Public Montessori Education Dr Lindsey Pollock Principal Houston

Public Montessori Education Dr. Lindsey Pollock, Principal Houston Independent School District Garden Oaks Montessori with an emphasis on Environmental Sciences

Thanks to Donda Slaydon for encouraging this project and topic for today’s presentation!

Garden Oaks Montessori Video Clip

Garden Oaks Montessori Public neighborhood school - 1942 69% free and reduced lunch 65% Hispanic, 10% African-American, 22% White and 3% Asian 98% average daily attendance 696 students – (PK 3 – 7 th, adding 8 th grade) 27 Montessori (9 Children’s House, 11 Lower Elementary, 6 Upper Elementary and 1 MS) 2 Traditional classrooms + PALS/PSI Parents send their very best!

Montessori/GT Connections Provides daily challenges Opportunities to work independently Subject and grade-based acceleration Differentiation Content, process, product, learning environment Advanced level work Flexible grouping No grades – emphasis on personal best

Who was Maria Montessori? Italian Only child (1870 – 1952) Engineer first, then studied medicine Single mother (son, Mario) Physician – first woman to qualify “… they know intuitively when someone really cares about them. … It is only the upper classes that have a prejudice against women leading a useful existence. ” [1]

Dr. Maria Montessori Casa de Bambini - 1907 Nomad – Advocate for children Nobel Peace Prize 3 time nominee Died in the Netherlands “The subject of our study is humanity; our purpose is to become teachers. Now, what really makes a teacher is love for the human child; for it is love that transforms the social duty of the educator into the higher consciousness of a mission”[2].

What is Montessori education? System of education and a philosophy of life Found worldwide – 100+ years old Focus on emotional, intellectual and developmental mind/body connections Profound respect for individual child Belief that learning is innate Internal locus of control Environments in which children are self-directed learners and collaborate with others

What is Montessori education? Hands-on, inquiry-based Multi-age classrooms Children’s house Lower Elementary Upper Elementary Middle School Individual Work Plans – personalized, differentiated Peace Education – personal, community, global Cosmic Education

Great Lessons 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. God with No Hands – Laws of Nature Coming of Life – Progression and adaptation of life on Earth Coming of the Human Being – Power to reason and think and the power of the will to choose the good of others and serve Story of Communication in signs – Power of Language of communication Story of Numbers – Language of Invention ----Miller, 2006

GT Connections Cosmic Education – perceptions and choices Service to others – community in classroom, at school and away from school Academic language – language of the disciplines Cosmic potential – who am I? what is my purpose to self and others? Interdisciplinary – multi-cultural Perseverance (grit) No grades – emphasis on personal best

Children’s House Sensitive period 3 yr – 6 yr (PK 3 – Kinder) Constructivist – the hand is the chief teacher of the child Students work independently on individualized tasks and with other students Normalized classrooms are buzzing with activity Development of concentration, coordination and working habits

Lower Elementary 1 st, 2 nd, and 3 rd grade Social Relationships Sense of wonder in how the world works – growing awareness of roles and responsibilities Use of tools and machines – purpose Instruction is a living thing as children explore real-life application of learning Interdisciplinary connections Reading and math

Upper Elementary 4 th, 5 th and 6 th grade Justice and morality Human culture and membership in the human family Sense of how the world works and where they belong in the world

Middle School 7 th and 8 th grade

Competing Demands Data-driven accountability PK Assessment TPRI/Tejas Lee Stanford/Aprenda State of Texas Assessment of Academic Readiness Naglieri Non-verbal Abilities Test (NNAT) Grades Competition

GT Connections Brain-based – whole-child Interdisciplinary Connections Creativity – igniting a child’s sense of discovery and imagination 21 st Century Learning skills Cultural connections – values all people Differentiated, individualized

GT Connections Follow the child Follow nature Listen to the universe through you advocate for equity and justice

Essential Elements Montessori Teachers Administration Recruitment/Parent Education Curriculum and Environment Assessment Professional Development This document was drafted and endorsed in the late 1990 s by several Montessori organizations* wishing to help guide the growth of public school Montessori. *The American Montessori Society, the Association Montessori Internationale, the North American Montessori Teachers’ Association, Montessori Educational Programs International, and the Southwestern Montessori Training Center

Video Clip Garden Oaks Montessori www. houstonisd. org

American Montessori Society http: //www. public-montessori. org/resources-library Bangel, N. Moon, S. & Capobianco, B. (2010, Summer). Preservice teacher’s perceptions and experiences in a gifted training model. The Gifted Child Quarterly, 54(3), 209 -221. Gordon, C. (2007). Together with Montessori: The guide to help Montessori teachers, assistant teachers, resource teachers, administrators & parents work in harmony to create great schools. Minneapolis, MN: Jola Publications. Haines, A. , Baker, K. & Kahn, D. (2006). Optimal developmental outcomes: The social, moral, cognitive and emotional dimensions of a Montessori education. Retrieved from: http: //amshq. org/ Hertberg-Davis, H. (2009, Fall). Myth 7: Differentiation in the regular classroom is equivalent to gifted programs and is sufficient. The Gifted Child Quarterly, 53(4), 251 -253 Kaplan, S. (2007, Summer). Differentiation: Asset or liability for gifted education? Gifted Child Today, 30 (3), 23 Lillard, A. (2007). The Science Behind the Genius. New York, NY: Oxford Press Lillard, A. & Else-Quest, N. (2006). Evaluating Montessori education. Science, 31, 1893 -94 Mendoza, C. (2006, Fall). Inside today’s classrooms: Teacher voices on No Child Left Behind and the education of gifted children. Roeper Review, 29(1), 28 -31

Love to hear from you! Lindsey Pollock, LMSW, Ed. D. Garden Oaks Montessori – Houston ISD 901 Sue Barnett Houston, TX 77018 (713) 696 -2930 office (713) 822 -2274 cellular lpollock@houstonisd. org

My background Private and public school background Educational perspectives LMSW –Licensed Master’s in Social Work M. Ed. – Educational Leadership M. Ed – Montessori Integrative Learning Ed. D. – Educational Leadership Montessori found me (again) - GO Federal grant application - MSAP Transition to an all-campus Montessori Magnet Fidelity to Montessori in a public setting