Montessori Programs in Public Schools
John Chattin-McNichols
Maria Montessori founded the first Montessori school in Rome in 1907. It
served 4- to 7-year-olds from low-income families in full-day program.
Montessori schools grew in number in Europe and India, and there was a
great deal of U.S. interest in Montessori's methods from 1910 to 1920.
After this time, Montessori methods were all but forgotten in the U.S.
until the late 1950s. Then, a second Montessori movement began in the U.S.,
with a set of private schools serving an almost entirely middle-class population.
A teacher shortage resulted in the opening of private Montessori teacher
training centers that were typically free-standing, that is, not associated
with a college or university. In the late 1960s, parents in several school
districts began to agitate for public school to offer the Montessori model
for their elementary school children who had graduated from private Montessori
preschools. This push was given a boost by the availability of federal
funds for magnet programs. Today, more that 100 U.S. school districts have
some type of Montessori program (Kahn, 1991).
From the beginning, the name Montessori has been in the public domain
in the U.S. As a consequence, both schools and teacher education programs
have proliferated without regulations or restrictions. Fortunately, many
Montessori teacher education courses have some community college, college,
or university affiliation, and some offer Master of Education degrees with
the Montessori Program.
Some elementary schools have used the name Montessori to refer to programs
that have little relation to the schools Montessori described. Many people
rely on a school's affiliation with the Association Montessori International
(AMI) or the American Montessori Society (AMS) to determine weather the
school's program actually uses Montessori methods. But the majority of
the public schools have not chosen to affiliate with either organization,
usually citing financial restrictions.
Characteristics of Elementary Montessori Classes
Montessori class are made up of children in a three-year age range; preschools
have 2- and 4-years-olds and kindergartners; elementary classes have first,
seconds, and third graders, and so on.
Montessori materials are designed for use by individual students or
small groups, rather than as teachers presentation aides. In math, materials
represent math concepts, such as fractions and decimals. In geography,
students work with puzzle maps, in which each continent has been made into
a puzzle, the pieces of which are countries.
The most important criterion for an elementary Montessori class in student
activity. For 3-4 hours a day, students engage in individual and small
group work on their choice. These choices are, of course, guided by the
teacher. Students also receive instruction individually or in small groups.
Classes that spend over an hour a day in whole group instruction are departing
from the Montessori model.
Another important aspect of Montessori classes in an attitude of cooperation
rather than competition. It is common for students to as other students
for help. In keeping with a reduced emphasis on conventional testing, answers
to problems are made available to students. Although public Montessori
schools comply with requirements for achievements tests, many Montessorians
see these tests as being irrelevant to much of what students learn.
Finally, the development of individual responsibility in emphasized.
The children maintain the classroom and materials, and participate in developing
class rules.
Montessori Programs in Public Schools
A survey conducted by the author in 1981 collected data from 25 of the
approximately 50 school districts known to have Montessori programs at
the item (Chattin-McNichols, 1981). The only other study of public Montessori
programs is much more recent. During school year 1990-91, this study received
responded from 63 of the 120 school districts or schools to whom surveys
were sent (Michlesen and Cummings, 1991). Results from this study indicate
that the number of students in the schools or school districts averaged
233, with an average of 10 teachers per program. A total of 32, or 58%,
of the schools surveyed reported that they were magnet schools. A total
of 69% of the Montessori programs shared building with other programs.
District funding for the training of Montessori teachers was provided in
66% of the districts. Only 42% of the programs provided the three-year
ago span of three-, four-, and five-year-olds. This is indicative of the
fact that the degree to which particular districts implement the Montessori
model varies.
A total of 16 of the 57 schools charged tuition for some part of the
program. About two thirds of the programs provided free transportation.
In addition, two thirds of the districts reported that additional staff
were used in the Montessori magnet schools. These factors can add to the
overall costs of the program.
Admission Criteria
One problem related to public schoolsÕ implementation of Montessori
programs in admission criteria. Should children be admitted to elementary
Montessori classes based on whether they have had Montessori preschool
experience? Montessori classes work very differently depending on the percentage
of children with Montessori experience. Some children without Montessori
preschool experience adapt easily to expectations in Montessori elementary
class and some do not. When children who cannot work independently are
in the minority, the teacher can focus attention, use older children as
tutors, and so on. When these group makes up the majority of the class,
Montessori practices involving free choice for major portions of the day
are hard to implement, at least early in the school year.
But public school programs' restriction of enrollment to those whose
families were able to afford private Montessori preschool poses and equity
problem. District-sponsored or reduced-tuition preschool classes solve
the problem, but such classes are not part of all public Montessori programs.
School districts use many admission criteria; it's not clear that any of
them are entirely satisfactory. In 1991, admissions process were divided
almost evenly between lottery, first come-first served, and other processes,
such as geographic location and screening. About two thirds of the districts
in the 1991 survey gave enrollment priority to a student if a sibling was
already enrolled.
Scarcity of Teachers
The biggest problem in starting and maintain a public school Montessori
program may be the lack of qualified Montessori elementary teachers. Teachers
in public programs much have both state teacher certification and Montessori
elementary school teacher training. This means that a state-certified teacher
takes a year, or at least a summer, to study Montessori, or that a Montessori
elementary teacher take a year off to go to a university to become a state-certified
teacher. In either case, the teacher pay twice, and sits through at least
some content a second time. Thus, even with higher salaries and more benefits
that private schools, it is often difficult for public school programs
to fill positions. As a result, some teachers work in Montessori programs
without the combination of elementary Montessori certification and state
credentials.
Montessori: A Popular and Successful Alternative
In spite of these difficulties with implementation, research indicate that
Montessori is a popular alternative to traditional public school education
and is successful in terms of achievement. Many successful magnet programs
in the public schools have been able to integrate state education requirements
and Montessori requirements. By and large, Montessori programs are successful
magnet in attracting and education students, as shown by achievement test
data (Duax, 1989).
For More Information:
One source of up-to-date information of public school Montessori programs
is the Montessori Public Schools Handbook 1991, which comes form a new
resource group called the Montessori Public Schools Consortium. It can
be reached at the NAMTA address given below. A second source is the Public
School Montessori newsletter, which is published by Jola Publications,
Box 8354, Minneapolis, MN 55408.
Other sources:
Chattin-McNichols, J. "The effects of Montessori School Experience." Young
Children 36 (1981): 49-66. EJ 247638.
Chattin-McNichols, J. "The Montessori Controversy." Albany, NY: Delmar,
1992.
Duax, T. "Preliminary Report on the Education Effectiveness of a Montessori
School in the Public Sector." North American Montessori Teacher's Quarterly
14 (1989): 55-62.
Kahn, D. Montessori Public School Handbook 1991. Available from The
Consortium/NAMTA (See address below)
Michlesen, P., and Cummungs, L. Survey Results: Public Montessori School
Survey, 1990-1991. Distributed by the Rockford Public Montessori School
parents group. Contact: Julie Lanthrop School, Rockford School District,
2603 Clover Ave., Rockford, IL 61102.
Addresses:
American Montessori Society, 281 Park Avenue South, New York, NY 10011.
Association Montessori Internationale, Koningisnewe 161, 0175 CN, Amsterdam,
The Netherlands.
NAMTA, 11424 Bellflower Rd. NE, Cleveland, OH 44106.
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