Montessori Toddler Program near Hillsborough
A small, deliberately calm room for two- and three-year-olds — and potty training is not required to start, which rules a lot of families out elsewhere. Mills is about 8 miles from Hillsborough, at 1400 Hillside Blvd. in South San Francisco.
Why families here choose it
Families in Hillsborough often find us late, after the local options have been walked through and the question of what happens at six is still unanswered.
Hillsborough is further down the Peninsula and families here have plenty of choice, which makes the ones who drive up to us worth listening to. The usual reason is the same: they want the full Montessori cycle, not a Montessori-flavoured preschool.
What Montessori toddler program at Mills actually is
Preschool I is most families' first experience of leaving a child anywhere, and the room is built for that rather than for academics. The work looks like pouring, scooping, carrying, buttoning and tidying. To an adult eye it looks like housework; what it is actually building is the ability to sequence a task, concentrate on it and finish it — the foundation everything later rests on. Separation is planned rather than endured: a predictable arrival routine, the same adults, the same shelf in the same place.
- Potty training is not a condition of entryPlenty of schools gate admission on toilet independence. We do not — at two, that mostly measures the parents.
- Practical life comes firstCarrying a tray without spilling demands the same control that reading and mathematics will later require, and transfers directly.
- Movement and language all morningNothing in the room asks a two-year-old to sit still for a lesson they did not choose.
The details that decide it
| Our campus | 1400 Hillside Blvd., South San Francisco, CA 94080 |
| Distance from Hillsborough | About 8 miles |
| Getting here | North on El Camino Real or Highway 280, then across to Hillside. |
| Area | San Mateo County |
| Local public district | Hillsborough City School District |
| Ages served | Two through fifth grade |
| Hours | Monday to Friday, 7:30 am – 6:00 pm |
| Enrollment | Open year-round, subject to availability |
Distance is approximate and measured in a straight line. The honest test is to drive it once at drop-off time — book a tour and you will.
What Montessori toddler program costs
At about 8 miles from Hillsborough, most families choose a full or extended day rather than making the drive twice for a half day.
- AgesAges 2–3
- Rates$1,100–$1,750 a month depending on days per week and length of day. Every fee is on the tuition page.
- SchedulesMorning, full day, or extended full day 7:30 am to 6:00 pm — three, four or five days a week.
- EnrollmentOpen year-round, subject to availability, with a one-time $200 new-student fee.
What Hillsborough families ask about Montessori toddler program
- My child has never been away from me. Is two too young?Only you can answer that. What we can say is that the room is designed for this exact transition, with a settling-in period rather than a first full day thrown in at the deep end. Come and watch a drop-off before you decide.
- Can we start with mornings only?Yes, and many toddler families do, lengthening the day later. Morning is 9:00 to 12:00 and covers the full work cycle, which is where the learning is.
- Is the Montessori toddler program different for families traveling from Hillsborough?No — there is one program and one campus. What changes with distance is the schedule that suits you: families driving further usually choose the extended full day so they are not fighting the peak twice a day.
- What happens after kindergarten if we come from Hillsborough?The same school. Mills runs through fifth grade, so the kindergarten year is not the exit — which is the main reason families take on a drive at all rather than enrolling somewhere closer that finishes at five.
- We are in the Hillsborough City School District. Does that affect enrollment?No. Mills is a private school and enrollment has nothing to do with district boundaries. The district matters only in that it is your free alternative, and it is a fair thing to weigh — we have written an honest comparison with California TK that argues both sides.
- How do we actually see the school from Hillsborough?Tours run mid-morning, during the work cycle, year-round and by appointment. Twenty minutes at the back of a working classroom answers more than any page can. Book a morning or call the office.
- Is there a summer option?Yes — three optional summer sessions, enrolled separately from the school year. Some families from further out use a summer session as the trial run before committing to the drive in September.
Montessori Toddler Program in other areas
Come and watch a morning
Tours run mid-morning during the work cycle, year-round, by appointment.