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Privacy, accessibility, and terms of use

The policies, disclaimers, terms, and conditions on this page were last updated in October 2026.

South Coast Montessori is committed to protecting your privacy. This page explains how we handle the information you share through southcoastmontessori.org, how the site supports people with disabilities, and the terms of using it. Each section has its own heading, so you can go straight to the one you need.

Who runs this website

This website belongs to South Coast Montessori, a nonprofit 501(c)(3) school, Tax ID 81-4994237. We are at 7421 Mirano Drive, Goleta, CA 93117. Our license numbers are 426215358 and 426215359.

Accessibility: using this site with a disability

What we aim for

South Coast Montessori aims to meet WCAG 2.1 AA (Level AA of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.1). Accessibility is ongoing work rather than a finished state. We believe every person has the right to use this site with dignity, equality, comfort, and independence.

Adjust the site with the accessibility menu

Every page carries the Sienna accessibility menu. Open it with the accessibility icon in the corner of the screen. You can use it to change how the site looks and behaves for you, without asking anyone:

  • support for screen readers
  • a font designed for readers with dyslexia
  • larger text, and highlighting for text and links
  • contrast, saturation, and monochrome settings
  • a reading guide and focus tools
  • stopping animations
  • a bigger cursor

Your changes apply only to you. The accessibility menu remembers them in your own browser, so they are still there on your next visit.

Where the site may still fall short

Some parts of the site come from other services, and we do not control how they are built:

A few documents are PDFs, and they may not suit every screen reader. These include the Time magazine article on Why Montessori and our Integrated Pest Management Plan.

If any of these is hard for you to use, we will give you the same information another way. We keep improving the site as we find things that need fixing.

Tell us about a barrier

If something on this site gets in your way, please contact us or call (805) 845-6555 during normal business hours. We are happy to help.

It helps us to know the address of the page and what you were trying to do. If you can, tell us the browser or assistive technology you use too. Thank you.

Privacy: what information we collect

We collect what you choose to give us on a form, plus some information about your visit that is gathered automatically. Find the form you are about to fill in below.

The contact form.
On our contact page: your name and email; your phone number, if you give one; the programs you are interested in; your message; and how you heard about us. If you give a phone number, you can also choose to let us text you, and we record that choice.
Applications.

On the Infant, Toddler, and Primary application and the Elementary application:

  • about your child: name, birth date, birthplace, gender, ethnicity, the current teacher's details, and any testing or evaluations and what they found. The Infant, Toddler, and Primary application also asks about your child's birth story.
  • about your family: parents' names, addresses, phone numbers, emails, occupations, and employers; marital status; who your child lives with; and your answers about parenting and Montessori.
  • your signature, and your permission for us to contact your child's previous school, childcare provider, or references.

You can also choose to let us text you about your application, and we record that choice.

Event RSVPs.
For the Open House and the Elementary Information Night: your name, email, and any questions. The Open House also asks how many people are coming and your child's grade.
A job application.
On our careers page: your name, email, and phone number; and your resume, if you choose to attach one. You can also choose to let us text you about your application, and we record that choice.
Our guide, 6 reasons Montessori will work for your child.
On our Why Montessori page: your first name and email.
The newsletter.
On our blog: your first name and email.
Booking a tour.
The details the booking form asks for, and the time you choose.
Donations.
Gifts on our Give page are made through PayPal. Your payment details go to PayPal, not to this site. We receive PayPal's record of your donation.
Phone calls.
Our call tracking may show a different phone number on the page. It records how a caller reached the site (see Cookies, analytics, and advertising below).
Information gathered automatically.
When you browse, we record the pages you view and how long you stay. We also record how you arrived, your device and browser, your approximate location, and your IP address. When you send the contact form, it also carries the page you were on and the campaign that brought you, if there was one. When you send any form, the pages you viewed before sending it are added to your record in the school's customer-relationship platform.

How we use your information, and who receives it

We use the information above to:

  • reply to your questions and messages
  • arrange tours and events, and remind you about them
  • run admissions, placement, and enrollment
  • consider job applicants
  • send the newsletter you signed up for
  • acknowledge donations
  • understand how the site is used, and improve it
  • see which of our Google ads lead to inquiries

To do that, your information is handled by:

  • our website and customer-relationship platform, where form submissions are stored
  • Google, through Google Analytics, Google Ads, Google Tag Manager, Google Maps, and Google Calendar
  • PayPal, for donations
  • our call-tracking provider
  • jsDelivr, which delivers the accessibility menu to your browser

When you submit a form, the email address and phone number you entered may be sent to Google in scrambled (hashed) form. Google uses them to match your inquiry to a click on one of our ads.

