We also believe that the most innovative entrepreneurs were very lucky to have been raised in an atmosphere where inquisitiveness was encouraged. We were stuck by the stories they told about being sustained by people who cared about experimentation and exploration. Sometimes these people were relatives, but sometimes they were neighbors, teachers or other influential adults. A number of the innovative entrepreneurs also went to Montessori schools, where they learned to follow their curiosity. To paraphrase the famous Apple ad campaign, innovators not only learned early on to think different, they act different (and even talk different).
Broward County to add more magnet schools to the district The Miami Herald, by Patricia Mazzei
In an effort to attract more students to public schools and keep them there, some Broward schools will be getting new magnet programs, School Board members agreed in a workshop meeting Tuesday.
And, they promised, no existing magnet programs would be moved.
Magnet programs are intended to lure students to underenrolled schools by offering specialized tracks in subject areas such as performing arts and aviation. The county provides free bus transportation to kids who live outside the school's neighborhood.
...
The well-regarded IB magnets, known as early years and middle years IB programs, already exist at Wilton Manors Elementary in Fort Lauderdale and three middle schools -- Deerfield Beach, Lauderdale Lakes and Henry D. Perry in Miramar. They prepare students for the rigorous, college-level IB diploma offered in four public Broward high schools.
Also very popular are magnet Montessori programs, which focus on students learning at their own pace and are now offered at Sunrise Middle and Virginia Shuman Young Elementary in Fort Lauderdale. Last school year, Shuman Young had a waiting list of 700 to 1,000 students. K-8
MONTESSORI MAGNET
To meet that demand, the district's plan will turn a new Hollywood elementary school known as Elementary School C into a K-8 Montessori magnet -- something Board member Jennifer Gottlieb, whose district includes the new school, has been pushing for.
"This is something that's going to really pull students back to our system,'' she said.
MPS panel moves to close 1 school, convert another to Montessori B Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, by Erin Richards
A Milwaukee Public School Board committee Tuesday approved significant changes at two schools that have suffered from low enrollment and poor academic performance, voting to close one and create a new Montessori program at the other.
In two 5-0 votes, members of the Committee on Innovation/School Reform Board recommended closing Twenty Seventh Street K-8 School at the end of this school year, and phasing out the traditional K-5 program at Garden Homes Elementary School and creating a Montessori program in its place next year.
...
Parents, students and teachers from the Montessori community in Milwaukee spoke in favor of a new program at Garden Homes.
Montessori schools, which favor an educational method that emphasizes self-directed learning, have been expanding in MPS and serve about 2,100 students.
Cleveland: Montessori High School students make 'dino' discovery
WKYC Cleveland
It's the school field trip of a lifetime for most students. This summer, students from the Montessori High School in University Circle went to Mongolia to look for dinosaur bones. They went with paleontologists from the Cleveland Museum of Natural History to excavate in what's called the "Dragon's Tomb in the Gobi Desert." "My plan was to find a whole skeleton. We didn't find that but we did find a very nice skull," says Dr. Michael Ryan, of the Cleveland Natural History Museum. They found the skull of a Saurolophus, which was a plant-eating dinosaur that lived 70 million years ago. They also found a bone bed that had been untouched by poachers. This area has been nearly destroyed by illegal poachers, who sell dinosaur bones on the black market. "It was amazing. I always loved dinosaurs and always dreamed of finding them," said 16-year-old Maria van Heeckeren. Ten students went on the trip. It cost about $7,000 each, so the school helped raise money through fundraisers and donations. The skull is expected to be shipped to Cleveland by March, and the students will continue to research it with the Cleveland Museum of Natural History.
Extra Credit Education Column The Washington Post, by Jay Mathews
Dear Extra Credit:
Drew Model Elementary School, Arlington County's public elementary Montessori program, provides solutions to two issues you have raised.
In your Aug. 27 column you said, "I long ago despaired of public schools' being capable of doing much for students way ahead of the curve." The Montessori program serves 3-year-olds to middle school-age students who master material at their own rate.
In your Aug. 31 column, you lamented schools' dependence on a nine-month calendar. Montessori is taught in three-year blocks in a multi-age classroom.
Annie Harold
Arlington
Jay Mathews Responds:
Thanks for the reminder. I should have mentioned Montessori as an exception in both cases.
The National Education Report
The Montessori Foundation has been featured in an episode of The National Education Report, hosted by well known commentator, Hugh Downs, for National Public television in the United States. It will air later this year. The show briefly introduces Montessori education and the work of the Montessori Foundation.
The kids who scampered about construction zones in the San Lorenzo slums of Rome gave the work crews fits. Then the builders heard some woman doctor was recruiting students for a new school. They begged her to enroll the troublemakers in the Casa dei Bambini...
