Our Mission
Community Montessori's mission is to provide affordable, fully-implemented Montessori education and child care to an intentionally diverse group of families in ways that promote social and environmental responsibility.
Fully-implemented Montessori
We provide children and families with a complete educational experience as pioneered by Dr. Maria Montessori. In honor of Dr. Maria Montessori’s legacy of empiricism and scientific scrutiny, the school uses current educational research to inform programming choices. We will also seek recognition from Association Montessori Internationale (AMI). Dr. Maria Montessori established AMI in 1929 to protect the integrity of her work and to support high standards for both teacher training and schools. In seeking AMI recognition, we plan to reach the following programming goals:
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The school schedule will be built around uninterrupted classroom work periods of approximately three hours, five mornings and four afternoons each full school week.
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Each classroom will be led by one individual who holds an AMI teaching credential at the appropriate level and will be furnished with a complete set of Montessori materials as outlined in AMI teacher training.
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Each classroom will be a mixed-age learning community, starting with ages 2.5-6.
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All students will be given an individually appropriate level of freedom to choose work within the structure provided by the Montessori materials, lessons, and project choices provided in each classroom.
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All students will be given the opportunity to complete school work while at school. Students will be encouraged to contribute to their family, pursue their own interests, and rest while not at school.
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All students will be assessed through adult observation of their work at school; neither testing nor grades will be used as instructional strategy. Standardized testing will be very limited and will only be used to assess overall program success or with the consent of appropriate adult family members in the service of meeting the needs of children or families in unique circumstances.
Intentional Diversity
Our community recognizes the benefits that a diverse, desegregated, and equitable educational institution brings to all students in becoming engaged global citizens. We also recognize privilege, bias, and social injustice as it exists in our educational systems and seek to overcome these obstacles through our work as a school. We strive to make CMC accessible and welcoming to all that wish to contribute to the school community. This will start with the recruitment of a diverse staff, leadership, and board. Extended hours of care, food, transportation, and other wrap-around programs at CMC will be designed to support the needs of all families in the neighborhoods surrounding the school. The enrollment process will be accessible and transparent while outreach to communities of diverse backgrounds will be ongoing. The Directors will seek out and offer support to families in using all available public sources of funding for child care and education. Fees charged to each family will be set using a sliding scale where fees are dependent on reported family size and financial circumstances. Any family may waive use of our sliding-scale fee schedule through payment of the published maximum fees.
Social Responsibility
Community Montessori will strive to support educational, economic, and social equity in the wider Columbus community. No child, family, or staff will be excluded or treated as less valuable because of their race, ethnicity, national origin, language, religion, gender identity, sexual orientation, or economic class. Students and staff will engage in ongoing anti-bias and anti-racism education. Multiculturalism, as practiced at the school, will move beyond the superficial exploration of “foods, fashions, and festivals” and be defined by amplifying the experiences and perspectives of marginalized individuals and groups. The creation of and participation in systems of segregation, exclusion, and oppression, both historical and current, will be honestly addressed while seeking paths to equity and peace. Strong traditions of community service and engagement will be continually cultivated.
Environmental Responsibility
Scientific consensus on the ways in which human behavior impact our habitat and the Earth as a whole will be addressed in an honest, age-appropriate manner. Community Montessori will model operating in the most sustainable ways possible and, in so doing, build an awareness of sustainability issues in staff, children, and families. An alternative culture of consumption will be built around environmental stewardship and the values of reducing, reusing, and recycling. Skills around composting, organic gardening, the preparation of healthy foods, repurposing, repairing, doing with less, and doing without will be valued and shared. The school will prioritize reducing energy and resource use while seeking out sources of renewable energy. The use of materials that are safer for the environment and humans will guide purchasing decisions. Time outdoors and access to natural outdoor space will be prioritized for all students. Community Montessori will also strive to source and provide healthy, more sustainable food.
