A Creative Minds Montessori classroom in Frisco, Texas
TL;DR

Two Montessori schools in West Frisco, under ten minutes apart, one a large campus now owned by a national chain and one a small independent school. Castle Montessori of Frisco is the bigger, longer-reaching one: a school its website says has operated since 2010, now part of Cadence Education, a Scottsdale-based operator of 354 private preschools, licensed for 336 children, open 7:00 AM to 6:30 PM on its state record, running from six weeks through an Elementary programme to age nine, with before- and after-school care and transportation to local schools, an indoor gymnasium, a piano and music room, a computer lab and library, "AMS / AMI Certified Teachers," and a 4.8-star Google rating across 143 reviews. Creative Minds Montessori is the smaller, narrower one: six weeks through kindergarten entry, 7:00 AM to 5:30 PM, certified guides, mixed-age rooms with a Waldorf-inspired arts and music thread, organic milk and vegetables with no added sugar, no screens under two, all-day parent cameras for a stated fee, published fees and discipline limits, and infant teachers who have been here since the school opened. Castle's current state permit dates from February 27, 2024, so its record runs from June 2023: eight deficiencies across 3,778 standards, one rated High (a March 2024 self-reported supervision finding) and one from March 2026 that a staff member helping a child through a seizure had let their CPR and first-aid certification lapse; its last three annual inspections found nothing. Creative Minds' 26 deficiencies over five years include three findings that a child was briefly out of sight and one 2023 prohibited-punishment finding. Both have zero injuries, zero penalties and no enforcement action. If you want one Montessori school from infancy to third grade with a gym, a bus and a national company behind it, Castle offers it and we do not. If you want a small school with a decade of the same faces, cameras you can watch from your desk, and a menu and discipline policy you can read before you enroll, that is what we are.

Who is writing this, and how we tried to be fair. This guide is written by the teachers at Creative Minds Montessori, so we are one of the two schools being compared. We have kept to what each school publishes on its own website (Castle's Frisco page on cadence-education.com, where castlemontessori.com now redirects, checked September 22, 2026), the Texas Health and Human Services licensing records for both schools (the full five-year inspection and compliance history, pulled the same day), and public Google reviews. Where Castle does something we do not, we say so plainly. The classroom photographs on this page are of our own rooms, because the other school's photos are theirs to use, not ours. Verify anything that matters to you on a tour — at either school.

Two Montessori schools in West Frisco

Castle Montessori of Frisco sits at 5050 Legendary Drive, Frisco, TX 75034, in the retail and office district south of Lebanon Road between the Dallas North Tollway and Parkwood Boulevard, a few minutes from Stonebriar Centre. Creative Minds Montessori is at 5115 Warren Parkway, behind Dua Trattoria at Legacy Drive and Warren Parkway, also in 75034. They are under ten minutes apart, which makes this one of the few comparisons in our series where the commute will not decide it: a family in Phillips Creek Ranch, Stonebriar, Starwood or the Lebanon corridor could tour both in one morning.

Both call themselves Montessori, and both mean it. Castle's page promises "an unparalleled, authentic Montessori learning environment," a "Year-round Montessori Program," a "Classical Montessori curriculum" and "AMS / AMI Certified Teachers." We describe the same method on our Curriculum page. So this is not a Montessori-versus-something-else comparison. It is a comparison of a chain-owned campus and an independent school that share a method and differ in scale, age range, hours, facilities, food, what the parent can see and read before enrolling, and what the two state records and two sets of reviews say.

