Montessori Summer Sessions near The Sunset
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 7 miles from The Sunset, at 1400 Hillside Blvd. in South San Francisco.
Why families here choose it
What tends to bring The Sunset families up the hill is continuity — one school, one method, one drop-off, from age two to eleven, rather than a preschool that hands you back at five.
The Sunset is a longer run and the honest answer is that it suits families already heading south. Skyline moves well outside the peak, and badly inside it.
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 The Sunset | About 7 miles |
| Getting here | South on Sunset Boulevard and Skyline, then across to Hillside. |
| Area | San Francisco |
| Local public district | San Francisco Unified 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 The Sunset 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 The Sunset?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.
- Can we come part-time?Yes. Three, four or five days a week, and morning, full day or extended full day. Families driving from The Sunset more often lengthen the day than shorten the week, but both are offered.
- Do you have a campus in The Sunset?No — and we would rather be straightforward about it. Mills Montessori has a single campus at 1400 Hillside Blvd., South San Francisco, CA 94080, about 7 miles from The Sunset. Everything on this page is about that one school and the families who drive to it.
- How long does the drive from The Sunset really take?South on Sunset Boulevard and Skyline, then across to Hillside. We will not pretend to know your morning — the useful thing is to drive it once at drop-off time. Book a tour for 8:45 am and you will find out on the way in.
- Do you give priority to families from The Sunset?No. Enrollment is open year-round and offered in the order places come free, regardless of which town you are driving from.
Montessori Summer Sessions in other areas
Come and watch a morning
Tours run mid-morning during the work cycle, year-round, by appointment.