Montessori Summer Sessions near Pacifica
Three optional summer sessions after the 180-day school year, enrolled separately, with the same 7:30 am to 6:00 pm coverage. Mills is about 6 miles from Pacifica, at 1400 Hillside Blvd. in South San Francisco.
Why families here choose it
If you are looking from Pacifica, the useful question is not how far Mills is. It is how many schools your child will have attended by the time they are eleven.
Pacifica is over the ridge on the coast, and the drive is the honest consideration here — it is a real commute, especially in fog season. Families who make it usually do so because they want the elementary years covered and are already driving inland for work.
What Montessori summer sessions at Mills actually is
The academic year runs late August to June across 180 days, and for a working family that leaves a summer-shaped hole that has to be filled with something. Three optional sessions follow the school year, keeping the rhythm and the room children already know, with more outdoor time and more of the messy hands-on work a packed academic year has less space for. The rhythm matters more than it sounds: a child who spends ten weeks in an unfamiliar setting with unfamiliar adults spends the first fortnight of September settling all over again, and the work cycle takes that long to rebuild. The sessions are enrolled separately on their own application, so families take one, both or neither, and they are open to children who are new to Mills — which makes a summer session the cheapest possible way to find out whether a school suits your child before committing to a year of it.
- Optional, and separately enrolledSummer is not assumed in your tuition. There is a separate summer enrollment application.
- The same hoursExtended-day coverage from 7:30 am to 6:00 pm continues through the sessions, which is the whole point for working families.
- Open to families new to the schoolA summer session is the cheapest possible way to test a school before committing to a year of it.
The details that decide it
| Our campus | 1400 Hillside Blvd., South San Francisco, CA 94080 |
| Distance from Pacifica | About 6 miles |
| Getting here | Over the hill on Sharp Park Road and Skyline, or up Highway 1 and across. |
| Area | San Mateo County |
| Local public district | Pacifica 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 summer sessions costs
Summer sessions are enrolled separately and their schedule is set each year — ask the office what is running when you plan to be here.
- AgesAges 2–11
- RatesEnrolled and charged separately from the school year — ask the office for the current session dates and rates. 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 Pacifica families ask about Montessori summer sessions
- When exactly do the sessions run?Dates are set each year and published with the summer enrollment application. See forms and calendar or call the office.
- Do we have to take all three sessions?No. They are enrolled separately — take one, two or all three.
- Is the Montessori summer sessions different for families traveling from Pacifica?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.
- Is there before and after care for a longer commute?The extended full day runs 7:30 am to 6:00 pm, which is the whole point for families driving any distance. It is a schedule, not an add-on billed by the hour.
- What does it cost?Between $1,100 and $1,750 a month depending on the program, days per week and length of day, plus a one-time $200 enrollment fee. Every figure is on the tuition page — we do not make you ask.
- Can we start mid-year?Yes. Enrollment is open all year, subject to availability, so families move to us when a childcare arrangement changes rather than waiting for September.
- What happens after kindergarten if we come from Pacifica?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.
Montessori Summer Sessions in other areas
Come and watch a morning
Tours run mid-morning during the work cycle, year-round, by appointment.