{"id":240349,"date":"2024-01-21T22:54:37","date_gmt":"2024-01-21T22:54:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/buoyantbloomer.com\/?p=240349"},"modified":"2024-01-21T22:54:40","modified_gmt":"2024-01-21T22:54:40","slug":"montessori-elementary-school","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buoyantbloomer.com\/montessori-elementary-school\/","title":{"rendered":"Could the Public Montessori Elementary School Work For Your Family?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
In downtown Brooklyn, the DOE is opening a Montessori elementary school going by the name PS 482. Next to PS 456<\/a> which is Brooklyn New School’s offshoot, PS 482 is probably the second most conveniently located school in downtown Brooklyn (8 subway stops within a 3-5 minute walk). Could it work for your family even if my initial read is that it’s going to be fauxtessori? <\/p>\n\n\n\n TL:DR: if you’re looking for FIDELITY to the Montessori scope and sequence, a public Montessori elementary school will not be able to deliver. Especially once you get to third grade where state testing begins, it’s hard to see how the lower elementary curricula will be translated. <\/p>\n\n\n\n However, this school is still an option that I’m super excited about <\/strong>I’m going to leave the question of fidelity to parents exclusively comparing private school options where yes, if you’re all-in on a Montessori education, it should be authentic. In that case, a fauxtessori program would be a waste of money. <\/p>\n\n\n\n As I’ve written elsewhere, a Montessori education has become restricted to just upper middle class families due to the cost of admission. It doesn’t have to be this way though, especially when Maria Montessori developed her methodology by teaching super underprivileged Italian students. <\/p>\n\n\n\n I attended a virtual information session for Ps 482 on Jan 19 with the principal, Carol Mongiello. She had JUST transitioned into the role on Jan 2nd, so let’s give her grace as she is a one-woman team with nine months to prepare for opening day. She previously wrote a proposal to open up a new school – PS 59 (Harbor View School) – on Staten Island and served as principal for seven years, so I can see why she was selected to be the project director + principal for PS 482. Let’s break down what I heard \ud83d\udc47\ud83d\udc47\ud83d\udc47<\/p>\n\n\n\n There are three key ways that this program will certainly differ:<\/p>\n\n\n\n An open question I still have is about the “work blocks of time” that Principal Mongiello referenced. In a true Montessori program, the work cycle is three hours, though I’ve seen programs that operate on two hour cycles. Without Montessori trained teachers\/staff, I’m not sure that this work cycle can be implemented. So it remains to be seen whether this feature of Montessori elementary programs will exist at this DOE run school. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Principal Mongiello referenced the American Montessori Society’s website and played this video<\/a> to ground parents in what she is aspiring to build out. This is an excellent standard source to draw from. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The teaching philosophy for PS 482 is immersion in the natural world around us. Children will learn and explore through guided observation, inquiry driven projects, hands on experiences, exploration, and discovery. This is complementary to the ethos that the Brooklyn New School and its sister school (PS 456) aspires to achieve. <\/p>\n\n\n\n One of the questions I asked was about whether teachers would be AMI certified and the answer was that they hope so but that state qualifications would be expected as the baseline. This in and of itself told me that this would be a Montessori-aligned school, but not the same as an authentic Montessori private school. <\/p>\n\n\n\n I live across from this building and lived through its construction. It is brand new and top of the line. The elementary school has 6 floors so the inaugural classes will have a lot of space and much better bathrooms + lighting than older schools. There is a new park that is also being built that will serve as a play area for the school. In addition, the school will have:<\/p>\n\n\n\n I’ll wrap up with a few points about admissions and logistics. <\/p>\n\n\n\n I think it’s worth a spot on your NYC DOE elementary school list of 12. Just remember that this will not compare to a private Montessori school, but you are also not paying tuition. Be mindful though of your commute and know that play dates will be harder at choice schools. <\/p>\n\n\n\n How high to rank this school is a question that my decision making course and tool \u2013\u00a0Confident Decision Maker\u2019s Toolkit\u00a0<\/a>\u2013 would be helpful for. And the strategies for applying to Kindergarten summarized\u00a0in this post<\/a>\u00a0obviously holds true for PreK as well.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Similar to my thoughts on PS 456, here’s how I think school consultants like Dana and Joyce would counsel clients:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Just remember \u2013 whether you get a seat in this Montessori elementary school or not, you can still deliver a Montessori education at home. I break down what a Montessori education<\/a> provides here, and also share how we managed to set up a Montessori learning space<\/a> when we were still living in a 700 sq. ft. 1 BR. There’s also a link there to how we built a DIY Montessori Bead Cabinet<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Montessori isn’t a trademarked, gated education system. Once you throw away the idea that things have to be all or nothing, you start to realize your family can benefit not just from Montessori, but Reggio and Waldorf. Take Montessori certification<\/a> for example – there are alternatives, parents do not need certification! They do need a mentor to be able to teach with the materials. These are all topics we’ll cover in my signature course, the Inquisitive Learner Accelerator. Join the waitlist <\/a>today for founder’s discounts and giveaways when the program launches. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" In downtown Brooklyn, the DOE is opening a Montessori elementary school going by the name PS 482. Next to PS 456 which is Brooklyn New School’s offshoot, PS 482 is probably the second most conveniently located school in downtown Brooklyn (8 subway stops within a 3-5 minute walk). Could it work for your family even […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":240351,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"off","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[52],"tags":[73,67],"class_list":["post-240349","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-decision-making-for-parents","tag-gifted-education","tag-make-smart-decisions"],"yoast_head":"\nHow will a Montessori elementary school differ from regular DOE public schools? <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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If this isn’t a true Montessori program, where is the vision coming from?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
What are the facilities like at PS 482?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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After school, teacher hiring, student priorities, and other important information<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Should I rank PS 482 on my MySchools Application? <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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