At a glance

 Castle Montessori of FriscoCreative Minds Montessori
Address5050 Legendary Dr, Frisco, TX 75034-9041 (south of Lebanon Rd, between the Tollway and Parkwood Blvd)5115 Warren Parkway, Frisco, TX 75034-6289 (behind Dua Trattoria, Legacy Dr & Warren Pkwy)
Phone(972) 987-0875 (website); (972) 377-2220 (state record)(972) 338-4304
Websitecastlemontessori.com, which redirects to cadence-education.com/locations/tx/frisco/338/creativemindsmontessori.com
Ownership and age"since 2010" (website); now a Cadence Education school (Cadence: "more than 30 years in business," "354 private preschools," headquartered in Scottsdale, AZ); the current Full Permit was issued February 27, 2024 (state record)Single independent school, open more than ten years at this location; Full Permit since April 21, 2016
LeadershipChristine Thung, Director, "Montessori trained" (website and state record)Dinna Bacordo, Director; meet the team on our Our Team page
Hours7:00 AM – 6:30 PM on the state record; the website says "Monday – Friday 7:00 AM - 6:00 PM"7:00 AM – 5:30 PM, Mon–Fri (up to 10 hours of care; arrive by 9:00 AM)
Ages served"6 weeks - 9 years": Infant (6 weeks–18 months), Toddler (18 months–3), Primary (3–6, "includes preschool & kindergarten"), Elementary (6–9); before- and after-school care; summer break programmes6 weeks through kindergarten entry (Pre-K II / Transitional Kindergarten)
Texas state licenseLicensed Center – Child Care Program, Full Permit, no conditions; Texas HHS Operation No. 1775376; licensed capacity 336Licensed Center – Child Care Program, Full Permit, no conditions; Texas HHS Operation No. 1597616 (listed as "Creative Minds"); licensed capacity 226
Accreditation / affiliation"AMS / AMI Certified Teachers" (website); no school accreditation namedCertified Montessori guides; no AMS affiliation claimed
Services on the state recordSchool-age care, before- and after-school care, part-time care, transportation to and from school; meals are not listed on the state recordMeals and snacks provided, skill classes, part-time care, field trips; no transportation
Educational approach"Classical Montessori curriculum"; "authentic Montessori learning environment"Montessori: prepared environment, self-chosen work, mixed-age rooms, five areas with a Waldorf-inspired arts, music, and nature thread
Facilities"Newly Built, Modern Facilities"; "Indoor Gymnasium"; "Piano and Music Room"; "Computer Lab and Library"Classrooms kept small by design; fenced playground
Included and paid enrichmentMusic, Fine Arts, Foreign Language, Nature Study, Computers; and Dance, "Private Piano," "Private Spanish," Basketball, Soccer (which are included and which are paid is not stated)Weekly music class, daily process art, physical-training time, enrichment across arts, music, language, and movement, all included
MealsNot mentioned on the website and not listed on the state recordBreakfast, lunch, and two snacks; organic milk and organic vegetables, no added raw sugar, vegetarian option daily; nut-free; menu on our Nutrition page
Classroom cameras"infrared security cameras and computer-based access controls" (website); parent viewing not described; a 2023 reviewer says cameras show live video to visiting parents "but nothing is recorded"Secure login to your child's room throughout the day; grandparents can get their own login; $25 per child per month
ScreensComputer lab and "Computers" enrichment; no policy for the early years publishedNo screen time under age two; at most one supplemental, education-aligned hour for older children, never at meals or rest
Beyond preschoolElementary 6–9 on campus; before/after-school care with transportation on the state record; summer break programmesNot offered; the program ends at kindergarten entry
CommunicationNot described on the Frisco page; Cadence names "Meaningful communications" as a brand promiseDaily email with meals, naps, activities, and photos; parent-teacher conferences each November/December
Tuition transparencyNot published; a "Pricing & Availability" contact form; a 2024 reviewer describes an unreturned security depositRates from the Director; $150 registration, $150 supply fee each March 1 and September 1, 10% sibling discount on the older sibling, $25/month camera fee
Google rating4.8 stars, 143 reviews (Google listing, September 22, 2026; the school's page displays "4.8 Rating based on 173 Reviews")4.7 stars (44 reviews, as counted September 17, 2026) — see our Testimonials page

Sources: each school's website and Texas HHS record, September 22, 2026; Google ratings and review counts as on each school's listing. Details change — confirm on your tour.

What kind of school each one is

Castle Montessori of Frisco: a 2010 Frisco Montessori, now a Cadence Education campus

Castle Montessori of Frisco has two histories, and a parent should understand both. The first is the school's own: its page says "since 2010, we have provided an unparalleled, authentic Montessori learning environment for children ages infant to 9 years," and a 2023 reviewer recalls a child there in 2016, so the building on Legendary Drive has been a Montessori school for the better part of two decades. The second is corporate: castlemontessori.com now redirects to cadence-education.com, and the Frisco page lives on Cadence's site alongside its other brands. Cadence Education describes itself as having "more than 30 years in business" and "Operating 354 private preschools as members of the Cadence Education Family of Schools across the country," from headquarters in Scottsdale, Arizona, with Montessori, Reggio Emilia, language immersion and faith-based programmes among its offerings. The state record fits that picture: the current Full Permit for Operation No. 1775376 was issued February 27, 2024, and the state's five-year history for this operation number begins in June 2023, which is why the "five-year" table below covers three years. The record does not say why a new permit was issued, and we will not guess; ask on the tour who owns the school, who employs the teachers, and what changed in 2023 and 2024.

The programme is the full Montessori arc. Infant Care runs from six weeks to eighteen months, Toddler from eighteen months to three, Primary from three to six and "includes preschool & kindergarten," and then comes something we do not offer: an Elementary programme for six-to-nine-year-olds on the same campus, so a child who thrives in the method can stay in it through third grade. The page lists Before & After School Care, and the state record adds "Transportation to/from School" and "School Age Care," so a Frisco ISD sibling can be picked up. Summer break programmes are in the navigation. The director is named on both the website and the state record, and described as "Montessori trained"; the page says the school's teachers are "AMS / AMI Certified," and staff bios on the page name individual certifications.

The building is the thing Castle has that most Frisco preschools do not. The page lists "Newly Built, Modern Facilities," an "Indoor Gymnasium," a "Piano and Music Room," and a "Computer Lab and Library," and its enrichment list runs Music, Fine Arts, Foreign Language, Nature Study and Computers, plus Dance, Private Piano, Private Spanish, Basketball and Soccer. On a licensed capacity of 336, the largest of any school we have compared, that is a campus rather than a house. Security is described as "infrared security cameras and computer-based access controls."

