school open house
Feb. 7th, 2007 01:07 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
fleamr. flea and I attended Neighborhood Public Montessori School's open house this morning, one of 4 the school is holding. Attendance was about 10 families, some couples, some one parent, a few babies or little kids. 90% white, 0% hispanic; the sole black woman I recognized as having once attended a La Leche League meeting. Parents of Casper's friends the twins were there, and 2 of the women from my book club.
The presenter was the assistant principal, and we got to observe a classroom for 10 minutes, saw a little tour of the school (cafeteria, walked by music classroom) then had a Q&A in the media center (=library.) The building is nice - high ceilings, lots of big windows, feels light and airy and roomy. The classroom we observed was Pre-K and K (4 and 5 year olds), with a teacher, assistant, and student assistant. All classes have the first two, and keep the same teacher & classroom for PreK and K (they then have one class/teacher for 1-3, and another for 4-5). Class sizes are 18-22 (some rooms are a little bigger than others). The layout is not that different from Casper's daycare - lots of little activity stations. The schedule is fairly similar as well - a big block of "work time," "specials" (Music, Art), lunch (30 min), recess (45 min), at the start of the year they have rest time after recess and then it evolves into a freer quiet time where some kids can nap, others read or work quietly on their projects. The day runs 9-3:30; no after-care for 4 year olds.
The big difference from day care is the "work time" which sees some kids working on their own, some kids working with the teacher in small groups. We saw the breakup of a group meeting on the carpet and saw the kids sort out into individual or small group activities. It was astonishingly quiet. The main teacher seemed to have a lot of control (noticed running and asked the kids to come back and walk), although the kids did some wandering around and doing their own thing. She ended by running a lesson in letters and sounds for 5 of the kids in the center of the room while some kids were working on worksheets, others doing what was likely math or colors (beads, stringing rubber bands, that sort of thing.)
The assistant principal did an excellent job, dodging some of the questions (about % of free school lunch kids and title 1 status) but generally being frank about the way a Montessori approach fits within the required curriculum and mandated testing of a public school, and how this school has been transitioning from a traditional one to a Monessori magnet over the last 3 years.
I knew 3 kids in the class we observed (Annabel, Lucie, Aidan), and the mix was about 40% white, 40% hispanic, 20% black. They accept 55-60 4 year olds, and have 250 applicants. Siblings are accepted first, then priority zone kids (=us), then kids from the whole county (by lottery). All priority zone applicants usually get accepted, and then there are 35-40 slots for the rest of the county. Our school is one of 6 magnet elementary schools in the county, and one of the 2 in highest demand. We're lucky to live where we do.
The presenter was the assistant principal, and we got to observe a classroom for 10 minutes, saw a little tour of the school (cafeteria, walked by music classroom) then had a Q&A in the media center (=library.) The building is nice - high ceilings, lots of big windows, feels light and airy and roomy. The classroom we observed was Pre-K and K (4 and 5 year olds), with a teacher, assistant, and student assistant. All classes have the first two, and keep the same teacher & classroom for PreK and K (they then have one class/teacher for 1-3, and another for 4-5). Class sizes are 18-22 (some rooms are a little bigger than others). The layout is not that different from Casper's daycare - lots of little activity stations. The schedule is fairly similar as well - a big block of "work time," "specials" (Music, Art), lunch (30 min), recess (45 min), at the start of the year they have rest time after recess and then it evolves into a freer quiet time where some kids can nap, others read or work quietly on their projects. The day runs 9-3:30; no after-care for 4 year olds.
The big difference from day care is the "work time" which sees some kids working on their own, some kids working with the teacher in small groups. We saw the breakup of a group meeting on the carpet and saw the kids sort out into individual or small group activities. It was astonishingly quiet. The main teacher seemed to have a lot of control (noticed running and asked the kids to come back and walk), although the kids did some wandering around and doing their own thing. She ended by running a lesson in letters and sounds for 5 of the kids in the center of the room while some kids were working on worksheets, others doing what was likely math or colors (beads, stringing rubber bands, that sort of thing.)
The assistant principal did an excellent job, dodging some of the questions (about % of free school lunch kids and title 1 status) but generally being frank about the way a Montessori approach fits within the required curriculum and mandated testing of a public school, and how this school has been transitioning from a traditional one to a Monessori magnet over the last 3 years.
I knew 3 kids in the class we observed (Annabel, Lucie, Aidan), and the mix was about 40% white, 40% hispanic, 20% black. They accept 55-60 4 year olds, and have 250 applicants. Siblings are accepted first, then priority zone kids (=us), then kids from the whole county (by lottery). All priority zone applicants usually get accepted, and then there are 35-40 slots for the rest of the county. Our school is one of 6 magnet elementary schools in the county, and one of the 2 in highest demand. We're lucky to live where we do.