Montessori del Mundo - Colorado Charter School Institute

Transcription

Charter School Application for
Charter School Institute
August 22nd, 2012
Submitted by:
Karen Farquharson, School Founder
Montessori del Mundo Board of Directors
Montessori del Mundo Design Team
1
August 22nd, 2012
Dear Members of the Board of Directors of CSI,
It is with great pleasure that we submit this charter school application for Montessori del Mundo, a dual
language Montessori charter school for the children of Aurora. Enclosed you will find our complete
application as well as appendices.
Montessori del Mundo (MdM) plans to serve students in ECE-6th grade with a linguistically appropriate,
rigorous, and individualized education. We plan to attract a student population that is approximately
one half native Spanish speaking and one half native English speaking, with space included for speakers
of other languages. The goal of our program is that all of these students will graduate performing on or
above grade level in both English and Spanish regardless of their home language when they enter the
program. MdM plans to open in the fall of 2013 with grades ECE-1st and expand one grade level each
year until we reach our full implementation in the 2018-2019 school year.
While Aurora Public Schools offers many varied educational options, there are currently no public
Montessori school options. Many families enjoy the Language Immersion program at Global Village
Academy and there is evident demand and interest for a dual language program in Aurora. Montessori
del Mundo would like to work with the Charter School Institute (CSI) and Aurora Public Schools (APS) to
offer this unique educational opportunity to parents in the form of a CSI Charter school.
Montessori del Mundo is considering locating either in Original Aurora or more centrally in the district
along Chambers Blvd between Colfax and Mississippi. Both of these areas were identified as being
overcrowded and in need of additional elementary school space, and both have the diverse population
that we are hoping to attract to our school.
We therefore respectfully submit for your consideration, this application for a 5 year charter to operate
a CSI charter school.
Please feel free to contact me should you have any questions or should you desire any additional
information about our school proposal and program.
Thank you for your consideration!
Karen Farquharson
School Founder
Montessori del Mundo
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Contents
Information Form ..............................................................................................................................4
Executive Summary............................................................................................................................7
Vision and Mission ........................................................................................................................... 15
School Achievement Goals ............................................................................................................... 27
Evidence of Support ......................................................................................................................... 34
Educational Program: Philosophy .................................................................................................... 48
Education Program: Curriculum ........................................................................................................ 65
Educational Program: Instruction .................................................................................................... 74
Education Program: Special Programs............................................................................................... 87
Education Program: Calendar and Daily Schedule ............................................................................. 92
Education Program: Professional Development .............................................................................. 105
Plan for Evaluating Student Performance........................................................................................ 111
Budget and Finance........................................................................................................................ 121
Governance ................................................................................................................................... 135
Employees ..................................................................................................................................... 147
Insurance ....................................................................................................................................... 157
Parent and Community Involvement .............................................................................................. 158
Enrollment Policy ........................................................................................................................... 162
Transportation ............................................................................................................................... 167
Food Services ................................................................................................................................. 168
Facilities Plan ................................................................................................................................. 169
Waivers ......................................................................................................................................... 181
Student Discipline .......................................................................................................................... 191
Serving Students with Special Needs .............................................................................................. 197
Serving Second Language Learners ................................................................................................. 207
Dispute Resolution......................................................................................................................... 221
School Management Organizations ................................................................................................ 222
Application Components Checklist.................................................................................................. 223
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Information Form
4
5
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Executive Summary
Montessori del Mundo (MdM) will serve students in grades ECE-6 and will open in August of 2013. MdM
will use the Montessori teaching philosophy and curriculum in combination with a Two-Way 90/10 Dual
Language model to serve a diverse student population in Aurora, Colorado.
Our Mission:
The mission of Montessori del Mundo is to prepare all students for success in college and the future
bilingual workforce and to build a strong, educated, bilingual community.
Our Vision:
Montessori del Mundo graduates will be bilingual, self-motivated, critical thinkers, with a love of
learning, who will shape and advance the integrated communities of the 21st century.
We believe that children are strong, intelligent, kind, and motivated. Every interaction a Montessori del
Mundo educator has with a student is one in which the student is considered a capable person with
worthy ideas. We believe that all students benefit from a bilingual education, and that children deserve
an education that is personalized to meet their individual needs. We also believe that strong
communities are diverse and integrated. At Montessori del Mundo, we will prepare our students for the
future bilingual workforce by implementing the Montessori philosophy and curriculum within a TwoWay 90/10 Dual Language model, with the goal of bilingualism and bi-literacy for all students. We will
ensure student success by meeting not only children’s linguistic needs through the dual language
program, but also their developmental, emotional, and academic needs through the Montessori
philosophy. Montessori del Mundo will be the center of an increasingly integrated, strong, bilingual
community in Aurora.
Core Values:
In order to accomplish our mission and realize our vision to prepare students for success in college and
the bilingual workforce, and to build a strong bilingual community, we commit to:






Challenge every child every day
Promote professional Spanish
Cultivate a bilingual school community
Invest in families
Insist on equity
Develop a team of educated, prepared, effective teachers
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Montessori:
The Montessori philosophy and curriculum were developed in the early 20th century by Maria
Montessori. Her initial class of children was made up of residents from a tenement housing complex in
Rome. The Montessori Method has been implemented with success world-wide over the past century
and emphasizes individualized instruction for all children, choice and responsibility within limits, multiage classrooms, peer to peer learning, and developmentally appropriate scaffolded instruction. A
successful Montessori program is built around an extended differentiated work time designed to build
concentration and self-regulating skills while also helping each child to meet and exceed academic
standards. The relationships between the members of a Montessori community are predicated on the
belief that children are worthy, capable beings that are no less
intelligent than the adults within the community. Children simply
Key Components of Montessori:
lack experience and need our guidance and limits. Montessori
 individualized instruction
classrooms are carefully prepared environments constructed to
 choice and responsibility
challenge every child every day, while also helping each child to grow
within limits
into an involved, intelligent, life-long learner, and a responsible
 multi-age classrooms
caring citizen of the wider world.1
 peer to peer learning
 developmentally appropriate
A key component of Montessori education is extended work time in
scaffolded instruction
the prepared Montessori environment. The students in this
environment are introduced to new concepts and skills during
individual or small group lessons with the teacher. They practice these skills in order to master them
within a reasonable time period, while also learning how to set their own short and long term
educational goals with the help of their teacher. This individualized pacing provides the time needed to
further differentiate the instruction and to follow the student’s interests and talents. The individualized
attention afforded to children in the Montessori classrooms allows them to take full advantage of their
time to internalize skills and knowledge more completely while also learning how to learn.2
In the US, Montessori education is highly sought after and is found most often in the private sector,
pricing it out of reach for most middle and low-income families. However, in recent years there has been
a movement to bring the Montessori philosophy back to the at-risk children for whom it was designed
through public Montessori programs.3
Colorado boasts many public Montessori schools including four in Jefferson County and six in the Denver
Public Schools (DPS). However Aurora currently only has one small private Montessori preschool and
does not offer public Montessori school for any grade level. The Montessori del Mundo team would like
1
Lillard, A. (2005). Montessori; The Science Behind the Genius. New York: Oxford University Press.
Lillard, P.P. (1996). Montessori Today: A comprehensive approach to education from birth to adulthood. New York, NY:
Random House Inc.
2
3
Harger, J. (2008). The Montessori Model in Puebla, Mexico: How One Nonprofit Is Helping Children. Montessori Life, 20(1), 2025.
Murray, A., & Peyton, V. (2008).Public Montessori Elementary Schools. Montessori Life, 20(4), 26-30.
8
to bring Montessori education to the families of Aurora in order to fulfill the need for a quality early and
elementary education choice for low and middle-income families. Every child should have the
opportunity to maximize her own potential as a member of a community built on respect for her as an
individual and as a learner. MdM will provide such an opportunity for the children of Aurora.
Dual Language:
Montessori del Mundo plans to implement a Two-Way 90/10 Dual Language Montessori model. This
uses the Montessori philosophy and curriculum while teaching students in both English and Spanish. The
90/10 Dual Language model has been proven to be the most effective method for bilingual education
with benefits for English language learner (ELL) students and native English students from all socioeconomic backgrounds.4 The goal of the our program is to graduate all students performing at or above
grade level in both languages regardless of each student’s home language when he or she entered the
program.
Two-Way refers to the population of students served at the school. MdM will target its student
recruitment to attract an applicant pool that contains an equal
mix of native Spanish and English speakers, thus language
Two-Way: a population that is half
learning at the school goes “two ways.” Students will be in mixed
English and half Spanish speaking
language groups for a majority of their instructional day and
teachers will encourage students to work collaboratively with
90/10: the % of time in Spanish vs.
cross-language partners, in this way students learn the language
English in Kindergarten
from their peers and take turns being the language teacher as
well as the language learner as they move from classes in English to classes in Spanish and vice versa. At
MdM language instruction goes two-ways, every student is learning a second language while reinforcing
their first. All students learn academic content in both Spanish and English regardless of their home
language.
90/10 refers to the amount of instructional time spent in Spanish vs. English in the early years of the
program. In Kindergarten 90% of instruction is in Spanish with 10% of instruction in English for all
students regardless of their home language. Studies have shown that additional Spanish instruction time
early in the program increases outcomes for native Spanish students as well as for native English
students.5 The following chart illustrates the amount of time children will spend in each language at
each grade level:
Grade
ECE/K
1
2
3
4-6
Spanish Instruction
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
4
English Instruction
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
Collier, V.P., & Thomas, W.P. (2009). Educating English learners for a transformed world. Albuquerque, NM: Fuente Press.
http://njrp.tamu.edu/2004/PDFs/Collier.pdf
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Standards Based Montessori Education
At Montessori del Mundo, we believe that Montessori education and Academic Standards go hand in
hand. Teachers at MdM are responsible for helping students to remove any and all barriers to learning
and for guiding children toward mastery of the Colorado State and Montessori del Mundo Standards.
Our high expectations for our students are outlined in the currently evolving Montessori del Mundo
Standards found in Appendix C, which are born out of the highest
standards found in the Colorado State, National Core, Aurora Public
MdM standards meet or
Schools, and traditional Montessori standards. The MdM Report
exceed all Colorado State,
Card, also found in Appendix C, reflects the MdM Standards and
Common Core and District
holds all students accountable to a high level of academic
Standards.
achievement.
Authentic Robust Thematic Instruction
MdM’s thematic curriculum will be designed in the spring of 2013 in accordance with best practices for
thematic instruction and dual language theory. Our thematic curriculum will glue the Montessori works,
MdM Standards, and dual language experiences together by providing an overarching context for the
students’ academic experiences. Thematic study is authentic when it
connects various components of the curriculum with real-life
A sample thematic unit and
experiences, and the students’ pre-existing knowledge. This helps each
sample vertical alignment of
child see herself as a member of a broader world, and recognize that her
thematic units are available
unique capabilities and interests can be applied to real world
in Appendix C.
investigations and problems. MdM themes also allow for maximally
differentiated learning by asking big, open-ended questions that stem from the experiences of
childhood and capture the imagination of the entire community. Solid thematic instruction produces
lasting understandings that children will still have when they walk across the stage to grab their college
diploma or take their own child by the hand to enter his first classroom. Thematic instruction
encourages students’ inherent desire to investigate the world around them while also solidifying skills
and concepts needed to succeed in other realms of academia, as well as in life. Authentic, robust
thematic instruction has been improving student performance in bilingual and monolingual
environments for decades, and remains one of the hallmarks of successful instruction in the broader
educational community.67
Our longer school day and
longer school year adds up to
an extra YEAR of school for
kids who attend from ECE-6
School Calendar and Daily Schedule
The school day at Montessori del Mundo will run from 8:30-4:00
Monday – Thursday and from 8:30-2:00 on Fridays. Teachers will have
regular professional development every Friday from 2:00-4:00. The
school will follow a modified Aurora Public School (APS) calendar which includes 180 student contact
days, giving students approximately 153 additional hours of instruction at Montessori del Mundo when
6
Lindholm-Leary, K. (2005). Review of research and best practices on effective features of dual language education programs.
Center for Applied Linguistics and the National Clearinghouse for English Language Acquisition at George Washington
University. Retrieved from: http://www.lindholm-leary.com/resources/review_research.pdf.
7
Thematic instruction: http://www.netc.org/focus/strategies/them.php/them.php.
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compared to traditional district elementary schools. We believe this additional class time, which adds up
to more than a year’s worth of instruction over each child’s career from ECE-6th grade, will make a
significant impact on student achievement.
The preschool program at Montessori del Mundo will have both full and half-day options five days a
week. The half-day will include both morning and afternoon sessions. Morning session will run from
8:30 – 11:30, and afternoon students will attend from 1:00 – 4:00. Full-day students will attend 8:30 –
4:00. Kindergarten at Montessori del Mundo will be a full day program and will include daily physical
education (PE) instruction as well as Music and Art classes.
Start up and implementation
Montessori del Mundo will open in August of 2013 with 208 students in ECE-1st grade; at full enrollment
the school will serve 444 students in ECE-6th grade. The following chart illustrates the grades served in
each academic year:
GRADE
ECE Half day
ECE Full day
K
1
2
3
4
5
6
Total # students
20132014
56
40
60
52
20142015
56
40
60
55
48
20152016
68
40
54
55
50
44
20162017
68
40
54
48
52
48
40
20172018
68
40
54
48
48
48
46
36
208
259
311
350
338
20182019
68
40
54
48
48
48
46
46
34
432
20192020
68
40
54
48
48
48
46
46
46
444
This slow implementation model has become the accepted best practice for new start-up schools.8 The
dual language model makes it difficult to integrate new students into the program at higher grade levels;
therefore our enrollment structure is designed to accommodate a certain amount of attrition. We
anticipate higher levels of attrition as the school is establishing itself and anticipate that these numbers
will even out over time.9
Preschool and Kindergarten Funding
Due to the lack of sufficient public funding sources at ECE and Kindergarten levels, MdM will charge
sliding-scale tuition for this age group (see Appendix B). We will accommodate students from all
economic levels through the generous appropriation of scholarship funds. Scholarships will be needs
based, and will be awarded to children in the order in which they are drawn from the lottery. It is our
8
Other schools using this implementation process include: Rocky Mountain Prep, University Prep, and Sims Fayola in Denver
Public Schools.
9
Enrollment and attrition calculations are based on the design team’s experience in founding schools and conversations with
Montessori school leaders in Colorado.
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sincere hope that we will be able to offer sufficient scholarships so that all children will be able to attend
our program regardless of their family’s financial situation.
Class structure
Classes will be multi-age in the following format:
Primary Classrooms: Students in ECE (ages 3 and 4) and Kindergarten
Lower Elementary Classrooms: Students in 1st-3rd grade
Upper Elementary Classrooms: Students in 4th-6th grade
Students will remain with the same teacher during their three years in each classroom. This allows
teachers to build very strong relationships with students and their families. It also establishes a lasting
classroom culture as only 1/3 of the students in a class are transitioning out of or entering the class in
any given year. This consistency effectively gains several weeks of instruction each fall that is normally
lost to assessments and learning routines and procedures.
Special Programs
Montessori del Mundo will offer classes for students in K-6th grade in Physical Education, Music and
Visual Arts. These classes will be staffed by highly qualified bilingual educators who will design
curriculum and instruction to meet the requirements of the Colorado State Standards in these subject
areas.
Staff Requirements
All teaching staff will meet the requirements needed to be considered highly qualified under the No
Child Left Behind Act. Teachers will be required to hold, or be in the process of attaining, a Montessori
Teacher’s certificate in the appropriate grade level from an accredited teacher preparation program. All
teachers must be native speakers or have native-like fluency in their language of instruction and must
maintain a level of fluency in their second language that allows them to communicate with parents and
participate in school business held in that language.
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Location and Community Support
Montessori del Mundo is still searching for a facility, but plans to locate either in Original Aurora,
(bordered by 25th Avenue and 6th Avenue on the north and south and between Peoria and Yosemite on
the east and west) or along Chambers Road between Colfax and Mississippi. Both of these
neighborhoods were identified by Aurora Public Schools as being overcrowded at the elementary level,
and were identified in our demographic analysis as having populations that would benefit from a dual
language Montessori school. Outreach efforts with local leaders and parents have demonstrated strong
support for the school. At this time, we have collected 13 letters of endorsement from local
organizations, politicians, Colorado Education Reform groups and Dual Language or Montessori leaders.
Additionally we have collected 281 intent to enroll forms signed by parents in the community with
children old enough to enroll in our school in 2013. This represents 135% of our initial class of students.
Community Need
54.3% of Aurora Public Schools students are Hispanic, and 46% are second language speakers. The
number of Spanish speaking APS students continues to grow, yet the district does not currently offer any
programs with a dual language focus in which Spanish speaking students receive native language
instruction in core academic areas while building their English proficiency. (Global Village Academy does
offer Spanish Language Immersion – but this differs from dual language in its programmatic goals and
structure.)
2011 CSAP scores in APS show a sizable achievement gap between white students and minority
students. 70.92% of white students were proficient or advanced on the 5th grade reading tests, while
only 41.33% of the ELL students scored equally well.10 Studies show that two-way 90/10 bilingual
programs like ours are the only type able to close the achievement gap for 95 - 100% of ELL students by
5th grade.11
Targeted Student Population
Montessori del Mundo aims to enroll a student population with approximately equal proportions of
native Spanish speakers and native English speakers. We anticipate serving at least 50% ELL students,
some of whom may have a home language that is neither English nor Spanish. MdM hopes to enroll
approximately 60% Free and Reduced Lunch students and anticipates that approximately 10% of its
population will require Special Education services and interventions. The majority of the students will
come from APS, many within walking distance of the school. We anticipate that a small number of
students (likely more in the initial years) may come from outside of the district.
Montessori del Mundo will enroll students through a public lottery. We intend to maintain the balance
of native language and socio-economic groups by specifically targeting our student recruitment to
under-represented groups in order to ensure an even balance in our applicant pool and therefore our
school.
10
11
CDE Schoolview: http://www.schoolview.org/schoolperformance/csapinfo.asp?Dist=0180&Sch=0&Sub=R&Grd=5&level=
http://njrp.tamu.edu/2004/PDFs/Collier.pdf.
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Governance and Leadership
Montessori del Mundo will be governed by a Board of Directors made up of seven to nine individuals
with a diverse group of skills and experiences relevant to the governance of a new charter school, and a
deep commitment to the community. The board will retain fiduciary responsibility for oversight of
finances, academic outcomes, long-term vision setting, and faithful implementation of the charter
contract.
Karen Farquharson, the school founder, will serve as the founding Head of School and Director of
Education. Karen was a founding teacher of a public dual language Montessori program at Valdez
Elementary School in Denver, and has taught for the past 5 years in a primary classroom in that
program. She was a 2011-2012 Get Smart Schools Fellow, and is a citizen of Aurora. Karen is currently
enrolled in a principal licensure program through Get Smart Schools and UCD; she will be fully licensed
by 2013. Karen started her teaching career in APS and is excited to bring the incredibly effective model
she helped implement at Valdez Elementary in DPS back to the students of her own community.
MdM anticipates hiring an Assistant Principal/Director of Operations to manage school finances and
operations starting in December of 2012.
School Founder, Karen Farquharson, reads to a group of preschoolers and kindergartners in a dual
language Montessori classroom.
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Vision and Mission
Our Mission:
The mission of Montessori del Mundo is to prepare all students for success in college and the future
bilingual workforce and to build a strong, educated, bilingual community.
Our Vision:
Montessori del Mundo graduates will be bilingual, self-motivated, critical thinkers, with a love of
learning, who will shape and advance the integrated communities of the 21st century.
We believe that children are strong, intelligent, kind, and motivated. Every interaction a Montessori del
Mundo educator has with a student is one in which the student is considered a capable person with
worthy ideas. We believe that all students benefit from a bilingual education, and that children deserve
an education that is personalized to meet their individual needs. We also believe that strong
communities are diverse and integrated. At Montessori del Mundo we will prepare our students for the
future bilingual workforce by implementing the Montessori Philosophy and Curricula within a Two-Way
90/10 Dual Language model, with the goal of bilingualism and bi-literacy for all students. We will ensure
student success by meeting not only children’s linguistic needs through the dual language program, but
also their developmental, emotional and academic needs through the Montessori philosophy.
Montessori del Mundo will be the center of an increasingly integrated, strong, bilingual community in
Aurora.
Core Values:
In order to accomplish our mission and realize our vision to prepare students for success in college and
the bilingual workforce, and build a strong bilingual community, we commit to:






Promote professional Spanish
Cultivate a bilingual school community
Invest in families
Insist on equity
Develop a team of educated, prepared, effective teachers
15
Culture Statement
Montessori del Mundo will be a place where children, parents, and teachers want to be. We will build a
strong community in which every individual is valued and accepted. It will be an environment of
collaboration, challenge, and constant growth. It will be a safe place where children and adults are
encouraged and allowed to reach their highest potential. MdM will create a community where everyone
is on a path to bilingualism, and students are developing all of the skills they will need for success in
college, their choice of career, and life. A description of a typical day for a student or teacher at
Montessori del Mundo is available in Appendix F.
Montessori del Mundo is a school in which…
Dual language methods and Montessori values are faithfully implemented:
Bilingualism is the norm:
Students and teachers conduct business, learn, and socialize in both English and Spanish, and
Spanish is valued as a legitimate language of academic discourse. Staff meetings, parent
meetings, and school assemblies are held in both English and Spanish, and translation is
regularly available for parents. School wide announcements are equally divided between English
and Spanish, and all written communication is provided in both languages. Teachers and Staff
communicate with students and each other in the target instructional language and with
parents in the parent’s language of choice.
The Montessori philosophy guides school culture and classroom instruction:
All lead classroom teachers will be Montessori certified or will be enrolled in an accredited
certification program. Their training will allow them to maximize differentiation while creating
an atmosphere in which all children are respected as capable beings with valuable ideas. As
teachers supplement and enrich the MdM curriculum, they do so in a manner that is consistent
with these ideals and classroom expectations. Care is taken with the preparation and design of
the physical environment both inside and outside, resulting in a school that is beautiful,
welcoming, functional, peaceful, and serene.
Integration is valued:
The daily schedule is organized such that the student population is integrated for the maximum
amount of time possible. Parents are encouraged to reach out to their peers across language
barriers, and opportunities are provided for them to form relationships with those from other
socio-economic, cultural, and linguistic backgrounds. Marketing and recruitment is designed to
target an enrollment of at least 40% native Spanish and 40% native English speakers in each
classroom.
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Every student is challenged every day:
Students each work at their own level in developmentally-appropriate classrooms designed to
help them each reach their full potential. Staff and teacher believe unwaveringly that all
children can be educated bilingually, and work diligently to ensure that appropriate supports are
provided for any child who is struggling academically in either language.
Students take ownership of their education:
MdM students value intrinsic rewards, and they are taught how to make smart choices to
budget their time. Students retain the instinctive love of learning native to all human beings,
and seek out new knowledge independently; they are on the path to becoming life-long
learners.
Teachers invest in families:
Teachers build lasting relationships with students and families. Family members are welcome in
the classroom as volunteers and observers. Parents feel at home and comfortable in their
children’s classrooms and are active participants in their child’s education. Students’ families
and cultures are respected and their voices are valued, as are those of MdM Teachers, staff, and
students. There is a sense of peace and belonging in the school community.
Parents and families are actively engaged in academic and extracurricular activities:
Teachers and staff recognize that building a community with parents and families is an
important part of their job. Parent conferences and meetings are held at times convenient for
parents no matter what their work and home schedule. Home visits are offered before school
and during conference times as a convenience to parents and an alternative to meeting at MdM.
Parents feel welcome at Montessori del Mundo, and enjoy volunteering and spending time in
the school and classrooms whenever they are able.
The school serves as a community resource center:
The MdM team anticipates the needs of our parent population. We offer continuing educational
opportunities for parents through workshops and trainings. MdM also partners with service
agencies to provide resources for families, and serves as an access point by connecting family
members to appropriate services and supports in the broader community when necessary.
Teachers are valued professionals:
MdM teachers are held accountable for, and take ownership of, the instruction they implement
in their classrooms and the resulting student achievement. Our Teachers have a voice in the
decision making process at MdM and serve as leaders in the school community through their
work on various committees guiding professional development, the strategic planning process,
school accountability, hiring, student recruitment, thematic unit development and planning,
etc.Teacher time is respected by minimizing interruptions to planning time and using meeting
time efficiently. Teachers work to build both individual and organizational capacity so that over
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time we can all work smarter rather than harder. Value is placed on teacher job satisfaction, and
teachers are treated as professional education experts who are invested in the school and
community. MdM teachers revel in their valuable and fulfilling work and turn-over is very low.
MdM Students are responsible, capable members of the school community:
Students are given the tools, encouragement, and limits needed to become independent,
responsible learners who help to steer their own education and participate fully in the bilingual
and bicultural community at MdM. They are surrounded with the expectations, support, and
exemplars needed to become good citizens and friends. MdM students are raised in an
atmosphere of collaboration, and instructed in the art of solving their own problems as well as
those of others. They are self-reliant, persistent in the face of challenge, and articulate in at
least two languages. MdM students learn how to maximize their own potential for happiness,
and to appreciate diversity of thought, experience, and ability. MdM students are prepared for
whatever comes their way.
At Montessori del Mundo we consciously build our community and program around our shared
values.
Our Values
Spanish is a valuable
professional language
of communication
and academic
discourse throughout
the world.
English is also a
professional language
of communication
and academic
discourse, and is an
important language
of power in our
country and in the
world.
Evidence of our Values in Action
 Staff meetings are conducted in Spanish at least 50% of the time.
 The 90/10 language allocation emphasizes Spanish in the early grades
and Spanish use never falls below 50% for any student or class,
including specials classes, even in the upper grades.
 Spanish speaking parents and community members are taking
leadership roles in the school (PTO/OMP, board of directors, school
accountability committee).
 High level, academic Spanish is used by teachers and expected of
students including rigorous academic vocabulary, correct grammar, and
appropriate word choice.
 All staff and teachers are able to maintain an intelligent conversation in
both Spanish and English. Spanish instructional staff are native speakers
or have native-like fluency in Spanish.
 Spanish is given priority over English whenever one language must have
prominence for practical reasons.
 Instruction follows best practices for ELL students and complies with
Office of Civil Rights agreements in order to assure native-like fluency in
English while also maintaining and promoting Spanish language fluency.
 Comprehensible input and sheltered instruction methods are used.
 English as a Second Language classes are offered for parents.
 Professional, standard English is used by teachers and expected of
students including rigorous academic vocabulary, correct grammar, and
appropriate word choice.
18
We insist on equity
for students and
families from all
cultural, racial, socioeconomic, and
linguistic
backgrounds.
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We promote peace.


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We build community.

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Enrollment, marketing, and scholarship plans are designed to ensure
equity of access to our program for all students keeping in mind that
different groups may communicate or advertise about schools
differently, and that some families may struggle with enrollment
paperwork or have varied levels of understanding about the timing of
school enrollment.
We provide adequate scholarships for the primary (tuition-based)
grades, so that money does not become a barrier to children attending
our school.
We practice equitable distribution of educational resources to our
different groups of children, classrooms and grade levels.
We ensure that all parents feel welcome and involved at the school and
have a voice in school decision making.
We will actively recruit parents from underrepresented groups for
membership in the PTO, and governing committees, as well as for
leadership roles and classroom volunteer opportunities like field-trip
and special event chaperones.
Peace at MdM starts with our adults who are thoughtful, loving, and
consistent in their interactions with children and each other.
Children at MdM are taught pro-social skills and practice conflict
resolution and restorative justice even from a very early age.
All forms of life are respected at MdM, including animals and plants of
all sizes and classes.
Violence and bullying are not tolerated at MdM, and students are
taught to take care of themselves and our community by speaking up
for their own sense of fairness and justice.
We engage in strategic planning for parent involvement and
engagement including regular school events designed to promote
parent interaction.
We provide opportunities for community outreach and community
service designed to engage the MdM family with the greater
community.
MdM has multi-age classrooms that provide a continuity of care, as
each student spends 3 years with the same teacher.
At MdM we practice family classroom placement so that once a sibling
has been placed with a given teacher, their subsequent siblings are also
placed with that same teacher when possible. Our teachers focus on
building relationships with the whole family.12
Our students are integrated by native language for the maximum
amount of time possible.
MdM Students are encouraged to work and socialize in integrated
language groups, and are grouped heterogeneously by teachers in team
and school-building activities.
12
When siblings are close in age such that they would be in the same classroom at the same time, parents can choose if they
would like their children placed in the same classroom or different classrooms.
19
We value the
inherent worth of
each person in our
community.
MdM supports and respects children:
 We provide individualized developmentally-appropriate instruction
 We work to meet the academic, social, physical, and developmental
needs of every child.
 We provide opportunities for every child to participate as a valued
member of the school community helping to make decisions at the
classroom and school level with appropriate support, guidance, and
limits from teachers and staff.
MdM supports and respect teachers:
 We work to provide individualized and differentiated professional
development for the entire staff.
 We work to meet our teachers’ social, physical, academic, personal, and
professional needs.
 We provide opportunities for every teacher to participate as a valued
member of the school community with a voice in the decision making
process at the school and classroom levels.
MdM supports and respects parents:
 We work to meet our parents’ social, academic, physical, and
informational needs.
 We provide opportunities for every parent to participate as a valued
member of the school and classroom community with a voice in the
decision making process.
Linguistic Culture
At Montessori del Mundo we believe that mono-lingualism is a curable condition. Everyone in our
community is striving for bilingualism and views bilingualism as crucial for success and peace in our
world.
We believe that communication with parents is paramount; therefore all parent communication will
occur in the language in which the parent is most comfortable. For parents who speak neither English
nor Spanish, we will make all possible accommodations to communicate in a language they understand.
All staff members who interact with parents MUST be bilingual and conversationally proficient in both
English and Spanish. Teachers and other Instructional Staff (classroom assistants and interventionists),
must have native-like fluency in the language in which they are instructing. All staff must be
conversationally proficient in both English and Spanish and must be working towards fluency in both
languages.
We are committed to hiring an
At MdM we believe that bilingualism is critical to our
entirely bilingual staff, for more
students’ success, and know that every student can achieve
information about staff recruitment
bilingualism. Furthermore, we know that Spanish language
and training see Employees
skills are in need of more support than English skills due to the
general cultural dominance of English in the United States. We
place deliberate emphasis on Spanish as a legitimate language of academic discourse in order to combat
the perception of Spanish as a second-class language. Staff meetings will be conducted in Spanish or
20
bilingually, and staff will be encouraged to speak Spanish amongst themselves whenever possible.
Spanish will be the default language in the hallways and common spaces of the school. All posters and
signs in the building must be bilingual, all communication to parents will be available in both Spanish
and English, and at least 50% of school assemblies and announcements will be in Spanish.
Announcements and assemblies will never be translated. If 50% of announcements are in English and
50% in Spanish this might mean that announcements made in the month of Sept are all in English and in
Oct are all in Spanish.
Staff Culture
The staff culture at Montessori del Mundo is built around the creation and support of: comunidad,
creencias comunes, colaboración, una ambiente estimulante, y mejoramiento constante (community,
common beliefs, collaboration, an environment of challenge, and constant growth).
Community
At Montessori del Mundo, we strive to be the kind of workplace that can attract and keep the best
teachers. We recognize and honor the unique skills that each staff member brings to the table and we
create an atmosphere in which staff are valued, respected, and encouraged to reach their highest
potential. Teacher time is respected, and every effort is made to shield teachers from non-instructional
tasks so that they can put all of their time and energy into educating our children. Teachers have more
daily dedicated planning time than is usually available in traditional schools, augmented by the
additional 20 minutes built into our daily schedule. Administrators check in regularly with teachers to
determine if any additional resources or supports are needed to best serve MdM students.
MdM also provides a pleasant and inviting staff room, and encourages staff to take a break from the day
in order to eat lunch together in the staff room. Additionally the staff has regular social, team-building
meetings. These may take the form of social breakfasts before school, shared attendance at athletic
events, or team trips to restaurants or cafes. We believe that investing in a true community of
professionals through the nurturing of informal relationships makes an impact on our ability to build
productive and collaborative professional relationships.
MdM Core Value:
We believe it is difficult to create community when there is a
Develop a team of educated,
high level of change and turn-over amongst the staff. Teachers at
MdM sign an agreement stating their intent to remain at the
prepared, effective teachers
school for 3 years (one complete classroom cycle). This
agreement does not change teacher’s status as “at-will” employees and may be broken if it becomes
apparent to either party that the school and teacher are not a good fit for each other, or if the teacher’s
performance is not satisfactory. In the event, however, of satisfactory job performance and good
cultural fit, every effort will be made to retain teachers for their full 3 year commitment and beyond.
Collaboration
Teachers and administrators are encouraged to work together collaboratively. Facilities permitting,
there will be a common work space for teachers that will contain tools and supplies for making new
materials and works. MdM strives to create common planning time for grade level teams whenever
possible in order to allow teachers to best utilize each other’s expertise and knowledge. Regular
opportunities are provided for teachers to gain insight and gather ideas by observing each other during
the teaching day.
21
Teachers receive professional development on collaboration and group dynamics, both so that they can
foster effective collaboration among students in their classrooms, and so that they can recognize and
strive for effective collaboration as a staff.
Staff meetings include opportunities to share things that are going well in their classroom. This allows
staff to celebrate the positives and get good ideas from each other. The staff meeting space also
includes a Struggles and Successes board, where staff members can post struggles and successes they
are facing. Staff will be encouraged to read the board and to then put their name next to a struggle if
they feel they can help in that area. This will help staff be aware of each other’s strengths and needs as
well as encouraging networking and collaboration.
Common Beliefs
At Montessori del Mundo, we believe that it is crucial for members of the staff to know what
they believe and to maintain a community dialog about educational philosophy and best practice. We
will hire people with common beliefs about bilingual education, Montessori philosophy, and child
development, and spend time at the beginning of each year re-stating our shared beliefs. Each staff
member will also be asked to write a philosophy statement covering their beliefs on such topics as
Montessori education, dual language education, language acquisition, and child development each year.
Statements will be shared at the beginning of the year and revisited as the year goes on as our
knowledge grows and evolves.
We believe it is important to have constant conversations about our philosophy and school vision, and
to continually check any new ideas, strategies, or external requirements for their support of our school
vision and alignment with our philosophy. Teachers are encouraged to discuss their beliefs and how
these beliefs align with professional elements of their classroom, instruction, relationships, and with
school philosophy and vision.
Environment of Challenge and Constant Growth
Montessori del Mundo provides an environment of challenge for our students, and also for our
teachers. Teachers are held to high expectations in their implementation of the Montessori and Dual
Language curriculum, and are encouraged to constantly seek out and implement strategies and methods
that will improve their practice.
Teachers meet bi-annually with the Director of Education to set professional development goals for the
semester. Professional development (PD) will be differentiated in the Montessori style. Each teacher has
their own individual professional development goal each semester. Then the Director of Education will
provide teachers with resources, books and articles, in-school or out-of-school experts, and
opportunities to observe or be observed and coached. Teachers self-direct their PD using these
resources to achieve their semester goal.
Every effort will be made to send teachers to professional conferences on Dual Language, Montessori
education or other pertinent topics. We also recognize the value of visiting other schools and strive to
create time for teachers to observe in other schools as well as other classrooms in our school.
MdM teachers buy in to a culture of constant improvement in which Professional Development does not
occur at only one specific day or time, but rather suffuses the professional culture throughout the day,
week, and year. MdM hires the type of teachers who are active, reflective practitioners, and who are
22
constantly tweaking their practice to meet the needs of their students. Administrators and teachers
regularly ask each other what aspect of their practice they are working on in order to gauge areas in
which teachers or administrators are looking to grow and learn, and to create a culture of constant
reflection and improvement.
Student Culture
The student culture at MdM is built around the following: comunidad, individualidad, independencía y
motivación interno, colaboración, y un ambiente estimulante y crecimiento (community,
individualization, independence and intrinsic motivation, collaboration, and an atmosphere of challenge
and constant growth).
Community
Student community begins at the classroom level. Teachers at MdM establish and maintain classroom
communities that are accepting, respectful, peaceful, and emotionally and physically safe. MdM is a
school in which all of our students feel valued and welcome.
Teachers at MdM use the Montessori peace curriculum, including Sonny McFarland’s lessons and
methods for peace education. Children at MdM learn conflict resolution skills, and practice them as a
group before conflicts arise, through role-playing activities. Children use the Peace Rose in order to
practice active listening and restorative justice strategies as appropriate to each age and developmental
level.
Discipline problems are dealt with on a classroom and school level by following the discipline plan
available in Appendix F. Discipline practices at MdM keep the following questions in mind:

What is motivating or reinforcing the negative behavior? What un-met needs does the child
have?
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How do we repair the relationships/community? (restorative justice)
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How can all parties (student, teachers, administrators, and parents) support the student to
make better choices in the future?
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How can we maximize learning time and minimize disruption to all students’ learning?
For more information about discipline policies at Montessori del Mundo see the Student Discipline
section.
Students at MdM wear school uniforms every day. Uniforms help visually define the unity of the school.
They also make socio-economic differences between the students less salient to the overall school
experience, and eliminate the distraction fashion can sometimes create.
MdM Uniforms:
Primary: Navy blue collared shirt with khaki pants/skirt
Lower Elementary: Light blue collared shirt with khaki pants/skirt
Upper Elementary: White collared shirt with navy blue pants/skirt
23
Individualization
At MdM we believe that every student needs to be challenged every day, and that the most effective
instruction is individualized. The Montessori environment provides for students to work individually and
to receive lessons one-on-one or in small groups from the instructor. Each student has their own
individualized educational plan outlining past, current and future work required for mastering the
standards and moving beyond them to a deeper understanding of the various curricular areas.
We at MdM believe that people are complex beings, and that it is our job as educators and parents to
nurture all aspects of our children. Children’s growth is not limited to the academic realm; they also
need to grow socially, emotionally and physically. As teachers build
individual growth plans with each student, they keep in mind the
MdM Core Value:
whole child and plan for instruction that serves the child’s social,
physical, and emotional needs.
The teacher’s role is to orchestrate every plan in the classroom and assure that all students are
performing at or above grade level as measured by MdM standards by the time they graduate to the
next classroom.
Independence and intrinsic motivation
At MdM we believe that everyone has the ability to work independently and be self-motivated.
Teachers at Montessori del Mundo will work hard to foster these skills of independence and selfmotivation in our students. Starting in preschool, children will learn to work independently with
classroom materials. Teachers will guide children to recognize the feelings of accomplishment for their
work that come from within, and celebrate their individual success and progress. These skills, when
properly nurtured, produce life-long learners who make the effort to seek out information and skills that
they need to succeed throughout their lives.
Collaboration
We believe in the power of working together. A Montessori classroom lends itself to students working
collaboratively and learning from each other. Teachers further develop this tendency by specifically
teaching the pro-social skills necessary for effective collaboration. Teachers especially encourage
collaboration across language groups by giving students the language necessary to ask for help from
other students, and by purposefully pairing English dominant students with Spanish dominant students
in ways that are beneficial to both partners.
Challenge and constant growth
At Montessori del Mundo, we constantly strive for growth. Children learn how to recognize a
challenging work or assignment while in the in the primary classrooms. They are expected to challenge
themselves daily to seek constant improvement and growth in their academic, social, and physical
pursuits. They are guided in this endeavor through their individual work plans which they create
collaboratively with their teacher. Teachers ensure that these work plans keep students on track to
meet and exceed our school standards. Teachers and parents are trained to ask children, “How did you
grow today?” in order to more specifically involve children in their own academic and social lives, and to
keep the many ways that children grow every single day at the forefront of the discussion.
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Parent and Community Culture
At Montessori del Mundo, we believe that community is the cornerstone to good education and living a
fulfilled life. In order to grow happy, healthy students, we must also grow happy, healthy families. We
therefore work hard to create a school environment where parents feel that they are always welcome.
MdM strives to be a place where parents are partners in their children’s education and become active
participants in the school and neighborhood community.
At Montessori del Mundo we offer the following services for parents:
Parent Education Classes13
Classes are offered at MdM to parents on a variety of topics, in both English and Spanish. These classes
will be taught in addition to regular parent education about Montessori philosophy and Dual Language
education and will include:
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Parenting classes
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Child Development
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These classes teaching parents about simple things they can do at home, like talking to
their children and reading to them regularly, and how these actions can make a
significant impact on their children’s academic success.
Nutrition and Cooking
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Parents learn about the various developmental stages their children are going through,
and how they can best support their children’s academic, physical, and social
development at home.
Literacy and Pre-Literacy skills
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Love and Logic parenting guides are used to encourage parents to
promote self-responsibility and independence while also creating
firm limits for their children at home.
MdM Core Value:
Invest in Families
Parents learn to prepare healthy, affordable meals that support their children’s
nutritional needs.
ESL/SSL
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Parents learn basic linguistic skills in their second language in order to support their
children’s academic work, and fully participate in the bilingual community at MdM.
13
For a more comprehensive list of parent education and services, please see the Parent and Community Involvement section of
this charter application.
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Parent Support Groups
MdM hosts various needs-based support groups which may be facilitated by an outside expert, an MdM
staff member, or a parent who participates in the group. We believe it’s important for people to have a
group of peers with whom they feel safe, and with whom they can share their challenges and receive
advice and support. The actual groups will be dependent on the needs of the MdM parent community.
Initial groups may include:
 Single Parent Support Group
 Divorced or Divorcing Parent Support Group
 Preschool Parent Support Group
 Adoptive Parent Support Group
Parent Resources
While it is impossible to provide everything a family could need in one school, we can provide parents
with the information necessary to access outside resources as they are needed. We anticipate the need
to provide resources for the following needs, and will work to compile additional resource information
as it becomes needed.
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Clothing assistance
Resources for food and housing assistance
Mental health resources
Citizenship support
Demonstrations of Learning/Community Fiestas
Each class at MdM hosts a demonstration of learning at the end of each thematic unit of study. Families
and parents will be encouraged to attend these celebrations to see what their children have been
learning. Family gatherings will be designed to include time to see student work as well as for parents to
network amongst themselves and strengthen community connections.
Annual Community Events
MdM will host community events based on the interests and needs of our students, teachers, and
families. Events might include: Back to school socials, uniform and toy swaps, Harvest Days, Día de los
Niños festivals, Thanksgiving lunches, community potlucks, Halloween parades or carnivals, spring cleanup or service days, Earth Day festivals, holiday or cultural festivals, math nights, story festivals, and end
of year graduation or continuation ceremonies.
Parents are asked to volunteer
at least 8 hours each year and
are welcome to observe
classrooms at any time.
Classroom Volunteers
MdM parents are encouraged to volunteer in their child’s
classroom, and to come and observe any portion of the school
day. Parents sign a contract upon enrolling their child in the
school agreeing to volunteer at the school for at least 8 hours per academic year. Opportunities to
volunteer outside of the regular work week will be available to accommodate parents with difficult work
schedules. We believe focusing on parent involvement will build investment and buy in among parents
and families, and that this will ultimately strengthen the educational experience for all of our students.
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School Achievement Goals
Montessori del Mundo aims to provide an excellent, rigorous, personalized, bilingual education for all of
our students. Our goal is for all students to perform at or above grade-level as measured by TCAP,
DRA2/EDL2, Montessori del Mundo standards report card, and/or a body of evidence. Students who are
not performing at or above grade level will be expected to make a minimum of 1.5 years growth
towards proficiency each year that they are in the program.
Achievement Context
The following chart indicates the average percentage of students who scored at the proficient or
advanced level on the CSAP test between 2009 and 2011 for Grades 3-6. The chart below shows a
comparison of average CSAP scored in Aurora Public Schools, Montessori schools within Denver Public
Schools, traditional Denver Public Schools, and Colorado State as a whole.14DPS’s Public Montessori
schools consistently outperform the other district schools and the state in achievement on standardized
tests. At MdM we consider standardized test scores as one strategy for measuring student and
programmatic success but we also recognize the need for additional measures including teacher and
school-made assessments, anecdotal observations, and bodies of evidence.
Scores from
www.schoolview.org
DPS
average
Average Reading15
Average Writing2
Average Math2
Average Science2
48.69%
37.91%
50.01%
26.32%
DPS Public
Montessori
Schools
68.61%
53.50%
60.65%
50.95%
Colorado
State
Average
68.19%
54.34%
55.02%
47.65%
APS
average
46.56%
34.59%
47.76%
25.39%
Montessori del Mundo sets high goals for student performance, and though our goals are significantly
higher than current district averages, we recognize that building a quality program takes time.
Consequently we have constructed both status goals, dictating the percentage of students who score
proficient or advanced on the TCAP, and growth goals. A copy of our Baseline Targets Template can be
found in Appendix D. We have set our initial goals assuming that our population will be fairly typical of
Aurora public schools, and therefore that Aurora’s district averages are a reasonable baseline. After
collecting baseline data on our student population as outlined in the Plan for Evaluating Student
Performance, we will begin working towards our status goals. These goals will be revisited and revised
annually as we collect our own data in order to ensure that our goals are rigorous, appropriate, and
responsive to our actual student population.
14
The complete data chart where we compiled these numbers is available in Appendix D.
Averages of 2009, 2010, 2011 CSAP scores from www.schoolview.org.
15
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With the aim of holding our school accountable to high standards of academic excellence, Montessori
del Mundo will strive to reach the following SMART goals:
MdM holds all children
GOALS 1 & 2: Students will be proficient in Reading
accountable to reading on
grade level in at least one
Status Goal:
language by 3rd grade and in
both languages by 6th.
70% of students who have attended Montessori del Mundo for two
full academic years will score proficient or advanced in literacy in
either Spanish OR English, and within the scaffolded bi-literacy target zone16 in their second language, as
measured on the TCAP, DRA2/EDL2, or an equivalent body of evidence. OR this percentage of students
will increase by 5% or more each year until it reaches or exceeds 70% proficient/advanced.
Growth and Growth Gaps: Montessori del Mundo will have a school-wide growth
percentile at least at the 50th percentile as compared to the state average growth in
Reading, and 70% or more of our students who are below grade level will accomplish
more than one year’s growth in one year’s time and score above the 50th percentile
individually as compared to state individual growth.
70% of students who have attended Montessori del Mundo for at least 3 years, will graduate from 6th
grade reading at or above grade level in BOTH English AND Spanish, regardless of the child’s native
language, as measured on the TCAP, DRA2/EDL2, or an equivalent body of evidence. OR this percentage
of students will increase by 5% or more each year until it reaches or exceeds 70% proficient/advanced.
GOALS 3 & 4: Students will be proficient in Writing
70% of students in 3rd grade who have attended MdM for two full academic years will be able to write
and illustrate a non-fiction report with paragraphs which include topic sentences, three supporting
details, and concluding sentences in both English and Spanish. They will accomplish this through use of
the writing workshop process to produce a draft, obtain assistance with revision and editing, and
complete the final draft independently using standard grammar, spelling, and construction as measured
on the school writing rubric and state standards for 3rd grade writing. OR this percentage of students will
increase by 5% or more each year until it reaches or exceeds 70% proficient/advanced.
70% of students in 3rd grade who have attended MdM for two full academic years will be able to write
and illustrate an original fictional story in both English and Spanish with a beginning, middle, and end;
identifiable characters, setting, and conflict through the use of the writers workshop model in which
they will draft the story, obtain help with editing and revising, and complete the final draft
independently with standard grammar, punctuation, spelling, and construction as measured on the
school writing rubric and state standards for 3rd grade. OR this percentage of students will increase by
5% or more each year until it reaches or exceeds 70% proficient/advanced.
16
The Biliteracy Trajectory Table can be found in Appendix D, and was adjusted from the Literacy Squared Biliteracy table by
Kathy Escamilla found in: Transitions to Biliteracy: Literacy Squared. 2004 – 2009. Final Technical Report. Principal
Investigator: Kathy Escamilla, Ph.D. pg 31.
(http://literacysquared.org/source/Lit2%20Technical%20Manual%20Phase%20I.pdf).
28
Writing, and 70% or more of our students who are below grade level will accomplish
more than one year’s growth in one year’s time and score above the 50th percentile
individually compared to state growth.
Rationale for Goals 1-4: Literacy
Goals 1 -4 address literacy expectations for students at MdM. Our focus is on educating students
to be bilingual scholars and professionals. As such we expect students to be able to read and
write in both English and Spanish regardless of home language. Goal 1 holds the school
accountable for native-language reading fluency and maintaining progress towards fluency in
the second language. For speakers of other languages, MdM expects fluency in at least one
language (either English OR Spanish and within the target zone for the other). Goal 2 represents
our school goal that upon graduation students perform at or above grade level in both English
AND Spanish. Goals 3 and 4 reflect 3rd grade writing standards and our expectation for students
writing in both English AND Spanish. 3rd grade is emphasized because it is the end of the lower
elementary age cycle.
GOAL 5: Students will be proficient in researching, investigating, and self-directed learning,
70% of all students in grade 6 who have attended MdM for two full academic years will meet or exceed
Standard 4 in the new Colorado State standards for Reading, Writing, and Reasoning by conducting an
individual or group research project, obtaining information from a variety of sources, and organizing it
for written or oral presentation. Proficiency in this task will be measured by teacher-made assessments
and compared to Colorado State Standards for Reading, Writing, and Reasoning. OR the percentage of
students will increase by 5% or more each year until it reaches or exceeds 70% proficient/advanced.
Rational for Goal 5: Research and Reasoning
Goal 5 addresses our desire to educate life-long learners who are self-motivated to seek out
information and who have the skills to investigate a question or problem they encounter. This
goal is based on the Colorado State Writing Standards (aligned to Common Core Standards) for
6th grade, specifically Standard 4, Research and Reasoning. At MdM we
believe that a crucial skill for students is the ability to research, think
MdM Core Value:
critically about sources of information, and synthesize information
Cultivate a bilingual school
gathered from a variety of sources, and this is why we have chosen to
community
emphasize Standard 4 specifically.
29
GOAL 6: Students will be proficient in Math
60% of students who have attended MdM for at least two full academic years will be proficient in the
end-of-year new Colorado State Math Standards as measured by TCAP (in 3rd grade and above), or
teacher made assessments and an equivalent body of evidence (in grades k – 2). OR this percentage of
students will increase by 5% or more each year until it reaches or exceeds 70% proficient/advanced.
Math, and 70% or more of our students who are below grade level will accomplish more
than one year’s growth in one year’s time and score above the 50th percentile
individually as compared to state individual growth.
Rational for Goal 6: Mathematical reasoning
Goal 6 addresses MdM’s commitment to a high quality math education. Math scores across the
state and district are alarmingly low with only 38% of APS students scoring proficient. The goal
of 60% proficient well outpaces district and state averages and is in line with Montessori
outcomes in DPS public schools, we hope to revise this goal upwards in the future.
GOAL 7: Students will be proficient in Science
70% of students in first grade and above will be able to name the steps of the scientific method, design
experiments using the method, and carry out experiments independently, or with assistance, in both
English and Spanish, as measured by teacher made assessments, anecdotal record-keeping, and/or an
equivalent body of evidence. OR this percentage of students will increase by 5% or more each year until
it reaches or exceeds 70%.
Rational for Goal 7: Scientific reasoning
Goal 7 indicates Montessori del Mundo’s emphasis on Science through our thematic instruction
and during Montessori work time. Science is a crucial and fascinating subject, and we believe
children are natural scientists. The new Colorado State Standards do not emphasize the
scientific method until 3rd grade.17 We consider a student’s proficiency in understanding and
applying the scientific method to be a building block to being self-directed life-long learners and
therefore emphasize it at a much earlier
Montessori del Mundo emphasizes
grade. We hope to prepare our students
science through our thematic
with a love of science and basic science
instruction as well as through the
skills starting at a very early age so that they
Montessori curriculum. We expect all
are set up for success in Science for the rest
students to be accomplished scientists.
of their academic and professional careers.
17
Third Grade Standard 1: Matter exists as solid, liquid and gas. Nature of Science Standard 1: Ask a testable question about
the heating and cooling of a substance, design a method to find the answer, collect data, and form a conclusion.
30
GOAL 8: Students will make Adequate Yearly Growth
MdM will make Adequate Yearly Growth in all subject areas for the subgroups of Minority Students and
ELL Students. Adequate Growth is achieved by maintaining a growth percentile sufficient for the student
to reach or maintain proficient or advanced scores in the given subject area within three years or by 10th
grade, whichever comes first.
Rational for Goal 8: Adequate yearly growth
Goal 8 addresses the need to “catch-up” students who are behind grade level, and “keep up” all
students. The state will provide a report to MdM each year outlining the Adequate Yearly
growth required for our students to be on grade-level within 3 years (or before 10th grade). Due
to our focus on providing linguistically appropriate education for ELL students and on closing the
ELL achievement gap, and the likelihood that we will draw a high minority population, we have
chosen to emphasize our Adequate Yearly Growth goals for these groups.
GOAL 9: Montessori del Mundo will cultivate a Bilingual Community
MdM will conduct an observational survey of students and their independently selected partnerships
during work time or recess at least two times each year.18 The number of students engaged in
independently selected cross-linguistic partnerships (students with different native languages playing or
working together) will show a meaningful increase based on the length of time the students have been
enrolled in the school. 19 Students enrolled for 7-9 years will be more likely to choose cross-linguistic
partnerships than those enrolled 4-6 years who will chose them more than those enrolled 1-3 years.
Rational for Goal 9: Bilingual Community
Goal 9 comes from our mission of building bilingual community. We believe school should be a
point of integration, and that students learn language the best from their peers who are native
language models. As such, teachers will encourage students to work with student partners who
may not share the same native language. The school will conduct periodic time sample
observations of students during independent work time, project time, and recess time on the
playground to determine whether or not we are succeeding in our goal of integrating students
and breaking down cultural, racial, socio-economic, and linguistic barriers. Data will be collected
on the number of students self-selecting cross-linguistic work/play partnerships, and our hope is
that that number increases the longer students are enrolled in the program. The observation
form can be found in Appendix F. Montessori teachers routinely collect observational data; the
average time needed to conduct this observation in a classroom is less than 5 minutes with an
additional 5 minutes to analyze the data. We feel confident that our teachers and administrative
staff will have the capacity to complete this observation at least two times per year.
18
This survey can be found in Appendix F.
MdM will determine what constitutes meaningful increase after collecting baseline data during the 2013-2014 school year
and in consultation with research groups.
19
31
GOAL 10 & 11: Parent Involvement
80% of primary parents and 75% of elementary parents will participate in at least one parent-teacher
conference or home visit each year as measured by teacher records of conference attendance. OR this
percentage will increase by 5% each year until it reaches 80% and 75%.
80% of parents will volunteer for the school for at least 8 hours or will attend at least 3 school events
during the year (including parent-teacher conferences, parent education, student demonstrations of
learning, classroom parties/events) as measured by parent surveys, teacher records, and/or volunteer
records. OR this percentage will increase by 5% each year until it reaches 80%.
Rational for Goals 10-11: Parent Involvement
Montessori del Mundo believes that children do better in school when their parents are
involved and engaged in the school process. Parent-teacher conferences are essential for
communicating important information about children’s academic, linguistic, and social
successes or struggles at school, and as such, MdM emphasizes attendance at Parent Teacher
conferences. We know that parents in primary grades tend to have higher attendance which is
why the percentage of attendance for primary and elementary students differs. Parents will also
be encouraged to volunteer for the school either by spending time in classrooms, helping out
with school tasks or volunteering outside of school hours by doing work at home or whenever
their schedule permits. Parents will also be encouraged to attend school events; attendance will
be measured either by parent survey, teacher record-keeping, or school volunteer records.
GOAL 12: The MdM teacher team will be highly educated, prepared, and effective.
100% of the MdM classroom teachers will be Montessori Certified at the appropriate level or currently
enrolled in a Montessori Certification program. 100% of MdM’s instructional staff will meet Highly
Qualified Status. AND at least 90% of our staff will meet or make significant progress towards their
personal professional development goals each year as measured in their teacher evaluation and
satisfaction survey.
Rational for Goal 12: Strong, trained, teaching team.
Montessori del Mundo is also committed to training and educating a highly effective teaching
staff who continues to grow and perfect their craft. We are committed to having 100% of our
teachers certified by an accredited Montessori Training program and to compliance with NCLB’s
Highly Qualified Teacher requirements. Furthermore, teachers will set yearly goals as part of
their teacher evaluation, and it is our goal that they work towards and meet, or make, significant
progress towards those goals.
32
Re-adjusting Goals to Ensure Relevance and Rigor
Montessori del Mundo will re-evaluate and adjust goals annually as we collect more data on our
students. MdM hopes to meet these goals and then adjust them upwards as we strive to produce
maximum student results and fulfill our mission of preparing students for college and the future
bilingual workforce.
33
Evidence of Support
Montessori del Mundo was founded on the desire for equity and the need for high quality dual language
and public Montessori educational options in Aurora. School founder Karen Farquharson and her
husband David Farquharson live in Aurora and started the process of developing a school when they
realized that, while families living in Denver have access to many dual language and Montessori options
both public and private, families living in Aurora do not have any Montessori or dual language schools to
serve their children.
Several other Aurora residents, teachers, and parents have joined the push to bring this high quality
educational option to our community and are serving the school on our design team or founding board
of directors. Our mission is to build strong, integrated, bilingual community and as such we take
community outreach and continued parent engagement very seriously. The following section outlines
our community engagement goals and strategy prior to opening, and our strategy for building
community and maintaining parent involvement once the school is operational.
Community Engagement Goals
Student Recruitment Goal:
Collect 240 letters of intent to enroll by Sept 4th (deadline for submission to APS).
Collect an additional 180 letters of intent to enroll by November 30th 2012.
Rationale: We plan to open in the fall of 2013 with 208 students. 115%20intent to enroll forms (239
forms) are necessary by the time we submit our application on September 4st. We feel it is important to
continue our recruitment efforts until we reach at minimum 200% of our initial class and have set a
deadline of November 30th, by which point we should know if we are approved and can begin contacting
those interested parents and soliciting formal applications.
Intent to enroll forms are available in English and Spanish in paper form in Appendix E as well as on our
website: http://www.montessoridelmundo.org/families/enroll/
Current Progress: As of Sept 4th 2012, MdM has collected 281 intent to enroll forms from children
who will be old enough for our program in the fall of 2013, and an additional 41 from children who
will have to wait until 2014 or 2015 to enroll in our program.
20
th
Efren Ortiz, Email on July 27 , “Checking in.”
34
Community Engagement Goal:
Collect 15 letters of endorsement from and make 30 contacts with local community leaders, businesses
or organizations by September 4th.
Rationale: The Montessori del Mundo team believes that a school should be a community resource
center and as such needs to have strong ties to the local community. As we reach out to community
groups, organizations and leaders we will ask for their support of our program.
Current Progress: As of Sept 4th, 2012, MdM has met with 35 community members, leaders and Ed
reformers and collected 13 letters of support or endorsement, we will continue to broaden our
network in Aurora as we reach out to organizations and community leaders who can support our
school.21
Board Recruitment Goal:
Of our 7-9 board member positions, at least 3-4 of them should be filled by people who live, work, or
were raised in Aurora.
Rationale: Local community representation on our board of directors is important to build local support
for the school and ensure that our board of directors has adequate representation of the community we
plan to serve.
Current Progress: As of Sept 4th, 2012, MdM has recruited 6 board members, two of whom live and/or
were raised in Aurora. We are placing a high priority on finding Aurora residents to fill our remaining
board positions.
Student Recruitment
Currently Montessori del Mundo has collected 279 intent to enroll forms from age eligible children and
another 41 from children who will be part of our preschool class in 2014 or 2015. The following chart
illustrates the current breakdown of students by age and language:
Grade in August in
2013
1st
Kindergarten
ECE 4
ECE 3
ECE 3 in 2014
ECE 3 in 2015
Total Age Eligible
Total Too Young
21
Spanish
26
31
22
24
7
0
103
7
Bilingual
7
17
17
11
7
6
52
13
Letters of endorsement can be found in Appendix E.
35
English
28
29
31
35
18
3
123
21
Other
0
0
0
3
0
0
3
0
Total
61
77
70
73
32
9
281
41
Many families neglected to fill out their zip-code on our Intent to Enroll Form. This chart illustrates how
many students have signed forms from various zip codes, and reported their zip-code.22
Grade in August in 2013
1st
Kindergarten
ECE 4
ECE 3
Total Age Eligible
Original
Aurora
80010
6
10
3
6
25
Central
Aurora
80011
10
21
17
7
55
South
Central
APS
80012
10
7
6
9
32
South
East APS
80017
1
5
4
3
13
DPS
80200+
8
8
12
7
35
Cherry
Creek
District
80013
80014
5
4
6
5
20
The vast majority of parents were unsure of what school their child would attend if they did not attend
MdM. This is likely because most children we were recruiting are not currently of school age or are not
attending a school program and therefore parents did not know where they would go to school in 2013.
Additionally a large number of parents whose children were enrolled in school could not remember the
name of their child’s school. This is a somewhat odd pattern to note with parents, and further
encourages us that we need to be particularly targeted about our parent education to ensure that we
are engaging parents in their child’s school.
Tracking and targeting diverse recruitment
In order to ensure that we attract and enroll a diverse and balanced population both racially, socioeconomically, and linguistically, MdM plans to carefully monitor our applicants and target our marketing
and recruitment towards any group that may be under-represented. In this way we hope to attract a
very balanced applicant pool which will result in a balanced student population upon enrollment at the
school.
To this end, Montessori del Mundo will construct and maintain tracking charts to monitor our applicant
pool. An example of a tracking chart is the first chart listed above which shows the breakdown of
English/Spanish/Bilingual/Other speakers at each grade level. As we begin accepting formal applications
which will include information on socio-economic status of our applicants, we will create a similar
tracker for Free and Reduced Lunch vs. Full Pay students. Based on the results of these trackers we will
target our recruitment in specific neighborhoods or apartment complexes to ensure an even divide
between English and Spanish speaking applicants and an even distribution among different socioeconomic groups. We will target high, middle, and low income housing in our canvassing and recruiting
events as we strive to recruit an economically diverse applicant.
It is important to note that Montessori del Mundo does not discriminate against any potential students
or applicants on the basis of race, home language, religion, socio-economic status or any other
protected status. We do, however, hold as a core value, insisting on equity – this means equity of access
22
A reference map of zip code boundaries is available at: http://maps.huge.info/zip.htm.
36
to our program. We feel it is important to track data on home language and family income in order to
notice if disparities begin to appear between the population our school is attracting and the
community/target population. If such disparities exist, we feel this is evident of lack of equity of access
to our school, which should be mitigated by increased marketing efforts to attract any underrepresented group. Montessori del Mundo has contacted groups that work with refugee and homeless
families in Aurora to build ties with these organizations in the hopes that we can utilize their expertise
and support to ensure that these high-risk populations are aware of our school and have access to our
enrollment process.
At this stage in our recruitment effort we are pleased to note that we have a very even distribution
between English and Spanish speakers, as well as among different age groups (1st, K, ECE-4 and ECE-3).
This is without any additional or purposeful targeting of any language or age group. We feel this is proof
that we are recruiting and planning to locate in an appropriately diverse area of Aurora, and that our
school is attractive to our intended population, and our marketing is responsive to the needs of our
community and is ensuring equity of access to our school and program.
Recruitment Strategy
To meet our goal of collecting 240 letters of intent to enroll by 9/4/12 we have embarked on an
extensive community outreach effort, which included the following activities and strategies:






Table outside of King Soopers grocery stores
Speaking with families in parks
Holding info sessions at libraries or community centers
Speaking with families/having booths at local community events (such as the Kids Safety Fair at
City Park in July)
House parties/Cafecitos (get-togethers organized by one prospective parent where a school
representative can speak to a group of parents about the school program and answer questions
in a more intimate setting)
Door-to-door canvassing in apartment complexes and neighborhoods
We have, so far, found grocery store, park canvassing, and special events to be the most effective way
to reach parents. We anticipate as we start to collect formal applications, that we will find the need to
do more information sessions, cafecitos, and one on one meetings with parents to answer specific
questions they may have about the program before they enroll.
Millie Barsallo, one of our board members, is heading up our student recruitment efforts with the
support of our Marketing and Enrollment committee and has been working closely with Karen
Farquharson, our school founder, to coordinate our community outreach efforts and organize our
volunteers.
Tracking Parent Interest and Maintaining Contact
Family Database
Each parent who fills out an intent to enroll form or expresses interest in learning more about
Montessori del Mundo by filling out one of our interest sheets will be entered into our parent database
which tracks name, address, name and age of child, phone/email, language spoken, intent to enroll
status and contacts we've had with them.
37
Maintaining Contact
We will aim to have 3+ contacts with parents between the time they have signed the enrollment form
and January 2013 when we begin soliciting formal applications.
Contact #1: Families who sign an intent to enroll form will receive a phone call or email thanking them
for their support of our school:
Dear _____,
Thank you for supporting Montessori del Mundo. For more information about this exciting new
educational option in Aurora please visit our website: www.montessoridelmundo.org.
We need your help! Please tell your friends about Montessori del Mundo. They can fill out an intent to
enroll form on our website or call 720-432-2548 or email [email protected] with
questions or for more information.
Be on the lookout for more information about Montessori del Mundo this fall as we submit our
application to Aurora Public Schools. We look forward to helping prepare your child to be one of
tomorrow's bilingual leaders!
Sincerely,
Milagros Barsallo
Recruitment and Enrollment Chair, Montessori del Mundo
Querido _____,
Gracias por apoyar a Montessori del Mundo. Para más información sobre esta nueva opción de
educación en Aurora por favor visite nuestro website: www.montessoridelmundo.com.
¡Necesitamos su ayuda! Por favor hable con sus amigos de Montessori del Mundo. Pueden firmar un
formulario de intento de inscribirse en nuestro website o llamar a 720-432-2548 o mandar un email a
[email protected] si tiene preguntas o quiere más información.
Busquen para más información sobre Montessori del Mundo este otoño cuando entreguemos nuestra
aplicación a las escuelas públicas de Aurora. Nos emociona ayudar a su hijo/a a ser uno/a de los líderes
bilingües de mañana!
Sinceramente,
Milagros Barsallo
Reclutación y Inregistramento, Montessori del Mundo
Contact #2: We will email/call and invite as many families as possible to attend the APS board meeting
for public comment about the Montessori del Mundo application, families who express interest in
assisting with recruiting students or hosting a house party will also be contacted for those events.
Contact #3+: Families who provide an email address will be signed up for our monthly electronic
newsletter. We will assess budget limitations and decide whether to mail copies of the newsletter
38
monthly to families without email addresses or whether to send only 1-2 mailings in the fall to maintain
contact and keep families updated about the progress of our application.
Contact #4: Request for application: by phone, email, in person, one on one, invite to information
session or house party, etc.
After families submit an application they will receive the following contacts:
Contact #1: Confirmation of receipt of application notice (email, letter or phone)
Contact #2: Acceptance packet
Contact #3: Meet your teacher night (May 2013)
Contact #4: Summer letter including name of teacher, supply list, first day of school etc.
Contact #5: School Social (week before school starts)
Contact #6: Home visit with teacher (week before school starts)
Contact #7: Orientation Appointment (15 minutes, one on one, 2-3 days before school starts)
First day of school!
Recruitment Materials and Website
MdM has purchased marketing materials in the form of half page cards which can be found in Appendix
E. These cards are available in both English and Spanish and feature pictures of students in a dual
language Montessori classroom as well as basic information about the school.
We are currently designing and ordering more comprehensive marketing materials to be used in
information session and meetings with community members.
Our website, which is available in both English and Spanish can be found at:
www.montessoridelmundo.org.
Montessori del Mundo also publishes a monthly newsletter to keep families informed about the work of
the school, and maintains a Facebook page where we post updates about our progress towards opening.
Founding Board/Team experience
Milagros Barsallo is a former Community Organizer with Stand for Children and has extensive experience
organizing grass roots campaigns with children and families in the public schools.
Karen Farquharson, as well as several other members of the design team have all participated in student
recruitment events as teachers at Valdez Elementary School. Karen has spoken at numerous information
sessions and parent recruitment events as well as organizing home visits, and new student orientations.
Millie and Karen are also working to coordinate a team of enthusiastic volunteers to accomplish tasks
such as: canvassing and speaking with parents, data entry of information from intent to enroll forms,
39
follow up phone calls thanking families for support, organizing cafecitos and info sessions, phone bank
to get the word out about progress on the application and upcoming board meetings.
Community Engagement/Letters of Endorsement/Board Recruitment
The MdM Board of Directors has identified a list of organizations, business, and groups that work with
the community in Aurora. Board Members and the School founder have been reaching out to each of
these groups to hear their perspective on the needs of the Aurora community and solicit their support
for the charter school. The goal of this effort will be to build community awareness of our efforts and
create a base of community support that the school can draw on.
All organizations and contacts will be organized in our community outreach spreadsheet which includes
organization, name and title of contact, phone/email, who they were referred by, status of relationship
with MdM, notes about interactions, interests, resources the contact can provide.
As we reach out to various community organizations we will also be mindful of our board recruitment
goals and searching for members of these organizations, or their networks who might make good board
members.
School Founder Karen Farquharson has met or spoken with the following individuals to build awareness
and support for the school as well as to ensure that we are locating the school in an area that is
receptive to the idea of a dual language Montessori school.
Name
Organization
Aurora Neighborhoods/
City of Aurora/
Aurora Business Owners
Margee Cannon
Neighborhood Services
Nadine Caldwell
North Aurora Neighborhood
Association Board
Sandy Neves
Fitzsimons Credit Union
Jennifer Draper Carson
Stand for Children
Jenny Pool-Radway
Aurora Mental Health
Peg Alt
Neighborhood Services
Jeff Thompson
Fitzsimons Medical
Randy Winter
North Aurora Neighborhood
Association Board
Brian Plum
MOP
Katie Taft
Down Town Aurora Visual Arts
Kate Tauer
Neighborhood Association of
Highland Park
Mary Spillane
Comcast
Moira Dungan
Aurora City Planning Office
Jennifer Herrera
Colfax Community Network
40
Education Leaders
Audra Phillipon
Sean VanBerschot
MariellaRobledo
Candace Cheung
Axl Academy
Teach for America
Escuela Guadalupe
Elementary Montessori Director
at Compass Montessori in Jeffco
A+ Denver
Aurora Educators’ Association
Early Learning Ventures
APS School Board
Global Village Academy
CU Boulder – Dual Language
Researcher
CU Boulder – Dual Language
Research
Teach for America
Playworks
Monarch Montessori
Ross Montessori
Lower Elementary Montessori
Teacher
APS School Board
Jason Callegari
Amy Nichols
Mia Struger-Fritsch
Mary Lewis
Christina Burton
Kathy Escamilla
Sue Hopewell
Ruby Powell
Brad Riley
Melanie Withers
Sonya Hemmen
Erin Oliver
Jane Barber
Lara Wallace
Lower Elementary Montessori
Teacher
Political Leaders
Ryan Frazier
Former City Council
Suzanne Williams
State Senate
Melissa Miller
City Council
41
Rational for Dual Language Montessori for our population
The Montessori curriculum allows each child to move at his own pace, naturally differentiating in a way
almost impossible for traditional classroom teachers to achieve. In addition it focuses on building
personal responsibility and a sense of agency within each student. The Two-Way 90/10 Dual Language
model is the only model proven to close the achievement gap between second language learners and
native English speakers. Closing this gap is increasingly important, as more than 20% of the school-aged
population in America are now second language learners. The achievement gap between English
Language Learners and native English speakers contributes to the historically high drop-out rates among
ELL students. English language skills in the fall of ninth grade are a strong predictor of high school
graduation. Some studies put the ESL dropout rate as high as 74% for students with low level English
skills. Even among ninth grade ESL students with advanced English skills, the drop-out rate is more than
50%.23 Closing the achievement gap combats these epidemic drop-out rates and allows for a stronger,
more integrated community for all residents. When implemented together, the Montessori and TwoWay 90/10 Dual Language models provide all the tools students need to become successful bilingual
citizens within the larger global society.
Location:
While there are many high quality dual language and/or public Montessori school options available to
parents in Jefferson County and Denver, the city of Aurora currently has only two private Montessori
preschools and one charter language immersion school. The students in Aurora also deserve the
opportunity to attain an excellent, public, Montessori dual language education and gain the ability and
drive to fully participate in our future bilingual society.
23
Watt, D., Roessingh, H
42
Montessori del Mundo is currently considering two neighborhoods in Aurora:
Original Aurora neighborhood between 25thave and 6thave, and Yosemite and Peoria
43
Central Aurora along Chambers Blvd. between 6th Ave and Mississippi.
44
Both of these neighborhoods were found to have a growing Spanish speaking population along with
proximity to an English speaking population. These neighborhoods were also identified by APS as areas
of need, due to overcrowded elementary schools. The neighborhood around Chambers has been
identified by APS as a preferred location for a dual language school due to its central location and easy
access for parents from all around the district24.
We are currently exploring facilities opportunities and reaching out to parents and community leaders
to determine if one location is better suited to and/or would be better served by a dual language
Montessori school than the other.
Both locations include a mix of native Spanish speakers, native bilinguals, and native English speakers.
The goal of the school is to bring the members of these various language communities together so that
they can form one strong, integrated, bilingual community. The perfect area will also have a need for
additional seats in ECE-6, due to overcrowding or lackluster academic outcomes at existing schools. In
such a situation, families in search of alternative educational options would benefit from our dual
language Montessori program.
Population:
The mission of the program is to build strong, bilingual, integrated communities and to provide an
outstanding education that will prepare students for college regardless of their socioeconomic or nativelanguage status.
Two-way 90/10 programs are built around a balanced population made up of more than 35% native
speakers for each language group. Therefore, the enrollment target for the school is 50% native Spanish
speakers, and 50% native English speakers. The school will also happily accept students who are being
raised bilingually or who speak a language other than English or Spanish, and will create a percentage
category for those students, while ensuring that an appropriate percentage of the population speaks
English and Spanish fluently to maintain our instructional model.
Depending on the number of bilingual/other language applicants, an enrollment figure might look like:




40% native Spanish
15% bilingual (English/Spanish)
40% native English
5% speakers of other languages
Research shows that low SES students are successful in dual language Montessori programs, with dual
language 90/10 programs closing the achievement gap more effectively than any other model. With this
in mind, and in an effort to serve those who are most often left behind, we will target an enrollment of
at least 60% low SES students, as defined by free and reduced lunch eligibility. To see a graph illustrating
the effectiveness of dual language education for low SES students please see Second Language Learners.
24
th
Meeting with Efren Ortiz, Lisa Escarcega, William Stuart, and Josh Hensley on February 24 , 2012.
45
Proximity to Target Population
Montessori del Mundo is committed to serving a highly diverse population that is representative of the
population served in district schools. Due to the nature of the Dual Language program, we seek to
attract a mix of Spanish and English speakers. The Montessori philosophy is very attractive to many
families, including those who are middle and upper income. The MdM founding team is committed to
ensuring equity of access to all families, especially lower-income, high-risk, and minority populations.
At-risk populations frequently lack the resources and transportation to travel distances to go to school.
This is why we are focusing our facility search on locations that are within walking distance of low
income populations, and are in areas with a concentration of Spanish speakers and minority students.
We anticipate that some families, those with more resources at their disposal, may travel in order to get
their children to school. We also anticipate that we will draw a certain number of families from
Stapleton, Montbello, and the Cherry Creek sections of Aurora. These families, drawn by our unique
program, will be willing to transport their children to attend our school.
Aurora Public Schools Demographics and Scores
54.3% of Aurora Public Schools students are Hispanic and 46% are second language speakers. The
number of Spanish speaking APS students continues
to grow, yet the district does not offer any programs
MdM is committed to closing the
in which Spanish speaking students receive native
achievement gap for ELL and Minority
language instruction in core academic areas while
students. See School Achievement
building their English proficiency.
Goals for examples of our goals for
APS 2011 CSAP scores show a sizable achievement
these students.
gap between white students and ELL students.
70.92% of white students were proficient or
advanced on the 5th grade reading tests, while only 41.33% of the ELL students scored equally
well.25Studies show that two-way 90/10 bilingual programs such as the program proposed for
Montessori del Mundo are the only type of program able to close the achievement gap for 95 - 100% of
ELL students by 5th grade.26
25
26
CDE Schoolview: http://www.schoolview.org/schoolperformance/csapinfo.asp?Dist=0180&Sch=0&Sub=R&Grd=5&level=
http://njrp.tamu.edu/2004/PDFs/Collier.pdf.
46
The following chart illustrates the demographics of students served in APS and the projected
demographics for Montessori del Mundo students. While our enrollment will be based on a lottery, we
will attempt to maintain the following balances of different demographic groups by targeting our
marketing and student recruitment to any under-represented groups. For a more detailed description of
our marketing strategies please see Community Engagement.
Demographic
Racial/Ethnic
Composition
Socio-economic
Status
English Language
Learners
Special Education
Students
Aurora Public Schools27
18% African-American
4.6% Asian
18.3% Caucasian
54.3% Latino
0.7% Native American
3.6% Other (two or more races)
69% Qualifying for Free/Reduced Lunch
Montessori del Mundo (projected)
20% African-American
20% Caucasian
55% Hispanic
5% Other
46% Qualifying for ELL Services
55%
10% Receiving Special Education Services
10%
60%
Aurora Public Schools does not currently offer a public Montessori option, and the neighborhoods under
consideration also lack private Montessori options. APS has one language immersion charter school:
Global Village Academy, and one other charter school Axl Academy, offering bilingual preschool. Neither
of these options, however, emphasizes either native language support for Spanish speakers, or dual
proficiency in Spanish and English for a linguistically diverse population. These options are also located
outside of our target neighborhoods.
For more information about our student recruitment efforts by which we plan to ensure that we can
enroll a class which mirrors these district-wide demographics please see Community Engagement.
27
(http://aurorak12.org/about-aps/fast-facts/demographics/)
47
Educational Program: Philosophy
At Montessori del Mundo we believe that:
Children learn best when learning is individualized so that every child can be challenged every
day. Curriculum and materials are tools for student learning; when the environment and
curricula are properly prepared, teachers have more time to analyze student outcomes, plan for
individual student success, and help remove any barriers to that success. The teacher’s role is to
guide each child towards mastery of the given standards and help the child to master (or
surpass) the standards within an appropriate time frame.
A bilingual environment and curricula build stronger connections and better capacity for brain
function than do a monolingual environment and curricula. Bilingualism is an additive process:
instruction and knowledge in one language builds on, and builds foundations for, instruction in
another language. Spanish, as the minority language, must be emphasized in the early grades to
ensure academic and social success for students from all language backgrounds.
Students learn best through concrete experiences and materials. Students master skills more
readily when they experience new concepts and vocabulary in a context that helps to make
sense of new language while building connections to their existing knowledge. Deep,
purposeful, interrelated investigations of the world around us engage every member of a
learning community, build knowledge about the worlds around and within us, and lay the
foundation for children to become life-long learners and investigators.
MdM will provide an educational structure that capitalizes on each of these beliefs by integrating two
proven philosophies: Montessori and dual language immersion. We will implement the Montessori
philosophy while teaching every student in both Spanish and English, and tying the various subjects
together through authentic robust thematic instruction and purposeful real-world experiences. While
Montessori provides the main curricular vehicle for instruction at MdM in addition to informing our
teaching philosophy and approach to instruction; Dual language does not refer to a curriculum, but
rather to a method of delivery of the curriculum, in this case Montessori, involving two languages.
Montessori
Teachers at MdM will implement the Montessori curricula for core instruction in Literacy, Math, Science,
Social Studies, Sensorial (pre-math/science), and Practical Life. The Montessori curriculum has proven to
be successful in giving students the skills they need to exceed grade level expectations in many
Montessori schools world-wide (and in multiple languages), and also allows for maximum
differentiation, so that each child’s needs are met while ensuring that all standards are addressed.
Montessori’s individualized instruction is designed to provide highly targeted instruction to each student
and in so doing ensures every child is challenged every day. 28
28
Rodriguez, L. (2003). An Analysis of a Public School PreKindergarten Bilingual Montessori Program. A paper presented at the
Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association, Chicago, IL, April 24, 2003.
Biello, D. (2006). Students prosper with Montessori method. Scientific American, September 29, 2006.
48
There are several non-negotiable program elements which we insist on as a public, standards-based
Montessori implementing a dual language program. These elements maximize our ability to fully
implement a program guided by the MdM philosophy. They include:





multi-age classrooms with a linguistically diverse student
At MdM we believe that all
population;
children are capable people
extended, uninterrupted work time in both Spanish and English
with worthy ideas.
based on personal responsibility and guided choice;
purposeful differentiation built around the mastery of skills and
concepts in both Spanish and English;
intentionally prepared Spanish environments and English environments, including differentiated
materials and work spaces, created by teachers with their specific students’ interests, abilities,
and needs in mind;
the belief that all students are capable people with worthy ideas.
Multi-age Classrooms:
Multi-age classrooms allow for maximum differentiation while building strong, self-sustaining classroom
communities. The 3, 4, and 5 year old; 1st – 3rd grade; and 4th- 6th grade classrooms are pillars of the
Montessori philosophy.29 With Montessori’s mixed-age classrooms, only a third of the class moves on to
the next class each year, and a similar number of new students are easily welcomed into the classroom
by their older classmates.30 Younger students are motivated by seeing the work of older students while
also observing their traditions and behavior. Meanwhile older students benefit by serving as role models
for younger ones, gaining confidence and leadership skills. As Montessori students often work together
while they pursue their educational goals, they are able to gain valuable skills in negotiation and selfmonitoring that are much harder to come by in a traditional classroom. They also solidify and deepen
their academic knowledge by teaching skills, English and Spanish vocabulary, and concepts to younger
students as they work together and review lessons they have previously shared with a teacher.31The
idea that skills, vocabulary, and ideas are reinforced when students explain or teach them to someone
else has widespread support in both the Montessori and the traditional education communities, and has
been substantiated out by research and anecdotal evidence.32
Ervin, B., Wash, P. D., & Mecca, M. E. (2010).A 3-Year Study of Self-Regulation in Montessori and Non-Montessori
Classrooms.Montessori Life, 22(2), 22-31.
Kayili, G., & Ari, R. (2011).Examination of the Effects of the Montessori Method on Preschool Children's Readiness to Primary
Education.Educational Sciences: Theory & Practice -11141 Autumn, 2104-2109.
Harvard Graduate School of Education.(2009). Quality of Early Child Care Plays Role in Later Reading, Math Achievement.
Retrieved from Harvard Graduate School of Education. http://www.gse.harvard.edu/news-impact/2009/09/quality-of-earlychild-care-plays-role-in-later-reading-math-achievement/#ixzz224X7AF9z.
29
Mattern, H., & Yates, R. (1995). Summary of Research on Benefits of Multiage Classrooms. Retrieved from MultiageEducation.com. http://www.multiage-education.com/multiagen-b/researchhandout.html.
30
31
http://www.multiage-education.com/multiagen-b/researchhandout.html
32
Cassell, W. & Daggett, W.R. (2010). Peer learner engagement: Enhancing the promise of school improvement. International
Center for Leadership in Education: Rigor, relevance, and relationships for ALL students. Retrieved from:
http://www.leadered.com/pdf/Peer%20Learning%20white%20paper.pdf
49
Mixed age groups also allow for continuity of care. Since teachers
spend three years with each student, they are able to build
exceptionally strong relationships with them and with their
families.33 The idea that one or more adults in the school should
maintain contact and care for a group of students for more than
one school year is also quite popular in traditional education at present, and research shows that
programs which purposefully build these opportunities into their design show improved academic
performance and even help to keep older students in school through graduation.34 In keeping with this
research, as well as the original Montessori design, every child in our Montessori program will have the
same group of teachers for each three year block of the program.
Students spend three years in
each mixed-age classroom,
and with each teacher.
The Montessori multi-age classrooms not only provide continuity of care, but also explicitly strengthen
community by deliberately creating a strong network of relationship between the students, their
families, their teacher and the school staff. Members of the community are continuously invited to get
to know each other as they interact during educational and extracurricular activities throughout their
multiple years in each class, and their time within the school as a whole. Such activities are intentionally
structured to promote inter-cultural and linguistic connections, and are facilitated in both Spanish and
English for this reason.
Extended, Uninterrupted Work Time Based on Personal Responsibility and Guided Choice
Montessori’s original Children’s House was built around an extended period of uninterrupted work time,
within which students and teachers could work together to challenge every child every day. This
Montessori work time is used for individualized and small group instruction, as well as direct instruction,
guided practice, and independent practice in both Spanish and English.35
The traditional work cycle in many non-Montessori classrooms begins with direct instruction from the
teacher to the whole group of students. Next, the teacher and students participate in guided practice for
the given skill. Finally, the students either practice their new skill independently in class while the
teacher circulates to provide help, or the students go home to complete the independent practice as
homework.36
We call the activities children do in
our classrooms “works” because we
are respecting the most important
work of the child: to learn and
become an adult. Therefore “worktime” is when children are doing
their work of learning and is when
our core instruction takes place.
33
http://www.educareschools.org/results/continuity-of-care.php
http://www.educareschools.org/results/continuity-of-care.php
35
Lillard, A. (2005). Montessori; The science behind the genius. New York: Oxford University Press.
36
Huitt, W., Monetti, D., & Hummel, J. (2009).Designing direct instruction. Pre-publication version of chapter published in C.
Reigeluth and A. Carr-Chellman, Instructional-design theories and models: Volume III, Building a common knowledgebase [7397]. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Retrieved from http://www.edpsycinteractive.org/papers/designing-directinstruction.pdf
34
50
The Montessori work cycle is similar, yet because it insists on
one-on-one and small group instruction in most cases; it also
has many characteristics reserved for only the most highneed students in the traditional classroom. Rather than
providing direct instruction to the class as a whole group,
Montessori instruction at MdM relies on direct instruction for
an individual student, or a very small group of 2 – 4 students
in either Spanish or English. The teacher gives a lesson that is specifically designed for the students
involved, rather than aimed at the middle ability segment within a class in which some students already
know the material and others need several steps of remediation to succeed. After receiving individual or
small group instruction, and sharing in guided practice one-on–one or in a very small group, a typical
Montessori student builds mastery by practicing the work from the lesson independently or in a small
group during Montessori work time, often returning to the same work repeatedly over a number of days
or weeks, until they have mastered the desired skill or content. They will often also reinforce the
concept in the opposite language classroom later on, expanding their vocabulary and understanding of
the concept into both languages after having initial instruction in only one. When the skill has been
mastered, the teacher, who is continually assessing and noting their skill level through observation,
presents the next lesson to the student in question, building on their newly mastered knowledge and
skills.37
At MdM every child receives the
kind of individualized and
targeted attention reserved for
only the most high-needs
children in a traditional program.
Maximum Differentiation
During Montessori work time, students choose from works in the classroom in order to learn at their
own specific level. Teachers actively teach goal setting and individual responsibility as they help the
students to identify appropriate works in order to progress towards their individual short and long-term
educational goals. As the students learn to make responsible, reasonable decisions about their own
education, they become capable, life-long learners; the agents of their own success in school as well as
the wider world. The Montessori philosophy pushes each individual to reflect on what they know, what
they need to learn, and how to go about learning it through a gradual release of responsibility, not only
with regards to academic content, but also as it pertains to the art of self-direction.38As a community,
we will consciously cultivate the self-motivation and self-reliance that will enable our graduates to go on
to any level of education and to succeed in the real world outside of school. We will teach our students
to not only master the standards, but to also master themselves.
Learning for Mastery
Montessori’s lesson cycle, based on mastery, differentiates Montessori from more traditional education
methods by insisting on every child’s ability to learn the skills necessary for success while advancing at
their own individual pace. While some students will have the privilege of learning more deeply about
37
Lillard, A. (2005). Montessori; the Science behind the Genius. New York: Oxford University Press.
Lillard, A. (2005). Montessori; the Science behind the Genius. New York: Oxford University Press.
38
Ervin, B., Wash, P. D., & Mecca, M. E. (2010). A 3-Year Study of Self-Regulation in Montessori and NonMontessori Classrooms.Montessori Life, 22(2), 22-31.
Harger, J. (2008). The Montessori Model in Puebla, Mexico: How One Nonprofit Is Helping Children. Montessori
Life, 20(1), 20-25.
Murray, A., & Peyton, V. (2008).Public Montessori elementary schools.Montessori Life, 20(4), 26-30.
51
individual areas of interest due to the speed at which they attain mastery of the necessary skills,
everyone in a Montessori class has the opportunity to master the standard set of skills that will allow
them to succeed in their future schooling and in the world at large. Challenging every child every day in
this fashion builds success and a joy in learning by valuing individual strengths and weaknesses while
highlighting each child’s inherent ability to convert hard work into their own success, no matter how
long it takes.
The Montessori materials which are used during work time are designed very specifically to isolate the
skill or discrete knowledge set that the student needs to move forward in each specific subject
area.39This is known as isolation of difficulty in Montessori circles, and lightening the cognitive load in
more traditional jargon.40This helps teachers and students to clearly track their progress through the
standards with which the curriculum is aligned, and also helps students to have measurable successes
more frequently as they work towards larger goals. The Montessori works are also built to be selfchecking, so that the child practicing independently can
determine whether or not he is completing the work correctly
based on feedback from the material itself41. This helps to
make the extended work time productive for both the child
and the teacher, and lowers the probability of a student
replacing the knowledge or skill they were supposed to be
learning with some other process or idea that is actually a
misunderstanding or perversion of the original target
knowledge. In addition, it is easier for the teacher to spot
errors in each individual’s work with these concrete,
individualized materials. When a class is engaged in work as a
whole group, there are many opportunities for students to
copy-cat other students in order to camouflage gaps in
A dual language Montessori
understanding. However, when an individual is completing a
student works on a new math
work by herself or a small group of children is working on
work. The beads provide a
something that no one else in the class is doing,
control of error. If she counts
misunderstandings and confusion stand out. The teachers and
wrong she will run out of beads
assistants observing and providing assistance will immediately
spot the individual or group involved in perpetuating
by the end of the work.
misunderstanding, and can quickly correct their errors and reteach the target skill or knowledge.42
The Montessori works and extended work time are capitalized on further because the teachers and
assistants in the class are specifically trained in observation and record keeping techniques which make
facilitating learning in the prepared environment possible. They are able to note the successes and
needs of each student on a daily basis during and after each work-time cycle using various quantitative
and qualitative data collection tools in order to fine tune and differentiate instruction to an extent that
39
Lillard, A. (2005). Montessori: The science behind the genius. New York: Oxford University Press.
Miller, P.C., Endo, H. (2004). Understanding and meeting the needs of ELL students” Phi delta kappan, June 2004, 786-791.
41
An example of self-checking work is writing words with a controlled letter set. The child has 6 pictures or objects and the
plastic letters necessary for writing those words. The child knows, because they have done this lesson with a teacher, that all of
the letters should be used and that all of the letters necessary are present. If the child finishes writing the six words and
discovers they have 4 vowels left over, this lets them know they need to go back and check their work because they have
missed some letters.
42
Lillard, A. (2005). Montessori: the Science Behind the Genius. New York: Oxford University Press.
40
52
would be nearly impossible in a traditional classroom work cycle.43 The individual Montessori work time
places the focus on the student and his or her individual work, making the teacher the watcher and the
student the actor, rather than the reverse situation, which is often the case in a more traditional
classroom.
Children as Capable People with Worthy Ideas
Another non-negotiable in Montessori education at MdM is the idea that children are young people who
have valuable ideas and insights, and who make up a part of the community no less intelligent than the
teachers and assistants who are helping to guide them as they continue on their lifelong educational
journey. This belief does not mean that students have carte blanche to behave in whatever raucous
fashion they wish. Rather, at MdM we celebrate the worth and dignity of each adult and child in the
community by establishing and reinforcing standards of behavior for all members of the community
which contribute to the overall good. This includes allowing students to make mistakes, giving them
guidance and limits within which to build their own success, and allowing them to suffer the natural
consequences of their errors in judgment or execution. In keeping with this ethos, teachers and students
will participate in restorative justice practices to right wrongs and
offenses within the MdM community.44The Montessori
curriculum focuses on building independence while also realizing
utilizes Restorative Justice
each person’s interdependence. We will help our students grow
by holding them accountable for their own actions while working
and the “Peace Rose” to help
together to build a community of teachers, students and families
children resolve their own
founded on respect and an assumed generosity of spirit. All
conflicts. For more
community members are accepted and valued for the best that is
information about this topic
in them while also pushing them to continue to capitalize on that
please see Student Discipline
good in order to better themselves, the community, and the
world.
Standards Based Montessori
The Montessori Philosophy is built around the belief that children have an instinctive drive to seek out
and learn new things, and that if provided the opportunity, they will gravitate towards activities (or
works) that teach them the skills they need for success. The role of the traditional Montessori teacher is
to prepare the classroom environment so that it is rich in learning opportunities designed to teach the
key, developmentally appropriate concepts and skills that the children need. The Montessori teacher is
trained to carefully monitor the students’ progress and balance his individual choices and interests with
his developmental needs. The standards based Montessori teacher balances these needs with the need
to reach and exceed subject area standards in order to make sure that each child grows in academic
ability at a speed which enables him to be successful academically as well as in life outside of school.45
43
Random House Inc.
44
Ashley, J., & Burke, K. (n.d.).Implementing restorative justice: A guide for schools. Retrieved from The Illiinois Criminal Justice
Information Authority http://www.icjia.state.il.us/public/pdf/BARJ/SCHOOL%20BARJ%20GUIDEBOOOK.pdf.
45
Lillard, A. (2005). Montessori: The science behind the genius. New York: Oxford University Press.
Lillard, P.P. (1996). Montessori Today: A comprehensive approach to education from birth to adulthood. New
York, NY: Random House Inc.
Harger, J. (2008). The Montessori Model in Puebla, Mexico: How One Nonprofit Is Helping Children. Montessori
Life, 20(1), 20-25.
53
Standards based Montessori acknowledges the importance of the skills and knowledge dictated by the
state and local district standards, and ensures that each student is held accountable for this learning
while differentiating the timing and path the student must take to reach the standards. While the end
result of each of these individualized paths is the same: mastery of the standards by the end of the time
the child is enrolled in the class, we recognize that children may arrive at that benchmark via different
paths. Not every child learns every skill at the same rate. Some take longer to learn one skill and then
breeze through the next. The individualization of the Montessori classroom allows teachers and
students to spend the needed time on skills in order to master them and then move quickly through
other aspects of the curriculum if they need to “make up time” in order to meet end of year standards.
These academic standards serve as mile posts on the educational journey at MdM. When used properly,
they punctuate the journey from novice student to well-rounded life-long learner and self-reliant
investigator. They help students, teachers, and communities to hold themselves accountable for
mastery of a standardized level of basic skills or knowledge.
Standards in no way limit the scope or depth of what children can
The teacher’s role is to remove
or should learn; rather they merely mark individual points in
all barriers to success and
development and minimal samplings within each domain of
ensure that children are on a
knowledge that all children must attain by a certain point in their
school career. At MdM, we believe that it is the teacher’s role to
path that leads to mastery of
prepare the environment, introduce the each new concept and
the standards by the end of
skill, and guide the child past the mastery of our given standards
their time in the classroom.
and onto a deeper understanding of the world and their own place
as an intelligent and caring member of the global community.
Teachers hold their students accountable for working towards mastery of the given standards, and keep
a close eye on children’s progress across the subject areas. A child, who is on target to achieve mastery
of the given math standards, will also be encouraged to follow their own interests by investigating other
related concepts, provided they stay on target with required skills in the meantime. But if that same
child is falling behind in the mastery of reading standards, the teacher is expected to step in and help
her to make the necessary progress towards successful mastery at or above grade level expectations for
reading, without denying her the opportunity to deepen her investigations in mathematics. The teacher
must guide the child’s overall progress and help her to overcome any barriers that might keep him or
her from arriving at or surpassing the standard requirements in all academic areas.
In many instances, the classic Montessori curriculum far exceeds the state, district, and National Core
Standards in terms of expectations for academic achievement, and our own MdM curriculum is built
around the expectation that properly prepared, encouraged, and engaged students can meet and
exceed both the minimal standards set by the district and the more rigorous expectations of the
Montessori curricula while also investigating the world around them on a deeper level in accordance
with their individual interests and abilities.
For more information about MdM standards see Educational
Program: Curriculum or see Appendix C to view our own
school standards aligned with state, district, and Montessori
standards.
54
MdM is committed to
ensuring that ALL students
meet state, local and school
standards for achievement.
Dual Language
The vast majority of people around the world speak multiple languages.46Bilingualism is the global
minimum expectation, and we, in the United States are just as capable as the rest of the world. Given
the appropriate experiences and opportunities, we are all capable of being bilingual. As human society
grows increasingly global in nature, and the need for bilingual workers continues to increase, we at
MdM feel very strongly that every 21st century child should have the opportunity to attain an excellent
bilingual education.
At Montessori del Mundo, all of our students are emerging bilinguals on the road to native and nativelike spoken and written language skills in Spanish and English. Our graduates will be able to function in
both formal and informal situations in either language. In keeping with this goal, teachers consider each
child’s level of proficiency in both Spanish and English, and then work to simultaneously support and
raise skill levels in each language through carefully constructed personalized lessons using language and
content objectives.47 Let us be clear, dual language and Montessori are not a separate programs. At
MdM we teach towards bilingualism for all students while using Montessori’s differentiated and
scaffolded model of instruction and curriculum. This allows us to move children from all native language
groups towards proficiency in both English and Spanish along with mastery of standardized content in
both languages.
Students work in bilingual
partnerships and help each
other to complete academic
tasks. Each student gets the
opportunity to be the
language “teacher” and the
language “learner” as they
and their peers work
towards bilingualism.
As students gain vocabulary, skills, and
content knowledge in one language during
Montessori work time, they strengthen
their abilities in the other language.48 With
this synergistic effect of bilingualism in
mind, Montessori del Mundo focuses on
oral language development and language
acquisition to ensure that students
graduate from our school as both bilingual
and bi-cultural members of the
community. This is best accomplished
through the standards based Montessori
philosophy and curricula delivered using
the 90/10 dual language framework.49
Leveraging the skills that transfer between languages while also focusing carefully on language-specific
skills allows us to maintain and pursue exceedingly high academic content standards while also teaching
towards bi-literacy and bilingualism. We are not teaching everything twice, rather we are teaching to
46
Candia, L. (2010). Speech and language assessment of bilingual, hearing-impaired children. Retrieved from Texas SpeechLanguage-Hearing Association
http://www.txsha.org/_pdf/Convention/2011Convention/2011SpeakerHandouts/Candia,%20Lauren%20%20Speech%20and%20language%20assessment%20of%20bilingual,%20hearing-impaired%20children.pdf.
47
Echevarria, J., Vogt, M., Short, D. (2008).Making content comprehensible for English learners: The SIOP model.Boston, MA:
Pearson/Allyn and Bacon.
48
Weis, E. (011). Being bilingual gives brain a cognitive “boost”. Mandarin immersion parents’ council.Retrieved from:
http://miparentscouncil.org/2011/08/08/being-bilingual-gives-brain-a-cognitive-boost/.
49
Howard, E.R., Sugarman, J., Christian, D. (2003). Trend in Two Way immersion: A Review of the research. Center
for Applied Linguistics. Report 63. August 2003.
55
the standards in two languages. Language specific skills are just that, specific to the language to which
they pertain. Meanwhile, transferable language skills are those skills which can be obtained in one
language, but which are also applicable to the structure and function of other languages.50 Educators at
MdM explicitly teach the vocabulary, grammar, and structure of each language, while capitalizing on the
skills that transfer between languages, and highlighting these transferable skills to allow for maximum
student growth.
To better understand the difference between transferable and non-transferable skills, think about a
student learning to count. The skill of rote counting must be learned in both English and Spanish, as it is
the memorization of a series of language specific words. One, two, three…Uno, dos, tres. The vocabulary
is clearly non-transferable. However students only need to internalize the concept of one-to-one
correspondence when counting objects once. That is, when counting objects you say one number for
each object you count, no matter which language you are counting in. Therefore, it is important to teach
the words for rote counting in both languages. Yet a student who can count with one-to-one
correspondence using Spanish vocabulary will also be able to do so using English vocabulary without
specifically learning this skill in English.
Similarly, students who are learning that every letter makes a sound do not need to specifically learn
this truth for each separate language. They build on their knowledge from one language as they
progress into learning other languages. Anyone who has ever tried to read a passage in a language with
which they were not exactly familiar knows this to be true. When confronted with text, those of us who
already know that letters are used to represent sounds immediately make an attempt to chunk the
letter sounds into syllables and words in order to build understanding. We do not wait for someone to
stop us and say, “Oh, wait, in German N says /n/.” We just take our knowledge of our own language and
attempt to build some meaning out of the words in front of us, no matter the language.
The understanding of transferable vs. non-transferable skills is critical to effective second-language
instruction and the implementation of a strong dual language Montessori program.51Without this
knowledge time can be wasted in redundant instruction that neither challenges nor engages the
students.
Two-Way 90/10 Dual Language Allocation
The Two-Way 90/10 Dual Language model built around instruction in and maintenance of both
languages is the only one proven to close the achievement gap between native Spanish speakers and
native English speakers as measured by standardized test scores.52In addition, these programs show
more academic benefits for native English speakers when compared with their peers in monolingual
English programs, and for native Spanish speakers in any other type of bilingual or monolingual
program.53Dual language models integrate students by native language, culture, and socio-economic
status to an extent unheard of in other educational models in America. Since classrooms comprised of
50
Echevarria, J., Vogt, M., Short, D. (2008). Making content comprehensible for English learners: The SIOP model.
Boston, MA: Pearson/Allyn and Bacon.
51
52
Howard, E.R., Sugarman, J., Christian, D. (2003). Trend in Two Way immersion: A Review of the research. Center for Applied
Linguistics. Report 63. August 2003.
Collier, V.P., & Thomas, W.P. (2009). Educating English learners for a transformed world.Albuquerque, NM.: Fuente Press.
53
Collier, V.P., & Thomas, W.P. (2009). Educating English learners for a transformed world. Albuquerque, NM.: Fuente Press.
56
students from a mix of high and low socio-economic backgrounds have been shown to benefit students
from all status levels, this integration adds to both the socio-cultural and academic benefits of the dual
language model.54Dual language does not refer to a curriculum, but rather to a method of delivery of the
curriculum, in this case Montessori, involving two languages.
MdM is referred to as a “two-way” dual language program because the student population will be
comprised of at least 40% native English Speakers and at least 40% native Spanish speakers. The
classrooms are integrated by language, making the language transfer a two-way road with Spanish
speakers teaching English speakers, and English speakers teaching Spanish speakers. There are also oneway dual language programs in existence, in which the students all share the same language background
but are taught in two languages. These programs can build bilingualism, but are not as effective as the
two-way model and do not have the added benefit of integrating by linguistic background, race, culture
and socio-economic class.
The term “90/10” refers to the proportion of instructional time spent in Spanish vs. English in the first
three years of the program. Literacy instruction in both decoding and phonetic writing will be conducted
in Spanish in MdM’s Preschool and Kindergarten classroom curriculum, while the English portion of the
day will be focused on the big ideas of literacy and oral language development. As children move up
through the classes at MdM, the language allocation shifts. In the Lower Elementary Class children move
from 90% Spanish to 80%, 70% and finally 60% Spanish. In the Upper Elementary class 50% of the
content is taught English, and 50% is taught in Spanish.
Language Allocation by Grade Level
Grade
Level
% of instruction in
Spanish
% of instruction in
English
ECE-K
90
10
1
80
20
2
70
30
3
60
40
4-6th
50
50
The 90/10 model has been found to be the most effective model for native Spanish speakers, native
English speakers and native speakers of other languages. It is the most effective model regardless of
socio-economic class and race.55There are a several reasons for its effectiveness as a language
instruction model, a few of which are described below:
54
Kahlenberg, R.D. (2009) Turnaround schools that work: Moving beyond separate but equal.
http://tcf.org/publications/2009/11/pb700.
55
57
The 90/10 model emphasizes Spanish in the early grades in order to promote it in the face of English
language dominance in our broader culture. English is the dominant language of power in our
community, and children know it. Regardless of the language their parents speak, children as young as 2
years old recognize that English is the language of power. When they go to the grocery store,
restaurants, bank, or library, they most frequently encounter English speakers. Most television, music
and movies in the mainstream are in English. Children notice that Spanish speakers have to make
accommodations for English speakers they encounter in public, private, and professional circumstances.
At MdM we firmly believe that Spanish is a crucial language for students’ success in their future
academic and professional lives. It is imperative that we convince children that Spanish is a legitimate
language of academic and professional discourse. Emphasizing Spanish in the early years of our program
sets the tone and foundation for the belief that Spanish is important and that for success in school, and
therefore life, children need to focus on learning Spanish as well as English.
In addition to convincing students that Spanish is a valid and
respected language of communication, we must build
students’ academic and professional Spanish skills. Native
Spanish speakers often come to school with informal
Spanish, yet they are not necessarily familiar with extensive
academic and formal Spanish vocabulary. This language gap
can be particularly problematic for students who are growing
up in bilingual households or who are the younger siblings in
households in which their parents speak to them in Spanish
while they are cared for a majority of the time by older siblings who speak in English. These students
often have gaps in their vocabulary and may switch back and forth between English and Spanish midsentence, this is known as code-switching. While code-switching can be a normal communication style
for bilingual adults, it is important that a bilingual child’s vocabulary be complete in both languages so
that they do not develop gaps in their Spanish or English that prevent them from speaking fluently in
either language. Extra emphasis on Spanish in the early years of elementary school helps these students
to build out their Spanish vocabulary and lays the foundation for a rich English vocabulary as well.
Extra Spanish instruction in the early years
of a 90/10 program ensure that both
English speakers and Spanish speakers
have well developed academic Spanish
vocabularies that will lead to their success
in the later years of the program.
Native English speaking students in a dual language program are expected to perform on grade level in
Spanish and to comprehend and gain meaning from instruction conducted entirely in Spanish. While it
takes 4-7 years on average to gain academic fluency in a second language this time is usually elongated
if a child does not spend a significant portion of their day exposed to the new language.56As children get
older, the level of instruction becomes not only more complex, but more abstract, making it harder and
harder for teachers to shelter instruction in ways that make it comprehensible for limited proficient
speakers. While Spanish speaking students have the benefit of the entire community reinforcing their
English skills, English speaking students often do not encounter Spanish outside of the school
environment. If English speaking students, and Spanish speakers with limited oral language skills, do not
receive enough rigorous instruction in Spanish in the early years of the program when concepts are very
concrete, they will not build a strong enough base in Spanish to support their academic needs in 3rd
grade and beyond. It is therefore vital for our English speaking students that we build strong Spanish
skills in the early grades so that we are setting them up for success in upper elementary school and
beyond.
56
Collier, V.P., & Thomas, W.P. (2009).Educating English learners for a transformed world. Albuquerque, NM.: Fuente Press.
58
Authentic Robust Thematic Instruction
Authentic = inherently interesting and
Authentic Robust Thematic Instruction, or the use of an
“real” to children
engaging subject of investigation to pull together
Robust = academically challenging and
content from across the curricula, is another hallmark
stimulating
of dual language instruction and will be the norm at
Thematic Unit = in depth study of a
Montessori del Mundo.57 Themes at MdM are
topic across subject and content areas
coordinated across the grade levels to ensure a
58
cohesive flow of instruction from year to year .
Themes are selected to appeal to students' natural
interests, while also broadening their experiences in accordance with their academic and developmental
needs. Teachers ensure that these themes provide rich oral and written language opportunities, while
also exploring engaging topics that support and extend beyond grade-level social studies and science
standards. MdM’s thematic units tie together all sectors of the curriculum in order to provide an
enriched, engaging school experience for the entire community. Montessori works specifically designed
to address the language and content objectives of each theme help to ground the over-all work time
experience thematically, while shared story and song experiences also incorporate thematic content.
Students have the opportunity to work on thematic projects which demonstrate their content learning
while allowing them to express themselves creatively and to practice teamwork and negotiation skills.
These challenging projects help to build class culture, allow students to practice their time-management
skills, and instill a habit of perseverance. Such projects also integrate language skills with challenging and
engaging content to encourage authentic communication.59 All of these types of opportunities have
been shown to positively affect academic performance, students’ self-confidence and efficacy, and
general engagement in school.60
Every thematic unit is ideally structured around a cycle of exposure, mastery, and celebration. First the
class engages in a kick-off field trip or opening experience in order to provide engaging and rich
exposure to the subject matter involved in the upcoming thematic investigation. Next, the class engages
in multiple weeks of differentiated instruction, exploration, investigation, and mastery all focused
around the theme in question. Each theme is concluded with a closing field trip or experience that
reinforces the key concepts learned throughout the unit, and helps to solidify connections between
interrelated concepts within the theme and in the broader world. Finally the students, teachers, families
and involved community members come together to participate in a student-centered celebration and
demonstration of learning. This allows students to show off their new-found knowledge and skills, while
also drawing families and community members into the school. Such an opportunity to shine helps to
reinforce the students’ position within the community as a capable person with worthy ideas, and
focuses again on the connection between hard work and goal attainment.
57
Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory (2005). Research-based strategies: Thematic instruction. Retrieved from
Northwest Educational Technical Consortium http://www.netc.org/focus/strategies/them.php.
58
For a sample school-wide thematic alignment, see Appendix C.
59
60
Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory (2005). Research-based strategies: Thematic instruction. Retrieved from
Northwest Educational Technical Consortium: http://www.netc.org/focus/strategies/them.php.
Retrieved from Kathryn Lindholm Leary: http://www.lindholm-leary.com/resources/review_research.pdf.
59
Integrating the Models
Teachers at MdM will follow the Montessori curriculum for core instruction in Literacy, Math, Science,
Social Studies, Sensorial (pre-math/science), and Practical Life. This curriculum has proven to be
successful in giving students the skills they need to exceed grade level expectations in many Montessori
schools world-wide, and also allows for maximum differentiation, so that each child’s needs are met
while ensuring that they also meet or exceed the standards for each grade level. The Montessori
structure also lends itself to oral-language development, and provides authentic opportunities to
practice second language skills. Students spend more time working and talking, and less time listening to
the teacher. These opportunities are perfect for maximizing the success of the dual language model
while preparing students for the collaborative workforce.61
We will layer our thematic
instruction on top of the Montessori
curriculum, carefully selecting
authentic, highly-engaging,
Montessori Curriculum
standards-based themes to enrich
and extend the science and social
Thematic
studies content at each grade level.
Instruction
The theme will be integrated into
every work-time through theme
specific self-correcting individual and
Taught in the context of a 90/10 Dual Language Model
partner works that address the
standards put forth by the state,
district and Montessori core curriculum. Community gatherings and project opportunities will allow
each teacher and learner to delve more deeply into the thematic subject matter.
The thematic Montessori curriculum will be taught using the
90/10 dual language model. Focusing early instruction in
Spanish provides the most advanced academic bilingual
outcomes for both English speakers and Spanish speakers.62
Teachers will create standards based project and work
opportunities, including guided reading and writers workshop
activities, using all available sources and instructional
formats. We will especially encourage the use an ever
growing MdM toolbox packed with the specific researchbased curricular resources and tools with which we are
familiar as educators. Teachers will be encouraged to
discover and create additional research-based tools which
may benefit the specific students in their care.
61
Retrieved from Kathryn Lindholm Leary: http://www.lindholm-leary.com/resources/review_research.pdf.
62
Collier, V.P., & Thomas, W.P. (2009).Educating English learners for a transformed world.Albuquerque, NM: Fuente Press.
60
The MdM toolbox will initially include the following curricular resources and tools, which can also be
found in the Education Program Supplementary Curriculum and Programs section of this charter
application, in addition to the many instructional strategies listed in our instructional section:







Estrellitas Spanish Literacy Program63
Reading A-Z materials in Spanish and English64
Frogstreet Press Musical curriculum in Spanish and English65
Preschool Prep resources for sight word, number, letter, color ,and shape recognition in Spanish
and English66
Count Me In Too numeracy and mathematics67
Mexican National Curriculum68
Literacy Squared69
At MdM we will use these tools to weave together exceptionally comprehensive educational
opportunities in order to reach the end goal of mastery of standards and a strong, diverse, bilingual
community of students, teachers, families and community members. This community will share the
vision of generations of graduates who are able to enter into the global and local community in any
capacity they choose.
Grades Served
MdM will provide education for students aged 3 through sixth grade. Languages are learned most easily
at a young age, and studies show that many children (particularly low-income children) are arriving at
school without the skills needed for success in Kindergarten.70Starting with three-year-old students
allows children extra years to acquire fluency in their second language, and greatly increases the
likelihood that they will graduate from Kindergarten above or on grade level. This decreases the need
for remediation during the early years of elementary school, and is a predictor of continued success
throughout the child’s educational career.71
Three Year Age Groupings:
Montessori education operates on 3-year cycles. The school
Primary
ECE-K
community will comprise Primary Classrooms for children 3
Lower
El
1st-3rd
years old to Kindergarten, Lower Elementary rooms for grades 1
Upper El
4th-6th
through 3, and Upper Elementary classes for 4th through
6thgraders.72The integrity of this three year model is important to
the successful implementation of the Montessori philosophy and curriculum.
63
See http://www.estrellita.com/
See http://www.readinga-z.com/
65
See http://www.frogstreet.com/curriculum.html
66
See http://www.preschoolprepco.com/h/i/index.php
67
See http://www.curriculumsupport.education.nsw.gov.au/countmein/index.htm
68
See http://basica.sep.gob.mx/dgdc/sitio/start.php?act=Edprimaria
See http://www.reformapreescolar.sep.gob.mx/ACTUALIZACION/PROGRAMA/Preescolar2011.pdf
69
See http://literacysquared.org/
70
Kayili, G., & Ari, R. (2011).Examination of the Effects of the Montessori Method on Preschool Children's Readiness to Primary
Education.Educational Sciences: Theory & Practice, 11(4), 2104-2109.
71
Otaiba, S.A., Folsom, J.S., Schatschneider, C., Wanzek, J., Greulich, G., Meadows, J., Li, Z., Connor, C.M. (2011).Predicting first
grade reading performance from Kindergarten response to tier one instruction. Except child.2011; 77(4); 453 – 470.
72
Random House Inc.
64
61
Dual language programs are most successful when they continue at least through 6thgrade because most
students need between 4 and 7 years to completely master a new language. 73 Due to this need for longterm instruction in a second language, consistent matriculation in such a program for the entirety of
elementary school is necessary to attain true bilingualism and bi-literacy, and to realize the full potential
for academic success that a dual language program can provide. Students who start our program in
preschool will be able to attend 9 years at MdM, more than sufficient time to solidify their second
language skills. In addition, students who start in ECE will have spent 6 years in the program by the time
they take the TCAP test in 3rd grade, insuring that they will have the linguistic skills necessary to do well
on the test.7475
Rationale for serving this population
At-risk students are especially in need of individualized, targeted academic instruction.76 This
environment can help imbue students with the capacity to persevere, a sense of agency for their own
education, and cultural competency in the academic community. These attributes build up the student’s
social capital which research has confirmed to be an indicator of academic success and academic
attainment level.77Montessori philosophy and curriculum depend on a daily individual plan for each
student. This allows teachers and students to work together in order to build the student’s skills in a
holistic manner that leaves them prepared to take responsibility for their own education and seek out
the knowledge they need to succeed in the world.78
Research clearly shows that there are benefits to
integrating student populations in the classroom. Preschool
students who come from low SES households enter school
with a significantly lower vocabulary than their middle or
upper-class peers.79When these students are grouped only
73
Research clearly shows that
diverse classrooms like those
common in Dual Language and
public Montessori programs
benefit all members.
Williams, F.T., &Menke, M. (2010) Struggling learners & language immersion education: Research-based, practitionerinformed responses to educators’ top questions. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota, The Center for Advanced Research
on Language Acquisition.
74
Murray, A., & Peyton, V. (2008).Public Montessori Elementary Schools.Montessori Life, 20(4), 26-30.
75
Williams F.T., &Menke, M. (2010) Struggling learners & language immersion education: Research-based, practitionerinformed responses to educators’ top questions. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota, The Center for Advanced Research
76
Murray, A., & Peyton, V. (2008).Public Montessori Elementary Schools.Montessori Life, 20(4), 26-30.
77
Lareau, A. (2003). Unequal childhoods: Class, race and family life. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.
78
Kayili, G., & Ari, R. (2011).Examination of the Effects of the Montessori Method onPreschool Children's Readiness to Primary
Education.Educational Sciences: Theory & Practice 11141Autumn, 2104-2109.
79
Lareau, A. (2003). Unequal childhoods: Class, race and family life. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.
62
with their similarly low SES peers, their vocabularies do not increase at a pace that allows them to close
the vocabulary gap. However, when they are placed in classes with middle or upper income students,
the low SES students’ vocabularies increase significantly faster. In addition, there are no negative effects
on the middle/upper class students and these students also show an increased rate of academic
advancement when enrolled in programs with students of lower economic standing than do their peers
in more uniformly affluent schools.80
Low-income students and Spanish speakers bring different experiences and expertise to the school
community than do middle-class and English speakers. More affluent English speakers bring the
resources and cultural capital common to the middle class and mainstream American culture that
Spanish-speaking students cannot usually access at majority-minority schools. We, therefore, seek to
enroll a purposefully diverse group of students with regards to culture, economic status, and linguistic
background in order to provide an enriching experience for all MdM students and to build a strong,
diverse, bilingual community.
For more information about our student recruitment strategies targeted to attracting this diverse
population see Community Engagement.
Implementing our philosophy
In conclusion, the MdM standards-based Montessori 90/10 Dual Language program built around
Authentic Robust Thematic Instruction and the ability for maximum differentiated teaching and learning
provides an environment where each student has the opportunity to maximize her own unique
potential.
At MdM we know that children learn best when learning is individualized and every child is challenged
every day, and we capitalize on this knowledge by working with each child through the Montessori
philosophy in order to build long and short-term educational goals and actionable, individualized
learning plans with which to reach each goal in a timely manner. We challenge every child every day
while working within their zone of proximal development to encourage maximal growth and minimal
frustration.
At MdM we know that our curriculum and materials are tools for student learning, and that when the
environment and curricula are properly prepared teachers have more time to analyze student
outcomes, to plan for individual student success, and to help students remove any barriers to that
success. Consequently we will build our program around Montessori’s prepared environment and
individualized, self-checking materials in addition to a team of intelligent, dedicated, well-trained
educators who can successfully guide students to grow into life-long learners and investigators with the
skills and tools for success in their future academic endeavors at any level, and in the world outside of
school.
At MdM we know that bilingual learning builds stronger connections and better capacity for brain
function than monolingual instruction. We also know that Spanish, as the minority language, must be
emphasized in the early grades in order to ensure bilingual success for all students. Consequently, we
80
Kahlenberg, R.D. (2009) Turnaround schools that work: Moving beyond separate but equal.
http://tcf.org/publications/2009/11/pb700.
63
will provide our students with the opportunity to excel in education and life through implementation of
the 90/10 dual immersion model which has been shown to clearly boost academic performance for a
diverse range of learners of multiple language and socio-cultural backgrounds beginning at age 3. This
model focuses primarily on Spanish for learners of all language backgrounds for the first few years of
school in order to reinforce the language that has the least exposure and lower status in mainstream
American culture, purposefully supporting the minority language as a language of value and power
within the school community, equal to the status accorded to English outside of the school setting.
Additive Bilingualism:
+
Knowledge in Spanish
Knowledge in English
Total Knowledge
At MdM we know that bilingualism is an additive venture. A person’s
knowledge is the sum total of their knowledge in all of their languages;
instruction in one language builds on, and builds foundations for,
instruction in another. We embrace this fact by valuing knowledge and
skills in multiple languages and continually leveraging our students’ out
of school experiences in their individualized lessons and projects
through the construction of authentic themes in which our learners
can see themselves as active investigators and position their own
experiences within the broader world.
At MdM we know that students learn language best when they experience it in the context of
Comprehensible Input, and that children internalize concepts most readily when they experience those
concepts in the meaningful context of real- world experiences. As a result we use thematic instruction to
provide a context and means to connect knowledge in our student’s first and second languages, and
immerse our students in everyday activities that require active participation and communication in both
languages. We also rely on concrete materials and lessons that involve the whole child in the active
construction of his own understanding.
At MdM we know that deep, purposeful, interrelated investigations of the world around us engage
every member of our learning community, build knowledge about the worlds around and within us, and
lay the foundation for children to become life-long learners and investigators. As a result we will rely on
the individualization of the standards based Montessori curriculum within the framework of authentic
robust thematic instruction to allow each teacher and child the space to fully investigate the world
around them while pursuing and surpassing given academic standards and individualized educational
goals.
At MdM, each child will experience learning at
exactly his own level while learning the
language and skills he needs to thrive in our
21st century society. At MdM, each child will
master the standards, just as she also learns to
master her own ability to plan for and attain
success.
64
Education Program: Curriculum
Montessori del Mundo teachers believe that curricula are tools to be used by teachers for the purpose
of preparing students for further education and participation in the future bilingual workforce. The
MdM curriculum comprises the traditional Montessori curriculum, enhanced with resources from the
MdM Toolkit to align with the Colorado State, Aurora Public School District, and National Core Standards
creating a differentiated Standards Based Montessori Curriculum, along with MdM thematic curricula
rooted in dual language best practices. All Colorado, Aurora, and National Core standards are addressed
in the MdM curricula and many are far exceeded. Children in MdM’s Montessori program will not only
master the standard curriculum, but also build the skills needed to become life-long learners and
responsible citizens of the diverse bilingual local and global communities.
Montessori Curriculum
The Montessori curriculum includes the skills and knowledge that children need and want to acquire as
they move through the various developmental stages between the ages of 3-6, 6-9, and 9-12. Students
from many different social, cultural, economic, and linguistic backgrounds have participated in
Montessori programs around the world to great academic and social effect, meeting and exceeding the
academic standards applied to their peers in traditional school programs.81
Montessori is particularly appropriate for a dual language program, which necessarily attracts students
from widely varying backgrounds and experiences. These children will arrive at school with vastly
different academic and social needs. The Montessori curriculum is designed for the maximum level of
individualization needed to address these varying abilities and
MdM focuses on mastery of
experiences, and hinges on mastery of skills and concepts by
individual students rather than coverage of subjects by the class as
skills and concepts by individual
a whole. This flexibility allows teachers to challenge every child
students rather than coverage of
every day while also helping to build a community of learners with
subjects by the class as a whole.
the skills to meet future academic, personal, and professional
goals.
All teachers at MdM will be or become Montessori certified by attending training in all aspects of the
curriculum and the uses of all of the standard instructional Montessori materials in the classroom. This
training will also cover the Montessori philosophy, classroom management, record keeping and
observation strategies.82
81
Rodriguez, L. (2003). An Analysis of a Public School PreKindergarten Bilingual Montessori Program. A paper presented at the
Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association, Chicago, IL, April 24, 2003.
Biello, D. (2006). Students prosper with Montessori method. Scientific American, September 29, 2006.
Kayili, G., & Ari, R. (2011). Examination of the Effects of the Montessori Method on Preschool Children's Readiness to Primary
Education. Educational Sciences: Theory & Practice -11141 Autumn, 2104-2109.
http://www.gse.harvard.edu/news-impact/2009/09/quality-of-early-child-care-plays-role-in-later-reading-mathachievement/#ixzz224X7AF9z
82
See http://www.mecr.edu/.
65
MdM teachers will follow the Montessori philosophy and will be held accountable for presenting all the
core lessons in the curriculum. Our dedicated team of well-trained teachers will hold each other
accountable for the faithful implementation of the Montessori curriculum, creating close horizontal
alignment between rooms, as well as vertical alignment throughout the curricula.
Teachers will plan the interdisciplinary authentic themes as a team; they must work closely together to
ensure clear thematic integration throughout the curricula even as children switch classrooms during
different portions of the day for specific language instruction. Teachers will have common planning time
with their teams, and the entire grade level will have time to
Teachers use common planning
meet on early release Fridays to ensure their ability to maintain
strong thematic alignment school-wide.
time during the week and on
Friday early release days to
ensure consistency in instruction
across classrooms.
In addition to the continuity of care and differentiation provided
within each Montessori classroom, the Montessori curriculum is
carefully designed to include built-in continuity from the primary
room to the lower elementary room, and on to the upper
elementary class. Because each child is moving at her own pace as she surpasses the requisite standard
skill levels, some works are available in both the primary and lower elementary class, while others span
the lower and upper elementary classrooms. For example, children may be introduced to the stamp
game (four digit addition, subtraction, multiplication and division) in Kindergarten, yet when they
transition to the lower elementary classroom (1-3rd grade) they will find the same material again and
will use it to extend and expand their knowledge of operational math that they built in
Kindergarten.83The typical Montessori classroom contains the curriculum necessary to cover five years
of development, the Lower Elementary Classroom which serves students in grades 1-3 contains
curriculum spanning grades K-4. This allows the teacher to accommodate 1st grade students in need of
remediation, 3rd grade students who are above grade-level and absolutely everyone in between.
The Montessori curriculum defines specific skills to be mastered by students at each grade level in the
following subject areas:


Language
o Oral language
o Phonemic awareness
o Phonics
o Grammar
o Sight words
o Decoding
o Reading comprehension
o Conventions of writing
o Handwriting
83
Math
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
Number sense
Paths to abstraction
Fractions
Operations
Decimals
Place value
Estimation
Algebra
Geometry
Problem solving
66






Science
o Vocabulary
o Botany
o Classification
o Organization of the living world
o Geology
o Anatomy
Social Studies
o Conflict resolution
o Anthropology
o History
Geography
o Geopolitical boundaries
o Natural land forms
o Cartography
Art and Music appreciation
o Listening
o Dancing
o Rhythm
o Reading music
o Playing music (bells)
o Composition (art)
o Art and music history

Sensorial
o Geometry
o Observation
o Matching
o Sorting
o Classification
o Following directions
o Organization
Practical Life skills
o Fine motor
o Gross motor
o Cooking
o Sewing
o Cleaning
o Following direction
o Independence
o Creating and maintaining order
o Coordination
o Organization
Five Great Lessons
o Traditionally, the Five Great Lessons are used to paint broad strokes in the science and
social sciences before moving students on to more specific study of concepts hidden
within each broader subject in the Lower and Upper Elementary Curricula.84
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Coming of the Universe and the Earth
Coming of Life
Coming of Human Beings
Communication in Signs
The Story of Numbers
The Montessori curriculum is easily adjusted and supplemented for each child or for the entire class in
order to ensure broad ranging and deep knowledge of every subject area for every child, and MdM
teachers will be encouraged to do whatever it takes to help their students succeed.
Colorado State Standards
The Colorado Department of Education has adapted the Common Core Standards to create a new more
comprehensive set of state standards. These standards are available at:
http://www.cde.state.co.us/cdeassess/UAS/CoAcademicStandards.html and have been adopted by the
Aurora Public Schools. The Common Core standards have been adopted by states across the country to
84
See http://www.montessoriforeveryone.com/The-Five-Great-Lessons_ep_66-1.html.
67
provide more cohesive and consistent educational expectations across the country. They have been
carefully crafted to include 21st century thinking skills and readiness competencies.
Montessori del Mundo Thematic Curriculum
MdM Thematic Curriculum will be designed by the MdM Design Team and any MdM teaching staff that
have been hired in the spring of 2013. The thematic curriculum will emphasize science, social studies,
and oral language development and will be planned with the following considerations:








Alignment to Colorado State Standards
(particularly Science and Social Studies);
Three-year theme cycle to reflect a child’s
three-year experience in one classroom;
Vertical alignment between Primary, Lower
Elementary, and Upper Elementary themes;
Authentic appeal of thematic content to
children and teachers;
Child’s ability to identify as an active
investigator of the theme;
Potential depth and ability to connect diverse
subject areas;
Support of themes for oral language development;
Availability of materials in both Spanish and English.
Dual Language is a teaching
philosophy, not a curriculum.
Thematic instruction however is a
hallmark of quality dual language
instruction and therefore
comprises a key curricular
component of the MdM program.
A sample thematic unit alignment is available in Appendix C.
Supplementary Curriculum and Programs: The MdM Toolbox
MdM teachers will utilize supplementary curricula or programs from time to time to emphasize
particular standards or to address students’ specific needs or interests. Our collection of trusted
curricula and programs will no doubt evolve over time, but at present the MdM Toolbox includes the
following:
 Estrellitas beginning Spanish phonics program85
 Count Me in Too math curriculum86
 Reading A-Z87
 Frogstreet Press88
 INEP nutrition program89
 Preschool Prep90
 Mexican National Literacy Curriculum91
 SRA Reading Labs in Spanish and English92
85
See http://www.estrellita.com
See http://www.curriculumsupport.education.nsw.gov.au/countmein/assesment.html
87
See http://www.readinga-z.com/
88
See http://www.frogstreet.com/
89
See http://inep.ucdenver.edu/
90
See http://www.preschoolprepco.com/h/i/index.php
91
See http://basica.sep.gob.mx/dgdc/sitio/start.php?act=Edprimaria
See http://www.reformapreescolar.sep.gob.mx/ACTUALIZACION/PROGRAMA/Preescolar2011.pdf
86
68
Montessori del Mundo – Comprehensive Curriculum
The MdM curriculum blends the traditional Montessori curriculum, the skills and knowledge stipulated
by the new Colorado State Standards, and the rich educational experiences supplied by our own MdM
thematic units with additional programs and tools to meet every student’s needs.9394 At MdM we
believe the standards are guideposts marking the minimum skills and concepts that each child must
master for success in school and life. Teachers use the MdM curricula and Toolbox of additional
resources and programs to facilitate student learning up to and past these guideposts. Teachers will use
their unique knowledge of their students and the skills and knowledge these children will require for
future successes to choose the most effective tools in order to challenge every child every day. We
expect teachers to make these modifications while remaining faithful to the Montessori philosophy and
the 90/10 Dual Language model.
The following chart demonstrates this flexibility by cataloging the MdM curriculum’s ability to address
every requirement in the Common Core, Colorado, and APS standards successfully.
Curricular Comparison Chart K-6
Content Area:
Math
(comprehensive program)
Montessori
MdM Thematic
Curriculum
or Supplemental
Curricula
New Colorado
State Standards
(aligned to
Common Core)
Number Sense,
Place Value, Linear
Counting
Patterns, Functions
and Algebraic
Structures
Data Analysis,
Statistics,
Probability
Shape, Dimension
and Geometric
Relationships
Memorization of
Basic Facts
X
X
X
X
Operations
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
92
See http://srareadinglabs.com/
A complete curricular and standards alignment of the traditional Montessori curriculum and new Colorado State/ National
Core Standards is available in Appendix C.
94
For a more detailed breakdown of the specific Montessori lessons and instructional strategies used by MdM to meet the new
Colorado State standards for Kindergarten Oral Language and Reading see Appendix C.
93
69
Mental Math
X
Fractions
X
X
Measurement
X
X
Content Area:
Literacy
New Colorado
State Standards
(aligned to
Common Core)
X
X
Montessori
MdM Thematic
Curriculum
or Supplemental
Curricula
Oral Expression and
Listening
X
X
X
Phonetic Reading
X
X
Whole Word Reading
X
Reading
Comprehension
X
X
X
Fiction and NonFiction Reading
X
X
X
Writing a Variety of
Genres
X
X
X
Editing and Revision
Process
X
X
X
Grammar,
Capitalization,
Punctuation, Spelling
Research and
Reasoning
X
X
X
X
X
70
X
Content Area:
Science
Montessori
MdM Thematic
Curriculum
or Supplemental
Curricula
New Colorado
State Standards
(aligned to
Common Core)
Physical Science
X
X
X
Life Science
X
X
X
Earth and Space
Science
X
X
X
Content Area:
Literacy
Montessori
MdM Thematic
Curriculum
or Supplemental
Curricula
New Colorado
State Standards
(aligned to
Common Core)
History
X
X
X
Geography
X
X
X
Economics
X
X
X
Civics
X
X
X
See Appendix C for sample scope and sequences from the Montessori Primary classroom.
Montessori del Mundo Standards
The Montessori del Mundo team believes that all children can attain, at minimum, mastery of the state
and district standards. In many instances the Montessori curriculum expects children to perform well
above these standards. At MdM we will hold children accountable to whichever standard is highest: the
state standard, the district standard, or the Montessori standard.
The MdM standards will be created using Colorado State Standards, the Aurora Public Schools outcomes
as listed on APS standards-based report cards, and Montessori expectations. These MdM standards will
be as challenging as, or more challenging than, the highest level suggested within the state, district, and
traditional Montessori expectations. Teachers will be able to easily consult the MdM standards chart in
order to build Individual Learning Plans and Thematic Units that are based on and address the given
standards. The MdM standards reflected on the chart will also appear on the Montessori del Mundo
standards-based report card. Please see the following example chart showing the MdM standards
Alignment for Math.
71
Standards Alignment – Kindergarten Math
MdM standards are always at least equal to the most rigorous standards from among APS, CDE, and
Montessori. Highlighted areas represent MdM standards that are higher than all three alternative
standards.
Colorado State Standards (Adapted
APS
Montessori
from Common Core Standards)
End of Kinder
Curriculum
End of Cycle
expectations
End of Cycle
Expectations (Kinder) –
(as outlined on
Expectations
to be reflected on
standards based
(Kinder)
MdM Report Card
report card)
1.Whole numbers can be used to name,
Quarter 1
Count to 100 by
Count to 100 by ones
count, represent and order quantity
Count objects to 10 ones and tens
and tens
Quarter 2
a. Use number names and the count
Use numbers to
Count on from a
Count to 100 by 5s and
sequence. (CCSS: K.CC)
represent an object number in the
to 30 by 2s
i. Count to 100 by ones and by
to 10
sequence (bead
tens. (CCSS: K.CC.1)
Quarter 3
chains)
Count backwards from
ii. Count forward beginning from a
Counts
objects
to
21.
given number within the known
1
20
Write numbers 1sequence. (CCSS: K.CC.2)
Quarter
4
100 (100 board)
Count forward and
iii. Write numbers from 0 to 20.
Uses
numbers
to
backward beginning
Represent a number of objects
with a written numeral 0represent objects
Represent
from a number within
2
20. (CCSS: K.CC.3)
to 20
numbers up to
the sequence.
b. Count to determine the number of
Composes and
9999 with
objects. (CCSS: K.CC)
decomposes teen
numerals and
Write numbers
i.
Apply the relationship between
numbers using tens manipulatives
1-100
numbers and quantities and
and ones w/
(bank)
connect counting to
3
objects
Represent numbers up
cardinality. (CCSS: K.CC.4)
Count
objects
to
to 9999 with numerals
ii.
Count and represent objects to
4
100
and manipulatives
20. (CCSS: K.CC.5)
c.
Compare and instantly recognize
numbers. (CCSS: K.CC)
i.
Identify whether the number of
objects in one group is greater
than, less than, or equal to the
number of objects in another
5
group. (CCSS: K.CC.6)
ii.
Compare two numbers between
1 and 10 presented as written
numerals. (CCSS: K.CC.7)
iii.
Identify small groups of objects
fewer than five without
counting
Count objects to 100
Identify which number
is greater for numbers
up to 20
Identify small groups
of objects fewer than
10 without counting
Work on the Montessori del Mundo standards alignment is on-going. Kindergarten standards are
completed and available in Appendix D. 3rd grade standards will be completed by October 2012 and a
complete list of standards including 6th grade standards will be completed by December 2012.
72
Curriculum and Standards Alignment
The Montessori del Mundo team is working on completing a curriculum alignment that will align the
Montessori curriculum and other curriculum components utilized at MdM, such as thematic instruction
and supplemental programs, with the new Colorado State Standards. While our work is on-going, a
similar product is in use by other public Montessori schools around the state. Please See Appendix C for
a complete alignment to the most recent state standards put together by St. Vrain Montessori School.
MdM is working in conjunction with Fort Collins Montessori School (a proposed charter school) and the
Colorado Montessori Association to further update the curriculum alignment to the newest Colorado
State Standards. We have currently completed the literacy alignment for kindergarten (available in
Appendix C) the entire alignment for K-6 will be completed by August 2014.
While all students at MdM will be expected to meet the standards for each grade level through
exposure, direct instruction, and practice leading to mastery, each will also be following his or her own
individual learning plan. Pupils will be promoted from skill to skill as they show mastery of the previous
content.
Promotion and Retention
All students will be expected to meet or exceed our academic expectations and Montessori del Mundo
standards for academic achievement by the end of each school year. As illustrated in the chart above,
Montessori del Mundo standards are inclusive of State, District and Montessori standards and in many
cases exceed all three expectations. Due to the multi-age nature of the Montessori classroom, the
crucial transition points in our program at which retention or early advancement will be most carefully
considered include the transition from Kindergarten to 1st grade and 3rd to 4th grade as well as
graduation from MdM in the 6th grade.
Students will be promoted based on their academic skills as well as their emotional maturity level. It is
possible that those who excel academically would be promoted from one room to the next in less than
three years, just as others may delay their transfer
between classes for an additional year. All decisions
about early advancement or retention will be made in
cooperation with the classroom teacher, the student
and his parents, intervention teachers, and the RIT/SIT
team leader.
Students will be considered ready to graduate from
MdM when they have met the Montessori del Mundo
expectations for 6th grade academic standards, in
addition to having developed the requisite work habits,
social skills, and communication skills that we expect of
our graduates. MdM’s 6th grade graduation
requirements will be carefully selected to ensure a
smooth transition for our students into district middle
school programs for 7th grade.
73
Educational Program: Instruction
The instructional environment at Montessori del Mondo is designed to provide each child with rich
experiences targeted precisely to enhance his or her learning. While every child will attain mastery of
the curriculum, each child will follow his or her own path which is based on his or her knowledge, skills,
and needs. The various instructional techniques in use at MdM will provide the diversity of tools needed
to help each child succeed.
Montessori instruction, which relies on individual work done by each child, provides the basis for MdM's
differentiated instruction. Instruction is provided by the teacher on an individual or small group basis,
and then the child practices the skill on their own with the Montessori self-correcting materials. The
student draws up an individual work plan for themselves with input and approval of the teacher. These
work plans are designed to guide them to the materials that will advance them towards curriculum
mastery.
Active learning provides a more stimulating and natural experience. The Montessori materials provide
hands-on learning that engages the child. Our thematic instruction provides the child opportunities to
integrate the skills that they are learning in a meaningful context. Every Friday, each class will engage in
a thematic project that will reinforce the concepts they are learning and provide a special activity that
the children and teachers can look forward to each week.
Learning new material in an unfamiliar language can be especially challenging, therefore MdM will
constantly seek out techniques that help students to master content and language objectives
simultaneously. We call this cadre of tools the MdM Toolbox. It is packed with an evolving battery of
research based strategies, methods, and materials that have been shown to increase achievement for
second language learners. The MdM Toolbox will begin with the instructional strategies and
supplementary curricula we list in this section, with the intention of constant review throughout the life
of the school allowing for the addition of other valuable tools at the discretion of our dedicated team of
capable teachers and administrators. This Toolbox is key to our success at MdM, where every child is
learning a new language with the ultimate goal of bilingualism and bi-literacy for all.95
The 90/10 dual language model dictates that each grade has a different percentage of their instruction
in each language. Each MdM team includes a mix of English and Spanish teachers for each group of
children. Since all children will be learning both in their primary and secondary languages, MdM
provides specific tools to ensure that languages are
not a barrier to learning. These tools are used in the
Teachers use techniques such as
individualized instruction by the teachers as needed
Teaching Proficiency through
for each child, as well as with the class as a whole.
Reading and Storytelling (TPRS) to
help students build language skills
Repetition is important while learning a new
in their second language and more
language and also while learning content in a second
easily access curriculum.
language. Teaching Proficiency through Reading and
Storytelling (TPRS) provides a structure that makes
95
For a clear definition of the MdM Toolbox and its place within the broader MdM Curriculum, please see the Curriculum and
Philosophy sections of this document, as well as the more detailed instructional explanations in this section.
74
repetition by the teacher and the student both natural and fun. Cooperative learning provides not only
time to learn social skills, but time to practice vocabulary with other students. Dictation, a component of
Literacy Squared, provides extra practice for writing.
Much of language acquisition comes from environmental cues. MdM teachers assist their students by
using demonstrations and other sheltered instruction techniques to augment the information they are
providing verbally. Scaffolded instruction allows the teacher to provide each child with the optimal level
of challenge. Movement can also help to reinforce learning for many children.
The MdM classroom provides a wide variety of instructional tools to provide each child with learning
experiences that are focused and targeted to the specific needs of the child. Children at MdM learn the
skills they needs at their own pace with specific supports for language learning provided by the MdM
Toolbox.
The Montessori del Mundo Learning Environment
Classrooms will be multi-age and organized into three-year groupings:
Primary Classrooms: ECE (3 years old)-Kindergarten
Lower Elementary Classrooms: 1st-3rd grade
Upper Elementary Classrooms: 4th-6th grade
Students will remain with the same teacher for each three-year stretch. Instruction will be highly
differentiated to meet the individual needs of each child in the classroom, allowing for maximum
remediation or enrichment without any stigma or undue attention attached to the varying levels of
mastery within a single age cohort.
Classrooms will contain the full range of Montessori works appropriate to the grade levels being taught.
Items in the classroom will be purposefully selected, learner-centered, and aesthetically pleasing.
Displays will be at child height, with most being student generated. Children will have the option of
working either at tables or on work rugs on the
floor. There will be space for individual and small
group work in every classroom, as well as whole
Montessori classrooms contain appropriate works
group circle time.
and materials to meet a wide range of needs. For
example: Lower Elementary classrooms which serve
Teachers who are co-teaching in Lower or Upper
students in 1-3rd grade contain materials covering
Elementary classrooms will ensure that their
curriculum and skills taught in K-4th grade, this
classrooms are set up in a similar fashion. Their
shelving arrangements, displays, and works will
allows the teacher to differentiate seamlessly for all
st
resemble each other and follow the same logic of
students in their class from a 1 grader in need of
rd
placement, so as to create a smooth transition
remediation, to an advanced 3 grader in need of a
for children between the Spanish and English
challenge.
environments as recommended by best practices
for Dual Language programs.96
96
75
At MdM we value our students’ right to a connection with the outside world, and their need for gross
motor and social development. For this reason the outdoor environment will also provide ample space
for open-ended play and study for both individuals and groups of all sizes. MdM students are integral
members of the community, and as such will be given responsibilities for keeping our indoor and
outdoor spaces and materials pleasant, organized, and in good working order.
Class size, structure, and staffing
The following is a breakdown of the classroom size and structure and the MdM staffing model at full
implementation.
There will be four Primary Classrooms structured as follows:
1 Teacher per classroom
2 Classroom Assistants per classroom
Students in ECE (ages 3 and 4) and Kindergarten
Class size: 27
Case load: 39
Class size = the maximum
number of students in the
classroom at any given time.
Case load = the number of
students one teacher is
responsible for throughout the
academic year.
Primary Classroom
AM –
Full day
7 ECE 3 year olds
7 ECE 4 year olds 13 Kindergarteners
PM7 ECE 3 year olds
7 ECE 4 year olds
One Preschool Full-day Option classroom:
1 Teacher per classroom
1 Classroom Assistant per classroom
Students in ECE 3 and ECE 4
Class size: 20
Case load: 40
Each student enrolled in the Full Day
Option class is assigned to one of the
primary classes for either the morning
or afternoon session. In this way we
preserve each child’s experience in the
three year classroom, and allow
students to spend an extended day at
school by attending the full day option
class for either the morning or
afternoon.
AM –
10 ECE 3 year olds
10 ECE 4 year olds
PM –
10 ECE 3 year olds
10 ECE 4 year olds
For a more detailed
description of the Preschool
Full-day Option program see
Special Programs
76
Six Lower Elementary Classrooms:
1 Teacher per classroom (working together in teams of three)
Students in 1st -3rd grade
Class size: 30 for Spanish teachers,
24 for English teachers
Case load: 36 for Spanish teachers,
72 for English teachers
Teachers will share students within triad teams
(two Spanish teachers and one English teacher).
Children will spend different amounts of time in
English or Spanish depending on their grade level
and language allocation percentage. In this graphic
the yellow lines indicated student movement
between the classrooms. For more detailed
explanation of the Lower Elementary classroom
schedule please see the section on Calendar and
Schedule and Appendix A.
Class size = the maximum
number of students in the
classroom at any given time.
Case load = the number of
students one teacher is
responsible for throughout the
academic year.
Four Upper Elementary Classes:
1 Teacher in each classroom (working together in teams of two)
4th-6th grade students
Class size: 24
Case load: 48
All students in 4th-6th grade spend 50% of their time
in English and 50% of their time in Spanish. Teachers
teach in teams of two, and share students between their two environments.
Approach to curriculum and lesson planning
Teachers will practice a standards-based approach to guide their planning and curricular choices.
Sources utilized will include the Montessori Curriculum, the teacher-created dual language thematic
units outlining the projects, activities, and objectives woven into each theme, as well as the MdM
Toolkit of resources and programs. Teachers will strategically weave these resources together to build
individual learning plans for their students that will lead to successful completion of the academic
standards within a reasonable time period while helping each child to develop into a responsible
bilingual scholar and citizen.
77
Teachers will plan their instruction during the Montessori work block on a per-student basis considering
each child’s individual needs across subject areas. (See Appendix C for sample Montessori Work Block
Lesson Plan). Teachers are expected to use their observations, anecdotal notes and record keeping
documents to help them plan instruction that meets the expectation to challenge every child every day.
97
Teachers will practice backwards-design lesson-planning to plan their interdisciplinary thematic units.
Each interdisciplinary unit will culminate in a “demonstration of learning.” This might be a project, a
presentation, or an oral report. Ideally these demonstrations will be public celebrations, and parents will
be invited to see what their children have accomplished. Demonstrations will be designed to illustrate a
mastery of the standards the individual child has been working on as well as the student’s individual
interests in the thematic base.
Instructional Methods and Strategies
Montessori Work Time – Core Academic Instruction Using Individualized lessons:98
Core instruction at MdM occurs during the highly differentiated Montessori work time and is designed
specifically to challenge every child every day. Montessori work time is built around the creation of
individual trajectories of growth for each individual student. Most lessons are taught one on one or in
small groups. Lessons are structured for mastery so that each student has the chance for success at their
own pace. No student is too low, or too advanced, for the Montessori curriculum because its basic
format is built to meet every student right where she is in every subject.
Ed Stanford, Master of Education from Loyola University, explains the depth and breadth of Montessori
differentiation as follows:
“Dr. Maria Montessori discovered a brilliant and elegant solution to the challenge of meeting
every child’s needs. She created, tested, and refined this solution through observation and (the
use of) auto-didactic (self-teaching) materials to convey particular knowledge to children.”99
The spindle box is an example of auto-didactic design. It consists of a wooden box with 10
compartments labeled 0-9 and 45 wooden spindles (rods). The teacher shows the child how to carefully
count the rods and place them into each compartment. Once the child has been shown how to do the
work he may choose to practice it at any time. This work contains two “controls of error.” If the child
mis-counts the spindles he either run out, or have too many left over at the end of the work, thus
signaling to him that he needs to re-check his work. If the child forgets how to read one of the number
sequences, he can count up the numbers on the box (as with a number line) to remind himself of which
number it is. In this way even very young children of 3 years old are able to be independent in practicing
and mastering the very important skill of counting to 10.
97
See Appendix C for a sample lesson plan for Montessori work time.
Random House Inc.
99
Stanford, E. (2012). “Meeting the needs of each student.” Retrieved from: http://mariamontessori.com/mm/?p=1310.
98
78
Children have an ever expanding set of materials so they can choose to either practice something
familiar, or to challenge themselves, providing hours of self-directed learning. This allows the teacher to
continually assess and observe as they move from child to child, presenting new materials as needed.
Dr. Montessori understood the need for an individualized learning experience over a hundred years ago,
and her approach lives on today, an elegant and effective model of differentiated instruction for
children of the 21stcentury.
Individual Montessori Work Plans:
Individual Work Plans are used in the Montessori classroom to differentiate the sequence of work for
each individual student and make sure they are working in the zone of proximal development. The use
of work plans also helps children to develop skills for planning their day and budgeting their time, and
holds them accountable to complete the work
they set out to do. The assigned works can
Work plans can be a powerful tool which
include specific language works, or goals
allow children to set goals and plan their
involving vocabulary or oral language, as well as
time, teachers to monitor progress and
works or goals in literacy, math or other
give feedback, and parents to stay
academic content. These plans, most often
produced as a graphic organizer or chart by the
informed about what their children are
student with guidance from the teacher, help
working on at school.
students to learn to be organized and focused
while moving them forward at an appropriate
pace to ensure mastery of academic standards.100
Active, Child-Centered, Hands-On Learning:
Piaget's research indicates that children learn best through physical experiences. He considered
involvement through the physical manipulation of objects to be the key for intellectual development.
These components are key to a Montessori approach of instruction. At MdM, as in all Montessori
Classrooms, we agree with his assessment of the importance of hands-on activities. Activity-centered
classrooms encourage student creativity in problem solving, promote student independence, and help
all students succeed.101
Thematic Instruction and Experiential Learning:
Integrating content and language goals through rich, authentic, thematic study effectively engages
students and allows for maximum differentiation. It also provides reason and motivation to master
vocabulary, and space and an authentic venue for practicing new vocabulary, while communicating
about common concepts and interests within the academic content. Examples of rich authentic themes
include “We are paleontologists!” and “What is art?”102 103 In addition to new Montessori works that
100
For example work plans please see Appendix C, Or the following sources:
Hull-Jackson Montessori: Elementary Work Plan – Thorson's 2nd .
http://www.montessoriforeveryone.com/Elementary-Workplans-Teacher-Tools_ep_62-1.html.
101
Woolfolk, Anita. (2004). Educational Psychology. (9th ed). Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
102
Thematic Instruction: http://www.netc.org/focus/strategies/them.php
103
Sample thematic unit can be found in Appendix C
79
incorporate each theme, MdM will provide two enrichment activities based on the current theme:
experiential learning and the Friday Theme Project.
Each theme will include experiential learning opportunities in the form of field trips and real world
experiences connected to the topic being studied. Students studying Westward Expansion might visit
the Plains Conservation Center in Aurora to learn about life in sod homes, to experience what a one
room school house was like, and to get a sense for life on the plains during the time period they are
studying. Another group of students immersed in the study of plants may visit the Botanic Gardens or
Delaney Farms to participate in a planting project, while also cultivating plants in the classroom and on
the school grounds. Students engaged in the study of community may take a walking tour of the
neighborhood and interview community members to create a community guide book, or create their
own photo map of the neighborhood with information for their families and friends about available
community resources. Every learning standard can be connected to some part of the world outside of
school through a shared experience, creating maximum engagement and deeper understanding.
Experiential Learning enjoys support across the educational community, as evidenced by the following
support from UC Davis’s School of Education:
“Experiential learning is a teaching methodology where focus is placed on the process of
learning and not the product of learning. Experiential learning is learner and activity centered
and creates an environment where learners can reflect and apply their experience to real world
situations. However participating in an experience is not enough, and in order for an activity to
truly be called experiential, it needs to encompass the following elements: exploration, sharing,
processing, generalizing, application.
Experiential learning is a wonderful teaching method for engaging learners and getting them to
think creatively. It requires letting go of "perfect" end products and embracing the experience of
learning. It changes the role of the teacher to being a facilitator as opposed to the holder of
information.”104
Students complete a “Friday Project”
each week which ties together their
thematic and skills learning for the week
and often includes an artistic
component.


The Thematic Friday Project will be a highlight of the week.
Each classroom is scheduled for a 2 hour “Friday Project”
block during instructional time at the end of each week.
These projects will be designed by the teacher and will
include the following components:
Tied directly to thematic instruction – summarizes/illustrates or introduces a thematic concept
currently being studied
Academic Component – the project requires students to do research, produce a written
document, do mathematical computations or in other ways practice academic skills in a real
context. This should not be a piecemeal effort at adding busy work to the project but should be
meaningfully integrated into the project and require a robust amount of work on the part of the
students.
104
UC Davis:http://www.experientiallearning.ucdavis.edu/why-el.shtml.
80


Artistic/Fine Motor/Product component – the project should ideally produce a product or at
minimum an experience through which kids can learn the academic component. The best
projects will have multiple goals including allowing children an opportunity to demonstrate their
learning non-linguistically through artistic representation, and encouraging children (particularly
in primary and lower elementary classrooms) to work on their fine motor skills and
concentration. Whenever possible projects should be displayed in the hall or taken home so
parents can see what children are learning at school.
Teachers may choose to do projects in multi-age home rooms, or to separate students by grade
level for the Friday project in order to provide a more targeted project that is differentiated to
each grade level’s abilities.
Projects should be highly engaging, multi-step, and authentic learning experiences. In the design
team’s experience teaching, children who engage in weekly robust and multi-step projects have
more confidence in themselves, learn to complete tasks both academic and non-academic even if
they are long or complex, develop the ability to concentrate and stick with a task, are proud of their
work and excited to share it with their parents and LOVE coming to school on Fridays.
Literacy Squared:
The Literacy Squared project at CU Boulder has resulted in a collection of highly effective, research
based strategies for improving literacy outcomes for bilingual students in dual-immersion settings. It is
described as follows:
“In 2004, researchers at the University of Colorado, colleagues from the Pearson Learning Group
and seven school districts in Colorado and Texas began pilot testing a bi-literacy intervention
program for Spanish/English speaking bilingual elementary school children that would
simultaneously accelerate their literacy development in both languages. The first full
implementation of Literacy Squared began in the fall of 2005, and Phase I was completed in the
spring of 2009. Phase II is being implemented from 2009 through 2012 in 13 schools in Oregon
and 3 schools in Colorado. The Literacy Squared intervention is both research-based and
research-tested. Its conceptual framework draws on research that posits that a dire need exists
for a new theory about literacy instruction for bilingual children (Bernhardt, 2003; Grant &
Wong, 2003), and that second language literacy acquisition is greatly enhanced if learners are
literate in their first language (August & Shanahan, 2007).
The framework is based on three research-based concepts that suggest that the improvement of
schooling for emerging bilingual children can be accomplished via programs that develop biliteracy through attention to literacy in Spanish as well as English, attend to the quality of
instruction, and plan instruction to include direct and explicit attention to cross-language
connections. This means that the language of instruction for literacy includes both Spanish and
English, and that instruction in these two languages is planned in purposeful and intentional
ways to create trajectories toward bi-literacy. The Literacy Squared intervention includes
authentic instructional approaches in Spanish and English that respect and attend to the internal
structures of each of the languages, emphasizing direct, explicit, and collaborative instructional
approaches that have proven to be beneficial for emerging bilingual children. Instruction is
81
planned to include direct and explicit attention to cross-language connections to enable children
to learn how to use both of their languages in strategic ways to enhance their bi-literacy
development.”105
While referred to here as an intervention, at Montessori del Mundo, Literacy Squared techniques will be
used as part of our universal instruction for all students. One particularly valuable method is
Dictation/Dictados.
During Dictation/Dictados the teacher reads a passage for the student or students to write down. She
then uses the errors in the student writing to structure future mini-lessons in vocabulary and grammar.
The same sentence is used over a period of days as students gain mastery of the targeted concepts,
grammar, spelling, and/or punctuation.106
Comprehensible Input:
The use of comprehensible input in second language instruction has a big impact on students’ ability to
understand instruction and gain fluency in language. MdM will employ strategies to ensure that
students are able to access instruction even if it is not in their first language, and to facilitate their
language development and fluency in both English and Spanish. One such strategy will be Teaching
Proficiency through Reading and Storytelling (TPRS).
“TPRS builds proficiency in the use of grammatical structures by having the students read and
invent stories. The structures are not explained at length, nor are the students drilled in
grammatical paradigms. Instead, the teacher creates a context in which the target structures
and vocabulary return repeatedly within a conversation. In this context, students acquire
proficiency in a natural, conversational way. They are not learning about the language; they are
learning to use the language.
A TPRS lesson progresses in three phases.


