Oceanview Montessori
Oceanview Montessori, 717 Clayton Avenue, El Cerrito, CA 94530
About
Oceanview Montessori is a small, family-run preschool where children explore, learn, grow, flourish, burn some energy, and read. The indoor space is well-organized with various Montessori materials, books, and artwork, and the backyard includes tricycles, play structures, and a large sandbox.
• Ages: 2–5 years old
• Schedule: Year-round, full-day preschool program with full-time and part-time options between 8:00am and 5:00pm
• Price: 2025/26 School Year Rates (beginning 9/1/25): Full-time (extended) 8:00am - 5:00pm :: $1,950/mo. Full-time 9:00am - 3:00pm :: $1,670/mo. 3 days (extended) 8:00am - 5:00pm :: $1,570/mo. 3 days 9:00am - 3:00pm :: $1,390/mo. 2 days (extended) 8:00am - 5:00pm :: $1,250/mo. 2 days 9:00am - 3:00pm :: $1,085/mo.
Oceanview Montessori is a year-round, full-day preschool program that was founded in 1994 in Berkeley, California, and moved to its current city in 1999. It is described as a small, neighborhood preschool and a family run, community-centered preschool that does not advertise, as it typically remains full. The school is noted by parents as a place within the El Cerrito community where children can explore, learn, grow, flourish, burn some energy, and read.
Oceanview Montessori was founded in 1994 by Ronna Brodsley, who studied under Dr. and Mrs. Claremont, students and contemporaries of Maria Montessori who came to America to establish a five-year Montessori Teacher Training program in Santa Monica that Ronna attended. Ronna opened her first small Montessori school after moving to San Diego in 1989, relocated her school to the Oceanview area of Berkeley towards the end of 1993, and then moved Oceanview Montessori to El Cerrito in the summer of 1999. Ronna retired in 2007 after more than 40 years of teaching, and at that point her son, Aaron, took over ownership of the school and head teacher duties and remains the director and head teacher.
The program’s stated goal is to guide children and direct their learning about different cultures in the world and the role that appreciation of diversity and cultural understanding play in promoting world peace. The mission includes treating all children with respect, helping them achieve a strong sense of their own dignity and value, and providing a stimulating, nurturing environment and curriculum that both challenge and encourage independent thinking. The school wants children to begin to understand that learning is a fulfilling, lifelong experience, and describes the basis of Montessori’s method as the principle of democracy and freedom within limits.
Parent testimonials describe Oceanview Montessori as a wonderful, kind, caring, and nurturing learning environment where children collectively continue to explore, learn, grow, and flourish. One parent notes that their child learned the seven continents within the first week at school and describes it as a small school where children are thriving. Another parent highlights that the school is small, with teachers who are attentive to the individual needs of each child, and mentions that the indoor space is well-organized with Montessori materials, books, and artwork, while the backyard allows kids to burn some energy with tricycles, play structures, and a large sandbox. A parent also reports that their child now reads and views school as a big game after three years at Oceanview Montessori.
Last updated July 12, 2026.
• Ages: 2–5 years old
• Schedule: Year-round, full-day preschool program with full-time and part-time options between 8:00am and 5:00pm
• Price: 2025/26 School Year Rates (beginning 9/1/25): Full-time (extended) 8:00am - 5:00pm :: $1,950/mo. Full-time 9:00am - 3:00pm :: $1,670/mo. 3 days (extended) 8:00am - 5:00pm :: $1,570/mo. 3 days 9:00am - 3:00pm :: $1,390/mo. 2 days (extended) 8:00am - 5:00pm :: $1,250/mo. 2 days 9:00am - 3:00pm :: $1,085/mo.
Oceanview Montessori is a year-round, full-day preschool program that was founded in 1994 in Berkeley, California, and moved to its current city in 1999. It is described as a small, neighborhood preschool and a family run, community-centered preschool that does not advertise, as it typically remains full. The school is noted by parents as a place within the El Cerrito community where children can explore, learn, grow, flourish, burn some energy, and read.
Oceanview Montessori was founded in 1994 by Ronna Brodsley, who studied under Dr. and Mrs. Claremont, students and contemporaries of Maria Montessori who came to America to establish a five-year Montessori Teacher Training program in Santa Monica that Ronna attended. Ronna opened her first small Montessori school after moving to San Diego in 1989, relocated her school to the Oceanview area of Berkeley towards the end of 1993, and then moved Oceanview Montessori to El Cerrito in the summer of 1999. Ronna retired in 2007 after more than 40 years of teaching, and at that point her son, Aaron, took over ownership of the school and head teacher duties and remains the director and head teacher.
The program’s stated goal is to guide children and direct their learning about different cultures in the world and the role that appreciation of diversity and cultural understanding play in promoting world peace. The mission includes treating all children with respect, helping them achieve a strong sense of their own dignity and value, and providing a stimulating, nurturing environment and curriculum that both challenge and encourage independent thinking. The school wants children to begin to understand that learning is a fulfilling, lifelong experience, and describes the basis of Montessori’s method as the principle of democracy and freedom within limits.
Parent testimonials describe Oceanview Montessori as a wonderful, kind, caring, and nurturing learning environment where children collectively continue to explore, learn, grow, and flourish. One parent notes that their child learned the seven continents within the first week at school and describes it as a small school where children are thriving. Another parent highlights that the school is small, with teachers who are attentive to the individual needs of each child, and mentions that the indoor space is well-organized with Montessori materials, books, and artwork, while the backyard allows kids to burn some energy with tricycles, play structures, and a large sandbox. A parent also reports that their child now reads and views school as a big game after three years at Oceanview Montessori.
Last updated July 12, 2026.
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