The entrace process in montessori schools

[davidsmom184]

I know that there's no entrance exam. Does the directress interview the parents and kids?  Can prospective parents get tours? I'd appreciate any infomation or tips.

[sbarr_NY]

Hi - having just gone through the process, I can speak for what happened with us,   Tours are invaluable, especially during the school hours so you can see the program in action.

I started with a lengthy tour with admissions director, then we attended an open house and lastly, my daughter was evaluated by a teacher yesterday (she's 2 1/2 - for January admission).  No interview, per se - but for my little one, she was brought into a primary room, introduced to some of the activities, observed on following instructions, etc. - in our case, she was not accepted for January admission (she would have been 2y9m) - they felt she was very age-appropriate for a 2 1/2 year old, but this was a room with many activities laid out - and she would have probably been a bit overwhelmed by flitting between activities and being corrected by the other children.  They've said she's a great match for September/

The sticky for this forum has some great information on what to look for in a Montessori school

[physmom]

At DD's soon-to-be school we just called and talked to the director for a long time.  Interviewing/touring won't be possible because we'll be coming from abroad but they have a really flexible payment policy (we need to put down a deposit, which goes toward paying the first month after that we pay monthly so if it doesn't work out we're only there for a month).  It's a small school in a area that tends to be very "old school" in terms of academics so I also don't think there is a ridiculously huge demand for the school itself (unfortunate because it looks great!).  There seems to be a bigger demand for very competitive academic schools instead.

[davidsmom184]

would an almost three year old, who doesn't talk at age level, be accepted or be a good fit?

[freestylemama]

I can't imagine that being an issue.  DD has classmates who are older than her but don't talk as well.  I think that the beauty if Montessori is that it really is tailored for each kid's abilities and interests once they get the initial structure. 

[Shanny2032]

Obviously it really depends on the school but anywhere that did not give tours and let you observe during school hours would be a huge red flag for me.  Some schools have family "interviews" some observe the children and some do neither.  Of the 2 that we are applying to the first does a family interview and the second will only do an assessment with my daughter because she is younger than 3 (2 years 9 months at the time of admission).  The first has an application fee of $150 and the second does not have one at all.  Guess which one I like better :)

[lach]

Originally Posted by davidsmom184 

would an almost three year old, who doesn't talk at age level, be accepted or be a good fit?

It depends on the school, but at the school DD attended last year, I know of two kids out of the 14 who received EI services for speech delays.  One of them had a speech therapist who came into the school and worked with him there for a few hours a week.  I know this just from talking to the parents, so there might have even been more and it just never came up in conversations with their parents.

At both schools we've applied to, there was a tour and parent interview, and a class observation (I think that most Montessori schools take the observation very seriously, since M classooms are so unique.  They want you to know what you're signing up for!), and then DD went in for a half hour or so to participate in the class.

[EmilyG]

I would think it'd depend on the school, at DD's school we went in and met the director and DD played in a classroom while we talked.  We toured the school and the playground, but that was all.

I don't think being nonverbal  would be an issue, at least at the school my dd attends, with the multi-age classrooms there are kids at all different levels, and I'm pretty sure there are some kids in my dd's class who don't talk much.

[Sillygoose]

Our school did a lengthy tour with the school admin person (lovely woman, friendly and welcoming, but not Montessori trained), and then when we were interested in going forward, we paid the application fee and had an interview (without our child) with the school director. Their questions were in part about our child, and in part about our family life, our expectations for her education, our ideas about discipline etc..  Basically, they wanted to know that they were getting a child whose parents would be pleased by Montessori's goals and methods, and whose home life would support the education method.  After the interview, they did a short classroom visit (our child visited the classroom), and then a longer visit (at this point we were accepted I think, and this was part of the transition process).

[pregnant@40]

When we applied to a Montessori school years ago, the fact that I read Maria Montessori's books & was able to discuss them on the application form made all the difference for enrollment. Schools want motivated/engaged parents who embrace the system.

[nanette0269]

Any primary aged child (except those with noted disabilities) should be accepted if room permits.  The older the child, the more the school will scrutinize to ensure that the child's personality doesnt conflict with the rhythm of the classrooms.

Our school has a "follow the child" night where prospective parents can visit each "grade" to see how the prior classroom builds upon the next level.

There are also interviews with the directress (typically, at younger ages, the parents are interviewing the school, rather than the other way around).  There are tours and "sit ins" where you can see a class during a work cycle.

There is also a "silent journey" which caters more to new families already in the school, but available for families interested in the school.  This is 4 hours one night, and 5 hours the next day where they teach the parents more about the philosophy and who they instill it in their classrooms. 

The office also has a lending library for potential/current parents to borrow books on montessori.

Also good to understand how much they embrace organic foods as well as discourage "electronic" medium.  This will help you udnerstand the rhythm of the school all the moreso.

Hope that helps.

[SomedayMom]

When we were looking, I met with the admissions directors at the school to talk about the school and what we were looking for.  The schools did want to know that the families understood Montessori and really wanted that for their children.  After that, my son did a couple of half day visits so that we could find out how he'd do there.  Then we enrolled.

It was very different from the non Montessori private schools I looked at that wanted to do IQ tests, etc.  IME Montessori schools really do believe that every child can thrive in Montessori and they just wanted to make sure that the family would be happy there.