Info About Montessori Schools

Hi K.,
I think you replied to my posting (I'm a stay at home Mom available for child care) but my posting was removed because it wasn't formed as a request! Oops! Anyway, I teach Montessori methods to my 23 month old and we both love it. You are right that the method first came about when Martha M. worked with children with disabilities. I think that any school who refuses to work with children who MIGHT have learning challenges is simply not confident in its teachers or its methods! I wouldn't think about sending them to that particular one, but I'd keep looking. I say 'might' because some learning challenges/disabilities are completely misdiagnosed. I might add that I also teach these methods to a 2 1/2 year old boy who cannot sit still for the life of him. His attention span in front of his parents is negligible. When I implemented the Montessori methods here at home, he sat down and worked on a painting for 45 minutes. Good luck!!

I am starting a part time subing position in a Montessori Charter school here. While I was in college I had a 10 hour observation assignment with the special needs department in that school. I personally felt it was a wonderful program for all the students. They did seem to discourage students with extreme disabilities, because they didn't have apropriate rescources for some of them. Other than that the school is very inclusionary, for LD, ADD, ADHD,and other special needs. The ex ed teacher I was with talked with the teachers to find what the students needed help with and she worked one on one with some students and in small groups with some students. When the students were having trouble with certain subjects, she would work with them on improving the specific subject area. There was one child in one of the higher grades that was having behavior problems. He had been sent to office for the ??? time and they were talking about sending him home. The teacher I was with sat down with the rest of the special needs department to discuss other options to help him, since they knew sending him home would not help. It was very interesting being included in the discussion, and they really seemed to have his interests at heart.

My son has been going to Maitland Montessori for 7 years. I am very happy with the school. My son has academically excelled beyond my expectations. There are a couple of children with Aspergers at his school and I know of at least one child with learning disabilities. They are very accomodating to these children and they seem to be thriving in the Montessori environment. The issue seems to be whether or not the child is able to function appropriately in a Montessori environment: i.e., can he or she work independently without disrupting the classroom? If so, then Montessori should be a good choice. I suggest you call the school and speak to the director about your child's specific disability to see if he or she would be a good fit.

I do know that certain Montessori schools hire very well trained teachers. Inquire about there support system and adaptations for LD.
Pam

Hi K.,

I currently have 3 of my kids at a Montessori school. My oldest is now in the 5th grade and has been there for most of her school years. She and my 8 year old have no learning disabilities, but our 6 year old does have a developmental delay. He gets services from Orange Co. schools for speech and behavioral therapy, so both schools work with Alex on his needs and progress. There are some other children that go there either as full-time students or get tutoring that have some learning disability. Most of the students don't have a learning disability, but when necessary do get one on one help. Students learn at their pace and level and are challenged to the best of their abilities. Alex could not read at the beginning of this school year and is doing very well in reading and spelling now. On the other end of the spectrum, the 8 year old is reading almost on a 5th grade level. The school is Beeman Park Prep, located near Leu Gardens off Corine Drive, not far from Baldwin Park. You can always call with any questions, Jeanne Smith is the principal.

"Montessori" is a philospophy which schools adopt-- beyond that, each school does whatever they want, so it would be up to a particular director to decide how to handle ANY type of disability, not up to the montessori philosophy, so break out the yellow pages and start calling around. Be sure to be specific about the disability. As a parent who sent 2 of her kids to 2 years of Montessori, my concern for you is the teachers may be well versed in Motessori training and "accepting" of learning disaled children, but without training in LDs, they may not know what to do to give your child the best learning experiences. With the age of your children (4 and 2, right?) I'd be more focused on the social ineraction for now and deal with the learning challenges once they hit kindergarten-- at that time I'd seek out a public school with a program for the type of learning challenges your child(ren) has/have

I like the fundamental idea behind the Montessori Schools teaching. The problem is you have to find a great one. I have had my children in 3 different ones. I had a great one before we moved. My oldest child was learning to read & speak spanish by 4 years old. By the time 2nd grade came around & I moved & needed to find another, I found some real bad ones. I would pop into class to find my child playing in a group with other children, doing puzzles and stuff all the time. He would tell me that the children & him were playing frisbee with the pieces & he never did seems to have anything to tell me about what he learned that day. Unlike our other school, where he always had something to tell us. I removed him after 11 weeks from 1 and 10 weeks from another. I have not found another good one in my area. So we are back to public school. So I guess what I am trying to say is, check them out, go sit in on classes, see what the teachers role is & how much supervision to the learning the teacher is offering. My child is also has a disability, he has a gifted IQ with motor skill delay. So he can not get information out of his head like he thinks it. He needs more time and coaxing from the teachers. I found it very helpfull to have him in Montessori. You should try to find a good one.

Hi K.,

I worked in a montesori school in Jax. First so that you know, I have a learning disability. It was very organized, (which for ld students is a godsend) it teaches the children to be a bit more self sufficient, and I think the philosophy preps the kids for school. I wish you good luck!!! Jen

I have a daughter in a montessori daycare center in Port Orange, FL. She is 4 years old and has been in the same daycare for over two years. I have seen nothing but great things from that school. I have a 10 year old with 2 learning disabilities and they were willing to help him out as well. I would say give it a try.

K., my son is in a Montessori program and has done very well in that environment. I don't know if they accept children with learning disabilities; your best bet would be to call a school and speak with the director. If you are in the Boca area I can recommend Children's Learning Center. Their number is ###-###-####. Ask for Louise Terzian; she's the director. Good luck!

Why don't you contact Maitland Montessori?http://www.maitlandmontessori.org/ The best way to find out is to start calling on some schools. If they don't allow kids with learning disabilities maybe they can refer you to another school that does.