Setting up a School

Congratulations on your opportunity! Setting up a proper Montessori environment is a lot of work, but exciting as well. Brilliant idea placing an ad for the National Geographics! Maybe you could build your classroom library asking for donations of children's books?

A 5-day program is ideal (and more profitable) and I hope you can persuade your community of the value in it.

In our class, children wash their snack dishes in two round plastic basins on a low table. One for washing, one for rinsing. The children dry the dish and return it to the serving table. The assistant changes the water as needed, using anti-bacterial soap. The adult sanitizes all dishes again at the end of each day. This is not ideal
from a germ-control perspective, and some day care inspectors will not allow it, but it offers the most independence for the child and conservation of resources, b/c we're not using disposable products.

The day's used towels (from dish-drying or table-washing) go into a dirty laundry basket, and the teacher or assistant takes them home for laundering on the weekend. You might get a parent volunteer to this as well. Small cloths from polishing exercises, etc. are washed by the children in the cloth washing exercise. These too are periodically taken home for a real laundering. Thus you need a large
supply of each type of towel/cloth used in the classroom.


Articles on setting up a Montessori environment:
http://www.montessori.org/story.php?id=303

http://www.montessori.org/story.php?id=54

Photos of a Montessori environment:
http://mymontessorijourney.typepad.com/my_montessori_journey/2008/06/

setting-up-the.html
http://www.flickr.com/photos/montessoribyhand/sets/72157602128379274/

http://www.headstartmontessori.ca/images/method1.jpg

http://sunhillmontessori.tripod.com/id10.html

Very affordable materials:
http://www.kidadvance.com/

Seasonal lesson guides:
http://www.newchildmontessori.com/

For some practical help....
The way snack works in my classroom is this. There is a bowl of snack on and pitcher of drink on a counter. There is a table devoted to only snack that has flowers on it and three placemats. There are two small baskets near the snack set up. One basket has a small nametag with each child's name. The other basket is empty. The day begins with all the names in the left hand basket.

The child is hungry. She finds her namecard and places it at a place at the snack table saving her spot. She washes her hands and dries them. She looks at the snack chalkboard top see what there is for snack and how many. It might say 2 apples. She unfolds a paper napkin and places it into the snack carrying bowl. (It is simply a dollar store cereal bowl that color coordinates with the entire snack set up- in my class that is blue.) She counts out her snack and places it on the napkin. She carries the snack to her place and lifts the napkin containing the snack out of the bowl and places it on the placemat at her snack spot. Then she returns the snack bowl to the serving area. (We have a total of two snack carrying bowels.)

She gets a cup- paper or glass and pours her juice or dirnk. She carries that to her snack place. She sits down and enjoys her snack socializing with the other two children who are there as well. When she is done, she discards her napkin and her cup. She uses the small table sweep to sweep up the crumbs and replaces the sweep. Then if necessary, she gets a small bucket and a half size sponge and puts a small amount of water in the bucket, dips and squeezes the sponge, wipes the placemap, pours out the water in the large dirty water bucket that sits next to the sink. and puts the bucket back where it goes.

Lastly she places her namecard in the finished snack basket (sometimes I start the year with this being a margerine tub with only small slit in it so once it is in there, it can't be easily retrieved.) Now the snack space is available for another child.

Each child may have snack once a day and any time they would like. The namecard placed in the second basket is the reminder that this is the rule.

The first few days you begin this individualized snack process, it will be teacher intensive! You will need one adult monitoring the snack process untill the children master it. Then it is very easy to maintain it.

If the water at the sink is difficult to access, you might want to try one of those plastic jugs- like people take on picnics. Some hold about 5 gallons of water and that is usually enough for a day's water activities. We have done that in spaces that do not have a water source. You have to refill it each day but that is not too difficult.

Contacting parents...

Naomi, everything you do that is unique or interesting can be a press
release. Interesting studies, field trips, art projects, etc. can be used
to tell the local parents about what is happening at your school...
Especially if it is unique to your school or Montessori. Most papers will
print it if it is concise, well written and includes a couple of interesting
pictures. Also, coffee with the head master once a month. Be sure to
invite local realtors, bankers and the Chamber to the coffee dates so that
they can help market your school. Many realtors, banks and the Chamber put
together packets to send or give to prospective families moving into your
area and education is always high on their list of questions about the area.
If you have some hair dressers that are friends with any of your parents,
invite them... Moms always talk about their children when getting their hair
done ;-) Be sure you have a decent brochure (not expensive, just with
beautiful pictures of children peacefully working and concentrating).
Finally, go to where the families are and set up a table. If you have
different festivals (music, art, heritage, etc) where families congregate,
be sure you have a booth/table there with some of the wonderful works. We
always take the division board, the fraction circles, some botany works,
etc. Be prepared to give lessons to the visiting children and show the moms
how engaged the children are. We ask the parents to rotate through on the
day of the event with their children. I would highly recommend letting the
children give the visiting children the lessons. Hope this helps!