We may also share your information:

  • to fulfill your requests
  • to protect the school from liability
  • to respond to legal process or comply with the law
  • as part of a merger, acquisition, or liquidation

Cookies, analytics, and advertising

These are the tools that run on this site, and what each one does. Several of them set cookies, and some share information about your visit with the company that provides them.

  • Site analytics. Our website platform sets its own cookie (__vibe_sid) and records pages viewed, time on page, where visitors came from, devices, locations, and IP addresses.
  • Google Tag Manager (GTM-KCDTGJB) loads Google's tags on every page.
  • Google Analytics 4 (G-7CELY47HRS) loads on every page, both directly and through Google Tag Manager. It sets Google cookies that measure visits.
  • Google Ads conversion tracking sets cookies that record when a visit came from a Google ad. It shares information about your visit with Google to measure our ads, including the scrambled email and phone number described above.
  • Call tracking sets its own cookies (__ctm) to record where a visit came from, so a phone call can be matched to it. It may show a tracking phone number on the page.
  • The accessibility menu remembers your display settings in your browser's local storage, or in a cookie if local storage is blocked.
  • Embedded services set their own cookies under their own policies. They are Google Maps on the contact page, Google Calendar on the calendar page, and the booking calendars on the Schedule a tour pages. On the Give page, they are PayPal and the fundraising-progress graphic.

This site does not currently change how it operates in response to browser "Do Not Track" or Global Privacy Control signals.

How you can manage this:

Children's privacy and COPPA

The Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) protects information about children under 13. This site is for parents, guardians, and other adults. Children should not send us information themselves.

We do collect information about children when a parent or guardian gives it to us. The two applications ask the most (see the list under Privacy above). The Open House RSVP asks for a child's grade. We use it for admissions, placement, and enrollment, and to plan events.

A parent or guardian can ask to see, correct, or delete their child's information. Please contact us or call (805) 845-6555.

Financial aid applications are made in the Clarity Application, under Clarity's own privacy policy. Our financial aid page explains how to apply.

Text messages (SMS terms)

We may text you replies to your questions, confirmations and reminders for tours and events, and updates on your application.

By providing your phone number and consenting to SMS communication, you agree to receive text messages from South Coast Montessori related to your enquiry and your account with us. Message frequency may vary. Message and data rates may apply. Opt out at any time by replying STOP. Reply HELP for assistance. Carriers are not liable for delayed or undelivered messages. South Coast Montessori does not share or sell your mobile number or SMS opt-in data with any third parties or affiliates for marketing or promotional purposes.

Keeping information safe, and your requests

This site is served over a secure (HTTPS) connection. The information you send us is held with the providers named under How we use your information. No way of sending or storing information online is completely secure.

To see, correct, or delete your information, please contact us or call (805) 845-6555. To stop our emails, use the unsubscribe link in any newsletter. To stop our texts, reply STOP.

Other websites and services

This site links to and uses services run by others. We are not responsible for their content or their privacy practices, so please read their policies before you give them any information. The ones you are most likely to meet here are:

  • PayPal, for donations (PayPal's privacy statement)
  • the Clarity Application, for financial aid (see our financial aid page)
  • Google Docs, for the tuition download and the securities-transfer form
  • the Annual Report flipbook, linked from our Give page
  • our Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube pages
  • the news sites our blog links to

Website information, tuition, and program details

The content on this website is provided for general informational purposes only. It does not replace or amend the agreements, contracts, handbooks or official policies of South Coast Montessori, which govern in the event of any difference.

Tuition, fees, schedules, and dates shown on this site are subject to change. They are confirmed in the school's enrollment agreement.

Terms of use

By using this site, you accept these terms of use. These terms cover how you may use the site. They are not consent to the information practices described above.

The text, photographs, and graphics on this site belong to South Coast Montessori or are used with permission. Please do not reuse them without our permission.

We may change these terms. The date at the top of this page shows when they were last updated.

Governing law

California law governs this page and your use of this site.

Changes to this page, and how to reach us

We may update this page from time to time. The date at the top always shows the latest version.

If you have a question about anything here, please contact us or call (805) 845-6555. If something on the site is hard to use, see Tell us about a barrier.