Establish meaning. The teacher presents linguistic structures and vocabulary
through spoken examples in the target language, and ensures student
comprehension through gestures and writing target structures on the board in
the target language and in the students' native language.
Reinforce the structures by "asking" a story. In the target language, the teacher
introduces the outline of a story and asks students to provide the details. The
teacher solicits student responses by asking who/what/when/where/why/how
questions, thus continually recycling both the vocabulary and the target
grammar. The student's answers build the story. Students are encouraged to be
creative.
105
Literacy Squared http://literacysquared.org/home.htm.
Literacy Squared http://literacysquared.org/home.htm.
106
82

Reiterate the material through reading and discussing a similar story that the
teacher has prepared in advance in the target language. Verify comprehension
by having students translate this second story in writing. Repeat the target
structure by asking who/what/when/where/why/how questions about the
story, and about the students themselves. Asking the students questions about
themselves (PQA, or Personalized Questions and Answers) keeps them actively
involved in the entire process.”107
Sample Kindergarten TPRS story
Theme: Dinosaurs
Academic Vocabulary: “look for” “find” “fossil” “paleontologist”
Social Vocabulary: “(name)’s house” (possessive form) “I feel sick”
Plot of the story: Two paleontologists are out looking for fossils. They look and they
look (include various places they looked). They find a fossil and take it to a museum.
One paleontologist feels sick and goes home. The other goes looking for a partner.
She goes to ___’s house, they can’t help. She goes to ___’s house, they can’t help.
She goes back to the first paleontologist’s house, he’s feeling better. They go look for
fossils together again.
The goal is to tell the story while constantly repeating the target vocabulary in a
context that is engaging and comprehensible to the students:
Ana wants to look for fossils, but she needs a friend…where should she go? Megan’s
house! Ana wants to look for fossils, what does she want to look for? She wants to
look for fossils. Ana goes to Megan’s house. Wait, did Ana go to Josh’s house? No!
Ana did not go to Josh’s house, Ana went to Megan’s house. Did Ana go to Megan’s
house or did Josh go to Megan’s house? Right! Ana went to Megan’s house. Why did
Ana go to Megan’s house? She wants to look for something. Does she want to look
for Megan’s house? No, she wants to look for fossils. Ana went to Megan’s house
because she wants to look for fossils.
107
UCLA Language Materials Project at: http://lmp.ucla.edu/k-12/tools_tprs.aspx.
83
Scaffolded Instruction:
Scaffolded instruction helps each child to attain complex skills or an understanding of complicated
concepts by breaking the final goal down into more manageable steps. It is widely used in Second
Language and Special Needs instruction, and research has shown it to be an effective intervention as
well as a mainstream strategy for boosting student achievement.108
Hogan and Pressley (1997) identify eight essential elements of scaffolded instruction. Note that these
elements do not have to occur in the sequence listed.109110








Pre-engage with the student and the curriculum: The teacher considers curriculum goals and
the students' needs to select appropriate tasks.
Establish a shared goal: Students become more motivated and invested in the learning process
when the teacher works with each student to plan instructional goals.
Actively diagnose student needs and understandings: The teacher must be knowledgeable of
content and sensitive to the students (e.g., aware of the students' background knowledge and
misconceptions) to determine if they are making progress.
Provide tailored assistance: This may include cueing or prompting, questioning, modeling,
telling, or discussing. The teacher uses these as needed and adjusts them to meet the students'
needs.
Maintain pursuit of the goal: The teacher can ask questions and request clarification as well as
offer encouragement to help students remain focused on their goals.
Give feedback: To help students learn to monitor their own progress, the teacher can
summarize current progress and explicitly note behaviors that contributed to each student's
success.
Control for frustration and risk: The teacher can create an environment in which the students
feel free to take risks with learning by encouraging them to try alternatives.
Assist internalization, independence, and generalization to other contexts: This means that the
teacher helps the students to be less dependent on the teacher's extrinsic signals to begin or
complete a task and also provides the opportunity to practice the task in a variety of contexts.
Cooperative Learning:
Children in the Montessori primary classroom usually work alone or in small groups. As they enter the
elementary classrooms, children have a natural desire to work on projects together. The teacher is
careful to oversee the formation of such groups so that the experience will be educationally and socially
beneficial for all students involved. Cooperative learning is particularly effective in the Dual Language
model because it allows students from different language backgrounds to pool their knowledge and
108
109
Hogan, K., & Pressley, M. (1997).Scaffolding Student Learning: Instructional Approaches & Issues.Brookline Books, Inc.:
Cambridge, MA.
110
Larkin, M. (2002).Using Scaffolded Instruction to Optimize Learning. Retrieved from ERIC Clearinghouse on Disabilities and
Gifted Education Arlington VA. At:http://www.vtaide.com/png/ERIC/Scaffolding.http.
84
work together to solve a problem or complete an assignment.111 This not only strengthens the children’s
oral and written language skills, but also builds a sense of bilingual community and collaboration.
There is ample support for cooperative learning in traditional and Montessori settings, as evidenced by
the following information from Kennesaw State University’s Education Department:
“Cooperative learning is a successful teaching strategy in which small teams, each with students
of different levels of ability, use a variety of learning activities to improve their understanding of
a subject. Each member of a team is responsible not only for learning what is taught but also for
helping teammates learn, thus creating an atmosphere of achievement. Students work through
the assignment until all group members successfully understand and complete it.
Cooperative efforts result in participants striving for mutual benefit so that all group members:
 Gain from each other's efforts.
o ‘Your success benefits me and my success benefits you.’
 Recognize that all group members share a common fate.
o ‘We all sink or swim together here.’
 Know that one's performance is mutually caused by oneself and one's team members.
o ‘We cannot do it without you.’
 Feel proud and jointly celebrate when a group member is recognized for achievement.
112113
o ‘We all congratulate you on your accomplishment!’”
Total Physical Response:
The pre-cursor to TPRS, TPR is particularly effective for learning verbs and commands, while TPRS is
preferred for instruction of complex grammatical structures and phrases.
TPR is commonly used in both ELA and mainstream education. Students move their bodies while singing,
responding to a command, telling a story, defining a word, or answering a question in order to reinforce
111
University.Retrieved from: http://www.lindholm-leary.com/resources/review_research.pdf.
112
Kennesaw State University: http://edtech.kennesaw.edu/intech/cooperativelearning.htm.
http://edtech.kennesaw.edu/intech/cooperativelearning.htm#activities.
113
85
the concept and to jog their memory. It is used effectively for vocabulary development and to reinforce
and establish routines and processes.114
Sheltered Instruction:
Sheltered instruction strategies have been used for ELL instructions since the 1980’s. Since all students
at MdM will be in their second language for at least part of the day, Sheltered Instructional Strategies
will be utilized with great frequency.
Brown University’s Education Alliance defines Sheltered Instruction Strategies as:
“Sheltered English Instruction is an instructional approach that engages ELLs above the
beginner level in developing grade-level content-area knowledge, academic skills, and
increased English proficiency. In sheltered English classes, teachers use clear, direct,
simple English and a wide range of scaffolding strategies to communicate meaningful
input in the content area to students. Learning activities that connect new content to
students' prior knowledge, that require collaboration among students, and that spiral
through curriculum material offer ELLs the grade-level content instruction of their
English-speaking peers, while adapting lesson delivery to suit their English proficiency
level.” – Brown University Education Alliance.115
The use of demonstrations is advised by many sources on ELL and ELA education. Many Montessori
lessons, including the Three Period Lesson, are based on demonstrations by the teacher using realia and
visual aids. Such methods help to reinforce concepts and vocabulary while allowing students to progress
in content areas as well as language mastery even while in the “pre-productive” stage of language
acquisition.116
Instruction Conclusion
The dedicated MdM teaching team will have a wealth of teacher-tested, research-based instructional
strategies at their fingertips from which to select at any moment the most effective tool for each specific
student and each specific learning goal. They will be expected to employ these strategies to the greatest
possible effect while also implementing the Montessori curricula within the 90/10 Dual language
framework and drawing as needed from the MdM Toolbox of supporting resources. Our goal is to build
a diverse, integrated, bilingual community of students, teachers, families and staff members who will be
an integral part in strengthening the broader local and global communities of which they are a part.
114
Krashen, S. (1998). TPR: Still a very good idea. NovELTy vol. 5 issue 4. Retrieved from
http://www.languageimpact.com/articles/other/krashentpr.htm.
115
Brown University Education Alliance retrieved at http://www.alliance.brown.edu/tdl/tl-strategies/mcprinciples.shtml.
116
86
Education Program: Special Programs
Rationale for Specials Classes
Research has shown that student engagement increases when students have access to specials
curriculum. When these specials classes, like art, music, and physical education (PE) increase student
engagement, they also boost academic achievement, self-confidence, and overall student success.117
Students in high-quality school music programs score higher on standardized tests compared to
students in schools with deficient music education programs, regardless of the socioeconomic level of
the school or school district. Students in top-quality music programs scored 22% better in English and
20% better in math than did students in deficient music programs. Students at schools with excellent
music programs had higher English and math test
scores across the country than students in schools
Montessori del Mundo will offer Art,
with low-quality music programs. Students in all
Music, and Physical Education to
regions with lower-quality instrumental programs
students in K-6th grade.
score higher in English and math than students who
have no music at all118.
Research provided by the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies shows that students who have had
more than four years of arts education out-score their peers without this same advantage by an average
of 38 points on the verbal SAT and 58 points on the math SAT. In addition, a research paper called
Critical Link by the Arts Education Partnership documents 65 distinct positive relationships between
student exposure to the arts and those same students’ future success.119Students at MdM will be more
highly engaged, have greater facility with language and expression, and be more socially able to interact
with others in positive ways due to our arts and physical education programs.120
Specials Classes offered
Art, Music, and Physical Education will be offered at MdM from the start. We will consider the feasibility
of offering additional specials programs, such as gardening or computers, as we grow out our program.
We hope to continually enrich our offerings in order to increase engagement and achievement even
further as we move into year six of our program.
117
Upitis, R. (2011). Engaging students through the arts. What works? Research into practice. Retrived from:
http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/literacynumeracy/inspire/research/WW_Engaging_Arts.pdf.
118
Johnson, C., and Memmott, J. (2006). Journal of Research in Music Education.
http://www.nasaa-arts.org/Research/Key-Topics/Arts-Education/index.php
120
Upitis, R. (2011). Engaging students through the arts. What works? Research into practice.Retrived from:
http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/literacynumeracy/inspire/research/WW_Engaging_Arts.pdf.
119
87
Scheduling of Specials Classes
The Montessori curriculum requires extended, uninterrupted work blocks in order to increase
concentration and help children to take responsibility for their own time and learning. With this in mind,
specials classes will be chunked together for our Lower and Upper Elementary Students. Students from
one class pod will attend specials at the same time in three groups segregated by age (1st graders in one
group, 2nd graders in another and 3rd graders in the third group). Each group will have 16-24 students
and will rotate between the three 40 minute specials classes121. Each elementary student will complete
this specials rotation twice a week. Kindergarten students, by contrast, will have specials for one hour
each day, 30 minutes of PE and 30 minutes of Music or Art. Kindergarten specials will be held on
Monday through Thursday. Due to time constraints, as well as the developmental needs of the students,
we will not offer specials for preschool students. Classroom teachers will address art and music
standards for pre-school students through Montessori work time, Community Circle, and Friday
Projects.
The School Health Index recommends 150 minutes of Physical Education each week for each child. In
order to come closer to meeting this benchmark we’ve added 60 minutes of “Friday Field Games” for
each class. Friday Field Games will be staffed by the PE teacher with support from classroom teachers.
These celebrations of traditional games and sports will
give every student the opportunity to further develop
Friday Field Games are a fun way to
her gross motor and negotiation skills as well as her
exercise, meet PE standards, and learn good
ability to understand and abide by simple and complex
sportsmanship. The addition of Friday field
rules. Additionally they will provide time for the PE
games to our schedule also allows us to
teacher to instruct students on cooperative games and
meet the 150 minutes of PE/week
sports which students can then spontaneously choose to
recommended by the School Health Index.
play during their recess time.
Staffing of Specials Classes
MdM will employ a full time PE teacher, while the Music and Art teachers will work Monday through
Thursday and be .8 FTE. If an additional special is added in the fourth year of the program, either the
Music or Art position will be combined with the Gardening position such that each position is
0.4.(Example: 1.0 PE, 0.4 Music, 0.4 Gardening, 0.8 Art.) Due to smaller class sizes in our initial years of
operation, this full staff implementation will not take place until year 7 of our school’s operation.
Ideally, all of our specials teachers will be bilingual. If that is not possible, then they will be a
combination of Spanish speaking and English speaking so as to ensure that at least 50% of specials will
be taught in Spanish. For example, we could have a Spanish speaking PE teacher, a bilingual Art Teacher,
and an English speaking Music teacher.
All specials teachers must meet Highly Qualified expectations by having a bachelor’s degree and passing
the PLACE exam for their subject area. Licensed Educators will be hired whenever possible.
121
Specials are scheduled in 45 minute blocks to allow for a 5 minute transition.
88
Specials Curriculum
The MdM Specials Curriculum will address the Colorado State Standards for each specials subject and
also include facets of the MdM thematic instruction when appropriate. For example, if the theme in the
regular classroom is space, the music teacher could select a listening analysis example from “The
Planets,” a song for vocal practice with the subject of space, and a drum rhythm lesson based on the
classroom vocabulary about space. Meanwhile, the art teacher could do a variety of art projects, within
the space themes. The physical education teacher could also reinforce basic space principles like gravity
and acceleration, as well as other creative applications like naming activity stations using classroom
vocabulary concerning the current theme.
The sixty minute block of Friday field games facilitated by the PE teacher will utilize the Playworks122
games and structures to ensure that all kids are enjoying physical activity during “Friday Field Games”
time. The PE teacher will be trained in Playworks123. Sometimes the PE teacher will meet with smaller
groups to teach new games while the rest of the children rotate through Playworks games supervised by
other classroom teachers. During other Friday field games students will lead each other in Playworks
games with the PE teacher offering support and supervision. For more information about Friday field
games see the Annual Calendar and Daily Schedule section.
Rationale for Preschool Full-day Option Class
We anticipate that many parents who send their children to MdM will work full time. For those families
a half-day preschool schedule can be a hardship. Even ignoring this practicality, there are many
preschool students who would benefit from a full day academic option, while some families may prefer
to send their children to school for only a half-day. In order to provide families with maximum
scheduling flexibility, we’ve created the Preschool Full-day Option Class.
Scheduling and Logistics of the Preschool Full-day Option Class
Students enrolled in the preschool full-day option class will
attend school from 8:30-4:00 each day (the same schedule as a
student in K-6. Students will be assigned to a primary classroom
for either the morning or afternoon session, and to the
preschool full-day option class for the other half of the day. From
11:30-1:00, when half-day preschoolers are at home, full-day
option students will have lunch, nap and time to play outside.
The morning and afternoon session of the full-day option class
will look much like the morning and afternoons in the primary
classrooms.
122
See http://www.playworks.org
See http://www.playworks.org/training/training-faqs
See Appendix B
123
89
The Preschool Full-day option class
allows parents flexibility if they
need full-day child care, and allows
the opportunity for students who
may be struggling academically to
spend extra time at school when
they are in preschool in order to
increase the likelihood they will
leave Kindergarten performing ongrade level.
Curriculum and Program in the Full-day Option Class
The goal of this class is to provide parents with childcare, create as much consistency as possible in each
child’s day, and provide supplemental school support for students who enter preschool with a deficit of
academic exposure. The full-day option class will provide additional time with the Montessori materials
(with the exception of some of the more advanced Kindergarten materials), and teachers will follow the
same thematic units students are engaging within their primary classes. Art, Practical Life, Sensorial and
Science areas will be of particular focus in the full-day option class.
Staffing of the Full-day Option Class
The full-day option class will be staffed by a Montessori trained lead teacher and, if class enrollment
includes more than 10 students in either session, a classroom assistant will also be employed. Because
no K-6 students will be enrolled in this class, these teachers are not required to meet NCLB Highly
Qualified Teacher Status. Our preference in hiring highly qualified teachers will remain but we may
consider other applicants as well.
Funding for Preschool Full-day Option Class
Students enrolled in the Preschool Full-day Option class will pay the full-day tuition rate (slightly less
than twice what they pay for half-day preschool). Additional revenues will be available through the CCAP
program for students who qualify for full day care. These revenues are calculated at $26.50/day for
students who reside in Arapahoe County.
How children will be selected to participate in this program.
Parents whose students are enrolled in the regular primary program may register their child for the fullday option class if space is available as soon as they have confirmed their enrollment at MdM. Parents
may continue to consider and choose the full-day option on a rolling basis as long as there is space
available.
Students who were placed on the MdM waitlist for preschool may be invited to register for open spots
in the full-day option class after June 1st each year.
Preschool students in need of additional school support and interventions as identified through the
school Response to Intervention (RtI) process may also be enrolled as part of their intervention plan if
space is available. For more information about MdM's RtI process see the Students with Special Needs
section.
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Before/After School Care
Montessori del Mundo cannot currently offer before or after school care. We are interested in
researching additional partnerships with organizations that sponsor before and after school care and we
may contract out these services. Ideally we’d like to offer care from 6:30-8:30 AM and 4-6 PM to
accommodate working parents’ schedules.
Summer Programming
At this time, Montessori del Mundo does not have plans to offer summer school or summer
programming.
Friday Afternoon Club
MdM’s schedule allows for an early release day every Friday in order providing time for teachers to
meet, learn, and plan. We are currently exploring options for organizing a Friday Afternoon Club where
parents could elect to send their children if their work schedule makes it impossible for them to pick
their children up early on Fridays. This program might be organized and staffed by parent volunteers,
other volunteers such as students in a teacher preparation program, Americorp volunteers, or might be
contracted out to an outside service. All efforts will be made to ensure that programming during Friday
afternoon club is aligned with the school’s mission and vision.
91
Education Program: Calendar and Daily Schedule
School Year Calendar Narrative
The school day at Montessori del Mundo will be from 8:30am-4pm Monday-Thursday; on Fridays school
will go from 8:30-2:00 to allow for teacher professional development. The teacher work day will be from
8:00-4:15 Monday-Friday. The traditional instruction day in Colorado is 6 hours, state law requires 990
instructional hours/year for elementary school students. APS Elementary Schools have an average of 6.5
hours of instruction/day124. MdM will have an average of 7.1
hours of instruction per day, and 1278 hours/year. It will be
Extra time is used for:
our policy to leverage these extra minutes a day to provide
 Extended work time
children with adequately long recess and extended
 Longer Recess
uninterrupted work periods, as well as providing teachers with
ample planning time.
 Longer Teacher Planning
At Montessori del Mundo we will build a school calendar that
provides a minimum of the national average of 180 student contact days (APS 2012-2013 calendar
includes only 173 student contact days). The MdM calendar will also include five days for teachers to set
up classrooms, do home visits and plan at the beginning of the school year and two days at the end of
the school year to close up classrooms for the summer.
The following chart provides a comparison of Colorado averages, national averages and Aurora Public
Schools Elementary schedules with the Montessori del Mundo proposed calendar.
Hours/Day
Colorado State
National
Average125
Aurora Public
Schools
(Elementary
Schools)
Montessori del
Mundo
Proposed
Calendar
6 hours
6.7 hours
6.5 hours
7.1 hours/day
(average)
180 days
173 days
180 days
1278 hours/year
StudentContactDays/Year
Hours/Year
990 Hours/Year*
required by state
law
1206 hours/year
1124.5
hours/year
Supplemental Hours at
MdM above this
requirement
288 additional
hours/year at
MdM
72 additional
hours/year at
MdM
153.5 additional
hours/year at
MdM
124
http://aurorak12.org/schools/bell-schedules/
125
National Average: http://nces.ed.gov/surveys/pss/tables/table_15.asp
92
This schedule amounts to the equivalent of adding 23 instructional days to the average APS elementary
school schedule. We estimate that an additional 10 days of instruction results in an increase in student
performance on state math assessments of just under 0.2 standard deviations.
(http://educationnext.org/time-for-school/). Our added time in class will result in a significant
advantage for MdM students on standardized assessments.
At MdM we value teacher collaboration and professional development. School will dismiss at 2 o’clock
every Friday to allow the staff time to meet as a whole group for professional development, grade-level
collaboration, and to work in vertical teams with teachers from other grades. This time will also be used
for intervention teacher(s) to meet with classroom teachers and insure that intervention instruction is
being accurately targeted. Adding this release time into our
schedule will provide us with adequate time for teacher PD
Early Release Fridays allow for
and planning, help with teacher retention, and aid us in
teacher professional
avoiding teacher burn-out. Scheduling early release PD days
development, data analysis,
on Fridays is most convenient for our parents and families and
ensures that teachers have time to finish their planning for
and team planning.
the next week. Weeks that do not include a Friday will not
include an early-release day.
Every effort will be made to follow the APS calendar as closely as possible. However a few changes may
be made in order to accommodate teacher professional development programs, to allow teachers
adequate time to analyze student data, change out materials and works as themes change, and plan for
the next unit’s instruction. The proposed calendar projections are for the 2012-2013 school year (see
Appendix A) – we recognize that Montessori del Mundo will not open until the fall of 2013. Calendars for
APS and other training programs such as MECR are not yet available for 2013. The proposed 2012-2013
calendar illustrates the process MdM will go through in adapting the district calendar to meet our
instructional needs.
Rationale for Start of School Calendar126:
Teachers attending the Montessori Education Center of the Rockies Montessori certification program
complete their training on August 3. Thus the report date for teachers will not be until August 7th to
accommodate those teachers and provide them with a three day weekend break before starting school.
Teachers will have 4 days for classroom set up and teacher professional development, the Saturday prior
to the start of school will be reserved for home visits. Teachers and Classroom Assistants are expected
to schedule a full day’s worth of home visits with priority for new and high risk families. This home visit
day is part of the 5 teacher work days at the beginning of the year, Monday Aug 6th is considered a comp
day for Saturday home visits.
Classroom Assistants who are new to Montessori del Mundo will be asked to report on July 30th and will
spend the week of July 30th to Aug 3rd in a MdM Boot camp where they will be trained on Montessori
Philosophy, Montessori classroom management, and how to give basic lessons so they will be prepared
to assist teachers from day 1.
Lower and Upper Elementary students new to their respective classes (either students who are new to
the school or 1st or 4th graders) will start school on Aug 13th. Returning Lower and Upper Elementary
School students in 2nd, 3rd, 5th or 6th grade will start school on Aug 14th.
126
All dates in this section refer to the sample 2012-2013 calendar.
93
Due to the nature of Montessori work time it is important to stagger the first day of school for children.
Elementary students new to their respective classrooms will arrive at school for an orientation on Aug
13th so that they are better prepared for the return of the rest of the students on Aug 14th. The following
primary classroom (ECE/Kindergarten) schedule accommodates the special needs of a Montessori
classroom at the beginning of the year.
Schedule for the first two weeks of school:
Mon - August 13th
Tues - August 14th
Wed Aug 15th
Thurs Aug 16th
Friday Aug 17th
New Elementary
School Students
First day – ½ day
(8:30-11:30)
First day for
Returning
Elementary
Students – ½ day
(8:30-11:30)
Regular Schedule
for Elementary
Students (full-day)
Regular Schedule
for Elementary
Students, Kinders,
and returning 4
year olds
Regular Schedule
for Elementary
Students, Kinders,
and returning 4
year olds
Kindergarten first
Full day
Kindergarten First
day – ½ day (8:3011:30)
Kindergarten ½
day (8:30-11:30)
12:15-4:15
screening
assessments for
new students in K6, new preschool
student
orientations
12:15-4:15
screening
assessments for
new K-6 students,
new preschool
student
orientations
Mon Aug 20th
Tues Aug 21st
Wed Aug 22nd
Thurs Aug 23rd
Friday Aug 24th
Regular Schedule
for Elementary
Students, Kinders,
and returning 4
year olds
Regular Schedule
for Elementary
Students, Kinders,
and all 4 year olds
Regular Schedule
for Elementary
Students, Kinders,
and all 4 year olds
Regular schedule
all students
Regular schedule
all students
First day of school
for new 4 year
olds.
First day for
Returning 4 year
olds (AM and PM
sessions)
First day of school
for all 3s
94
Daily Schedule Rationale
The daily schedule is crafted with the following goals in mind:
1. Long uninterrupted Montessori Work Blocks
2. Adequate planning time for teachers (510 Minutes/week + 135 min of PD/Data Team/Team
Planning time on Fridays)
3. Common planning time for co-teacher teams
4. 150 Minutes of Physical Education/week (as recommended in the School Health Index)
5. Compliance with Office of Civil Rights agreement of 40 min/day English Language Development
(ELD) block for all Limited English Speakers
6. Fidelity to 90/10 language allocation model
Components of the Daily Schedule:
Montessori Work Time
Montessori Work Time is the heart and soul of instruction in a Montessori classroom. The work block
should be long and uninterrupted to allow for children to concentrate on their works. During this time
teachers give lessons one on one or in small groups in all core subject areas including: math, writing,
reading, science, social studies, sensorial, practical life, etc. Teachers also hold small group lessons for
writer’s workshop and guided reading as well as reinforcing phonetic and grammar based literacy skills,
oral language development, math skills and thematic instruction.
Montessori works, which are the core of the
Montessori curriculum, are carefully designed
activities which are made to teach a specific skill or
content knowledge. Works are designed to be selfcorrecting, which means that it becomes apparent
to the child when they have made a mistake. For
example: in a counting work such as the Spindle Box where a child places one rod (spindle) in a box that
says 1 and two in the box that says 2 all the way up to 9, there are exactly the correct number of
spindles for all the numbers. So if the child miscounts they will either run out of spindles or have some
left over which lets them know they have made a mistake and need to practice again. Once the child has
been shown how to do this work by a teacher, they can practice as often as they need to in order to
master the skill of counting rods 1-9.
We value uninterrupted work time:
Montessori Work Block lasts for 2 hours at a
time in ECE-K and between 2.75 and 3 hours
at a time in 1-6th grade.
Children are expected to practice works they have been presented in order to master the skills each
work targets. Children may work individually or in pairs or small groups. They choose which order to
complete their activities in but they are required to do work in reading, writing and math during each
Montessori work block.
95
It is difficult to say what percentage or amount of time out of the
Montessori work block is spent in Math, Reading, or Writing, because
some students may be working on Math while others are doing Writing
and still others are working on Science. Each child has their own
individualized learning plan and needs the flexibility to transition between
subjects when they are ready. Teachers, however, will be required have a
system for holding students accountable for completing an appropriate
amount of work in each subject area, though the students may choose the
order in which to complete them. Teachers may for example ask children
to complete a daily work plan documenting their accomplishments each
day. Children set goals for themselves at the beginning of the day by filling
in their work plan and then record their progress through their planned
works as the work day progresses.127
Subjects Taught During
Work Time:
 Reading
 Writing
 Math
 Science
 Geography
 History
 Thematic
Content
 Practical Life
Some children may have different goals than others based on their level of mastery of different subjects.
Mario, for example, might be deeply invested in the research project he is doing on volcanoes
(encompassing Reading, Writing, and Science) and might spend 80% of his time for two or three days
gathering resources, researching the topic and authoring a compelling non-fiction report on the topic to
share with his friends. For the next few days his teacher will encourage him to choose more math and
geography works so he continues moving forward in those subjects as well.
Classroom rules during this time of day are:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Everyone must be working – engaged meaningfully with a work
Children must be shown a lesson on a work before they can do it
No one may interrupt anyone else’s work
Everyone must work at his or her level (children may not choose works that are too hard,
nor too easy)
Community Circle
Community Circle is a group instruction time, children sit in a circle on the floor with the teacher. This
group is multi-age, including all of the children in the class. The goal of this time is to build community,
practice grace and courtesy, address any classroom concerns or celebrations, learn about thematic
instruction, share work products, read books out-loud and practice literacy skills and math skills. In the
primary classroom (ECE/K) – teachers will also focus on Oral Language Development, letter sounds and
counting.
This time is scheduled into the primary classroom’s daily/weekly schedule. Elementary classrooms will
hold community circles on a regular basis at a time that does not interrupt the work block – such as at
the beginning or end of the work block. The timing of Elementary community circles is left to the
teacher’s discretion.
127
Teachers may design their own work plans, however a few sample plans are available in Appendix C.
96
Language Development/Desarrollo de Lenguaje (DL)
Language Development or DL block – named after the Spanish, Desarrollo de Lenguaje, is a whole group
instruction time in which children receive specific and direct instruction in language development.
Students will be grouped according to their home language for this short time of the day so teachers can
directly address specific needs of language groups. For approximately half of the time (such as on
Mondays and Wednesdays) this will be a second language time focused on English Language
Development (ELD) for Spanish speakers and other ELL students and on Spanish Language Development
(SLD) for English and other SLL students. The other half of the time (Tues and Thurs) this will be used for
a deep dive into native language literacy – specifically designed to build students oral language
vocabulary in their first language and to practice any literacy skills in which the group might require
remediation. Friday’s language block will be used at teacher’s discretion and might be either native or
second language time depending on the needs of the class. Students will be grouped according to age
and native language to allow for maximum differentiation of this whole group time. The following
describes the groupings of students at each grade-level:
Primary Classrooms (4 teachers, ECE/K students)
Monday, Wednesday, some Fridays
Second Language (L2) Block
1. Kindergarten ELL students – ELD block
2. Kindergarten SLL students – SLD block
3. ECE ELL students – ELD block
4. ECE SLL students – SLD block
1.
2.
3.
4.
Tuesday, Thursday, some Fridays
Native Language (L1) Block
Kindergarten ELL students – SLD block
Kindergarten SLL students – ELD block
ECE ELL students – SLD block
ECE SLL students – ELD block
Lower Elementary Classrooms (6 teachers, 1-3rd grade students)
Monday, Wednesday, some Fridays
Second Language (L2) Block
st
1. 1 grade ELL students – ELD block
2. 2nd grade ELL students – ELD block
3. 3rd grade ELL students – ELD block
4. 1st grade SLL students – SLD block
5. 2nd grade SLL students – SLD block
6. 3rd grade SLL students – SLD block
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Tuesday, Thursday, some Fridays
Native Language (L1) Block
st
1 grade ELL students – SLD block
2nd grade ELL students – SLD block
3rd grade ELL students – SLD block
1st grade SLL students – ELD block
2nd grade SLL students – ELD block
3rd grade SLL students – ELD block
Upper Elementary Classrooms (4 teachers, 4-6th grade students)
We anticipate that the majority of our students will no longer require DL block services by
the time they reach upper elementary school. ELL students will have scored Fluent English
Proficient on the CELA test and have a body of evidence including TCAP scores and DRA2
scores to support their fluency in English. SLL students will have scored fluent on our oral
97
language assessment (SOPA) and will be proficient in academic Spanish. Students who still
require DL Block support will receive it in small groups during Montessori work time. If a
large enough group of students still requires DL block the schedule will be adjusted to
accommodate those students together in a whole group block.
DL block for Second Language (L2) will focus on language functions, vocabulary, grammatical structures,
and application, providing students with an opportunity to build fluency. Teachers will utilize teaching
strategies such as Comprehensible Input (TPRS), and Literacy Squared strategies. This block will be
planned with the goal of increasing student’s fluency in every day functional and academic language,
and in re-enforcing language, vocabulary and structures associated with thematic instruction and other
topics in literacy or math that students are currently studying.
DL block for Native Language (L1) will focus on increasing academic vocabulary in the student’s native
language, diving deep into literacy comprehension strategies, remediating any literacy or other content
skills which the group is lacking, and meeting the specific needs of that linguistic group.
Scheduling of DL block will be consistent across classes at the same grade-level to allow for flexible
grouping of students.
Specials
Montessori del Mundo believes that it is very important for children to have access to a wide range of
artistic and creative experiences, as well as to maintain physical fitness and healthy bodies. All efforts
were made to reach 150 minutes of physical education instruction/week as recommended in the School
Health Index put out by the Center for Disease Control.128In order to minimize interruption to
Montessori work blocks, elementary specials are chunked onto two days per week. This also provides
teachers with long un-interrupted planning blocks in which they can co-plan with their co-teachers.
MdM will staff a full time PE teacher, and two 0.8 additional specials teachers. Efforts will be made to
include a Music teacher and an Art teacher in our staffing models. The school may also ultimately hire a
Garden teacher who might share time with either the Music or Art teacher. (eg: 0.8 Art, 0.4 Music, 0.4
garden).
The following chart illustrates when each team of classes will have specials:129
Lower El Team 1
Lower El Team 2
Upper El Team 1
Upper El Team 2
Monday
9:00-11:00
1:45-3:45
Tuesday
Wed
1:45-3:45
9:00-11:00
9:00-11:00
1:45-3:45
128
Thursday
1:45-3:45
9:00-11:00
Friday
8:30-9:30
9:30-10:30
12:00-1:00
1:00-2:00
http://www.cdc.gov/HealthyYouth/SHI/
A team is defined as a group of teachers that share students, for more information on how teachers work together and
share students please see the Instruction section.
129
98
Recess
Recess time is a very important time in a child’s day and development. Children need unstructured play
time, they need to be outside and run around. Children also need to learn to resolve their own conflicts,
negotiate shared play and explore. All preschool students are scheduled for 30 minutes of recess a day
in compliance with Qualistar guidelines and standards.
Kindergarten students are scheduled for 60 minutes of
All students are scheduled
recess daily. Elementary students are all scheduled for 30
for at least 30 minutes of
minutes of recess daily. Recess is scheduled before lunch in
recess each day.
accordance with School Health Index recommendations for
Kindergarteners have recess
increasing healthy eating habits.
for 60 minutes.
Friday Project
Each classroom is scheduled for a 2 hour “Friday Project” block during instructional time at the end of
each week. These projects will be designed by the teacher and will include the following components:




Tied directly to thematic instruction – summarizes/illustrates or introduces a thematic concept
currently being studied.
Academic Component – the project requires students to do research, produce a written
document, do mathematical computations or in other ways practice academic skills in a real
context. This should not be a piecemeal effort at adding busy work to the project but should be
meaningfully integrated into the project and require a robust amount of work on the part of the
students.
Artistic/Fine Motor/Product component – the project should ideally produce a product or at
minimum an experience through which kids can learn the academic component. The best
projects will have multiple goals including allowing children an opportunity to demonstrate their
learning non-linguistically through artistic representation, and encouraging children (particularly
in primary and lower elementary classrooms) to work on their fine motor skills and
concentration. Whenever possible projects should be displayed in the hall or taken home so
parents can see what children are learning at school.
Teachers may choose to do projects in multi-age homerooms, or to separate students by grade
level for the Friday project in order to provide a more targeted project that is differentiated to
each grade level’s abilities.
Projects should be highly engaging, multi-step, and authentic learning experiences. In the design
team’s experience teaching, children who engage in weekly robust and multi-step projects have
more confidence in themselves, learn to complete tasks both academic and non-academic even if
they are long or complex, develop the ability to concentrate and stick with a task, are proud of their
work and excited to share it with their parents and LOVE coming to school on Fridays.
99
Friday Field Games
Friday field games will be a series of group games. Students will be grouped in their multi-age home
room classes. Games will include team-sports, tag games, races, and cooperative playground games
(such as four square, hop scotch, jump rope). Students are expected to be participating in a game at all
times but may choose which game they would like to participate in. Friday field games will also provide
students with opportunities to participate in physical activities within their multi-age classroom
communities.
Friday field games will be planned by the Physical Education teacher and supervised by the PE teacher
and classroom teachers. Friday field games will be modeled after the Playworks curriculum130, the PE
teacher will consult with Playworks to design a well-rounded progression of games over the course of
the year that support Colorado Physical Education standards. This time is also included in our schedule
to ensure that we meet the minimum 150 minutes/week of Physical Education instruction
recommended by the School Health Index. Playworks curriculum will also provide students with
experience playing cooperative playground games which they can initiate independently during recess
and teaches good sportsmanship which carries over into their free play time.
Professional Development/Friday Early Release
A key component of the Montessori del Mundo schedule is early release on Friday afternoons to
accommodate teacher professional development and planning. This time will be used for staff meetings
and professional development meetings, monthly Data Teams and SIT team meetings, and also for team
planning and vertical planning. Regularly scheduled staff meetings will only be held on Friday afternoons
to respect teacher’s need for planning and prep time
throughout the rest of the week. The administration
Early Release Fridays are used for:
reserves the right to call emergency staff meetings
 Professional Development
earlier in the week, but will only do so if information
 Team Planning
cannot wait until Friday and cannot be communicated
 Data Team Meetings
via email or memo.
 SIT team meetings
Montessori del Mundo is exploring options for parents
on Early Release Fridays. We are committed to reserving
this time for teacher planning and will work with families to find solutions for child care concerns. We
are exploring the possibility of contracting with an outside organization to provide child care or some
sort of afterschool programming that would run from 2:00-4:00 on Friday for children whose parents
cannot pick them up until 4:00.
130
www.playworks.org
100
Planning Time
Classroom teachers are scheduled for a total of 510 minutes of planning time in addition to the 2 hours
of Friday release time. Teachers have common planning time with their grade level co-teachers
(teachers with whom they share students). Planning time in ECE/K is daily to accommodate special
needs of the preschool schedule, and in Upper/Lower Elementary planning time is chunked to provide
students with long work times and teachers with long planning times. At MdM we feel it is important for
teachers to have adequate planning time in order to effectively plan for their differentiated instruction,
maintain and prepare their classroom environments, plan authentic and robust thematic instruction and
engaging and rigorous Friday projects. Adequate teacher planning time also reduces teacher burn-out
and encourages teacher retention.
Intervention Scheduling
When students are in need of intervention services they will be scheduled either as push-in or pull out
supports. The timing of the services will be coordinated depending on the service being provided to
assure the least interruption to the cohesive school experience of the student possible. For example, a
student receiving support in Math in Spanish will be pulled from Montessori Work Time while he or she
is assigned to the Spanish room. A student in need of interventions in English Language Development
may have that intervention substitute for his/her DL block. Students will be made not to pull children
from Specials classes or recess for intervention services.
101
Language Allocation Minutes:
In keeping with the 90/10 model of instruction the number of instructional minutes spent in Spanish vs.
English will change with each grade level, the following is a breakdown of minutes in each language for
each grade level.
Grade Level
% Spanish
% English
Total Minutes*
Spanish
Min/week
English
Min/week
ECE ½ day
90%
10%
690
621
69
ECE Full day
and Kinder
1
90%
10%
1380
1242
138
80%
20%
1500
1200
300
2
70%
30%
1500
1050
450
3
60%
40%
1500
900
600
4–6
50%
50%
1500
750
750
*in class instructional minutes: weekly total not counting lunch, recess, specials
Language Scheduling in the Primary Classroom:
All students in the primary classroom will receive 90% of their instruction in Spanish and 10% in English.
Instruction during Montessori work time and community circle will be in Spanish.