What the page does not say is also worth listing. It does not publish tuition ("Pricing & Availability" is a form), meals (and the state record, unusually for a Frisco center, does not list "Meals Provided," so ask whether you pack a lunch), a parent-viewing camera policy, a discipline policy, a screen-time policy for the early years, ratios, or a description of daily communication. And its hours differ from the state's: "7:00 AM - 6:00 PM" on the page against 7:00 to 6:30 on the record.

Toddlers at Creative Minds Montessori counting beads on an abacus
Creative Minds Montessori: math begins with things you can hold. Concrete before abstract is the whole Montessori arc, at both schools.

Creative Minds Montessori: one school, one philosophy, ten-plus years of the same faces

Creative Minds is a single independent school in the Legacy and Warren corridor that serves children from six weeks through kindergarten entry and then hands them on to Frisco ISD or a private elementary. Everything about it is built around the Montessori method. Walk in mid-morning and the first thing you notice is the quiet hum of concentration: one child building the pink tower, another tracing sandpaper letters, a third carrying a tray of golden beads to a mat. The guide is not at the front of the room; she is kneeling next to one child, presenting one lesson, and the rest of the room is working on things they chose. Rooms are mixed-age on purpose, so a three-year-old watches a five-year-old read and a five-year-old learns patience by helping a three-year-old pour.

Layered over that structure is what the school calls the Waldorf touch: a weekly music class, process art with natural materials, rhythm and storytelling, and a deliberate reverence for beauty and nature in the rooms. Montessori builds the disciplined, capable mind; the artistic thread keeps the imagination glowing. Our Curriculum page lays out the five Montessori areas and what each looks like at each age.

The people are the second thing. Both infant teachers have been with the school since it opened its doors more than ten years ago, which in an industry where caregivers often change every few months means the same two warm faces greet families at drop-off year after year. Ratios meet or exceed Texas Health and Human Services licensing for every age, with the youngest rooms kept smallest, and because the school is small, the Director personally approves every move from one room to the next.

The third thing is a set of daily-life choices that are easy to verify. Food is treated as curriculum: organic milk and organic vegetables, no added raw sugar, minimal salt and fat, a vegetarian option every day, fresh fruit and milk with every lunch, and a nut-free building. Children under two have no screen time at all, and older children never more than one supplemental, education-aligned hour, never at meals or rest. Every classroom has a camera, and parents can log in and watch any time during the day. Our Our School page covers the rest.

Curriculum and daily life, compared

Because both schools are Montessori, the table below has fewer sharp contrasts than a Montessori-versus-franchise-curriculum comparison would. The differences are in the edges: how far the programme runs, what the building offers, what is bundled in, and how each school handles food, screens, rest and discipline in writing.

DimensionCastle Montessori of FriscoCreative Minds Montessori
Who directs the learning"Classical Montessori curriculum" in an "authentic Montessori learning environment"; detail not publishedMontessori: child-chosen work from a prepared environment; the guide presents individual lessons and observes
Materials and areasNot listed on the Frisco pageThe Montessori materials (pink tower, sandpaper letters, movable alphabet, golden beads, number rods) across five areas, plus a Waldorf-inspired arts and music thread
Age groupingInfant, Toddler, Primary 3–6, Elementary 6–9; a 3–6 Primary is the classic mixed-age roomMixed-age Montessori rooms (e.g., Casa 3–6); older children mentor younger
Teacher credentials"AMS / AMI Certified Teachers"; director "Montessori trained"Certified Montessori guides; the infant leads have been here since opening
Starting age6 weeks6 weeks
InfantsInfant Care 6 weeks–18 months; detail not published; one June 2023 finding of loose sheets in a play pen with a sleeping infant (see below)Nido: individual schedules, safe-sleep standards, daily email with meals, naps, activities and photos; two June 2023 findings (see below)
Languages and enrichmentForeign Language, Music, Fine Arts, Nature Study, Computers; Dance, Private Piano, Private Spanish, Basketball, Soccer; paid versus included not statedWeekly music class, daily process art, physical-training time, arts, music, language, and movement, included
Indoor spaceIndoor gymnasium; piano and music room; computer lab and libraryClassrooms and a fenced playground; physical-training time
TechnologyComputer lab; "Computers" enrichment; no early-years policy publishedNone under two; capped at one supplemental hour for older children
Kindergarten and beyondKindergarten inside Primary; Elementary continues to age nine on campus; before/after-school care with transportationPre-K II / Transitional Kindergarten aligned with Frisco ISD; the program ends at kindergarten entry
RestNot detailed on the websiteSupervised rest after lunch for children 12 months and up (about two hours); at least an hour of rest, sleep never required, quiet work for non-nappers
Potty trainingNot detailed on the websiteCentral focus of the Transition class from about 2½; no punishment tied to toileting, ever
DisciplineNo policy publishedPositive guidance only; calm-down break capped at one minute per year of age; no punishment tied to food, naps, or toileting; no send-home policy for tantrums
Assessment and communicationNot described on the Frisco page; two reviewers describe day sheets that were incomplete or did not match the day (see reviews)Observation records; daily email; conferences each November/December; all-day cameras