A century-old educational system that eschews rote learning and regimentation
finds its public school programs under pressure in an era of high-stakes testing.
In this report, The Hanover Research Council examines the ongoing performance of
a cohort of students who participated in APS prekindergarten programs, including
Montessori, Virginia Preschool Initiative, Special Education, and Dual Enrolled
Special Education, along with students who did not participate in such programs.
Performance measures include a variety of assessments conducted between
kindergarten and the fifth grade, such as PALS, DRP, and SOL tests.
Montessori education is a 100-year-old method of schooling that was first used with impoverished preschool children in Rome. The program continues to grow in popularity. Estimates indicate that more than 5000 schools in the United States--including 300 public schools and some high schools--use the Montessori program. Montessori education is characterized by multi-age classrooms, a special set of educational materials, student-chosen work in long time blocks, collaboration, the absence of grades and tests, and individual and small group instruction in both academic and social skills. The effectiveness of some of these elements is supported by research on human learning.
A study comparing outcomes of children at a public inner-city Montessori school with children who attended traditional schools indicates that Montessori education leads to children with better social and academic skills.
Lillard presents the research concerning eight insights that are foundational to Montessori education and describes how each of these insights is applied in the Montessori classroom.
Available scores from the Iowa Test of Basic Skills and Metropolitan Achievement Test-6 tests, administered between 1984 and 1988 to 88 students enrolled in a Montessori magnet program in the Houston Independent School District, were statistically analyzed.
Addressing the many complex issues associated with culture, race, and diversity is tough under any circumstances. But such issues become even more complex in school settings where large numbers of students speak different languages and reflect diverse ethnicities and socioeconomic statuses. In this article, the author describes how the faculty members and the administrators at Fort Wayne Community Schools (FWCS) in Indiana found a balance between quality education and student diversity. FWCS offers a district-wide school choice program that features a number of different educational offerings. Interestingly, as the district's student population (nearly 32,000) has become increasingly diverse--it now has about 80 languages/dialects represented by students--its Montessori magnet program has grown more successful. The author also relates that FWCS' Montessori magnet program is superbly suited to prepare students to flourish in culturally and racially diverse environments. As such, it is highly in demand among parents.
A brief narrative description of the journal article, document, or resource. At Montessori schools, students are given tasks called "practical life" exercises. In these exercises, students learn to take care of themselves and their environment. Students at the Robert Goddard Montessori School are also familiar with the drill of workbooks, testing sheets, and homework--features that would never be part of a private Montessori school. The pre-K-8 school in the 134,000-student Prince George's County school district outside Washington is responsible for staying true to the teachings of its founder, Maria Montessori, and also for preparing students to score high enough on Maryland tests so that the school can meet its target for adequate yearly progress, or AYP, under the federal No Child Left Behind Act. The 350-some public Montessori schools across the country are feeling the same pressures. This article shares the sentiments of public Montessori schools to the testing and accountability mandates of the No Child Left Behind law that run counter to the beliefs Maria Montessori held about how children learn. It also discusses the concrete changes that they have had to address under the law.
Convincing your local public schools to establish a new program is essentially an exercise in the American democratic process. Ideally, a core group of parents will find support from among some of the teachers, administrators, and local members of the school board...
Good at Doing Things: Montessori Education and Higher Cognitive Functions
A lecture by
Dr. Steven J. Hughes www.goodatdoingthings.com
Steven J. Hughes, PhD, LP, ABPdN is Director of Education and Research for The TOVA Company, and assistant professor of pediatrics and neurology at the University of Minnesota Medical School. Dr. Hughes completed his PhD in clinical psychology at the University of Minnesota and his post-doctoral fellowship in pediatric neuropsychology at the University of Minnesota Medical School, where he joined the faculty of the Division of Pediatric Clinical Neurosciences in 2001.
Not enough room for a growing number of preschool programs in Arlington? County Board members have a plan: Let developers build them.
Without taking a formal vote, board members on Oct. 13 directed County Manager Ron Carlee to encourage developers to consider adding space for preschools in new projects that come to the board for review.
Congratulations to Drew teacher Carol Oakes, who received National Board Certification, an accomplishment only 89 teachers currently teaching in Arlington County have achieved.
gton Post
Montessori education is a 100-year-old method of schooling that was first used with impoverished preschool children in Rome. The program continues to grow in popularity. Estimates indicate that more than 5000 schools in the United States--including 300 public schools and some high schools--use the Montessori program. Montessori education is characterized by multi-age classrooms, a special set of educational materials, student-chosen work in long time blocks, collaboration, the absence of grades and tests, and individual and small group instruction in both academic and social skills. The effectiveness of some of these elements is supported by research on human learning. 
ldin