email

Parents will receive an email at the primary email listed on the student’s application indicating the status of their student(s). This email will include details on how to accept/decline the enrollment offer and next steps.

February 24th: Deadline for Parents to Accept/Decline

If the Registrar’s office does not have confirmation of acceptance by this date, the student(s) will be removed from the waitlist. Families that accept admission to Community Montessori will receive an email outlining next steps regarding turning in supporting documents and scheduling a time to meet with an Educational Facilitator.

March 7th: Deadline for Completing REG-Online

If parents have accepted a spot for Community Montessori, they will be asked to complete REG-Online and submit the required supporting documents to complete enrollment by March 7th.

May 2nd: Introductory Meeting with an Educational Facilitator

Parents and students will meet with an Educational Facilitator at their assigned learning center. Please note that the Educational Facilitator that each family meets with will not necessarily be the student’s assigned teacher. Students are encouraged to attend this meeting and the meeting will likely last ~30 minutes. Parents should bring the completed Student Learning Readiness survey to this introductory meeting.

July 18th: Deadline for Updated Immunization Records and Dental Forms

Any students missing updated immunization records at the time of document submission are asked to submit updated immunization records by July 18th. Students without up to date immunization records will not be permitted to attend Learning Center classes. For information regarding immunization requirements, please visit CDPH Resources for Parents.

Additionally, any TK, Kinder or 1st grade students that have not previously attended a California school will be asked to submit the dental check form by July 18th.

Community Montessori Administrative Offices
1441 Montiel Rd. Ste. 143
Escondido, CA 92026
(877) 300-8299