A few honest notes. Castle's bundle is genuinely larger than ours: a gym, a music room with pianos, a library, a computer lab, private piano and Spanish lessons on site, sports, an Elementary to age nine, a bus, and the resources of a 354-school company behind the building. If continuity of method past kindergarten matters to you, or an indoor gym in August does, Castle offers it and we do not. On our side, the differences are specific rather than broad: we publish our menu, our screen rule, our discipline limits and our fees; we let you watch the room from anywhere for a stated fee; our building is small enough that the Director approves each move up herself; and our infant teachers have been in the same room for ten years.

Young children playing instruments in the weekly music class at Creative Minds Montessori
The weekly music class at Creative Minds: from birth to six is the most important window for musical development, so it is woven into the week, not bolted on. Castle has a piano and music room.

Food, hours, and the shape of a day

Hours. Castle wins this one either way: 7:00 AM to 6:30 PM on the state record, or 7:00 to 6:00 on its website, is a half-hour to an hour more evening coverage than Creative Minds' 7:00 to 5:30. Ask which is current. Creative Minds caps care at ten hours and asks for a 9:00 arrival so children get the uninterrupted work period that Montessori depends on; that is a constraint we chose, and it is still a constraint.

Food. We cannot compare menus, because Castle's page does not mention food, and, unusually for a Frisco center, its state record does not list "Meals Provided" or "Snacks Provided" among its programmes; it may be that families pack lunch, and you should ask. Creative Minds does not cook on site; lunch is catered by KidzCaters on a four-week rotation, and the choices are in the sourcing: organic milk and organic vegetables, no added raw sugar, minimal salt and fat, a vegetarian option every day, fresh fruit and milk with every lunch, and a nut-free building. Ours is on our Nutrition page.

Flexibility and transportation. Castle lists part-time care, before- and after-school care and transportation to and from school on its state record, and summer break programmes on its website. Creative Minds is a full-day preschool with no transportation. We do offer ways to protect a spot during extended breaks and two $50-per-year vacation credits, but if you need a van from a Frisco ISD elementary or an after-school programme for a second-grader, Castle is the one to ask. One 2023 reviewer's complaint that after-care "is not the same teacher/assistant that will stay with your kid everyday" is worth asking about too; it is a common weakness of after-school programmes everywhere.

Safety, security, and seeing your child's day

Both schools describe cameras. The difference is who gets to watch them, and whether anything is kept.

 Castle Montessori of FriscoCreative Minds Montessori
Getting in the door"computer-based access controls" (website)Doors locked at all times; personal key fob per family; visitors ring the bell
Check-in / pick-upNot described on the websiteFingerprint sign-in kiosk that records date, time, and a photo; photo ID for anyone unfamiliar; release only to authorized adults
Cameras in rooms"infrared security cameras"; parent viewing not described; a 2023 reviewer says the cameras "just provide video for parents that go visit during the day but nothing is recorded or available in case of incident concerns"Video cameras in every classroom; secure family login throughout the day; grandparent logins available, $25 per child per month
Daily communicationNot described; two reviewers say day sheets were incomplete or inaccurateDaily email with meals, naps, activities, and photos; parent-teacher conferences each November/December
Staff"AMS / AMI Certified Teachers"; the state counts 13 departures in 2025, 9 in 2024 and 15 in 2023; a March 2026 finding that one of four staff helping a child through a seizure had let CPR/first-aid certification lapse (see below)Certified Montessori guides; positive-guidance discipline policy; volunteers require an 8-hour pre-certification and criminal-history check; 5 departures in 2025, 7 in 2024
SupervisionOne March 2024 self-reported finding that a child "was not attended immediately" (High); teacher retrained, whiteboard head-count added (see below)Three findings in five years of a child briefly out of sight (see below)
Outdoor playPlaygrounds by age; June 2023 findings of ripped turf on the 3–11 playground (closed until replaced) and a November 2023 finding of a broken fence with sharp edges between playgrounds (welded)Fenced playground; a June 2023 finding of six inches of mulch where nine were required, corrected
IllnessNot described on the websiteFever 100.4°F+ stays home until fever-free 24 hours unmedicated; vomiting/diarrhea 24 symptom-free hours; group notified of communicable illness
Infant safe sleepNot described on the website; one June 2023 finding of loose sheets in a play pen with a sleeping infant, corrected by June 15Texas licensing, AAP and CPSC standards; two June 2023 findings (see below)
Visibility insideTours by web form or phone; cameras viewable by visiting parents (reviewer)Parents may visit in person any time during operating hours, no appointment

What the state's records show, side by side

The Texas Health and Human Services Commission publishes every licensed center's five-year compliance history in its public Child Care Search. We pulled both schools' full histories on September 22, 2026 and put them in one table. One caution about like-for-like: Castle's record under its current operation number begins in June 2023, so its window is a little over three years against our five; we have not adjusted either count. Read ours as critically as theirs; the links go to the primary source.