Full Day = 138 min English = four 30 minute blocks + 18 min
Half Day = 69 min English = two 30 minute blocks + 9 min
Montessori work block will be conducted almost exclusively in Spanish, the majority of English
instruction in the Primary classroom will occur during circle time, with half of the community circle’s
taught in Spanish and half in English. Circle also alternates between Community Circle and DL Block.
One students’ schedule might look like this:
Native English
AM Circle
Monday
Community Spanish
Tuesday
DL Block (L2) –
Spanish
Wednesday
Community –
English
Thursday
DL Block (L1) –
English
PM Circle
DL Block (L2) Spanish
Community English
DL Block (L1) –
English
Community –
Spanish
Friday
Optional Circle
(teacher’s
choice)
Optional Circle
(teacher’s
choice)
Depending on teacher’s choice – they may hold an additional English circle on Friday to pick up the
additional 18 minutes of English instruction needed for full day students or they may choose to use this
time for individual or small group lessons. Teachers may clarify or introduce new concepts in English first
102
and then provide the vocabulary for students to practice and master those concepts in Spanish.
Teachers will be mindful of using English strategically and not excessively during Montessori Work Time.
Language Allocations in the Lower Elementary Classroom
The Lower Elementary classroom is by far the most complex in terms of language allocation and
scheduling. When building the Lower Elementary schedule it is important to take into account the
varying amounts of language time for each grade level (80/20 in 1st grade, 70/30 in 2nd grade, 60/40 in
3rd grade), and to be strategic about which subject areas or content will be instructed at each grade.
Montessori del Mundo will develop a comprehensive curriculum outlining which content areas will be
the areas of focus for 1st graders, 2nd graders and 3rd graders in English (with the assumption that they
will learn all areas in Spanish as well). This curriculum will be designed to ensure that children have a
well-rounded English education and are prepared to do well on standardized testing in their native
language in 3rd grade and in English in 4th grade and beyond.
Lower Elementary Teams will consist of
three teachers (two Spanish and one
English). All students in the team (72
students) will go to the English teacher for
English language instruction. Half of the
students (36) will have Spanish instruction
with one Spanish teacher while the other
half has Spanish instruction with the
other. Due to the nature of language
scheduling, it will be possible to schedule
all students for Spanish and English
according to their language allocation
percentages while maintaining a max class
size of 30 in the Spanish rooms, and 24 in
the English rooms. (See Appendix A –
Lower Elementary Language Allocation)
Students will also have a scheduled DL block each day. This block will be used for a combination of L2
instruction and L1 instruction, similar to DL block in the Primary classrooms. Teachers will decide based
on the student population and their needs how often to schedule L2 vs. L1 DL blocks.
Bilingual Specials teachers will be hired such that instruction in Specials mirrors the language allocation
of each group of students. As such, specials time, lunch time, and recess time are not counted when
calculating the percentage of in class instructional time that students must spend in English vs. Spanish.
Students will be scheduled for Friday projects in English or Spanish assuring that over the course of 10
weeks they have the correct percentage of time in English projects vs. Spanish projects.
For an example of a weekly schedule for a 1st grader, 2nd grader, and 3rd grader, please see Appendix A,
Master Schedule, Language Detail Lower El
103
Upper Elementary Language Allocation Model
All students in the Upper Elementary class have a language allocation of 50% English and 50% Spanish.
Teachers will team teach, with one English teacher and one Spanish teacher and will share a group of
students who move between the two language environments. MdM is currently researching best
practices in how long students should spend in one environment before transitioning to the next. Some
of the schedules being considered include:





1 week Spanish, 1 week English,
2 weeks Spanish, 2 weeks English
1 month Spanish, 1 month English
1 unit Spanish, 1 unit English
AM Spanish, PM English
Teachers will ensure that all students receive instruction in all content areas in both languages at this
level. Teachers will also ensure that all students have the linguistic and academic skills to have success in
standardized tests in both English and Spanish.
104
Education Program: Professional Development
Professional development fulfills a variety of critical roles in teacher preparation. When all members of
the teaching staff participate in building-wide professional development, it creates a common culture,
common language, and common level of understanding of Montessori and dual language teaching
philosophies, methodologies, and best practices. It builds capacity in the building as a whole while
contributing to cohesion and collaboration. It also creates opportunities for teachers to be self-reflective
on their practice as they internally compare their own methods with those being presented; thus even
experienced teachers can find value in a rehearsal of training they experienced at an earlier stage of
their own career development.
Additionally, because teachers arrive with different levels of training and experience, it is important to
differentiate professional development in order to meet the needs of each teacher. Recognizing that
new hires will bring a variety of skills and qualifications, but are unlikely to arrive with all of the
qualifications listed on our employment qualifications chart131 in the “ideal candidate” column, we seek
to train each new teacher in the areas on our teacher
qualifications chart such that they meet the “ideal candidate”
All Lead Classroom Teachers will be
levels of mastery for all areas of teaching.
required to hold a Montessori Teaching
Certificate for their grade-level or be
Montessori Certificate training, such as that offered at the
currently enrolled in an accredited
Montessori Education Center of the Rockies (MECR), is a critical
Montessori Teacher Training Program.
component of teacher preparation for any Montessori school.
The detailed nature of the lesson plans, the philosophical
grounding of the method, and the training on stages of child development and their observation, require
an intensive training course such as that offered at MECR. Therefore, anyone newly hired at Montessori
del Mundo without a Montessori certificate (AMS or AMI) will need to attend MECR or an alternate
accredited training program during the summer before they begin teaching, from early June to early
August (approximately June 11th -August 3rd). This necessity will curtail the amount of time available for
other professional development in the weeks prior to the first day of school, since Kindergarten in
Aurora Public Schools begins around August 14th. (These dates, mentioned as examples, are from the
2012-2013 school year and are subject to change).The cost for this training program is built into our
annual budget and while a significant amount of money, we believe that highly prepared teachers are
the key to students’ success, and are therefore worth the investment.
Similarly, new hires who already have a Montessori certificate but do not have dual language training,
will need to attend the Literacy Squared Summer Institute, in order to be able to plan and deliver
literacy in the dual language model. It is anticipated that the majority of new hires will not yet have
formal dual language training.
This will leave a limited amount of time, approximately 5 days, for professional development before the
start of school. (Due to the scheduling and training demands of the MECR training program it is
impossible for teachers attending MECR to report to MdM before August 7th.) The highest priority in
those 5 days will be to anticipate and meet the needs of less experienced teachers, particularly focusing
on classroom environment, policies and procedures, building parent relationships and how to conduct
home visits.
131
Teacher Qualification chart is available in the Employee Section as well as in Appendix H.
105
Before the School Year Professional Development:
The Montessori del Mundo school calendar (Appendix A) includes 5 set up days before school starts
(August 7-11) and an additional 5 days of Classroom Assistant Boot Camp July 30th- Aug 3rd. Montessori
training at the Montessori Education Center of the Rockies will be required for any new teachers who
are not already Montessori certified. This training goes from the beginning of June-August 3rd. For more
information regarding MECR training, see Appendix B. New teachers will therefore have 8 week of
Montessori training over the summer in addition to the 5 days of professional development and teacher
work time before the start of school. Due to the scheduling and training demands of the MECR training
program it is impossible for teachers attending MECR to report to MdM before August 7th. Teachers who
are hired with Montessori certification will attend the
Literacy Squared Summer institute in the summer before
Classroom Assistant Boot Camp provides
they start school.
training before the school year starts so
that all of our Classroom support staff
Returning teachers, and teachers who are not attending
understands the fundamentals of how
MECR, may be asked to report to school early, either to
our classrooms work and how to best
assist with training at the Classroom Assistant Boot
support students and teachers.
Camp, or to complete their classroom set up before the
August 7thgeneral report date. This will provide example
classrooms for new teachers to reference and to free up returning teachers to assist new teachers with
their classroom set-up thus economizing time during the precious 5 days of set up and PD in August, and
building a collaborative staff culture from the very first day. Returning teachers who report early will be
compensated for their time.
Classroom Assistant Boot camp will occur during the week before classroom teachers report. The boot
camp curriculum will be designed in collaboration with Montessori classroom teachers, Montessori
Education Center of the Rockies and the Montessori del Mundo administrative staff. Boot Camp will
include training on: Montessori Philosophy, Classroom Management, Developmental Stages, Lesson
Presentations, Scaffolding instruction for struggling students, Dual Language Philosophy, Strategies for
sheltering instruction, etc. Boot camp will be mandatory for all classroom assistants who are new to
Montessori del Mundo and optional for any returning classroom assistants. The boot camp will be
taught by the Educational Director (head of school) and/or Classroom teachers who are not attending
MECR.
106
Tentative Professional Development Schedule for the First 5 Teacher Work Days, August 2013:
Day 1:
Meet & Greet whole staff
“Mentors & Mentees Meet Up”
“Team teachers, Lead Teachers & Assistants Meets Up”
Receive Policy Handbook
Go over building-wide schedule
Introduce concept of PBiS
Tour model classrooms
Set up classrooms with mentors’ help
Day 2:
Go over policies, procedures, goals and guidelines regarding
home visits
Plan PBiS acronym
Go over drop-off policies
Schedule home visits
Set up Classrooms
School Social with families
Day 3:
Dual Language Research & Philosophy
Thematic Instruction
Themes in the physical classroom environment
Set up Classrooms
Day 4:
Planning the first few weeks of class in teams
Montessori group time model lesson & intro to TPRS
How to manage giving individual lessons when entire class is
new
CPR/First Aid “crash course”
Fire/Tornado/Flash Flood/Earthquake/Lockdown/Weapon at
school preparedness
Day 5:
Home Visits (see Appendix F for more information about
Home Visits and why we do them before school starts)
107
Friday Afternoon Professional Development
Ongoing professional development will occur on Fridays throughout the school year. Fridays will be
early-release days. The agenda for Friday meetings will vary. One meeting each month will be reserved
for data teams, in which teachers bring and collectively analyze student data, problem-solving as group
strategies for struggling students based on the data. Other meetings will sometimes consist in schoolwide professional development led by administrators, sometimes in teacher-led professional
development, and sometimes in individual or small group study on differentiated topics addressing
individuals’ needs and interests. The SIT team will also meet on Friday afternoons. At the beginning of
the school year, an “Expertise and Interest Survey” will be circulated to determine what topics teachers
and teaching assistants feel able to present, and what areas they most wish to learn about. These topics
will be compared to identified needs and put into the professional development calendar. In addition,
areas of concern to new teachers will be identified, such as “How to fill out report cards,” or “How to
administer the EDL/DRA,” so that training on these can be delivered in a timely manner.
108
Teachers will participate in the following trainings as appropriate
Topic
Montessori
Training
MECR Montessori
certification
2nd week of June-1st
week of August
Montessori
Dual Language
Spanish Language
Montessori
materials literacy
training
Literacy Squared
Summer Institute
4 days in late June
Dual Language
Literacy Squared on
Site Training
Strategies for
instructing second
language learners
TPRS Training
Who
All Montessori
classroom
teachers w/o
certification
When
The summer
before they start
teaching.
8 week training
All Spanish
Language
classroom
teachers
All classroom
teachers not
already trained in
Literacy Squared
During MECR
training (instead of
English language
training)
First available
summer (either
first summer or
summer after
MECR)
First available
summer (either
first summer or
summer after
MECR)
Alternate option
to Literacy
Squared Summer
institute if there is
a large number of
staff needing DL
training
All teachers who
teach DL (L2) block
132
Same summer as
Literacy Squared
Site training, with
two follow up
sessions
throughout the
school year
Susan Roth, Office Manager at Montessori Education Center of the Rockies by phone on 6/18/2012.
http://literacysquared.org/
133
109
Cost
Varies by level:
Primary:
$6,600
Lower El:
$7,100-$7,700
Upper El:
$11,700$12,300132
TBD – Run in
cooperation with
MECR
$500133
$5,000/day
1-2 days
Professional Conferences:
The annual budget includes approximately $500/teacher for professional development in addition to
allocations for Montessori training. Teachers may be sent to the following conferences or other
applicable professional conferences as appropriate and financially feasible:
Name of
Conference
La Cosecha
CABE
conference
MECR
Montessori
conference
The Institute of
Montessori
Education
Annual
Conference
International
Forum on
Language
Teaching
Conference
Topic
Dual Language
Dual Language
Montessori
Education
Website/Information
http://dlenm.org/lacosecha/
http://www.fresnomaderacabe.org/2012DualLanguageConfernce.
html
www.mecr.edu
Montessori
Education
http://www.montessoriconference.org/
Comprehensibl
e Input (TPRS)
http://ifltconference.org/
110
Plan for Evaluating Student Performance
Establishing a Base-Line:
Before we can evaluate the growth of our students, we must first know what they know at the
beginning of each school year. For our first year of operation, this will be a considerably larger
undertaking that it will be in subsequent years. In the normal course of operations our students will
cycle with the same teacher team for 3 years, and then continue on from vertical team member to
vertical team member bringing with them a full body of evidence including EDL/DRA scores, running
records, standards based report cards, and skill check lists from anecdotal observations and classroom
assessments. In addition, teachers will have the ability
to evaluate students in their care at any point using any
Baseline Testing will include:
of these tools in order to come to a better
understanding of their skill level when there is ever any
 Developmental Screener
doubt. In our first year, baseline assessment will need to
 EDL/DRA (reading)
be much more extensive, and teachers will need to
 2nd language assessment
establish a baseline from scratch for each of their
 Math Assessment
students using anecdotal observation, the EDL/DRA, and
skills checklists based on the standards based MdM
report cards.
Teachers at MdM will establish a baseline for each new student in Kindergarten and above by giving a
development screening (if parents or teachers are concerned about the child), reading assessment
(EDL/DRA), 2nd language assessment, and mathematics assessment (using skills checklist and
manipulatives). Teachers will have two half-days before the school year begins to start baseline testing;
they will complete baseline testing by the end of the 3rd week of school. In the first year of operation,
teachers must establish a complete baseline for each of their students in Kindergarten and above. In
each subsequent year, teachers must complete this testing for each child new to the school, and
conference with the vertical team to understand the BoE for each child moving up from the Lower
Elementary or Primary classroom. Teachers may choose to test students at any time using skills
checklists or the EDL/DRA assessments in combination with anecdotal observation to insure full
knowledge of his or her reading level and abilities in
Math, or other subject areas. Teachers are fully
A sample of the MdM Kindergarten
expected to use record keeping systems and
Standards based report card
Montessori observation during work time in order to
(adapted from the APS report card)
regularly assess each child’s skills periodically
is available in Appendix D.
throughout the school year. Teachers will use this
data to complete MdM Standard based report cards
four time a year.
111
Advancement Rubrics and Standards Based Reporting:
The Montessori del Mundo design team is in the process of developing the MdM Standards and End of
Cycle Expectations. This standards alignment has been completed for Kindergarten and 3rd grade is
available in Appendix D, the 6th grade alignment will be completed before Dec 2012. Because children
spend three years with the same teacher the crucial transition points in our program are after
Kindergarten, 3rd and 6th grade. MdM Standards alignment aligns Colorado Standards, APS Standards
and Montessori Expectations along with our expertise in teaching this model to this demographic of
students to develop the MdM Standards which will make up our advancement rubric. The MdM
Standards will also be incorporated into the APS Standards based report card to create our own MdM
Standards based report card to allow teachers to report to parents on their child’s progress towards
meeting and exceeding district and MdM standards. Children will need to meet district standards
expectations for end of grade-level performance in order to be considered academically ready to
transition to the next classroom, however, since MdM standards are in most instances higher than
district standards we hope to hold students accountable to our own, higher level of performance.
The following is a sample of the Kindergarten standards alignment. A full standards alignment for grades
K and 3 and the MdM Standards based report cards are available in Appendix D.
Colorado State Standards (Adapted
from Common Core Standards)
1.Whole numbers can be used to name,
count, represent and order quantity
a.
Use number names and the count
sequence. (CCSS: K.CC)
i. Count to 100 by ones and by
tens. (CCSS: K.CC.1)
ii. Count forward beginning from a
given number within the known
1
sequence. (CCSS: K.CC.2)
iii. Write numbers from 0 to 20.
Represent a number of objects
with a written numeral 02
20. (CCSS: K.CC.3)
b. Count to determine the number of
objects. (CCSS: K.CC)
i.
Apply the relationship between
numbers and quantities and
connect counting to
3
cardinality. (CCSS: K.CC.4)
ii.
Count and represent objects to
4
20. (CCSS: K.CC.5)
c. Compare and instantly recognize
APS
End of Kinder
expectations
(as outlined on
standards based
report card)
Quarter 1
Count objects to
10
Quarter 2
Use numbers to
represent an
object to 10
Quarter 3
Counts objects to
20
Quarter 4
Uses numbers to
represent objects
to 20
Composes and
decomposes teen
numbers using
tens and ones w/
objects
112
Montessori
Curriculum End of
Cycle Expectations
(Kinder)
End of Cycle
Expectations (Kinder) –
to be reflected on
MdM Report Card
Count above 100
by ones and tens
Count to 100 by ones
and tens
Count on from a
number in the
sequence (bead
chains)
Count to 100 by 5s and
to 30 by 2s
Write numbers 1100 (100 board)
Represent
numbers up to
9999 with
numerals and
manipulatives
(bank)
Count objects to
100
Count backwards from
21.
Count forward and
backward beginning
from a number within
the sequence.
Write numbers
1-100
Represent numbers up
to 9999 with numerals
and manipulatives
numbers. (CCSS: K.CC)
Identify whether the number of
objects in one group is greater
than, less than, or equal to the
number of objects in another
5
group. (CCSS: K.CC.6)
ii.
Compare two numbers between
1 and 10 presented as written
numerals. (CCSS: K.CC.7)
iii.
Identify small groups of objects
fewer than five without counting
Count objects to 100
i.
Identify which number
is greater for numbers
up to 20
Identify small groups
of objects fewer than
10 without counting
Classroom Level:
Montessori Record Keeping is a key component of effective Montessori education. Teachers are
expected to keep comprehensive daily notes on students’ progress through the curriculum and mastery
of key skills and standards. These records are used to inform the teacher’s planning for each child’s
individualized lessons and learning plan. We believe that effective record keeping that informs
instruction is necessary to ensure that all students are making adequate progress towards meeting all
standards.
Classroom records will include the following components:



Standardized/normed test scores sorted either by child or as class at a glance
o EDL/DRA scores and test booklets
o Word Task Analysis data (Kinder)
o Math Assessments/Checklists
o Oral Language Assessment scores
o Writing Rubric scores
o MAP Test reports (1-6th grade)
Portfolio of Work Samples
o Writing samples
o Sample paper extensions to Montessori works
o End of unit projects/demonstrations of learning
o Photographs of completed works
o Copies of completed work plans
o Rubrics from Demonstrations of Learning
On-going progress monitoring
o Checklist or anecdotal record of works presented/skills and standards mastered
o Record of progress through works
o Record of skills mastered, skills developing, skills not yet taught
o Anecdotal records of observations of students’ work, work habits, social interactions,
oral language development, etc.
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Every teacher has their own organizational style when it comes to record keeping. At MdM we insist
that record keeping be kept in the format that is most useful to the teacher in informing his/her
instruction. Records must be completed for every child in the class and in all areas of study in order to
track and assist that child’s progress towards meeting the MdM standards of performance. Record
keeping systems must also be designed such that it is possible to pass information to the next teacher as
a child transitions from one classroom to the next.
Several examples of record keeping are available in Appendix D including:






Year Long Kindergarten Standards Based Math Assessment
Number sense skills and standards class checklist
Math and Language Record Packets
Student at a glance record form Primary, Upper EL
Oral Language Assessment from European Art Theme
Sample anecdotal notes
School Level:
The school will keep data on student performance in a variety of areas including: Reading, Oral
Language, Math, Writing, and TCAP proficiency.
This data will be reviewed by school administrators on a regular basis and used to inform professional
development and guide conversations and PD with teachers in order to improve student performance. It
will also be used to determine needs and areas of celebration school-wide in order to raise student
achievement or determine those areas in which course corrections are required.
Students in grades 1-6 will take the MAP test in the fall and spring each year. The MAP assessment is
used to inform instruction in many public schools in Colorado and has been proven to be predictive of
TCAP results. The MAP test also provides all teachers with a report detailing student strengths and
weaknesses and class patterns in strengths and weaknesses which help inform instruction and direct
professional development.
Assessments:
Subject Area
Test
Math
Reading
Reading
Writing
Oral Language
SENA
Word Task Analysis
DRA/EDL
MdM Writing Rubric
SOPA/ELOPA
Grades
K-2
K-1
K-6
K-6
ECE-6
Oral Language
Math/Reading/Writing
Math/Reading/Writing
CELA
TCAP (or equivalent)
MAP Test
K-6
3-6
1-6
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Frequency
September and May
1-2 times/year
1-2 times/year
3 times/year
At entry to the school
and end of each year
As required by the state
As required by the state
Fall and Spring
Longitudinal Student Academic Achievement Data
School administrators and teachers will collect longitudinal student data as it becomes available and will
analyze it no less frequently than 3 times per year. Longitudinal student academic data will be shared
more frequently with the board of directors (3 times/year) and with the teaching staff (3+ times/year).
The school will send home a “school report card” once per year in order to inform parents and
community members of how students are doing as a whole group. This report card will include overview
data of how each grade level at the school is doing, and how
MdM’s scores are changing over time. It will include
The annual Montessori del Mundo
students’ percentage proficiency on reading, writing, math
“School Report Card” will share
and oral language assessments. The school report card will
information with stake-holders
be posted to the website and also shared with community
regarding how the school is performing
members, the board of directors, and other stakeholders.
as a whole and what our improvement
goals are for the upcoming year.
Information Systems used to Manage Data
Montessori del Mundo recognizes the need to have a comprehensive data dashboard system that can
be used to compile, sort, aggregate, and assist with the analysis of a variety of kinds of academic, and
financial data. At this point Montessori del Mundo plans to construct its own data management system
using Microsoft Excel. Should additional funding become available we will consider the option of
purchasing a system. Any system, either created or purchased would be designed to accomplish the
following tasks:






Allow teachers to compile data from multiple sources on one page
Allow data to be sorted by student, subject/skill/standards, class, age cohort, proficiency level
Allow administrators to compare data from multiple classrooms
Create dashboards for classrooms to highlight areas and students in need
Create reports for teachers, parents, board members, authorizer, other stake holders
Provide appropriate data needed to guide professional development decisions
Another system will be required to track financial information including but not limited to:




Tracking monthly cash flow
Tracking the difference between estimated and actual costs
Keeping track of upcoming and past deadlines and highlighting any approaching deadlines or
deadlines missed
Tracking revenues and discrepancies between anticipated and actual revenues
115
Interventions
MdM staff will continue to develop a list of resources available to address intervention needs in various
areas including:
Area of Need
Letter knowledge
Potential Interventions
Estrellita
Computer based phonics programs
Hooked on Phonics
Sing, Spell, Read and Write
Fluency
Reading Recovery/ Descubriendo la Lectura
Leveled Literacy Intervention
Comprehension
SRA Reading Lab
Math
Classroom based Montessori math interventions
SRA Math Labs
Oral Language Development –
native language
Reading Recovery oral language intervention
Intimate Shared Reading
Small Group OLD Games
Oral Language Development –
second language
Rosetta Stone
Additional TPRS
Small Group OLD games
“Morning Message” – Shared Writing
Intervention
Dictados Intervention
Writing Intervention
These resources will be utilized by classroom teachers in additional to intervention staff teachers and
will be selected responsively to the needs shown in the data but every effort will be made to make sure
there are interventions available for each grade level, subject area, and language.
Read Act
MdM will comply with all requirements of the Read Act of 2012, new legislation that focuses attention
on reading skills and fluency in K-3rd grade. The READ Act will be implemented in the 2013-2014 school
year, replacing CBLA and ILPs.
In compliance with the READ Act, teachers will notify parents at least 45 days before the end of each
school year that the child is in K-3rd grade, if their child is considered to have a significant Reading
deficiency. Teachers in collaborate with the student’s parents, will then write a READ plan for each
students with a reading deficiency, that will: identify the deficiency, set student goals, identify future
interventions, set evaluation and monitoring methods, give parents strategies to use at home, and set
116
forward any other additional services or strategies the teacher deems necessary. Read plans will be
evaluated and updated at least once per year.
The Read Act of 2012 will provide for funding of Research Based Interventions and Intervention teachers
to assist students with a deficiency in reading. MdM will constantly monitor the reading progress and
skills for each student in the school through teacher observations, anecdotal records, and Montessori
Record keeping. In order to comply with the Read Act, we will also conduct progress monitoring using an
approved normed assessment such as the DRA/EDL and will formally submit reading assessment scores
for students in K-3 grades.
CAP4K compliance
Montessori del Mundo will comply with all state and authorizer requirements regarding assessing
publicly funded ECE and Kindergarten students’ school readiness. Individual learning plans will be
written for any students not on target to meet school readiness standards by the end of kindergarten in
compliance with this legislation.
Steps if data shows students are not on track for success
Student level
When students are not meeting achievement goals the following steps will be taken:



Classroom teacher will systematically assess area of academic need for the student using careful
observation and data analysis, and implement a classroom intervention. This intervention
should last for 3-4 weeks, include a clear and measurable goal for the student, occur regularly,
target the academic need and be clearly documented.
At the end of the classroom intervention the teacher will re-assess the student to determine
whether or not sufficient progress has been made. If the student has not made progress a
meeting will be called with the parent, teacher and the school intervention coordinator. At this
meeting the students’ areas of need will be discussed and the group will decide which of the
school intervention resources would best serve the student.
A new goal will be set and the student will begin receiving intervention services. The group will
meet back in another 4-8 weeks to determine whether or not the interventions have been
effective in closing the students achievement gap or whether more intensive services or a
different intervention are required.
117
Classroom Level
When the data shows us that a large group of children from one class are not meeting academic
achievement goals the following steps will be taken:



Classroom teacher and Director of Education (Head of School) will systematically assess areas of
need and skills or concepts lacking by analyzing student assessment data.
Classroom teacher will design or implement a pre-existing class-wide intervention to target the
standards where students are not making progress.
Director of Education (Head of School) will assess whether or not the classroom teacher needs
additional resources, Professional Development, additional staff, specific intervention program,
to best meet the needs of students. If it is determined that additional resources are required
they will be provided by the Director of Education or school.
School Level
When/if the data shows us that students are not meeting academic achievement standards across an
entire grade level or the entire school the following steps will be taken:



Director of Education and classroom teachers will analyze student data to determine in what
skills or areas students are struggling
Director of Education will determine what steps will most highly impact achievement in this
area, this could include: staff-wide professional development, new teaching strategy, additional
curricula or program (example: adopting a new writing program if writing scores are not
proficient), changes to the daily schedule to place more emphasis on subject area where
students are struggling the most, implementation of school wide intervention.
Director of Education will re-assess student achievement to see if changes have improved
student outcomes or if additional interventions are necessary.
Reporting Academic Achievement
MdM believes that in addition to collecting and analyzing student data to inform our instruction, it is
important to communicate this information with various stakeholders at regular intervals. We commit
to the following communication schedule and methods:
Stakeholder
Method of Communication
Frequency
Intended Uses
District/Authorizer
Annual school data report
and School Improvement
Plan
At least
once/year,
more frequently
if requested
Assure that MdM is adequately
meeting student achievement
requirements to maintain
authorization as a charter
school.
Board of Directors
Data report at time of annual
report to parents.
Annual report,
once/year
Maintain oversight of the big
picture direction of the school
118
Longitudinal
data 3x/year
Data highlighted in Board
Meeting agendas
and be able to speak from a
position of authority about the
school’s academic progress.
Board Meeting
reports, at each
board meeting
School
Administrators
Electronic copies of data
generated by teacher
assessments or standardized
assessments
At least 3
times/year
Inform professional
development, maintain
accountability for the school as
a whole and provide warning if
a course correction is necessary.
Teachers
School-wide:
Send electronic copies of
school-wide data dashboards
and discuss data information
at Friday PD meetings
School-wide:
As data
becomes
available but no
less than 3
times/year
Provide feed-back about the
success of the model schoolwide. Encourage teachers to
collaborate across grade-levels
to support areas of growth
across the school.
Classroom:
Electronic copies of data
dashboards, data analysis
conferences with teachers,
data teams
Students
Student-Level Data:
Formal and informal
Student-Teacher
conferences
School Data:
Whole school assembly and
or as part of an authentic
math exercise in the
classroom
Parents
Longitudinal
data 3x/year
Classroom:
As data
becomes
available but no
less than 3
times/year
Student-Level
Data:
Formally, at
least 2x/year
Informally, daily
School Data:
Once/year
Student-Level Data:
Student-Level
Developmentally appropriate Data:
standards based report card 3 times/year
designed around the MdM
standards and
developmental milestones
for ECE students
119
Inform instruction and target
personal PD goals to areas of
growth for the whole class.
Hold students accountable for
their own learning and engage
them as partners in their
education. Help students learn
to make informed choices about
where to focus their energies
during learning times.
Provide feedback about their
student’s progress towards
mastering MdM standards. Give
parents suggestions for areas in
which students might need
additional support at home.
School-wide Data:
“school report card”
School-wide
Data:
Once/year
120
Engage parents as partners in
the whole school’s academic
progress, provide parents with
feedback about the work the
school is doing to ensure that
their child will receive a quality
education.
Budget and Finance
MdM’s success depends on its ability to establish an efficient business model that ensures the school
can cover its expenses while delivering a successful academic program. Please see Appendix B to view
our budget as an Excel spreadsheet.
REVENUE
School Revenue Sources:











Colorado State Per Pupil Funding (Grades K-6)
ECE and K Tuition
Title 1 Funding
ELPA Funding
CCAP Funding
CPP Funding
IDEA Funding
ECEA Funding
Colorado Public Charter Schools Startup and Implementation Grant
Foundation Grants
Partnerships with local businesses and non-profits
Colorado State Per Pupil Funding (Funding for students in grades K-6):
Grades 1-6 will be funded by the State of Colorado at the Per Pupil Amount for Aurora Public Schools
which is projected to be $6,714.83/student in the 2012-2013 school year.134 Kindergarten students are
funded at 58 percent of PPR. Due to current economic situation, Per Pupil Revenue (PPR) funding has
held steady for the past three years. Given that we cannot predict the economic recovery or future
situation, for the purposes of our budgeting we are assuming that PPR funding will hold constant at
$6,714.83/student for the next five years.
In December our PPR amount will be adjusted using the CDE “At-Risk Adjustment” formula to
compensate for an FRL rate that differs from the district average. The APS district average FRL rate is
just over 60%. We are targeting an enrollment of 60% FRL as well and therefore anticipate that our PPR
will not change greatly from the APS amount. Our calculated adjusted PPR amount would be:
$6694/student
ECE Funding:
While some state funding sources are available for Early Childhood Education, such as funding through
the Colorado Preschool Program (CPP), it has yet to be decided how CPP spots would be distributed
among CSI schools, therefore in order to maintain conservative budgeting estimates we have not yet
included CPP funding in our budget. Montessori del Mundo anticipates serving a majority of students
134
Efren Ortiz, email 6/29/2012, Charter Fees 2012-2013.
121
from the City of Aurora which does not have any city preschool funding sources. Some students (we
estimate approximately 10% in initial years) may come from out of district, including residents of Denver
County. Denver County residents are eligible for Denver Preschool Project (DPP)135 tuition assistance
which will be applied to their tuition bill to lower the rate that these families must pay to attend our
school.
CCAP Funding136:
Child Care Assistance Program (or CCAP) provides funds to qualifying low-income families to cover the
cost of child care services. Montessori del Mundo is currently working to negotiate a fiscal agreement
with CCAP as a qualifying child care facility which will make our families eligible to collect CCAP funds.
Families of 4 earning less than $3,073/month will qualify for CCAP funds,137which means the lowest
income bracket on our tuition scale will qualify. CCAP of Arapahoe County reimburses $16/day for halfday care and $26.50/day for full day care.138
ECE and Kindergarten Tuition:
Due to lack of federal or state funding for preschool and full day Kindergarten, MdM does not expect to
collect sufficient public revenues for the ECE and Kindergarten programs. In order to make up the gap
between the cost of providing a program for these grade-levels and the very limited funding available
MdM will charge tuition for our half-day preschool, full-day preschool option and full-day Kindergarten
program.
MdM has researched comparable programs and has decided to charge Aurora residents $520/month for
10 months for half-day 5 days/week. Out of district residents will pay a slightly higher fee $580/month
to reflect the school’s commitment to serving local students. Denver residents who qualify for DPP
assistance will pay $580 minus their DPP allotment.
MdM chose to compare preschool tuition rates at AXL academy (the only other Aurora charter school to
offer preschool), APS, DPS, and Montessori Children’s House of Denver (MCHD), because we anticipate
that these schools will draw from the same student pool as MdM. Rates listed are the Full Tuition rates.
School
AXL139
DPS140
APS141
MCHS142
MdM
Half-day ECE – $ per month/ 4 days
$600
n/a
$350
n/a
n/a
Half-day ECE – $ per month / 5 days
n/a
$400
n/a
$720
$520
Full-day ECE –$ per month/5 days
n/a
$800
$656
(4 days/wk)
$1290
$1000
Full-day Kindergarten
$0
$340
$0
$1290143
$450
135
http://www.dpp.org/
http://www.co.arapahoe.co.us/Departments/HS/CommunitySupportServices/Child%20Care%20Assistance.asp
137
http://www.co.arapahoe.co.us/Departments/HS/CommunitySupportServices/Child%20Care%20Assistance.asp
138
Mia Struger-Fritsch, Early Learning Ventures Implementation Manager, Meeting on 7/23/12.
139
http://www.axlacademy.org/index.php
140
http://earlyeducation.dpsk12.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/3YOIncomeGrid-English-2012-2013.pdf
141
http://ece.aurorak12.org/programs/tuition-based-preschool/
142
http://mchdenver.org/images/MCHD-Price-List-2012.pdf
136
122
The MdM full tuition rate falls in the middle of the range. Both DPS and APS tuition is lower than MdM.
AXL academy has been charging a higher rate for only 4 days/week of preschool and currently maintains
a waiting list of children in their preschool program. MCHS charges a tuition that is higher than the MdM
tuition.
Sliding Scale Tuition with Scholarships:
The intention of Montessori del Mundo is to serve a diverse student body and we recognize that in
order to accomplish this goal we must offer tuition assistance to many of our families. We anticipate a
student population of approximately 60% Free and Reduced Lunch.
The MdM budget is initially based on the assumption that students will pay an average of $400/month
for 10 months each year. This is done to simplify the initial budgeting process. The tuition page of our
budget spreadsheet illustrates the number of scholarships and amount of the scholarship that we will
offer. Some students will pay more than $400/month so that others can pay less. The number of
“scholarship spots” available at each income level is carefully determined to balance the need for
funding with our mission to serve a socio-economically diverse clientele and our belief that Montessori
education should be accessible to low-income families.
Current public preschool openings in APS are either no-pay CPP spots, or cost parents $350/month.
These spots are very limited and there are more than 850 students waiting to get into APS preschool
programs. While APS costs less than MdM’s highest tuition level the vast majority of our parents will pay
less than $350/month with their rates at either $220, $120, or $40/month. Offering this sliding scale
tuition will make our program accessible to families who cannot afford the APS tuition rate but would
like to send their children to preschool.
After our sliding scale tuition amount, parents are encouraged to apply for a scholarship. MdM has built
into our budget substantial scholarships for families. See the Tuition and Scholarship chart in Appendix B
for more details on our current projected rates.
These scholarships amount to a sliding-scale for parents. However, budgeting based on a sliding scale is
very challenging until we have a better projection of our demographics. This is why we have chosen to
budget assuming all children will pay $400/month and then charge a sliding tuition with a controlled
number of full pay vs. low pay vs. no pay spots. The current scholarship amount is below the assumed
amount of $400/student, and is in fact closer to $300/student; this is a result of our efforts to keep our
tuition costs to a minimum. We feel it is important to offer an affordable tuition rate to full pay families.
MdM is committed to finding additional scholarship assistance such that we are able to offer all
students who are accepted the appropriate amount of support so they can attend our school.
143
Montessori Children’s House of Denver lists $1290 as the monthly tuition rate for Kindergarten offered at the same times as
MdM, they charge $720 for ½ day Kindergarten.
123
Preschool Full-day Option
MdM understands that due to many parents’ work schedules, they require full-day preschool for their
children, and as such we will offer a Full-day Option class. Families with students enrolled in regular halfday preschool may elect to enroll their children in the Full-day Option class. Families with children
enrolled in the Full-day Option class will pay just under 2x their tuition rate (provided that the
appropriate scholarships are available). For a more detailed explanation of the Preschool Full-day Option
please see the Special Programs section.
Note: All Kindergarten students will be enrolled in full-day; however their parents will only pay half-day
tuition. Public funding pays for half-day Kindergarten, so parents must only pay tuition on the remaining
half-day.
For example: The Gonzalez family has three children and qualifies for a partial scholarship such that
their tuition rate is $200/month for a half-day program. Ami, age 3, enrolled in half-day preschool pays
$200/month. Jeremiah, age 4, enrolled in Full-day Option pays $400/month. Sophia, age 5, enrolled in
full-day Kinder pays $200/month.
Half-day Kindergarten
In the event that a child is granted enrollment to the Kindergarten program and the family cannot pay
the Kindergarten tuition and no additional scholarship funding is available at the school in order to make
it possible for the child to attend, the parent and school may agree to enroll the child in half day
Kindergarten only at no cost to the parent. We believe strongly that the academic benefit to enrolling a
child in full-day Kindergarten is significant and do not want to perpetuate the achievement gap by
forcing families with financial hardship to miss out on important instruction. Therefore we will always
encourage families to enroll in full-day Kindergarten whenever possible. Enrolling in the half-day
program until such a time as additional scholarship funding opens up will be explored as a last resort if it
becomes necessary.
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Enrollment Projections
The chart below details MDM’s enrollment projections and the amount of PPR and tuition funding that
results in Years 1 - 5.
GRADE
YEAR 1
YEAR 2
YEAR 3
YEAR 4
YEAR 5
ECE ½ Day
56
56
68
68
68
ECE Full day
40
40
40
40
40
K
60
60
54
54
54
1.
52
55
55
48
48
48
50
52
48
44
48
48
40
46
2
3
4
5
36
6
Total #
students
208
259
311
350
388
86.8
137.8
180.32
219.32
257.32
PPR
Revenues
$582,848
$925,305
$1,210,820
$1,472,699
$1,727,863
CCAP
Revenues
$145,163
$145,163
$164,763
$164,763
$164,763
Tuition
Revenues
$461,672
$461,672
$503,664
$503,664
$503,664
Publicly
funded
students
125
Students in the ECE program will be evenly distributed between ECE-3 and ECE-4 to create consistent
enrollment in the Primary classes. Students enrolled in the Full-day Option for Preschool will be assigned
to a primary class for half the day and then the Full-day Option class for the other half. The following
table illustrates the enrollment in a primary class in Years 1 and 2:
AM/PM
Breakdown
Kinder
ECE-3
ECE-4
Total ECE
15 Full day
6 AM
6 PM
6 AM
6 PM
12 AM
12 PM
Total
Physically
Present at a
time
15
6
Total Enrolled
in 1 Primary
Class
Total School
(4 Primary
Classrooms)
15
12
60
48
6
12
48
12
24
96 (full day +
half-day ECE)
Research shows that students who enter a dual language program without prior instruction in Spanish
struggle after grade 2 if they are native English speakers and after grade 4 if they are native Spanish
speakers.144 Conventional wisdom also tells us that schools will experience a certain amount of attrition
of their student populations. At Montessori del Mundo we want to set all students up for success, for
this reason we have a tiered enrollment with more students in lower grade classes feeding into smaller
classes as the grades get higher. With this structure as students leave MdM they will not necessarily
need to be replaced with students who might lack the dual language educational background they
would need to be successful.
We also know that the initial classes of a
founding school experience more attrition than
classes once the school is established.145
Because we want to be conservative in our
budgeting for the initial 5 years of the start-up
of our school the first two classes are predicted
to have steeper attrition rates than classes will
after the school stabilizes. For this reason we
plan to enroll more students than typical in the
initial two Kindergarten classes and anticipate
taking new Kindergarten students for the first
three years of operation until we can grow the
ECE program to the point where it sustains the
Kindergarten program entirely.
The MdM enrollment projections are
purposefully built with attrition.
In every program there is a certain amount
of attrition as families move in and out of
the area. In order to safeguard against the
need to enroll a large number of new 5th and
6th graders to meet our enrollment
projections, we have already assumed
smaller numbers at higher grade levels.
144
Williams Fortune, T., &Menke, M. (2010) Struggling learners & language immersion education: Research-based, practitionerinformedresponses to educators’ top questions. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota, The Center for Advanced Research
145
Observed by design team while founding Valdez Elementary School in Denver’s DL Montessori program.
126
Transition from ECE to K – Enrollment Numbers
GRADE
YEAR 1
YEAR 2
YEAR 3
YEAR 4
Year 5
ECE ½ Day
56
56
68
68
68
ECE Full day
40
40
40
40
40
Total ECE
96
96
108
108
108
ECE-3
48
48
54
54
54
ECE - 4
48
48
54
54
54
K
60
60
54
54
54
Title 1 Funding:
CSI allots all schools with an FRL rate greater than 35% $236.96 for each student who qualifies for FRL.
As we are projecting a FRL rate of 60% we have budgeted assuming we will receive these funds for our
FRL population.
ELPA Funding:
The English Language Proficiency Act provides funding for Bilingual Education and ESL programs serving
students whose primary language of communication is not English.146 Due to the nature of our Dual
Language program, we anticipate that approximately 50% of our students in ECE-3rd grade will qualify as
either Non English Proficient or Limited English Proficient under the ELPA guidelines. We also anticipate
that former ELLs in 4-6th grade will no longer qualify due to increase English language skills gained in our
program. This means approximately 25% of students in the entire school will qualify for ELPA funding at
full implementation.
The assumptions page shows the percent of students scoring NEP or LEP and therefore qualifying for
funding. While this will be approximately half of the student population while our students are in 3rd
grade or below (until year 3) the percentage drops in years 4 and 5 as we add students in the 4-6
program and exit students from the ELL program due to their developing fluency in English.
IDEA and ECEA Funding
Every December a count will be taken of eligible IEP students enrolled at Montessori del Mundo. For
the following school year the school will be allotted funds from IDEA and ECEA to defray the costs of our
special education program. These rates are subject to change but the current projected rates are:
$1660/IEP student from IDEA and $1300/student from ECEA.147
Additional Sources of Revenue
In addition to the district per pupil revenue and tuition that MDM will receive, MDM will need additional
146
http://www.cde.state.co.us/FedPrograms/tiii/elpa.asp
147
Peg LaPlante phone conversation on 9/13
127
start-up funding to ensure it can deliver a strong dual language, Montessori program.
CDE Start-Up and Implementation Grant:
As a charter school, MDM anticipates receiving start-up federal funding managed through the Colorado
Department of Education grant. The CDE start-up grant can pay $1,500/student enrolled in the program,
where Kindergarten students count as 0.5 and ECE students do not count. The grant is determined
based on the average number of eligible students enrolled in the program in years 1-3. MdM anticipates
an average number of 130 students in years 1-3, therefore the funding available through CDE is as
follows:148
Year 0 = 195k
Year 1 = 195k
Year 2 = 195k
Foundation Revenue
MdM values competitive salaries and strong Montessori and dual language professional development.
As a result, we are seeking grant funding from the following organizations:





Walton – MdM has submitted an application for the $30,000 Walton Planning Grant
Daniels – MdM has spoken with Noah Acencio at the Daniels fund about their interest in funding
Early Childhood Education materials (classroom set up costs) and teacher training
Donnell-Kay
Piton Foundation – MdM has met with Lisa Montagu at the Piton foundation regarding their
interest in funding ECE programs within the Children’s Corridor in Aurora
Others
Additional Grant Funding
MDM has recently received a planning grant from the Colorado League of Charter Schools. This grant is
$2500 and MdM anticipates applying for at least 1 more funding cycle of this grant.
148
Gina Schlieman, Grant Administration at CDE, at the CDE Charter Boot Camp on 6/7/12 and email 7/23/12.
128
EXPENSES
Human Capital: Salaries
Montessori del Mundo anticipates spending on average 40% of our operating budget on employee’s
salaries. The teaching staff will grow as the school grows and at full implementation will include 25
teachers and classroom assistants, and 4.7 administrators and support staff.
TEACHING STAFF
K-6 Classroom Teachers
K-6 Specials Teachers
K-6 Intervention Teachers
K-6 Classroom Assistant
K-6 SPED Teacher
K-6 SPED Assistant
K-6 Speech Language/ OT/PT
YEAR 0
YEAR 1
YEAR 2
YEAR 3
YEAR 4
YEAR 5
N/A
208
4
.25
.25
4
.5
0
.2
259
6
5
.25
4
.75
0
.25
311
8
1
.25
4
1
0
.25
350
9
1.5
.25
4
1.25
0
.4
388
11
1.5
.25
4
1.5
0
.4
0.25
2
1
0.25
5
0.25
2
1
0.6
5
0.25
2
1
1
5
.25
2
1
1.25
5
.25
2
1
1.5
5
17.45
20
22.75
24.8
27.05
ECE SPED Teachers
ECE Primary Teachers
ECE Full-day Option Teachers
Specials Teachers
ECE Para
Total Teaching Staff
0
AVG
Annual
Salary
$40k
$40K
$40k
$16k
$45k
$16K
$40K
$40k
$40k
$30k
$40k
$16k
For a narrative breakdown of staffing plans please see the Employment section.
Facilities:
Montessori del Mundo understands that locating in Aurora and authorizing through CSI means that we
will need to either lease or buy a building. MdM plans to keep its facility costs to less than 15% of its
total budget in order to spend more of its resources on staffing and instruction. 149
MdM plans on leasing space until it reaches closer to full enrollment, after year 6. In its target location,
cost per square foot is approximately $15/square foot ($15 is the average for a good space, commercial
real estate in Aurora ranges from $5 - $25.)150 This cost is all inclusive of Utilities and Maintenance. Our
budget is currently built to accommodate $17/sq foot as this is the most expensive of the facilities
options we are currently considering and should give us good flexibility if we choose to sign with a less
expensive property.
Facilities requirements
The Charter League recommends 75-100 square feet per student in the overall facility.151 State ECE
149
We recognize that this may be impossible in the early years of implementation – but will strive to bring our facilities costs
down in line 15% or less of our budget.
150
YuriyGorlov at the Aurora office of Economic Development.
151
Charter School Facility Primer by Self Help (recommended by Jennifer Douglas at the Colorado League of Charter Schools).
129
regulations require at least 30 square feet/child of space in the classroom not counting non-child spaces
such as furniture, teacher area, etc.152 Our budget assumes 75 square feet for all children both ECE and
K-6 assuming that some of that space will be bathrooms/hallways/offices and ensuring we meet the
minimum requirement of 30 square feet/ECE child in the classrooms. For a more detailed breakdown of
facilities needs and considerations please see the Facilities section.
For the purposes of calculating the number of square feet required, ECE students, who attend school
only half-day, are counted as .5 students because although two students are enrolled in the school only
one is present at any given time.
Classroom Setup Costs
The Montessori curriculum is highly dependent on having the appropriate Montessori materials in each
classroom. The Montessori Education Center of the Rockies recommends budgeting $40K for the set-up
of a Primary, Lower El, or Upper El classroom.153 Montessori del Mundo is currently budgeting classroom
materials at $35,000/classroom. Should additional funds become available we would be happy to
expand that funding to meet the full $40K recommendation from the MECR experts. Due to the nature
of the Montessori curriculum and materials however the school anticipates reduced Xeroxing costs in
comparison with traditional schools.
Montessori Training
Teachers in a Montessori classroom must be certified, and due to the limited number of bilingual
Montessori certified individuals in the job market MdM anticipates the need to train the majority of the
teachers it hires.
Teachers will train at the Montessori Education Center of the Rockies, training costs are as follows:154
Primary Teacher: $6,600
Lower Elementary Teachers: $7,100-$7,700
Upper Elementary Teachers: $11,700-$12,300
Initial teacher funding will come from the General Operating budget, Charter School Start-up Grant and
Foundation funding. Teachers will be asked to sign a 3 year contract if MdM pays for their training. If a
teacher chooses to leave during those initial 3 years, they will be asked to pay back a proportional
amount of their training.
Montessori schools experience a traditionally low teacher turn-over rate, especially well implemented
programs. Training costs work out to an average of $8560/teacher and MdM anticipates that with a
teaching staff of 15 Montessori certified teachers approximately 3 positions will be open in a given year.
The school will therefore attempt to maintain a training reserve of at least $25,680 to pay for additional
trainings that might be needed after a teacher’s 3 year contract has expired. (This amount will be lower
152
Lucy Davis at the DPS department of Early Childhood Education by phone on 6/18/2012.
Dot Thompson, Director of the Montessori Education Center of the Rockies, Email on 6/13, ordering materials.
154
Susan Roth, Office Manager at Montessori Education Center of the Rockies by phone on 6/18/2012.
153
130
in the initial years of implementation as a higher percentage of the teaching staff will likely be in their
first three years at the school, and there will be fewer elementary teachers who are more expensive to
train).
Other Professional Development, Training and Conferences
Teacher training is essential in maintaining a highly qualified teaching staff. The demands of a dual
language Montessori teacher are many and highly specialized. We anticipate the need to fund some of
the following training seminars, conferences and expert speakers:





Literacy Squared Summer Institute: $500/teacher155
OR Kathy Escamilla and Sue Hopewell from Literacy Squared will run a training session at MdM
for approximately $2000
La Cosecha – Dual Language Conference: $500/teacher156
Montessori Conferences: $500/teacher
Spanish Language Classes at University of Denver: $165/class for on-campus non-credit157
In anticipation of these costs we have budgeted $10,000 per calendar year for additional training and
conference attendance. This provides for approximately $500/classroom teacher/year with additional
monies for administrator, specials teachers or classroom assistant training.
Consultant Services
Montessori del Mundo budgets money each year for the hiring of consultants. These consultants might
provide consultation services including but not limited to: Montessori, Dual Language, Financial,
Culture, etc. MdM also budgets $11,000 out of the $24,000 consultation allocation for Year 3 to cover
the cost of a CSSI review.
District Purchased Services
CSI will retain 3% of total PPR revenues for administrative costs. CDE will retain .5% of PPR for
additional costs incurred for schools authorized through CSI. This can be found in the budget line:
District Purchased Svcs. Administration.
Food Services
MdM will contract with a food vendor to provide food with a high nutritional standard that are
compliant with USDA regulations. The vendor will also provide supporting documents and audit support
upon request. MdM has solicited a bid from a potential vendor (see Appendix B – Food cost analysis).
This bid includes a cost of $18,923 for the first year with an anticipated enrollment of 160 students.
Since this does not match our actual anticipated enrollment in year one, or future years, we have
divided $18923/160 students to come up with a cost of $119/student (rounded up) and have used this
number to calculate the amount reserved for food services each year. This cost includes a food server to
155
http://literacysquared.org/
http://dlenm.org/lacosecha/
157
http://universitycollege.du.edu/answers/tuition/masters-certificate.cfm
156
131
provide these services. When calculating the total food costs/year we used the physical pupil count
because half-day ECE students will not eat the same number of meals as full-day students.
Contingency Budgets
MdM strives to create a balanced budget that creates ideal situations for children and teachers in
classrooms, fosters rigorous instruction, and ensures equitable access to school for all families. With
these considerations in mind we strive to:





Provide adequate Montessori materials
Provide Montessori and ongoing training for teachers
Charge a tuition that is affordable and offer sufficient scholarships
Staff classrooms with adequate Classroom Assistants
Keep class sizes low
Montessori del Mundo is currently developing contingency budgets for the following scenarios:
Low Enrollment
Fewer Tuition Payers/Lower Tuition Payments
Less Foundation Funding in early years and lower donations
Audit and Accounting Services
While Montessori del Mundo will employ a Director of Operations it is our intention for this person to
focus on school operations including facility search and planning, space leasing, and minimal financial
accounting include reporting and documentation related to the CDE Start-up Grant. High Level
accounting services will be contracted out to an accounting service.
Montessori del Mundo also intends to join the Early Learning Ventures Alliance.158 For a yearly fee of
$2,400 (reflected in the budget line Dues and Fees), MdM will gain access to the Early Learning Ventures
(ELV) platform for a variety of services related to Early Childhood Education, group purchasing services,
and licensing support. MdM will also contract our ECE/K revenue collection to ELV for a fee of 5% of
monies collected. ELV will provide all back office support for tuition collection and CCAP paperwork,
reporting and collection. With ELV’s support we anticipate collecting 97% of tuition and 100% of CCAP
and public funding sources159. This is reflected on the tuition sheet of the budget.
Montessori del Mundo will also complete a yearly Audit review process and has budgeted at least
$4,000/year for this service. We will contract with an independent auditor to complete this process and
will switch audit companies every 3-5 years.
Due to all of these auditing services we have budgeted substantial funds in the Audit and Accounting
services line of our budget. Additional auditing funds in the early years of implementation will be
158
www.earlylearningventures.org
Mia Struger-Fritsch, Early Learning Ventures Implementation Manager, Meeting on 7/23/12.
159
132
earmarked for working with a financial consultant to build systems and capacity within the school to
handle more of our auditing needs on our own. By the end of Year 2 we hope to have instituted
sufficient systems that our Director of Operations and office staff can handle the rest of our financial
requirements with only minor support from financial experts. Here is a breakdown of the Audit and
Accounting services line of the budget.
Year 0
Year 1
Year 2
Year 3
Year 4
Year 5
Total Amount
$10,000
$54,130
$49,130
$47,501
$47,501
$47,501
Building Systems,
and Support
$10,000
$15,000
$10,000
$5,000
$5,000
$5,000
Annual Audit
$0
$5,000
$5,000
$5,000
$5,000
$5,000
Early Learning
Ventures Tuition
Collection
$0
$34,130
$34,130
$37,501
$37,501
$37,501
Separation of ECE funds and K-6 funds
The Montessori del Mundo budget is currently designed to ensure that federal grant, and general public
funding meant for K-6 funding sources is paying only for K-6 expenses and foundation funding and ECE
revenues intended for ECE purposes pays for ECE expenses. In the case of Primary classrooms where
teachers and materials are utilized by both ECE and K students these expenses have been separated into
different categories. The student breakdown in each of those mixed age classes is approximately 50%
Kindergarten and 50% ECE at any given time of the day. Therefore costs associated with Primary classes
are designated as 50% Kindergarten and 50% ECE. For example staff salaries for each of 4 teachers in
Primary are assigned 0.5 to the category ECE Teacher and 0.5 to the category K-6 classroom teachers for
a total of 2 teachers in the ECE category and 2 teachers + elementary classroom teachers in the K-6
category. The Preschool Full-day Option teacher is considered 100% ECE because there will be no
Kindergarteners enrolled in the Full-day Option class as they remain with their Primary classroom
teachers for the full day. Additionally, materials costs for classroom set up of Primary classes are
designated as 50% ECE costs and 50% K-6 costs (with the exception of the Full-day Option Class that is
100% ECE).
The following graph illustrates the breakdown:
133
Total
Primary
# of Classrooms
# of classrooms
assigned to K-6
budget
# of classrooms
assigned to ECE
budget
4
4 rooms *
0.5 =
2
4 rooms *
0.5 =
2
# of Teachers
# of teachers in K-6
budget
4
4 teachers *
0.5 = 2
teachers
4 teachers *
0.5 = 2
teachers
8
1
0
8 assistants
* 0.5 = 4
teachers
8 assistants
* 0.5 = 4
teachers
0
General Budget
K-6
1
General Budget
ECE
# of teachers in ECE
budget
# of Primary
Classroom Assistants
# of Classroom
Assistants in K-6
budget
# of teachers in ECE
budget
Full-day
Option
1
0
1
1
Funding Source
CDE Startup
Grant/General
Budget K-6
Additional
Foundation
Revenue/General
Budget ECE
General Budget
K-6
General Budget
ECE
1
The year summary pages of the budget clearly demonstrate in separated columns the amounts of each
line item which is funded through K-6 money vs. ECE money. The enrollment page includes the percent
of the total school FTE that is ECE or K-6 which is further used to determine the percent of shared costs
that should be delegated to each funding source. For example, in year 2 there are 163 FTE of K-6
students and 68 FTE of ECE students, this means that 70.56% of the total FTE of students are in the K-6
program while 29.44% of students are in the ECE program. Both programs utilize certain resources in the
building, such as for example, office staff. Therefore when office staff salary is calculated 70.56% of it is
assigned to the K-6 budget column while 29.44% is assigned to the ECE budget column.
134
Governance
Legal Status and Governance
Montessori del Mundo has filed Articles of Incorporation and by-laws with the state. The school will be a
recognized non-profit/non-member corporation of the state of Colorado.
Montessori del Mundo is governed by a Board of Directors, which is the legal governing board
responsible for holding the charter, entering into the charter contract with Aurora Public Schools, and
overseeing the operational, financial, and academic performance of the charter school.
Responsibilities of the Board:











Be the stewards of the school’s mission
Put the best interests of students first in all decision making
Set the vision and direction of the school and monitor progress of the school towards meeting
its long-term goals
Provide financial and academic oversight
Select, fairly compensate, nurture, evaluate, and, if necessary, terminate the head of school
Secure adequate resources for school operations
Oversee annual financial audit of the school
Comply with state and federal laws in all activities
Evaluate and continuously improve the board’s performance as the governing board and set
expectations for board members involvement as volunteers
Cultivate new board members
Serve as a link between the school and community, and present themselves professionally as
ambassadors and advocates of the school
The board emphasizes outward vision rather than inward pre-occupation, strategic leadership more
than administrative detail, mindfulness of an appropriate balance between board and staff roles and
proactive action and accountability.
Responsibilities of the Head of School







Manage day to day operations of the school
Report financial and academic progress to the board
Implement the vision and mission of the school within the parameters set by the board
Provide sufficient information to the board to allow the board to effectively complete their
duties
Hire, oversee, evaluate, and, if necessary, terminate school staff
Communicate with and engage parents and the community
Ensure a high quality academic program is implemented and followed
135
Separate and Shared Responsibilities of the Board and Head of School
(*Adapted from The Handbook of Nonprofit Governance by Broadsource)
Head of School
Responsibilities
Function
Board Responsibilities
Policy and
Planning
Approve guiding principles Carry out mission;
and policies, and
implement strategic plan
implement the mission
and vision of the school
Create policies and
guidelines; use mission
and vision statements as
a guide; outline
organizational values
Budget and
finances
Oversee budget; oversee
outside audits; hold
ultimate responsibility for
integrity of organization’s
finances
Propose budget to board;
manage programs
according to boardadopted financial policies
and budget guidelines
n/a
Board meetings
Board Chair: leads and
facilitates board meetings
Ensure that board
members have meeting
materials and needed
information; attend board
meetings, except specific
executive sessions
Board Chair and Head of
School develop meeting
agenda
Committee work
Board members chair all
committees to ensure that
work is completed and
reports are made to the
board
Attend appropriate
committee meetings; sit on
appropriate committees,
ensure that committee
members have staff
support and needed
materials and information
Review committee
system and individual
committees to ensure
alignment with mission
and strategic goals
Board
development
Ensure development of a
strong board; set goals
and expectations for the
board; cultivate
leadership in individual
board members; prioritize
Share appropriate
information to keep board
informed and educated
Keep all board members
engaged in the work of
the organization
136
Shared Responsibilities
board development
Board recruitment Governance committee:
identify and recruit new
and orientation
board members
Assist in identifying and
Identify skills, expertise,
cultivating new board
and attributes needed
members; work with
for the board
governance committee to
structure board orientation
Board assessment
Ensures regular
opportunities for board
self-assessment; oversee
comprehensive board
assessment every two to
three years
Assist in development of
board assessment process
Assess results and
consider improvements
in collaboration with
governance committee
Staff oversight,
compensation,
evaluation
Oversee hiring,
compensation, and
evaluation of the Head of
School
Oversee and evaluates all
staff; sets staff salaries
within budget constraints
n/a
Fundraising and
development
Develop and implement a
fundraising plan to meet
school’s needs
Assist in the
implementation of the
overall fundraising effort;
ensure staff support for
fundraising
Solicit contributions
from outside donors; set
the case for—and the
amount of—a capital
campaign based on
determined strategic
objectives
Public relations
and
communications
Promote the work of the
organization
Coordinate public relations
and communications
With board and staff,
develop a message that
conveys the
organization’s mission
effectively and can be
used consistently by
board and staff
137
Board Composition
The board shall have between 7 and 9 members and never fewer than 5. Members will serve a 3 year
term and may serve up to 2 consecutive terms. Board terms will start in June of each year with terms
staggered to ensure that only one third of the board is new each year.
Montessori del Mundo currently has 6 board members and is interviewing for 3 additional board
openings. The board will be made up of a diverse group of community members and professionals who
passionately value bilingualism and Montessori education. The group will reflect the composition of the
student body and therefore the community. The board will represent a range of skills and expertise to
ensure that it can fulfill the governance needs of the school. An emphasis will also be placed on finding
board members with strong ties to the Aurora community. The founding board will include:
Board
Member
Specialty/Skill
Board Responsibility or Project
KadyLanoha
Legal, Works at CDE
Governance Plan and Ed Policy
Millie Barsallo
Community Outreach
Student Recruitment
Sue Stewart
Construction/Engineering
Head of Facilities Search
Kathryn Ross
Montessori Head of School
Montessori Philosophy, Montessori
Community outreach and Education
Plans
Greg Hatcher
Community Outreach
Letters of Endorsement, Networking
with Community Leaders
Matt O’Meara
Finance
Budget and investment funding
7. Governance
8. Fundraising/Grant
Writing
9. Health Community/Open
In the case of a board member who must step off the board before the end of their term, the regular
board member recruitment process will be followed and the new board member will serve out the
remainder of the term left for the vacancy.
138
Current Board Recruitment Efforts
Montessori del Mundo is currently recruiting board members to fill our remaining three positions. We
are placing a high priority on recruiting board members who live or work in and have strong ties to the
Aurora community. We are also placing a priority on board members who are fluent Spanish speakers.
As a bilingual school, we feel it is necessary to have a bilingual board, and while bilingualism is not a
requirement for board service, it is important that our board of directors be representative and able to
communicate with our student population which will be approximately half Spanish speaking.
We are current accessing the following networks and seeking appropriate candidates to pursue for
board membership:






Prospective Parents (parents who’ve filled out intent to enroll forms)
Members of the Aurora Business community
Members of the Aurora Fundraising community (or who fundraise for groups that work in
Aurora)
Members of faith based communities in Aurora
Personal and professional networks of board and design team members
Second degree networks (networks of board and design team member contacts)
We plan to recruit our remaining three board members over the course of the fall and start 2013 with a
full board of directors.
Officers
The board will include a Chair, Vice Chair, Secretary and Treasurer, and such other officers, if any, as the
Board may from time to time appoint. These officers will be responsible for the following duties:

Chair
o
o
o
Preside at all meetings of board.
Exercise general charge and supervision of the administration of the affairs and business
of the school.
Other duties as prescribed by board.

Vice Chair
o In the absence or disability of the Chair, perform the duties and exercise the powers of
the Chair.
o Other duties delegated by Chair or prescribed by board.

Secretary
o Maintain accurate record of all the minutes of all meetings of the board and of any
committees to which the Secretary is appointed by the board for that purpose.
o Serve or cause to be served all notices of the school.
o Serve as custodian of the school’s records (other than financial).
o Perform all duties incident to the office of Secretary and other duties prescribed by
board.
139

Treasurer
o Keep or cause to be kept complete and accurate accounts of receipts and disbursements
of school
o Deposit all monies and other valuable effects of school in the name and to the credit of
the school in such banks or depositories as the board designates. The Treasurer shall
keep proper books of accounts and other books showing at all times the amount of the
funds and other property of Montessori del Mundo, all of which books shall be open at
all times to the inspection of the Board. The Treasurer shall submit a report of the
accounts and financial condition of Montessori del Mundo at each annual meeting. He
or she shall perform all duties incident to the office of Treasurer, and such other duties
as shall form time to time be assigned by the Board. If required by the Board, the
Treasurer shall give such security for the faithful performance of his or her duties as the
Board may require.
All officers will be elected by the board at an annual meeting and will hold office for the term of one
year. An officer may resign from his or her office by giving written notice of his or her resignation to the
Chair or Secretary. Any officer or agent may be removed by the board at any time, with or without
cause, by a majority vote of the board directors. A vacancy in any office will be filled for the unexpired
term by a majority vote of the board.
Board Committees
The board will assign work to committees as it sees fit. All committees will be chaired by a member of
the board and may include other board members, parents, community members or interested
professionals. Annual and ongoing outreach efforts will be made to encourage parents and community
members to participate in these committees.
Each committee will have its own meeting schedule and will follow rules for transparency and open
meetings. Committees will include but will not be limited to:
Governance Committee



Professional development for board members
Recruiting new board members/composition of the board
Board orientation
Finance Committee (Chaired by the board Treasurer)








Ensure that policies and school mission are reflected in the annual budget
Track actual expenditures versus budgeted expenditures
Make recommendations regarding the annual budget
Keep board informed about the organization’s finances
Provide necessary financial information and training to the board
Ensure compliance with federal and state regulations
Oversee annual financial audit of school
Create financial policies, as necessary
140
Executive Committee (Membership limited to Chair, Vice Chair, Secretary, and Treasurer):





Handle urgent issues
Act as liaison to the head of school
Nurture head of school by providing advice, support, and feedback
Coordinate the evaluation of the head of school
Conduct executive searches
Development Committee



Make a fundraising plan
Meet fundraising goals to ensure finance needs of the school are met
Scholarship sub-committee
o Monitor the availability of scholarship funds for the ECE/K program
o Develop a strategic plan for the disbursement and awarding of scholarship funds and to
best support the mission and goals of the school and provide equity of access for all
students
Marketing and Enrollment Committee
●
●
●
Develop a marketing strategy
Oversee enrollment to ensure it reflects the mission of the school
Coordinate efforts to recruit a balanced applicant pool of students
School Accountability Committee
●
●
●
●
(Membership will adhere to statutory requirement in article 11 of title 22 of the Colorado
Revised Statutes)
Review school assessment policies and achievement data
Report progress towards school’s goals to the board
Conduct annual survey of staff and family satisfaction and report findings to the board
Parent and Community Advisory Council
In addition to formal board committees, the school will also solicit feedback and support from an
advisory council of parents and other community members. This council will meet at least annually, with
an agenda determined by the board chair. The council may be asked to provide support in the areas of
extending the reach and networking potential of the board of directors, advising in areas of expertise
where the board is lacking, and assisting with fundraising.
Selection of New Board Members
Montessori del Mundo is dedicated to ensuring the highest quality governance, and we believe this
starts with a rigorous and careful board selection process.
As board positions open, the board chair and governance committee will identify particular skill sets
which the board is lacking, based on the Montessori del Mundo Board Members Matrix (See Appendix
G), and will begin compiling a list of potential candidates and advertising the board opening(s) to solicit
141
applicants. Candidates must be able to pass a background check, must have a favorable opinion of
Montessori and bilingual education and must be passionate about serving the community and school.
Consideration will be made for candidates’ skills and expertise, connection to the Aurora and MdM
community, time availability as it will affect the candidates’ ability to exercise the duties of a board
member effectively. MdM will make all efforts to recruit a board with a diverse set of skills and
backgrounds that is representative of our community and student population and will provide effective
oversight of the school.
To be considered for a position applicants must complete the following steps:
1. Initial Meeting with the school leader or member of the board to learn about the school and
board and express interest in the position
2. Submit a resume and cover letter to the chair of the governance committee
3. Observe a classroom and debrief with the school leader (until MdM is open, classroom
observations may be done at Valdez Elementary School, Academia Sandoval or other local
approved Montessori schools).
4. Participate in an interview with at least one member of the Governance committee and one
other board member.
Once these steps have been completed the governance committee will provide an opportunity for other
members of the board to meet and speak with the candidate and will then provide a recommendation
to the board highlighting the candidate’s strengths, connections and skills. Candidates will then be
approved or denied for positions by vote at a regular board meeting.
Prior to formally joining the board, candidates will be required to provide a criminal history record
check, in compliance with the same requirements that apply to school employees, pursuant to section
22-30.5-110.5, C.R.S.
Directors will be removed from the board if they have three unexcused absences from board
meetings in a year. A director also may be removed for other reasons, including violation of the
board’s code of conduct, or by a three-fourths vote of the remaining directors. Any director may
resign at any time by delivering written notice (which may be by electronic mail) of his or her
resignation to the head of school, board secretary or board chair.
Transition Post-Authorization
The Montessori del Mundo founding team includes a School Founder, Design Team, and Founding Board
of Directors. Oversight and governance of the school in the pre-authorization stage lies with the Board
of Directors. The Design Team and Founder have done the work of setting the mission and vision of the
school and designing the educational program and school culture.
Members of the founding board will transition to be the governing board pending approval of the
charter application. As the needs of the school change during the transition from pre-authorization to
post-authorization planning to start-up, the composition of the board may change slightly to reflect the
board’s changing role from founding board to governing board. For example, one of the community
organizing positions may change to a fundraising position once the school is open and the first class has
been recruited.
142
The School Founder will become the Head of School. Members of the design team make take roles on
board committees, may seek employment at the school, or may simply remain strong supporters and
volunteers for the school.
Evaluating the Head of School
The board will conduct the evaluation of the head of school on an annual basis, and will remove the
head of school, if necessary, for poor performance. Prior to the opening of the school the founding
board and design team will investigate best practices in evaluating school leaders and will construct a
list of key responsibilities and outcomes and a rubric by which the head of school will be evaluated. The
evaluation will include but will not be limited to:
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
Effective leadership of teachers
Relationship with community, building school community and community outreach
Student academic outcomes and growth (depending on school leader’s role within the
administrative team)
Integrity of school finances
Effective oversight of School Operations and Director of Operations
Professionalism
Academic Achievement (goal of 50% of evaluation)
Hiring of the Head of School
One of the responsibilities of the board is hiring a head of school. The board shall maintain a current job
description of the head of school and have a succession plan for transition in position.
In the case of a vacancy in the head of school position, the following steps will be followed.
1. The board will convene a search committee led by the board Chair and including at least two
additional board members, 1-2 teachers, 1-2 parents, and 1-2 community members.
2. The committee will review the head of school job description and make updates as necessary.
The committee will consider the administrative team as a whole and which skills are most
crucial for the head of school. There must at all times be at least one member of the
administrative team with a strong understanding of instruction and ability to coach teachers and
be the instructional lead in the school who serves as the Director of Education; and at least one
member with a strong understanding of finance and business and who is able to manage the day
to day operations of the school who serves as the Director of Operations. The Head of School
may also be either the Director of Education or the Director of Operations, provided that the
person fulfilling the job of Assistant Principal is qualified for the other Director position.
3. The job will be posted on the school website, league of charter schools website, American
Montessori Society website, authorizer website if permitted, and other professional job posting
locations.
143
4. The committee will receive applications consisting of:
● Resume and cover letter
● Statement of philosophy
● Three references
5. The committee shall then conduct the following steps which should result in 2 finalists for the
position:
● Phone screen
● In person interview with the committee
● Classroom Observation and Debrief
● Scenario—The candidate will be asked to solve a problem that simulates daily
responsibilities of the job such as: dealing with a disgruntled parent, disciplining a
student, coaching a teacher, meeting with a major grantor, researching funding
opportunities, communicating with board members.
6. Finalists will then appear before the whole board and will appear at a community event to
interact with parents and a school event to interact with staff. Parents and staff will be surveyed
for their feedback after the event.
7. The committee will make a report to the board including their recommendation.
8. The board will approve or reject the committee’s recommendation. If the board rejects the
recommendation the committee will begin the search again.
144
For the detailed narrative describing this organizational chart, please see the Employees section.
A copy of the Organizational Chart at Full Implementation (year 6+) is available in Appendix H.
Board Calendar
June
●
●
July
●
●
Annual Board Meeting
Review and
approve/consent to board
policies (e.g., conflict of
interest policy)
September
●
August
Board Meeting
December
Board Retreat
Board Meeting
October
November
●
●
●
Board Meeting
January
●
Board Meeting
All new board members must
have completed online board
training modules
February
Board Meeting
145
●
Board Meeting
●
March
●
April
Board Meeting
●
Begin search for new board
members
May
Board Meeting
●
Board Meeting
○ Election of new board
members
○ Appointment of officers
Board Training
The board will develop a comprehensive board training program in cooperation with the Head of School.
This training program will include a board orientation for new board members as well as ongoing
training for existing members.
During the first few months of a new board director’s tenure, the new board director will be assigned to
a board mentor to answer questions and help the board member become acquainted. New board
members also will be required to complete the Colorado Department of Education’s online board
training modules within the first six months of their service on the board. The board chair will continue
to look for opportunities for board directors to attend special workshops related to their assignments
and interests, and look for opportunities for board directs to expand their responsibilities and rotate
committee assignments to help satisfy their needs and interests.
Board Meetings
The board will meet 10 times per year with an annual meeting in June. Board meetings will be scheduled
a year in advance and notice of meeting and agenda will be posted on the school website and in the
school in compliance with the Colorado Sunshine Law, section 24-6-402, C.R.S. Meeting involving 3 or
more board members, whichever is fewer, shall be open to the public. Meetings will be held only after
full and timely notice to the public, posted in a designated public place within the boundaries of the
district, no less than twenty-four hours prior to the start of the meeting. The posting will include specific
agenda information where possible. Minutes of any meeting will be taken and promptly recorded, and
such records will be open to public inspection. The minutes of a meeting during which an executive
session is held will reflect the topic of the discussion at the executive session.
Creation and Adoption of Policies
The board will create policies as they become necessary. Initial policies will include the Articles of
Incorporation, Bylaws, Conflict of Interest Policy, Grievance Policy, Board Member Code of Conduct,
Board Member Job Description and Expectations, and Board Member Skills Matrix. To view all of these
documents, please see the attached Appendix G. When adopting policies, the board will assign a team
to draft new policies, seek legal counsel to review the draft policy, and ask the writing team to present
the draft policy to the board for approval. The writing team may choose to present a first reading of the
draft at a board meeting to receive informal feedback to be incorporated in the draft. The board will
periodically review its policies to ensure that they are relevant and continue to adhere to applicable
laws and regulations.
New policies will be approved by a majority vote of a quorum of board members and will be added to
the board policy documents for future reference.
146
Employees
Narrative Description
Board of Directors
The Board of Directors will be the highest authority in the school. It will be comprised of 7-9 individuals
with a diverse set of skills who are committed both to the success of our community and our school, and
who will bear responsibility for oversight of the school, both financial and otherwise. The Board of
Directors will also have the responsibility of hiring the Head of the School and reviewing any nonvoluntary terminations of staff members. The board members will meet on a regular schedule, and
during their meetings they will receive reports from various committees (comprised of school
employees, parents, and community members) including, but not limited to : the executive committee,
governance committee, finance committee, marketing and enrollment committee, development
committee, and school accountability committee. Each committee will automatically be allotted 5
minutes at each board meeting to relay any pertinent information to the board, but the committees
may request to have their time extended if needed. The Head of School is responsible for relaying to the
staff any important information or decisions from the board meetings. Monthly board meetings will be
open to the public and staff will be encouraged to attend in order to create a culture of trust and
transparency.
147
Committees
Various committees will be established to advise the board on different topics surrounding the school.
These committees will be chaired by a member of the board and comprised of additional board
members, staff, parents, and community members, and will present information to the board at each
regularly scheduled board meeting. The committees will report directly to the Board of Directors. The
committees will include, but will not be limited to: the executive committee, governance committee,
finance committee, marketing and enrollment committee, development committee, and school
accountability committee. The Board of Directors or Head of School may request the creation of
additional temporary or permanent committees as the need arises.
Parent and Community Advisory Council
The parent and community advisory council will be made up of parents and community members who
wish to be involved in the governance of the school. This committee will advise the board as needed and
will meet annually to discuss important school matters and to formulate a report for the board.
Administrative Team – Roles and Responsibilities
The administrative team at Montessori del Mundo will be made up of at least two individuals who will
each fill two roles. One will be the Head of School and the other will be the Assistant Principal. One will
be the Director of Education and one will be the Director of Operations. Best practices in Charter School
Leadership recommend this structure of a two person admin team where one is responsible for
reporting to the board of directors and between the two individuals one specializes in Education and the
other in Operations. The following chart describes the roles and responsibilities of these two directors:
Head of School/Director of Education
Assistant Principal/Director of Operations
 Reports to the Board of Directors
 Oversees the school in the absence of the
Head of School
 Makes reports to stake-holders
 Provides Discipline Support to teachers
 Communicates with Authorizer
 Ensures compliance with State testing
 Builds relationships with and
requirements
communicates regularly with parents
 Assists with Marketing Strategy for
 Assists with Fundraising
student recruitment
 Hires and, if necessary, disciplines and
 Oversees schools finances
fires staff
 Ensures bills and payroll are paid
 Organizes and oversees student
recruitment efforts
 Oversees, evaluates and coaches noninstructional staff
 Supervises, coaches and evaluates
instructional staff
 Communicates with landlord about issues
pertaining to facility
 Organizes and oversees intervention
services
 Works with Board Treasurer to establish
and maintain a school budget that is
 Plans and implements professional
fiscally sound
development for teachers
 Prepares for Audits
 Creates a Unified School Improvement
Plan and implements plan effectively
 Ensures proper documentation of
foundation funding and donations spent
 Monitors school data to ensure that
students are on target to meet growth and
 Assists with hiring of non-instructional
status goals
staff
148
Head of School/Director of Education
School Founder Karen Farquharson will serve as the founding Head of School/Director of Education. (See
Appendix H for Karen’s resume and the Head of School job description). In this role she will interview
and make the final decision on the hiring of all instructional staff, and will initiate termination
proceedings. As Director of Education, she will be responsible for performing instructional staff
evaluations, creating appropriate professional development for the staff, coaching instructional staff,
fostering a positive school environment, and leading the school with vision and energy. The Director of
Education will also be responsible for the oversight and coordination of the Special Education and
Student Interventions Team until such a time as an additional administrator can be hired to take on
these responsibilities.
The Head of School will also take on various roles involving enrollment, community relations, and family
involvement. The Head of School will meet with the Assistant Principal every week in order to ensure
that the school vision is unified and all administrators have current, correct information. The Head of
School will meet weekly with the Chair of the Board in order to discuss how things are going at the
school, to plan for upcoming board meetings, and to ensure that the board chair is informed about
potential issues etc.
Assistant Principal/Director of Operations
The Director of Operations will be responsible for the daily operations of the school and the supervision
of all non-instructional staff. The Director of Operations will report directly to the Head of School; all
office, facilities, and other non-instructional staff will report to the Director of Operations.
At present, we anticipate the Director of Operations position as being combined with the role of
Assistant Principal. The Director of Operations, like most traditional Assistant Principals, will also take on
the role of student discipline. The Director of Operations will be responsible for performing evaluations
of non-instructional staff, training staff as needed, ensuring that the school lives within the budget set
by the board, and supervision and care for the maintenance of the school building and equipment.
The Director of Operations will also assume various responsibilities involving enrollment, community
relations, and family involvement, and will be responsible for hiring all non-instructional staff. The
Director of Operations will meet every week with the Head of School in order to ensure that the school
vision is unified and all administrators have current, correct information. (See Appendix H for the
Director of Operations Job Description,)
Classroom and Specials Teachers
Classroom and Specials Teachers will report to and be evaluated by the Head of School, and they will be
responsible for the day-to-day instruction of the students in the school. Classroom teachers will provide
primary supervision of Classroom Assistants. The Head of School will oversee that supervision,
participate in evaluations, and take the lead on any disciplinary or termination actions. Classroom and
Specials Teachers will be expected to participate in various committees and take on responsibilities
involving enrollment, community relations, and family involvement. (Job descriptions for classroom
teachers can be found in Appendix H.)
149
Instructional Support Staff
Instructional Support Staff will report to and be evaluated by the Head of School (or Director of
Interventions when hired). Instructional Support Staff will be responsible for meeting the special needs
of our diverse group of learners.
Classroom Assistants will report to the Classroom Teachers, but they will be jointly evaluated by the
Classroom Teachers and Head of School. Classroom Assistants will be responsible for aiding the
Classroom Teacher by providing support for academic, operational, and behavioral aspects of the
classroom environment. (Job description available in Appendix H)
Instructional Staffing Model for years 1-5
K-6 Classroom Teachers
K-6 Specials Teachers
K-6 Intervention Teachers
K-6 Classroom Assistants
K-6 Sped Teacher
K-6 Sped Assistant
K-6 Speech/Lang/OT/PT
ECE Sped Teacher
ECE Primary Class Teachers
ECE Full-day Option Class Teacher
ECE Classroom Assistants
Total Teaching Staff
Year 1
4
.25
.25
4
.5
0
.2
.25
2
1
5
17.45
Year 2
6
.5
.25
4
.75
0
.25
.25
2
1
5
20
Year 3
8
1
.25
4
1
0
.25
.25
2
1
5
22.75
Year 4
9
1.5
.25
4
1.25
0
.4
.25
2
1
5
24.8
Year 5
11
1.5
.25
4
1.5
0
.4
.25
2
1
5
27.05
In year 1, MdM will employ 4 Primary classroom teachers (2 budgeted as ECE, 2 as K), 1 Full-day Option
Teacher (budgeted as ECE), and 2 Lower Elementary teachers. As the school grows each year we
anticipate adding two additional Lower Elementary teachers in year 2 and year 3, and adding 1 Upper
Elementary Teacher in year 4 and 2 in year 5.MdM will also staff two classroom assistants in each
Primary classroom, one in the Full-day Option class.
Hiring of Teachers
Great instruction begins with great teachers, and Montessori del Mundo takes teacher recruitment and
selection very seriously. We also recognize that our ideal candidate is one who is very specialized in a
variety of different areas. The following chart describes our ideal candidate and the minimum
requirements that candidates must meet in order to be considered for a position. We believe candidates
with these minimum requirements who are provide with appropriate professional development and
support can develop into our ideal candidate teachers.
150
Candidates must meet all of the minimum requirements to be considered for positions.
Job Requirements for Classroom Teachers
Certification
Requirements
Language
Requirements
Ideal Candidate
 Director Qualified*
 Teacher Licensed




