About the Montessori Children's School

History
Mary Kern founded the San Luis Obispo Montessori Children's School in 1983 at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church with six students, ages three to six. During the first year, enrollment expanded to include a grand total of fifteen children! Eventually, the enrollment expanded to its maximum of 25 while still at the St. Stephen’s location, and in the spring of 1991 the owners of an existing Montessori school in San Luis Obispo approached Mary to see if she was interested in purchasing their school. To make a long story short, she was, and the two schools blended that summer. We retained some families from the old location, some from the new and welcomed some families brand new to Montessori. The school accommodated children ages three through nine. We added more teachers, kept the extended care program that existed at the new location, and we were on our way.

In Spring of 1997 we saw a real need to expand our school to encompass Upper Elementary students aged nine to twelve years. We started the program in our extended care room with four students coming up from the lower elementary and seven other students who wanted to continue their Montessori education here.

By the end of that year it was clear that the Upper Elementary was an integral part of our school that we could not live without, but we definitely needed more space. We looked around our community and after much deliberation we purchased the building we were leasing and added on a classroom, a library and offices.

Montessori Children's School Today
Currently, we have both full day and half day Primary classes for children ages three through six, a smaller class with 15 children and a larger one with 30 children. We also have a lower elementary class for children ages six through nine and an upper elementary class for children ages nine through twelve. Each of these classes has approximately 20 students.

We enjoy the many diverse aspects of our school from younger to older children, the stability of our teachers, the support of our parents and the drive to always improve what we do here. We strive to instill passion for learning and excellence in all we do and are proud of the community we have created.

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Philosophy and Purpose
The mission of the Montessori Children's School is: to inspire a passion for excellence in all of the children and adults who are a part of its community, to nurture the curiosity, creativity and imagination born within each of us and to awaken the human spirit of every child.

Our program rests on four main pillars:
• The cultivation within our students and staff of a passion for excellence in everything they do, both inside and outside the school.

• The development of a strongly held set of universal values, which include self respect, respect for others, honesty, integrity, responsibility, empathy, compassion, kindness, peacefulness, a sense of concern for others, warmth and love of community.

• The development of a global perspective and sense of international understanding.

• Lifelong commitments to give something back through service to others.

Purpose:
Dr. Maria Montessori believed that no human being is educated by another person. He must do it himself or it will never be done. A truly educated individual continues learning long after the years and hours she spends in the classroom because she is motivated from within by a natural curiosity and love for knowledge. Dr. Montessori felt, therefore, that the goal of early childhood education would not be to fill the child with facts from a pre-selected course of studies, but rather to cultivate his own natural desire to learn.

The purpose then, of our school is to meet this objective. This is done in two ways: first, by allowing each child to experience the excitement of learning by her own choice rather than by being forced, and second, by helping him to perfect all his natural tools for learning so that his ability will be at a maximum in future learning situations. The Montessori materials have this dual long-range purpose in addition to their immediate purpose of giving specific information to the child.

The curriculum of the school includes exposure to all of the traditionally incorporated areas such as mathematics, sciences, reading and writing. Most importantly, though, there will be an emphasis on those qualities needed to become self-motivated, independent, self-disciplined and a fulfilled individual.

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Admission
Entrance age in a Montessori school varies with each school. A child can usually enter a Montessori classroom between the ages of 2 1/2 and 4, depending upon when he or she can be comfortable in a classroom setting. The child in the Primary classes (ages 2 1/2 to 6) will usually begin with the simplest exercises based on activities which most children enjoy. The materials in a Montessori classroom are carefully selected and sequenced so as to be attractive, developmentally appropriate and are designed to introduce only one new concept at a time so the child can practice and perfect their movements and knowledge. The materials at which the child works at 3 and 4 will help to develop the concentration, coordination and working habits necessary for the more advanced materials they will perform at 5 or 6. The entire program of learning is purposefully structured. Therefore, optimum results happen when a child completes a full three years in each classroom.

Our school has had children enter at varying ages, depending upon each unique family's situation. Sometimes a family is on our waiting list from the time their child is 3 months old until the child's name comes to the top of the waiting list at 7 years old! This is a family we know has an interest in our school, has returned a waiting list interest form each year and has usually called us at least three times a year to see if there is space! So, even though entering at 3 years old is optimum, we have had students enter later, with what we consider to be generally great results. This, for us, means a child who is learning, happy, comfortable and challenged.

It is important for families to know that a Montessori school, especially for the 3 to 6 year old, is neither a babysitting service nor a preschool that prepares a child for traditional kindergarten. Rather, it is a unique style of learning designed to take advantage of the child's sensitive periods of development. A child who acquires the basic skills of reading and arithmetic in this natural way has the advantage of beginning their formal education without drudgery, boredom or discouragement. By pursuing individual interests in a Montessori classroom the child gains an early enthusiasm for learning, which is the key to becoming a truly educated person.

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Policies and Procedures
Please read and become familiar with the information contained below. If there is something that you do not understand, please seek clarification.

1. Children are enrolled in the Montessori Children’s School after their name comes to the top of our waiting list and after the family has had sufficient time to determine they want to enroll at that time.
   
2. It is understood that the child’s first month is on a non-refundable trial basis, giving the school sufficient time to determine that the child is making a comfortable transition into the school environment, as well as giving the child’s family sufficient time to determine whether the school is becoming a positive and growth promoting extension of the child’s home environment.
   
3. No discrimination will be made between applicants on the basis of gender, race, creed, national origin or ability.
   
4. All children are accepted on a conditional basis. Parent(s) may be asked to withdraw their child if the school determines that the program is not meeting the child’s needs or that the child’s presence is having an adverse effect on the program.
   
5. Representatives of the State of California Department of Social Services Community Care Licensing and Department of Health have the right to review all records of children enrolled in the school.