State recordCastle Montessori of Frisco (state page)Creative Minds Montessori (state page)
PermitFull Permit issued February 27, 2024; no conditions; history under this operation number from June 6, 2023Full Permit since April 21, 2016; no conditions
Serious injuries / injuries from standard violations0 / 00 / 0
Employees who left employment, by year2025: 13 · 2024: 9 · 2023: 15 (earlier years not on this record)2025: 5 · 2024: 7 · 2023: 15 · 2022: 18 · 2021: 14 · 2020: 22
Activity on the record10 inspections · 3 self-reported incidents · 1 report (complaint investigation)14 inspections · 3 self-reported incidents · 4 reports (complaint investigations)
Deficiencies found / standards evaluated8 / 3,778 (1 High, 5 Medium High, 1 Medium, 1 Medium Low)26 / 3,942 (7 High, 12 Medium High, 6 Medium, 1 Medium Low)
Annual inspectionsJune 6, 2023: 4 deficiencies (1,251 standards); February 5, 2024: 0 (561); January 27, 2025: 0 (508); January 15, 2026: 0 (566)October 15, 2021: 1 (686); September 14, 2022: 2 (603); June 23, 2023: 4 (612); June 7, 2024: 0 (642); May 27, 2025: 5 (708); May 12, 2026: 3 (660)
Most recent visitMarch 30, 2026: self-reported incident, 2 standards evaluated, 1 deficiency (below), verified corrected May 5, 2026July 21, 2026: 1 of 1 compliant
Administrative penalties00
Corrective or adverse actionNo / NoNo / No
Licensed capacity336226

What Castle's eight deficiencies were, in full. Four came from the first inspection on the record, a 1,251-standard visit on June 6, 2023: "The turf in the playground 1 (3-11 years) had turf that was ripped in several areas, providing tripping hazards"; "Three out of ten children's files reviewed did not have a health statement available"; "Two out of ten affidavits were not notarized"; and "A play pen had loose sheets while an infant was sleeping." The records and sheets were fixed by June 15; the turf was cited again that day because replacement was pending, and "The operation decided to close this playground until installation is complete," verified July 7. On November 9, 2023: "Fence in between to older playgrounds was broken and had sharp edges. Children have access to this area," welded by December 7. Then the one finding rated High, self-reported on March 26, 2024: "child was not attended immediately, and caregiver was not at a physical proximity that allowed visual and/or auditory awareness of the child in care"; the correction reads "Teacher in that classroom was re-trained. There is constant monitoring in that classroom. A white board was added in the classroom to keep track of the children better," verified April 23, 2024. And the most recent, self-reported on March 30, 2026: "one of the four staff tending to a child who had a seizure was lacking their current First Aid/CPR which expired 1/10/26"; the school emailed a current certificate dated April 9, 2026, verified May 5. The annual inspections of 2024, 2025 and 2026 evaluated 561, 508 and 566 standards and found nothing; a June 2023 complaint investigation and a June 2025 self-report found the standards evaluated compliant.

Read together, that is a good record, and it deserves to be said plainly: after a first inspection that found a worn playground and some paperwork, Castle has passed three annual inspections in a row without a citation, and the two incidents since were reported by the school itself, which is what a school that wants to be caught doing better looks like. The two things a parent should ask about are specific. First, the March 2026 seizure: the child was, by the state's account, attended by four staff, one of whose certification had lapsed ten weeks earlier, and the state's finding is about the certificate rather than the care, but ask how certifications are tracked now, because in a building licensed for 336 there are a lot of certificates. Second, turnover: thirteen departures in 2025, nine in 2024 and fifteen in 2023 is moderate for a campus this size, and it is the thing the critical reviews below keep mentioning.

Our own record is the one we want you to read hardest. Twenty-six deficiencies across 3,942 standards is more than Castle's, and most of them are paperwork we should have had in order and many of which we reported ourselves. Each finding was verified corrected by the state. The three self-reported incidents on our record are incidents we reported to the state ourselves, because we would rather have a mark on the page than a secret in the building. Zero injuries in five years and 5 and 7 staff departures in the last two years are the numbers we are proudest of. The details are on our state page linked above, and we would rather you read them there than take our summary.

A calm Creative Minds Montessori classroom with natural materials and soft colors
What "calm" looks like: low shelves, one of each material, soft colors, and children who chose the work in front of them.

Cost and fees: what each school publishes

Neither school prints monthly tuition on its website, which is normal in Frisco and frustrating for a shopping parent. Here is exactly what each does say, so you know what to ask.

Castle Montessori of Frisco publishes no rates and no fees; the page offers a "Pricing & Availability" form and a "Schedule Tour" button, and Cadence's site has an online-payment portal and a referral programme. The enrichment list mixes things that are usually included (music, art, nature study) with things that are usually billed separately ("Private Piano," "Private Spanish," dance, basketball, soccer), and the page does not say which is which. One 2024 reviewer describes "multiple attempts" to get a security deposit returned that "have been met with silence"; that is one family's account, and it is also the single most common complaint in every school's reviews in our series, so read the deposit clause before you sign, at Castle and everywhere else. Because the school is now part of a national company, ask whether deposits, notice periods and annual increases are set locally or by Cadence, and get the answer in writing.

