Upper Elementary FAQ's

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Are there discipline problems?

Do you have homework?

Do you do testing?

Where do our graduates go after high school?

How well do our graduates do in traditional schools

Are there discipline problems?

These are more rare in a Montessori classroom because students work in areas that naturally interest them. The rich learning environment provides healthy choices of work to do. On those rare occaisions where teacher intervention may be required, problems are nipped in the bud by redirecting the child to more appropriate work.

Do you have homework?

The children would tell you, “No.” But we ask students to read at home daily and we expect them to follow up on things that interested them at school. Because these things will be that which naturally attracted them, this does not seem like homework to them. Neither does it have the negative potential that can be created by making children do things they don’t want to do.

Do you do testing?

Because of the way that we are trained to watch how students work, everything they do is a test—a more thorough test than a paper and pencil test (which is only required because of how traditional learning does not keep close track of the child.) But we also test the children every year using a nationally normed standardized test. We do this to test our program, not the child. We look for any gaps that may arise so that we can modify our educational environment if need be. However, we share these results with parents.

Where do our graduates go for high school?

Any and all local public and private high schools. Our students sometimes tell us that they miss the personal attention they are used to here, but they are always well respected by their teachers where ever they go because of their high interest in learning and their good manners.

How well do our graduates do in traditional schools?

Quite well, generally. We’ve had more than our share of class presidents and valedictorians and most go on to quality colleges. This is not, however, a goal we work toward. Rather, we work to develop the inborn talents of each individual. We discourage external ambition for the child because of how it inhibits the blossoming of inborn talent.

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