Trish

Enrollment deposit

My families sign a contract, in this contract it says they will give a 2 week written notice if they decide to leave. Then they get the deposit back or credit the current bill. If they don't I keep the deposit and bill them for the whole month. I know that a month deposit is common and that's what a lot of bigger schools do but some families can't afford to put down such a large deposit. So they are forced to choose other schools that aren't their first choice. Maybe while your starting out you could cut the deposit in half until your good name gets out there and families want you and then are willing to put up a larger deposit. We live in a small cummunity, so word gets around about my school. But money is a big thing right now. People have to work and are looking for deals.

Just my opinion.

Tami

New school

The Montessori Foundation's Center for Montessori School Leadership offers
several popular courses that hundreds of schools have found useful. Here are
a few simple suggestions summarized from our 12-week online class, Finding
the Perfect Match: How to Recruit and Retain Your Ideal Enrollment

In today’s economy, many schools still need to recruit as many new students
for next fall as possible. Here are some strategies that we’ve used to both
respond to both temporary shortfalls and to build enrollment up to capacity
in the long-run. The key is to do several things at once to create resonance
(where the audience hears about your school from many different sources) and
to continue your efforts on some level year-round.

In other industries, it is common for companies to share the cost of
marketing in return for equal billing.

a. A School Brochure or a Brochure About Montessori: Many Montessori schools
do not have a real brochure. The Montessori Foundation is working on a
series of generic brochures and pamphlets that could be used by schools
individually or jointly.

b. Direct Mail: Many Montessori schools do not currently use direct mail
marketing. We have designed many pieces for ourselves and other schools over
the years, and had excellent response rates. We believe that direct mail,
used in conjunction with other marketing strategies, can be very effective
in recruiting both last minute families who are still open, or families who
have left or are enrolled in other schools and decide that the new school is
not working so well when school reopens in the fall.

c. Targeted advertising: Many Montessori schools only run bland print ads a
few times a year. The ones we usually see say little about the benefits and
outcomes of a Montessori education. Highly focused messages with appealing
photography can be very effective when placed in the right publications such
as a local family magazine or city magazine. Newspapers, on the other hand,
are often not a good investment because of their low shelf-life. In many
cases, a one day ad may not be effective enough to warrant the cost.

d. Cable TV: Cable TV ads can be mounted quickly and have been almost
always proven to be effective. A focused campaign of 10 weeks or so may be
enough if timed correctly.

e. Radio: In some areas, radio stations broadcast to such a wide audience
over a large region that the cost to reach families in your area may not as
cost effective as Cable TV. A year round sponsorship of National Public
Radio’s Morning Edition or All Things Considered may be worth considering
too.

f. Public talks and free workshops: One of the strategies that worked very
well for us over the years was a series of free talks and workshops open to
the general public. Radio stations and newspapers normally list upcoming
events like these as a public service.

g. Call prospective applicants who have not yet applied:

h. Contact past parents who were satisfied but transferred their children to
public or other private schools. See how they are doing, and gather
information about how well the children are adjusting. Done correctly, you
communicate your continuing interest and concern in their children.

i. Call local real estate agencies and personally stop in to leave
information about your school for their agents. Do the same with the local
pediatricians.

j. Make a special offer people can't refuse: Virtually any season or event
can serve as an opportunity to offer a special promotion. You can offer a
discount or a free trial week in the summer program.

k. Offer a pricing incentive through financial aid: Some money beats no
money. Offer a special scholarship award that's so tempting that the former
or prospective family simply can't say no.

l. School Flyers: Put up one-page flyers about the school on bulletin board
around town in grocery stores and libraries. Make sure they are placed in
spots that prospective families tend to frequent: pediatricians'
offices/family medical practices and clinics, health food stores and organic
grocers, gardening supply shops, and better toy stores.