Creative Minds Montessori bills monthly by age. Published fees: a one-time $150 registration fee per child, a $150 supply fee twice a year (March 1 and September 1), and a $25-per-child monthly camera fee. Published credits: a 10% sibling discount on the older sibling, $150 off tuition for each referred family who stays 90 days, and a current new-family welcome of $100 off tuition for the first ten months. Meals, snacks, the music class and all materials are included. Monthly rates by age come from the Director, and we will give you a written all-in number on the tour. Details are on our Admissions page.

Two practical tips. First, ask both schools for a written, all-in annual number for your child's age, including every fee, the lunch arrangement, the enrichment add-ons, and what the welcome credit becomes when it ends, so the two can be compared like for like. Second, ask what happens to your spot and your money during a two-week vacation, a maternity leave, or a job change; the answers differ more between schools than the headline rate does. Our guide to what childcare really costs covers FSAs and the child-care tax credit, which apply at both schools.

What parents say

Castle Montessori of Frisco

Start with the number: Castle Montessori of Frisco holds a 4.8-star rating across 143 Google reviews as of September 22, 2026 (its own page displays "4.8 Rating based on 173 Reviews"), the largest count and one of the highest scores of any school in our series, accumulated over more than a decade, and that should frame everything below. The four five-star reviews the school quotes on its page praise individual teachers by name and the director; a 4.8 across that many reviews means the great majority of families who bothered to write were happy, and the campus's three clean annual inspections are consistent with that.

The critical reviews are a small minority. Of the 143, we read four, collected from Google on September 22, 2026 and posted between roughly 2023 and 2025, one of them describing a much earlier experience. Read together they are not a scattering of unrelated complaints; they describe a few concerns in different years and different families' words, and, unusually, they include the school's strengths in the same breath. These are the threads:

  • Whether what you are told matches what happened. This is the most persistent thread. A parent a year ago, in a review that calls the management "generally approachable" and the environment "welcoming," writes that "some of the teaching staff are not consistently responsible in carrying out their day-to-day duties" and that "the daily activity reports did not accurately reflect what actually happened during the day," asking for "more transparency and accountability." A two-star reviewer three years ago, who gives the stars "because of the great teachers they have," says "The daysheet report is not provided or incomplete," that communication "has to go through email, in which the director filters the communication," and that when incidents began in the toddler room "we asked for details they just lied to us to cover what really happen." She adds that the cameras "just provide video for parents that go visit during the day but nothing is recorded or available in case of incident concerns."
  • Turnover and the toddler room. The same 2023 reviewer says the school "started having high turnovers with the staff," that the toddler classroom "was a boxing ring out of control" without the right assistant, and that after-care lacks a consistent teacher who "knows the routine of your kid." The state's counts, fifteen departures in 2023, nine in 2024 and thirteen in 2025, are consistent with a real but not extreme churn for a building this size.
  • The front office and money. The 2023 reviewer says the director's office did not "know how to handle questions from the parents without been rude." A 2024 reviewer, who refers to the school as "Legendary Castle Montessori," writes that "multiple attempts" to recover a security deposit "have been met with silence" and calls the "lack of communication and disregard for agreements" unacceptable.
  • One older account. A reviewer three years ago describes "a very bad experience in 2016" with one teacher, whom she calls abusive to her son, and says the memory still troubles her. That is a decade ago, before the school's current permit and, on the state's record, before the current director; we include it because it is on the listing, and we note that the state's record for this operation contains no finding of that kind.

The set of reviews collected for this article did not include public replies from the school, so we cannot credit its side; if Castle has replied on Google, we will add its replies here, and its director is welcome to write to us (see the note at the end of this page). What cuts the other way is real and we would be dishonest to leave it out: 143 reviews at 4.8 stars, most of them recent; three clean annual inspections in a row and only two incidents since 2023, both self-reported; a director the critical reviewers themselves describe as approachable; AMS/AMI-certified teachers whom even the two-star reviewer calls "great"; and a gym, a music room, an elementary and a bus that most families in this part of Frisco would use every week. So the reviews mean something specific. They do not say the school is unsafe; the state's numbers say it is. They say that, for a handful of families over three years, the written account of their child's day did not match the day, that the toddler room went through a rough patch when staff changed, and that the office did not answer well when pressed, including about a deposit. Each of those is testable on a tour: ask to see yesterday's day sheet for a toddler, ask who has been in that room since January, and ask, in writing, how a deposit comes back.

Creative Minds Montessori

Creative Minds Montessori holds a 4.7-star rating across 44 Google reviews, counted on September 17, 2026. It is a smaller school, so the count is smaller; the score is what we are proud of, and so is the state's record of five and seven staff departures in the last two years, because the reviews are mostly about people who are still here. The Google reviews quoted on our Testimonials page cluster around the infant teachers who have been here since the school opened, the calm of the classrooms, the food, the cameras, the Director's patience, and children who come home and set the table without being asked. We are not going to pretend we have no critical reviews; read all 44 on Google and ask us about any of them on the tour. We would rather answer than spin.

