Schools › Morningside Montessori
Manhattan · Upper West Side

Morningside Montessori School

Parent-founded in 1966 and still going — one of New York City's oldest Montessori schools, a nonprofit for ages 1 to 6 on the Upper West Side.

✓ Accreditation verified
Listed in the American Montessori Society directory as an AMS member school (re-checked August 2026). Previously not found in the directory — AMS’s membership year begins July 1, so this most likely reflects an annual renewal being processed.
See all checks & verify it yourself →

Green  Staff transparency

A full faculty & administration page names the Head of School and teachers with their degrees and Montessori credentials (WSMS-TEP, AMS, AMI, NYS certs) and tenure — plus a named Board of Trustees. Why this matters →

At a glance

Snapshot

Location251 W 100th St, Floor 6, New York, NY 10025 · Upper West Side · map ↗
Ages1–6 (Young Toddlers, Toddler, Early Childhood)
TuitionNot published — need-based aid via the "Sunshine Fund"
Head of SchoolAlex Valentin
AccreditationAmerican Montessori Society (AMS) member; NYS-certified teachers
ApproachAuthentic Montessori (nonprofit)
Founded1966 (parent-founded)
Contactmorningsidemontessori.org ↗
Enrolled
~85
Founded
1966
among NYC's oldest
Languages
—
language enrichment
Photos

See the school

Morningside Montessori building
Exterior
Inside Morningside Montessori
Interior
Location — interactive map. Open in Google Maps ↗
The neighborhood

Upper West Side

Stylized illustration of the Upper West Side: prewar apartment buildings and brownstones beside a green park edge

The Upper West Side — prewar apartment buildings and brownstones nestled between Central Park and Riverside Park — is a classic New York family neighborhood, dense with playgrounds, cultural institutions and strollers, and served by the 1/2/3 and B/C lines.

🏛️ Prewar + brownstones🌳 Central & Riverside Parks🚇 1/2/3 · B/C👶 Family-dense

Overview

Parent-founded in 1966, Morningside Montessori is one of the oldest Montessori schools in the city — a small nonprofit (~85 children) on the top floor of the Ansche Chesed building, complete with a rooftop terrace playground. It serves ages 1 through 6.

Programs & ages

Young Toddlers (from age 1), Toddler (2–3) and Early Childhood (3–5) classrooms, plus a "Small World" foreign-language enrichment program (not full immersion).

Tuition

Tuition isn't itemized publicly; the school offers need-based aid via its "Sunshine Fund." See the tuition page for how UWS Montessori pricing generally compares.

Leadership & staff

Head of School Alex Valentin leads a faculty the school documents well: the faculty page names teachers with their degrees, Montessori credentials (WSMS-TEP, AMS, AMI) and NYS certifications, and the school publishes its Board of Trustees — the disclosure behind its Green rating.

Accreditation & authenticity

An AMS member with credentialed guides and a genuine Montessori program, run as a nonprofit rather than a business. See the authenticity guide on member vs. accredited.

Ownership & stability

Independent nonprofit, board-governed, operating continuously since 1966. No instability signals.

What parents say

Independent online reviews are limited for Morningside — a small, word-of-mouth nonprofit — so we won't overstate sentiment. Its longevity (since 1966) and credentialed, transparent faculty are the strongest signals here.

Heard around town

Signals from public parent forums and listservs and our own parent & alumni interviews. Forum chatter is opinion — take it with a grain of salt; interview quotes are first-hand and shared with permission.

We haven't surfaced candid community chatter about Morningside Montessori yet. Heard something in a UWS parent group? We'd love to add it.

Admissions

Inquire and tour in the fall; the youngest programs may admit on a rolling basis. Map the citywide cycle with our admissions timeline and planner.

Sources: morningsidemontessori.org (faculty, admissions, about); amshq.org. Verified July 2026. Independent profile, not affiliated with the school.
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Health & safety record

Violations heard and decided at the city’s administrative tribunal. We publish these in full, including when there are none.

  • 2cases on record
  • 2020–2023period covered
  • 2sustained
  • $1,600penalties imposed

For comparison: across all 18,161 DOHMH child-care cases heard at OATH, 63.1% were sustained, 21.3% ended in default and 13.1% were dismissed. Most citations concern records, repairs and paperwork — staff immunisation files, premises upkeep, sink water temperature, background-check timing — rather than incidents involving a child.

Source: NYC Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings, case status data, checked 11 August 2026. These are adjudicated outcomes, not inspection allegations. The record gives the rule cited and the result, but never the inspector’s narrative — the charge text always reads “see attached NOV”. Outcomes can change on appeal. Something wrong? Tell us.

From the city’s live child-care register

  • Latest inspection: 6/16/26 — Initial Annual Inspection: passed with no violations
  • Drinking-water lead test: done — not elevated
  • Permit held by: MORNINGSIDE MONTESSORI SCHOOL — ages 2–5 permit 7509 expires 6/2/27 (cap 53)
Prior inspections (since August 2024):
  • 1/22/26 — Initial Annual Inspection - Passed inspection with no violations
  • 10/16/25 — Monitoring Inspection Non-Routine - Passed inspection with no violations
  • 5/16/25 — Initial Annual Inspection - Passed inspection with no violations
  • 2/27/25 — Initial Annual Inspection - Passed inspection with no violations
  • 10/9/24 — Monitoring Inspection Non-Routine - Passed inspection with no violations

Source: NYC Health Department Child Care Connect (live register), checked 15 August 2026; refreshed weekly. Inspection lines are the Department’s own summary results. Pre-adjudicated citation details are not republished here; adjudicated outcomes appear above. Lead results shown with the Department’s protocol status.

Community

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