Recruitment and Admissions - Long Term

3. The need to build enrollment over the long run

In addition to using the marketing strategies listed above year-round, we
suggest the follow steps:

a. Invite the local radio station that parents are most likely to tune in to
broadcast live from the school one morning -- especially good when something
special is going on at the school.

b. Church and Temple Bulletins: Ask local congregations to put a blurb
about the school in their newsletter, weekly e-updates, or bulletins. Don't
forget synagogues, mosques, Friends Meetings, and Unitarian churches.

c. Local Service Groups: Contact any "mothers" groups to see if they will
run a blurb in their newsletters or join and post something on their Yahoo
group ourselves.

d. Local OnLine Discussion Groups: Look for general Yahoo groups and other
electronic bulletin boards for our area and post messages about the school.
Go to http://groups.yahoo.com/

and type the name of the town in "Find a
Group."

e. Call the education reporter at the local newspapers and television
stations and ask to meet with them. Go to these meetings prepared with
interesting, appealing "press kits" describing New Gate and the exciting
things children are doing at the school. Invite the press to visit the
school for photos/footage.

p. Start a blog on the Montessori experience at your school from a parent's
perspective.

q. Website: Improve the content on the website for the school and keep it up
to date. Link to school videos and other useful files for prospective
families. Post your weekly newsletter, brochures, annual reports, and other
resources on the website where they can be easily found. Add a password
protected area for school families and staff.

r. Tomorrow's Child: Put a label w/the school contact info and website on
past copies of TOMORROW'S CHILD. Then leave them in the waiting rooms of
local pediatrician/family medicine practices and clinics. Encourage all
school parents to do this.

s. Create or rejuvenate your Parent Ambassador Program for assisting with
the admissions program and mentoring new families into the school community.

4. The need to build the strongest school community possible:

In great schools, new administrators and members of the faculty are chosen
according to the fit between their values and the schools, as well as their
other skills. The most qualified person who is neither an expert in
Montessori education, nor truly committed to Montessori in his or her heart,
will fail to succeed for long as the leader or an instructor at a Montessori
school. To us, this should be self-evident.

a. Full Staff retreat before school - Everyone who works at your school
should be considered part of the faculty from the classroom teachers to the
bus driver to the head of school. Each touches children and families in some
way as they go about their daily tasks. Many of the staff who are not
directly teaching children during the regular school day have talents and
skills which can be shared either in an afternoon studio program or as part
of children’s individual research and classroom projects. For example: the
maintenance person may be able to give older students practical life lessons
about the campus, or the receptionist may be a talented basket weaver who
can lead a studio after school on basket weaving.

b. Weekly faculty meetings - Open discussions about philosophy, curriculum
and celebrations, run according to the basis of Montessori Meetings, where
faculty can get back to being excited about all that a Montessori school can
offer and be.

c. Coffee Chats - Meetings with small groups of parents to answer questions,
to discuss Montessori and to exchange ideas for the school now and in the
future.

d. Class and Community Meetings - Evening and Saturday meetings for staff
and parents to meet about common questions and ideas about school life as
well as curriculum.

e. One-on-One or small group meetings with parents - informal small group
lunches with parents.

Tim Seldin

Sharon's ground rules

I'm going to open a can of worms right at the outset with this one.

I know many classes have lists of "ground rules" - some very short and some
very long. I'm going to suggest that we look at an alternative to rules.
(or, at least, if you are going to have rules, then arrive at them
differently).

Rules are the way one person (big, powerful) tells another person (small and
without power) how to behave. In democracies then the majority tell everyone
else what they should do (either directly or through elected
representatives). Where there are rules, the mandated behaviour is enforced
- usually through fear of punishment. When you have rules you need to
enforce them or they are meaningless.

Dr. Montessori's approach is fundamentally different on all levels. While
she clearly felt that dangerous or disruptive behaviour should be stopped,
this is not because someone is breaking some rule (and has either forgotten
or disregarded the rule) but because the child moves towards pro-social
behaviour through a process of development of the will (and observing worthy
models). If we assume that a child who has not yet developed his will cannot
obey (thus the rules, in a sense, are just setting him up for failure) and
that a child who has normalized will behave with care and consideration
regardless of the rules, the rules are in a sense "impediments" to a child's
development. [I am talking about the first plane of development here.] If
you have rules, everyone will focus on the rules - but if you focus on the
child, and leading the children toward concentration then everything else
follows and you don't need rules - caring, compassion, kindness cannot be
legislated.

On the second plane all of this becomes more conscious and deliberate and
there is a fascination with rules - the child becomes interested in the
details of how these things fit together and should be involved in the
process of making rules - and constantly changing them - to meet the
changing needs of the group. But in this case it is the dialogue and process
of understanding how humans inter-related that is more important than the
rules themselves.

Sharon Caldwell

Not today.

Sigh. I have a new template. I want to upload it. I forgot one key step. I need to go copy all the widgets and stuff first. And my husband wants my help so fixing links won't work either...

Another day.