One thing we say to every family who tours us after touring another Montessori school: the word on the sign is the beginning of the comparison, not the end of it. Two rooms with the same pink tower can feel completely different depending on who is in them and how long they have been there. Watch the adults.

Which school fits which family

Castle Montessori of Frisco is probably the better fit if…

  • You want your child in Montessori past kindergarten. Castle's Elementary runs to age nine on the same campus, and we stop at kindergarten entry.
  • You need care until 6:00 or 6:30, with before- and after-school care and transportation for an older sibling in Frisco ISD, and summer programmes.
  • An indoor gymnasium, a piano and music room, a library and a computer lab matter to you, and you want private piano or Spanish lessons available on site.
  • You want AMS or AMI-certified teachers and can ask to see the certificates.
  • You prefer the resources, systems and continuity of ownership that a national company with 354 schools brings, and you are comfortable with the trade-offs of scale.
  • You want a larger campus with more children the same age, and a 4.8-star rating across 143 reviews reassures you.

Creative Minds Montessori is probably the better fit if…

  • You have a baby, and you want your infant with the same two caregivers year after year in small rooms where the Director personally approves each move up.
  • You want to watch your child's room from your phone at any point in the day for a stated fee, and to be able to walk in unannounced.
  • You want a daily email with meals, naps, activities and photos, so the written account of the day is something you can check against the camera.
  • Organic milk and vegetables and no added sugar matter to you enough to see them on a published menu, and you would rather not pack lunch.
  • You want no screens for your baby or toddler and very little after that, as policy rather than as a favour.
  • You want a positive-guidance discipline policy with published limits, and the fees on the website before you tour.
  • You want a school owned by the people in the building, and you are fine with a 7:00–5:30 day and with changing schools at kindergarten.

And a third possibility that is more common than either school likes to admit: some children are simply happier in one room than another, and you will know within ten minutes of watching them in it. Bring your child to both tours if you possibly can. They are under ten minutes apart.

Ten questions to ask on both tours

These are the questions that separate a good tour from a brochure read aloud. Ask every one of them at both schools, in the same words, and compare the answers side by side.

  1. "What is the exact ratio and group size in the room my child would start in, today?" Not the licensing maximum, the actual number this month.
  2. "How long have the teachers in that room been here, and who owns the school and employs them?" Tenure is the single best predictor of how your child's day will feel. At Castle, ask what changed in 2023 and 2024.
  3. "What happens when a child says, 'I can't do it'?" The answer reveals the whole philosophy. We explain why in our guide to choosing a whole-child program.
  4. "Can I see my child's room during the day, and how, and is anything recorded?" Cameras, an app, a window, or an open door. Get the specifics and the cost.
  5. "May I see yesterday's day sheet for a child in this room?" Then compare it with what you can see happening today.
  6. "What did the children eat yesterday, and where was it cooked, or do I pack it?" Then ask to see the menu for next week and the allergy policy.
  7. "How much screen time will my child have, and what is it for?" Get a number, not an adjective, and ask separately about the computer lab if you plan to stay for elementary.
  8. "What is my all-in annual cost for this age, including every fee, the deposit, the lunch, the enrichment add-ons, and how the deposit comes back?" Then ask what happens to the spot if you withdraw mid-year.
  9. "How are staff CPR and first-aid certifications tracked, and what did you report to the state last year?" Ask for a real example. Compare the answer with the school's state page; both schools have self-reports to talk about.
  10. "May I come back on a normal morning?" The answer, and the tone of the answer, tells you nearly everything.

For the longer version of this checklist, including the unannounced-visit test and the difference between settling-in tears and real red flags, see How to Choose a Daycare You Actually Trust.

A child watering plants in the garden at Creative Minds Montessori
Practical life at Creative Minds: real tools, real plants, real responsibility. The Waldorf-inspired reverence for nature shows up in small daily jobs.

The bottom line

Castle Montessori of Frisco is a large, well-equipped Montessori campus with the broadest programme and the best facilities in this comparison: six weeks to third grade, a gym, a music room, a library, a computer lab, private lessons on site, long hours, a bus, AMS/AMI-certified teachers, a national company behind it, a 4.8-star rating across 143 reviews, and a state record with three clean annual inspections in a row and only two incidents since 2023, both reported by the school. Its critical reviews, a small minority, keep returning to the same things: day sheets that did not match the day, a toddler room that went through a rough patch when staff changed, and an office that did not answer well when pressed, including about a deposit. None of that is about safety, and the state record backs the school on safety.

Creative Minds Montessori is a smaller, narrower, more transparent offer: one philosophy carried out faithfully from six weeks to kindergarten by adults who have been here for years, with a food and screen policy you can read before you enroll, positive guidance with published limits, fees on the website, a daily email, cameras you can watch all day, and a state record that by count is far worse than Castle's and includes findings of kinds theirs does not, which we have set out above rather than hidden. It cannot keep your child until 6:30, drive them to school, or give them a gym in August.

Those are different products, and a family can be right to choose either. The wrong choice is the one made from a website, including this one. Tour both; they are under ten minutes apart. Bring the questions above. Watch the children more than the adults, and then watch the adults. And if you would like to start with us, book a 40-minute weekday tour at Creative Minds, call (972) 338-4304, or email director@creativemindsfrisco.com. Castle Montessori of Frisco schedules tours through its page on cadence-education.com or at (972) 987-0875.

Quick answers

How far apart are the two schools?

Under ten minutes. Castle Montessori of Frisco is at 5050 Legendary Drive, south of Lebanon Road between the Tollway and Parkwood Boulevard; Creative Minds is at 5115 Warren Parkway, behind Dua Trattoria at Legacy and Warren. Both are in Frisco 75034.

Are both schools really Montessori?

Yes. Castle describes a classical Montessori curriculum taught by AMS or AMI-certified teachers in an authentic Montessori environment, from infants to an Elementary programme; Creative Minds has certified Montessori guides, mixed-age rooms and the classic materials across the five areas, with a Waldorf-inspired arts and music thread.

Which has longer hours and serves older children?

Castle: 7:00 AM to 6:30 PM on its state record (7:00 to 6:00 on its website), serving six weeks through an Elementary to age nine, with before/after-school care, transportation to and from school and summer programmes. Creative Minds: 7:00 AM to 5:30 PM, six weeks through kindergarten entry, no transportation.

Is Castle Montessori of Frisco a licensed center, and who owns it?

Yes. Texas HHS lists "Castle Montessori of Frisco," a Licensed Center – Child Care Program with a Full Permit issued February 27, 2024, Operation No. 1775376, licensed capacity 336, licensed for infants through school-age children, with before/after-school care, school-age care, part-time care and transportation on its record. Its website redirects to Cadence Education, a Scottsdale-based operator of 354 private preschools; the school's page says it has operated since 2010.

What do the Texas licensing records show for each school?

Both have zero injuries, zero penalties and no corrective or adverse action. Castle's record under its current operation number runs from June 2023 and shows 8 deficiencies across 3,778 standards: ripped playground turf, a broken fence, loose play-pen sheets and two paperwork items in 2023, a self-reported March 2024 supervision finding rated High, and a self-reported March 2026 finding that one of four staff helping a child through a seizure had a lapsed CPR/first-aid certificate, all corrected; its 2024, 2025 and 2026 annual inspections found nothing; 15, 9 and 13 staff departures in 2023, 2024 and 2025. Creative Minds shows 26 deficiencies across 3,942 standards, including three supervision findings (2022, 2023 and a self-reported one in June 2026), all verified corrected, plus 3 self-reported incidents, zero injuries in the same years.

Does either publish tuition?

No. Castle offers a pricing and availability form and does not say which enrichment programmes are included. Creative Minds publishes its fees ($150 registration, $150 supply fee twice a year, $25 monthly camera fee) and credits (10% sibling discount, $150 referral, $100-a-month welcome credit for ten months); monthly rates come from the Director.

What do the critical Google reviews of Castle Montessori of Frisco say?

Against a 4.8-star rating across 143 Google reviews as of September 22, 2026, we read four critical reviews posted between roughly 2023 and 2025. They repeat three themes: daily reports that did not match the day (two reviews), staff turnover and a rough patch in the toddler room and after-care (one), and a front office that was rude with questions or silent about a security deposit (two); one also recalls a bad experience with a teacher in 2016. Two of the four praise the teachers or management in the same review. The reviews we read contained no public replies from the school.

Do both have parent cameras?

Both have cameras. Creative Minds offers all-day secure viewing for $25 per child per month, with grandparent logins available. Castle describes "infrared security cameras"; remote parent viewing is not described on its page, and a 2023 reviewer said cameras showed live video to visiting parents but nothing was recorded. Ask on the tour.

Keep reading

About this comparison: written by the teachers of Creative Minds Montessori, Frisco, TX, in September 2026. Facts about Castle Montessori of Frisco come from its public web page on cadence-education.com (to which castlemontessori.com redirects) and Cadence Education's about page, read September 22, 2026; from its Texas HHS Child Care Search record (permit, capacity, programs, hours, director, and the full inspection and compliance history under Operation No. 1775376, pulled the same day); and from public Google reviews as of the same date; review counts, ratings and policies change. Facts about Creative Minds come from our own website and our Texas HHS record. Quotations from reviews and from the state record are reproduced as posted; individual reviews are the opinions of their authors and are unverified, and the state's findings are the state's, not ours. If you are the owner or director of Castle Montessori of Frisco, or Cadence Education, and find an error, or want to add context or your public replies to anything here, email director@creativemindsfrisco.com and we will correct or add it promptly and note the change. Nothing here is a substitute for your own tour of both schools. Our legal disclaimer applies.

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