Montessori


Native or Native-like
fluency in the language of
instruction
Fluent in the other
language
College Educated in the
Language of instruction
Ability to communicate
with speakers with a
variety of dialects and
accents
AMS Certified at the
appropriate grade levels
3+ years of classroom
151
Minimum Requirement
 Group Leader Qualified - ECE
regulations* (participation in
summer Montessori training is
sufficient for meeting group
leader qualified requirements)
 Highly Qualified-NCLB regulations
Language of Instruction:
 Native or Native-like fluency
OR
 Linguistic capabilities in the
language of instruction that are
more advanced than the level of
students being instructed:
including reading and writing
abilities (Consideration should be
made for pairing non-native like
teachers with native speaking
classroom assistants)
 Demonstrable ability to learn a
second language (ie: fluent in
French)
Other Language:
 Conversational: able to
communicate with parents and
participate in parent teacher
conferences
 Receptive: able to understand
staff meetings and other events
conducted in Spanish
 English teachers need to have
made and be making an effort to
become fluent in Spanish, have a
positive attitude towards learning
Spanish and believe that Spanish
is a valuable language for
communication
 Belief in the effectiveness of the
Montessori Philosophy
 Teaching Philosophy that is
experience in the same
classroom

Dual Language




ESL/SSL strategies


Literacy Instruction




Experience teaching in a
90/10 dual language
program
Trained in Literacy
Squared teaching
methods
Stays current with Dual
Language research, attend
conferences, continues
learning and advocates for
research based best
practices
Believes in Additive
Bilingualism
Hold an ESL endorsement
or have completed the
LDE (Linguistically diverse
educator) classes for
Aurora Public Schools
Experience teaching using
Comprehensible Input
strategies such as TPRS
3+ years’ experience and
success teaching literacy
in the language and at the
grade levels appropriate
to the position
Demonstrable
understanding of skills
needed to teach reading
and writing
Demonstrates initiative
with literacy program
development (eg:
researches new ideas and
strategies in literacy
instruction, implements
changes and assesses
their effectiveness)
Experience teaching
Guided Reading groups
152







compatible with Montessori
philosophy (eg. belief in role of
teacher as facilitator and child
centered classroom)
Willingness to attain certification
within 1 year
Believe that Spanish holds value
and is not merely a stepping
stone to English
Willing to participate in Dual
Language training – conferences,
Literacy Squared Summer
institute
Open minded and eager to learn
about Dual Language
philosophies and best practices
Have experience working with L2
speakers
Have a general understanding of
some strategies used to shelter
instruction and make input more
comprehensible (ie: realia,
picture cues, slowed speech, preview/review)
Fluent ability to read and write in
the language of instruction
Demonstrates initiative and
desire to learn and practice best
strategies for literacy instruction
Thematic Instruction



Relationships with
Parents and Children




Relationships with
Staff and Colleagues


and Writer’s workshop
Experience building
thematic instruction with
Guiding Questions and
Essential Learnings using
Backwards Design.
Experience developing,
teaching and evaluating
the effectiveness of
authentic and robust
thematic instruction
Experience creating and
assessing demonstrations
of learning tied to unit
objectives that provide
feedback on student
outcomes
Builds and sustains
positive relationships with
a diverse group of
parents, children and staff
Understands the
importance of the family
system in the education of
a child
Regularly engages parents
as partners in their child’s
education
Uses effective
communication skills with
children, families and staff
Demonstrable experience
collaborating with other
teachers in a productive
and positive co-teacher
relationship
Assumes leadership roles
within the school – serves
on committees – works
for the greater good of
the whole school
Experience supervising,
evaluating and training
staff with a variety of skill
levels/expertise
Supervision of

(only applies to
teachers who will have
classroom assistants)
*Requirements for Primary Teachers only
153


Enthusiastic about developing
thematic units
Creative in lesson planning and
instruction

Desire to include parents in their
children’s education

Receptive to feedback from
colleagues and supervisors
Has strong knowledge of own
work styles and skills
Open-minded and eager to
collaborate
Team player mentality




Basic understanding of conditions
necessary for appropriate
supervision of another adult
Teacher Recruitment
A rigorous selection process for teachers depends first and foremost on the quality and quantity of the
applicants. Montessori del Mundo will use the following resources and strategies to elicit applications
from qualified candidates for teaching positions available at the school.
Jobs will be posted on:
School Website: www.montessoridelmundo.org/getinvolved/employment
Colorado Charter League: http://www.coloradoleague.org/jobs/
American Montessori Society:
http://www.amshq.org/Teacher%20Resources/Find%20Employment.aspx
North American Montessori Teacher’s Association: http://www.montessori-namta.org/Advertising
Other Job Websites:
http://www.indeed.com/ ($0.25-$1.50/click)
http://www.montessorijobs.com/
Public Montessorian (print newspaper distributed nationally to public school Montessorians)
Montessori Association Magazine
Additionally Montessori del Mundo will seek out candidates by networking with the following
organizations:
Name of Organization
Teach for America Alumni
Montessori Education Center of the Rockies
University of Denver Spanish and
Education Departments
Metro State Spanish and Education Departments
Colorado University Spanish Department and
School of Education
Regis University Dual Language Program
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Teacher Hiring Process
Prospective teachers at MdM will undergo a highly rigorous hiring process conducted in the language in
which the candidate will be teaching, with parts of many activities also conducted in the second
language to evaluate each candidate’s bilingual abilities. The hiring process will include (but may not be
limited to) the following steps:
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Receipt and review of completed application, resume, cover letter and references
Phone screen
Orientation information to learn more about the school mission/vision, philosophy, schedule,
student population, and teacher expectations
Classroom observation and debrief – (this activity has two goals: test the candidate’s
observational skills, and expose the candidate to our educational model)
Written prompt administered in both English and Spanish on a relevant topic (the observation,
educational philosophy, or planning a lesson/unit)
Formal interview with Head of School and interview committee
Reference check
Demonstration lesson or observation at the teacher’s current school and debrief
Job offer
Teacher Evaluation Process
Teachers at MdM will undergo an annual evaluation process, in addition to on-going coaching and
feedback throughout the school year. The Montessori del Mundo team is in the process of developing
our own teacher evaluation process which will include the following components:
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A concise and clear rubric of key teacher evaluation indicators which demonstrate areas of
mastery necessary for great teaching at MdM and clearly outline next steps for teachers
improving their practice.160
Annual goal setting with input from the teacher and Head of School
Professional development that is individualized and aligned to annual goals, key evaluation
indicators, and school wide initiatives to increase the quality of instruction
Monthly informal observations and prompt feedback
Teacher self-reflection on status and growth on the MdM key teacher evaluation indicators
Formal evaluation conference with Head of School to review performance and progress made
throughout the year
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While this rubric has not yet been developed for Montessori del Mundo – Karen Farquharson, School Founder, participated
in the creation of a similar evaluation rubric at Valdez Elementary School which can be found in Appendix H. The Montessori del
Mundo key teacher evaluation indicators will be designed in cooperation with Karen Farquharson, board members with
expertise in education, and representatives from the Montessori and Dual Language educational communities to ensure that
they reflect best practices of Montessori Dual Language education.
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Office Staff
The office staff will report to and be evaluated by the Director of Operations.
Facilities Staff
The facilities staff will report to and be evaluated by the Director of Operations.
All other Non-Instructional Staff
All of the non-instructional staff will report to and be evaluated by the Director of Operations unless the
Board of Directors sees fit to appoint an alternate supervisor and/or evaluator.
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Insurance
Montessori del Mundo will carry any authorizer or state mandated insurance coverage at the limits
recommended by the Charter School Institute. This will include but may not be limited to:
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Directors and Officers Insurance
General Liability Insurance
Property Insurance (unless this is covered by our landlord)
Business Personnel Coverage
Educator’s Legal Liability Coverage
Abuse and Molestation Coverage
Worker’s Compensation
We have spoken with Derek Karr at HUB international insurance to ensure that we are aware of the
different types of policies required.
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Parent and Community Involvement
Keeping parents informed and engaged once the school is open
MdM publishes a monthly newsletter to inform parents, stakeholders and community members of our
progress, ongoing projects and future needs. Information is also posted on our website.
Once the school is operational, parents will be involved in several leadership aspects of the school
including:



PTO
Board Members
Membership on board committees including the school accountability committee and the
Parent and Community Advisory Committee
Parents will also have a voice and a place to communicate their concerns and values during the public
comment section of our monthly board meetings and in a monthly coffee with the Head of School.
Parent Involvement
At MdM we believe strongly that parents are their children’s first and most influential teachers. We also
believe that children do better when their parents are invested in their education and active in their
school community. MdM plans to build family-school partnerships and strengthen parental involvement
and support for learning through:
Parents are their children’s first and
most influential teachers. Parents at
MdM will be encouraged to volunteer
for the school and to be involved in
their child’s education.
Demonstrations and Celebrations of Learning
Teachers will plan regular end of unit demonstrations of
learning to which parents will be invited. Events will be
structured so as to allow children to demonstrate what
they’ve learned and practice their oral language skills, to allow parents to see what children are
studying, and to promote community, relationship, and networking among parents. Some examples of
demonstrations of learning include:

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
Healthy Food Lunch for ECE/K After studying nutrition, food groups, and healthy eating habits;
children prepare food for their parents and then tell their parents about the food and why it is
healthy while they share lunch together.
Art Opening for 1-3rd graders after studying different artists. Art is displayed in the auditorium
and parents are given a list of questions to ask the students in order to encourage children to
practice vocabulary and speak about their art.
Water Use Debate for 4-6th graders after studying Colorado water laws, population distribution,
and industry water requirements, students debate how to use this limited resource most
158
effectively. Parents are asked to reflect on the students’ debate and probe students to explain
their thinking in smaller group sessions after the initial debate presentations.
Parent Contract Volunteer Hours
At Montessori Del Mundo we want to create community investment. We believe that parents are more
effective in supporting the goals of the school if they know more about the school and have spent some
time in the building supporting the school’s work. All parents will be asked to sign a contract committing
at least 8 hours of volunteer work throughout the school year. This could be work in the classrooms,
helping out with special events, participating in PTO meetings, helping with student recruitment,
chaperoning field trips, attending demonstrations of learning, doing work for teachers or the school
outside of school hours, etc.
All efforts will be made to be flexible and accommodating of parent’s work schedules. We are firmly
committed to involving parents in our school community and in their children’s learning and will
therefore make all possible efforts to enable parents to fulfill their commitment to volunteer at the
school each year.
Parent Education
Montessori del Mundo will construct a parent education curriculum covering aspects of education,
parenting and child development that we believe is important for all parents to know. We view every
time parents are in the school as an opportunity to educate parents. Every school event, back to school
night, demonstration of learning, class party, concert or performance will
include a 10 minute mini-lesson addressing one of our parent education
Every time a parent
goals. These mini-lessons in conjunction with our parent education nights
enters the school is an
and other parent education offerings will be designed to communicate a
opportunity for parent
comprehensive understanding of the many topics that parents need to know
education.
in order to be effective partners in their children’s education.
All new parents to the program will be also asked to attend an orientation on Montessori and dual
language philosophy which will be offered several times at a variety of dates and times to accommodate
parents' work schedules. We believe it is important for parents to understand our program model as a
context for what their children experience at school. Following this initial orientation which will be
required for all new parents, the school will offer a variety of parent education seminars.
Many of these sessions will target parenting skills that will lay the foundation for and support academic
success at school, others will help parents expand their horizons or build life skills. We recognize that
our community is very diverse and that parents come from many different backgrounds and have varied
life experiences. To ensure that all of our parents are being adequately served by our parent education
classes MdM staff will be carefully monitor the attendance at the sessions to ensure that all groups are
represented and served. We will also hold sessions that appeal to different groups’ specific interests and
159
needs. Parents will also be regularly surveyed and will be able to offer feedback on our parent education
sessions so that we can adjust our sessions to better meet their needs.
We plan to offer a variety of parent education seminars throughout the year with at least one/month.
Parenting and “academic” seminars will be designed and presented by administrators, teachers or
community experts and will be offered at a variety of times and in a variety of formats throughout the
year. Seminar topics may include:
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Developmental Stages for 3-6, 6-9 and 9-12 year olds
How to read with your child and talk about what you’re reading
Building basic literacy and math skills
Love and Logic: how to get your child to go to bed, brush their teeth, and eat their vegetables
Restaurant and public manners
Encouraging your child to speak Spanish
How to help with homework
How to give your child more responsibility and independence (and get yourself more free time)
How to cook with your child and the importance of eating healthy
How to access local health services
Physical activity appropriate for school age children and its importance
We also feel that our community has a lot of expertise and skills to share with each other and will
encourage parents to offer their skills to their peers through a variety of continuing education classes
designed, planned and led by parent volunteers including:
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English as a second language
Spanish as a second language
Home budgeting
Citizenship application
Dealing with divorce
Basic computer skills
Cooking classes
Gardening
Annual community events
We believe it is important to hold annual events that engage the whole school community and that
parents and children anticipate and look forward to. We feel school traditions and annual events give
parents and children a sense of belonging to a community and a feeling of stability and having roots in
the community and school. Some annual events we plan to offer will include:
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Back to school social – held before the school year starts for families to get re-acquainted after
the summer and met their new teachers
Halloween costume parade
Fall Harvest (after implementation of school garden program in year 3 or 4)
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Thanksgiving Lunch prepared by students
Winter Music Concert
MdM Volunteers day
New Student Recruitment drive
Spring planting day (after implementation of school garden)
Spring service and art day
Día de los Niños celebration
Moving up and Graduation ceremonies
Equity of access in parent involvement and education, and appropriateness for the community
One of the principal goals of MdM and any two-way dual language school is to bring together members
of different communities and build relationships among diverse groups of individuals. We recognize that
for our program to work we will need to attract a diverse population of students and families. Our
school is built on the belief that all families should have equal access to resources and high quality
education, and that individualization of that education and of services is the best way to meet people’s
needs. Therefore we feel it is very important to constantly assess the impact of various community
building and parent education programming offered at our school. The questions we will ask are:



What are the needs of our families and students?
Is our programming designed to meet those current needs?
Who is participating in the programming, both at the planning level and general attendance at
events?
If not all community groups are represented, or if one group is under-represented:

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
What is causing this under-representation?
Is the event at the wrong time of day? Or in the wrong format?
Is it not being appropriately advertised?
Does it appeal more to one culture or another for some reason?
Is it simply not meeting to the needs of the under-represented group?
It will be important to periodically analyze data collected about school programming (attendance,
participant feedback forms, surveys of the general parent population) to ensure that our efforts are
meeting the needs of all groups and to adjust the schools programming if necessary.
Community Partnerships
Montessori del Mundo, as part of our community outreach, is working on establishing partnerships with
community groups and organizations, particularly those that serve families who will attend MdM. We
are actively seeking a board member to work on this project and to help us build partnerships
particularly with health-care providers in the area so that we can easily direct our families on how access
community services.
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Enrollment Policy
Enrollment Timeline
Applications Due
January 31
Enrollment Lottery
Second Monday in February
(February 11, 2013)
Scholarships Awarded
Second Tuesday in February
(February 12, 2013)
Notification of
Acceptance/Waitlist and
Scholarship Award
Third Monday in February
(February 18, 2013)
Parent Decision Due
First Monday in March
(March 1, 2013)
Students accepted off wait list Second Monday in March on
and applications considered on (March 8, 2013)
rolling basis
Any and all students are welcome to apply to attend Montessori del Mundo. If the number of applicants
received by the application deadline of January 31st exceeds the number of available spots at any grade
level a lottery will be used to determine the placement of students at that grade level. The enrollment
lottery will be held in public at the school on the second Monday of February. All students who are of
eligible age and have submitted a completed application by January 31st will be eligible for the lottery.
Montessori del Mundo does not discriminate against applicants or their families on the basis of: race,
color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, genetic information, sexual orientation, gender identity,
parent’s marital status or political affiliation, or any other protected status.
Priority Enrollment
Select groups of students will not participate in the enrollment lottery but will be granted priority
enrollment. These groups include:
Siblings of current students—Siblings includes children whose primary guardian(s) are also the primary
guardians of other children already enrolled in the program (in the case of joint custody, primary
guardians must have custody at least 50% of the time). This could include: ½ siblings, step-siblings,
adopted siblings, cousins, nieces or nephews being cared for by grandparents, etc. If a child is drawn
during the enrollment lottery for an enrollment spot at Montessori del Mundo and they have eligible
siblings, those siblings will be automatically granted enrollment if there is space at their grade-level.
Siblings of students already in attendance at Montessori del Mundo will be exempt from the lottery
process and automatically granted a space if there is one available at their grade level.
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Children of Founders—Children of the Founding School Leaders, Founding Board Members or Founding
Design Team members, and Founding Teachers will not participate in the lottery. These are board
members and design team members who are listed on the charter application submitted to Aurora
Public Schools on Sept 4th 2012. Founding Teachers are teachers who were the founding teacher in their
respective classroom and who taught at MdM for at least 3 consecutive years. Founding School Leaders
include all members of the administrative team in the 2013-2014 school year who work for the school
for at least two years (which may include the 2012-2013 planning year). Founding families may also be
exempt from the lottery if they meet the requirements to qualify as a founding family by volunteering
for 80 hours between January 2012 and January 2014. A complete list of eligible families will be
approved at the MdM Board meeting in January 2014 and kept on record at the school.
Children of School Employee—Children of school employees will be exempt from the lottery provided
that the parent who is employed at Montessori del Mundo has full or joint custody of the child.
Employees include anyone who works at least half-time for Montessori del Mundo and who started
work on or before the first day of school of the year in which they are submitting their application. (A
classroom assistant could apply for priority enrollment the January of their first year of employment but
a teacher who was hired in November could not apply for priority enrollment that same school year.)
This includes Teachers, Administrators, Custodial Staff, Office Staff, and Classroom Assistants.
The number of children of founders/employees given priority enrollment shall not exceed 20% of the
total enrollment. (In the case that more than 20% of the enrollment is founding/employee children,
preference will be given to number of years of service to the school. Founding/employee children not
given priority enrollment will be included in the enrollment lottery.)
Enrollment Lottery
The lottery for all age eligible students who submitted a complete application prior to the Jan 31st
deadline will take place on the second Monday of February each year at the school and will be open to
the public. Students will be selected for any grade that is over enrolled starting with ECE 3 and
proceeding up to 6th grade.
Kindergarten Lottery
Montessori del Mundo will hold 3 Kindergarten lotteries each year, for each of the three subsequent
Kindergarten classes. Children can enter the Kindergarten lottery for any given class in any and all of the
years that is offered.
Ex: In February 2013 a lottery will be held for Kindergarten 2015-2016, Kindergarten 2014-2015,
Kindergarten 2013-2014 in that order. A child who will be eligible for Kindergarten in 2015-2016 can
apply to the Kindergarten lottery held in 2/2013, 2/2014, and 2/2015.
Children applying for preschool will be automatically entered in the lottery for their respective
Kindergarten year, and children applying for a future Kindergarten year will be automatically entered in
their preschool lottery.
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Drawings for the preschool and Kindergarten lotteries for any given class of students will be conducted
concurrently. As each child is drawn, they will be enrolled in both their preschool class and their
subsequent Kindergarten class. It is possible that space might exist in one but not both classes in which
case the child will be placed on a waitlist for the over-enrolled class and enrolled in the class with space.
Example: Kallie Barker will be 4 years old in 2013 eligible for Kindergarten
in 2014. Names are being drawn for both the ECE-4 class of 2013 and the
Kindergarten class of 2014. There are more spaces in the Kindergarten class
of 2014 than in the ECE-4 class of 2013 and by the time Kallie’s name is
called all of the ECE-4 spots have been taken. Kallie is enrolled in
Kindergarten 2014 and placed on the waiting list for ECE-4 2013.
Parents granted enrollment to preschool and future Kindergarten may choose not to enroll their child in
the preschool but to retain their spot in the future Kindergarten class.
Scholarship Awards
All students who are granted enrollment in the tuition preschool or Kindergarten program and request
consideration for a scholarship will be considered on the second Tuesday of February at the school. Due
to the sensitive nature of financial information involved this consideration will not be public. Current
students may also request consideration for scholarships.
Each child will be calculated for a scholarship score, children with the highest scores will be granted
scholarships. In the case of a tie, the order in which the child was drawn from the lottery will be the tiebreaker, with current students at the school coming before new students.
Scholarship decisions will be based on the following factors (each of which increases the likelihood of
receiving a scholarship:
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

Financial need based on income
Sibling enrolled in the school
Older Sibling enrolled in the tuition ECE-K (thus family paying more than one tuition)
Academic delays/needs
Speech/Language/IEP
Child of staff/founder
Current student who was denied scholarship in the past due to lack of funds or with changed
financial situation
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Waitlists
Montessori del Mundo will keep four waitlists: sibling, scholarship/enrollment, enrollment, and future
Kindergarten. As spots open up, students will be selected from these lists in the following order:
1. Sibling Waitlist
Siblings of enrolled students who were not granted enrollment due to lack of space at their grade-level.
In the order their enrolled sibling was drawn from the initial lottery.
2. Scholarship/Enrollment Waitlist
Students who were offered enrollment and chose not to enroll due to lack of scholarship funds. These
students will be enrolled if both a space and funds are available. In the order the students were initially
drawn.
3. Enrollment Waitlist
Students not granted enrollment in the initial lottery in the order they were drawn.
4. Future Kindergarten Waitlist
Students not selected for future Kindergarten in the order they were drawn. Some of these students
may have been selected for ECE spots despite lack of spots in their future Kindergarten class. All
students on the ECE waitlist will also be on their respective future Kindergarten list.
Waitlists will be maintained for the duration of the school year in question and will be purged following
the final day of school each year. (Ex. Waitlist for 3rd grade, 2013-2014 will be maintained until June
2014). Exception: future Kindergarten waitlists will maintain any students who are currently enrolled in
the ECE program and purge students not enrolled at the school at the end of each calendar year. All
students, even those on the waitlist, are eligible to apply for the lottery each year.
(Students who are enrolled in preschool and future Kindergarten and who do not choose to enroll in
preschool but do maintain their Kindergarten spot will not be purged from waitlists as they are not
considered “waitlisted” students, but rather enrolled students in that future class.)
Notification of Receipt of Application, Acceptance/Waitlist status/Scholarship
Parents will be notified of receipt of application by email or phone within 2 business days of receipt of a
complete application.
Parents will be notified by email, mail, or phone by the third Monday of February of their child's
application status: whether or not enrollment was granted, what number their child is on the waitlist,
and the scholarship amount awarded.
Parents will be notified by phone or email within 2 business days of the receipt of their parent decision
and signed parent agreement (if they have decided to enroll in the school).
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Withdrawal policy
Students withdrawing from the school will be asked to complete the withdrawal packet which includes a
parent survey/questionnaire regarding reasons for withdrawal from the school, the contact information
for the new school, and a release form so that MdM can send any pertinent academic records and all
legally required documents such as IEPs to the new school.
Students withdrawing from the tuition based preschool or Kindergarten program after the 15th of the
month will be expected to pay the entire month's tuition.
Transfer policy
Parents of students transferring to MdM mid-year will be required to submit/sign transfer paperwork
and meet with their child's new teacher at least one day before the child can start school. Teachers must
make time to meet with transfer parents within 2-3 days of the time they are informed by the office of a
new transfer student being assigned to their class. These orientation meetings are important for
building a relationship with the new parents/student, educating the parents about the nature of the
program, and informing the teacher about the students' level and academic/social progress so that they
can begin with high-quality, differentiated instruction from the first day the child enters the school.
MdM will request academic records, including IEPs, from the student's previous school. Parents must
provide IEP documentation or inform the office that an IEP exists at the time of submission of the
transfer paperwork.
Enrollment Goals/Projections
GRADE
ECE Half-day
ECE Full day
K
1
2
3
4
5
6
Total # students
20132014
56
40
60
52
20142015
56
40
60
55
48
20152016
68
40
54
55
50
44
20162017
68
40
54
48
52
48
40
20172018
68
40
54
48
48
48
46
36
208
259
313
352
390
166
20182019
68
40
54
48
48
48
46
46
34
434
20192020
68
40
54
48
48
48
46
46
46
444
Transportation
Transportation
At Montessori del Mundo, we insist on equity and believe that access to authentic academic experiences
is a matter of equity. In keeping with this we have budgeted $50.00 per child per year for co-curricular
field trip experiences. This allows for a total of $10,400 for trips in the first year of operations and
$12,950 for the second year. MdM will use these funds contract with an outside bus company to provide
chartered busses for field trips. This provides an integral piece to our thematic curriculum by funding
either an opening or closing experience for each thematic unit for each class. Fully funding a challenging
curriculum based on authentic thematic instruction will allow us to challenge every child every day and
provide shared experiences in order to build the diverse, integrated community that will define
Montessori del Mundo.
Equity also includes access to school for diverse populations. We are currently seeking a facility within
easy walking distance of low-income housing;
however, we believe that daily transportation would
Field trips are an important part of
greatly increase access for low-income families to our
our thematic instruction and of the
school. While we do not currently have funding to
support daily transportation, we are seeking
Montessori Elementary curriculum.
foundation funding or alternate funding that would
help us support such a program.
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Food Services
Food Services
Clearly, quality food choices for all of our students are also necessitated by our drive for equity. Our
food services will depend primarily on the facility we obtain. We will be providing lunch and breakfast
for full-day students, as well as a snack for all students. Any parent-provided snacks will meet all health
and safety requirements as outlined in the student handbook. Support will be provided for families for
whom providing such a snack would be a financial burden.
In order to provide these meals to students we will need to use an outside food service provider.
Montessori Del Mundo seeks to offer food with a higher nutritional standard than typically seen in the
lunchroom. It is important to us that all meals are compliant with
USDA regulations and that supporting documents and audit
Montessori del Mundo takes
support are available upon request. These nutritious meals will
nutrition and healthy eating
ideally not include artificial colors, sweeteners (such as HFCS),
seriously. Our school culture
flavors, or trans fat. The meals will include fresh fruit and
reinforces healthy eating habits
vegetables, whole grains, and rBST and hormone free
and discourages the
milk. Additionally meals must meet federal guidelines for
consumption of junk food.
reimbursement for FRL students so that we can provide meals to
our low-income students at no cost to them.
As a result, we are considering vendors who will meet these standards. We have currently included food
services fees into our budget in order to cover costs should we need to use a food vendor instead of
district services. See Appendix B for a Food Cost Analysis.
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Facilities Plan
Target Location
The school needs to be within safe walkable distance of a significant low-income population and within
easy driving access for parents arriving by car from further away. The ideal location would be close to a
main road or artery but not necessary on the busy street and would be easily and comfortably accessed
by both low-income and middle/upper income families. The facility must be located within Aurora Public
Schools boundaries.
Neighborhoods under consideration: Original Aurora
Between 25th and Alameda on the north and south and Yosemite and Peoria on the West and East.With
a preference for the areas just south of Colfax in the “children’s corridor.”
.
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Central Aurora
Between Colfax and Mississippi on the North and South and I225 and Airport Blvd on the West and East.
With preference for the areas around Chambers and between 6th and Alameda.
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Facility Funding
Funds for a facility have been currently allocated assuming 75 sq ft/student161 at $17/sq ft162. This rate is
assumed to be all inclusive of maintenance, CAM, utilities, and taxes. MdM has contacted the Charter
School Development Corporation for information regarding loans and repayment plans for tenant
improvements. Our fundraising committee will approach material suppliers, builders, and the
community for financial, material and labor donations to help finance tenant improvements beyond
those provided by the property owner. It is our goal that all facilities expenses including rent, facilities
related expenses, and loan repayment will make up less than 20% of our overall budget.
Professional Assistance
There should be a clear understanding that building permits and inspections have been or will be
obtained. (The state is responsible for issuing certificates of occupancy for public schools and
information can be obtained by calling the Department of Labor at 303-572-2919. The applicant
should also check with local officials in the planning and zoning department and the district
facilities director for information concerning the inspection and permit and life and safety
requirements of the local entities.)
Montessori del Mundo has engaged Eric Gold of Sheldon-Goal Reality Inc.163 as our professional broker.
Sue Stewart, Matt O’Meara (Board Members), and Karen Farquharson (School Founder) are working
closely with Eric to identify potential real estate options for our location. The team has also consulted
with Brian Rogers at Hutton Architecture164on space considerations to inform our search for potential
facilities. A firm (perhaps Hutton), will be engaged to do space planning for the facility after the charter
is approved.
Permits and Inspections
School Founder, Karen Farquharson has met with several employees of the City of Aurora Planning &
including Chad Argentar, Development Project Manager at the Development Services Office; Mark
Geyer, Project Manager at the City Manager’s Office; Mindy Parnes, Planning Supervisor at the Planning
Department; and Moira Dungan, Sr. Development Project Manager at Planning and Development
Services.
Montessori del Mundo will submit facilities proposals to the City of Aurora and participate in their Preapp process – a review process with the development review team of Aurora. This process will ensure
that the team is aware of any complications or conflicts with potential site locations and city planning
considerations, that buildings have appropriate occupancy, and that the MdM team is aware of any and
all permits required for any improvements needed on a potential or selected facility.
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Colorado League of Charter Schools recommendation.
Yuriy Gorlov at the Aurora office of Economic Development.
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http://sg-realty.com/
164
http://www.huttonarch.com/
162
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Facility Needs Assessment
Due to our slow growth model Montessori del Mundo will require a smaller space initially than at full
implementation. The ideal space would allow us to lease incrementally larger portions of the same
building as the school grows.
The Colorado League of Charter Schools recommends 75-100 square feet/student in the school (this
includes non-classroom space such as hallways, offices, bathrooms, cafeteria etc.
The following chart details our current anticipated enrollment and resulting space needs. (Note that ECE
students who attend school ½ day are only counted as .5 students when calculating space needs.)
Projected Number of Students by Year
’13-‘14
56
40
60
52
’14-‘15
56
40
60
55
48
’15-‘16
68
40
54
55
50
44
’16-‘17
68
40
54
48
52
48
40
’17-‘18
68
40
54
48
48
48
46
36
208
259
311
350
388
Full Implementation ’19‘20
68
40
54
48
48
48
46
46
46
444
180
231
277
316
354
410
Space at 75 sq ft.
13,500
17,325
20,775
23,700
26,550
30,750
Space at 100 sq ft.
18,000
23,100
27,700
31,600
35,400
41,000
# of primary classrooms
# of elementary
classrooms
5
5
5
5
5
5
2
4
6
7
9
10
# of specials classrooms
0-1
0-2
0-2
2
2
2
$229,500
$294,525
$353,175
$402,900
$451,350
GRADE
ECE ½ Day
ECE Full day
K
1.
2
3
4
5
6
Total # students
Total # physical students
Current Budget (at
$17/sq ft, 75 sq ft/child)
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Facility Components:
(Note: Components and elements listed in BOLD are mandatory, components listed in standard text are
preferred.)
Classrooms
Primary Classrooms (4), and Full-day Option Classroom (1) will need to meet licensing requirements
including:
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
Be located on the 1st floor
Have at least 30 sq ft/child of child space (810 sq ft)165 or are approximately 1000 sq ft large166
Have windows or natural light (strong preference)
Have running water and bathrooms in the classroom
Be approx. ¼-1/3 linoleum with the rest carpeted
Be of a shape such that the whole room is visible from one vantage point
Have immediate access to or be located as close as possible to the playground.
Elementary Classrooms (2 in 2013, 6 in 2015, 10 at full implementation in 2019)



Be approximately 1000 sq ft in size167
Have windows or natural light (strong preference)
Be of a shape such that the whole room is visible from one vantage point
Office
We will require a “main office” space near the main entrance of the school. This space will need to
serve as a reception area for parents and families entering the school as well as housing 2 desks for
secretary/office staff.
Additionally we will need space for 2-3 administrators who will require small office spaces, ideally in the
main office area. There are many ways for spaces to be utilized flexibly, but it would be helpful to have a
couple of available spaces for therapists to work with one child at a time.
Teacher Lounge
This room should have natural light if there are classrooms that do not and should be large enough for a
sofa or two and a table that seats at least 6.
Teacher Work Room
This room should be 400-800 square feet or larger and have storage space and work counters or space
for work tables. It will also likely house the copy machine and laminating machines.
165
CDHS requirement.
Montessori Education Center of the Rockies recommendation.
167
Montessori Education Center of the Rockies recommendation.
166
173
Bathrooms
The facility will need to meet occupancy requirements for the number of bathrooms necessary. Inclassroom bathrooms are HIGHLY preferable for primary classrooms; they are also advantageous for
elementary classrooms although considerably less essential.
Gym
To support our Physical Education program we will require an indoor gym space with raised ceiling, tile
floors and storage space for gym equipment. This space should be approximately 50x60 (or 3000 sq ft) in
size.
Cafeteria/Auditorium
Students will need space to eat their lunch. We are open to some flexibility about this arrangement.
Students could eat in a traditional cafeteria style space, or we would be open to creating an alternative
eating space, a large atrium or wide hallway that could be outfitted with booths or small tables for
children to sit at. The Gym could also serve as the auditorium if the cafeteria is of a less traditional
design. The cafeteria could also be designed as two smaller spaces with a common serving space in the
middle. This should be approximately 1600 square feet in total size.
Library
A library space should be approximately 900 square feet. It may be located on the interior of the
building if spaces with windows are limited.
Kitchen
This is optional but if we find a facility with a kitchen that could pass a health department inspection and
can prepare and serve food to students meeting federal and state standards that would be ideal. A
kitchen would need to include:
At Minimum:
A full kitchen would include:
Space for a warmer (the size of a home fridge)
Shelving to stage food
Space and electricity for a Milk Cooler and a
Regular Cooler
Space for a buffet bar
Water hookups for:
Sterilizing Dishwasher
3 compartment sink
Ovens
Steamer
Dish machine
Serving Line
Ice Machine
Hot Box
Cooler – walkin preferred
Freezer – walkin preferred
Mixer
Prep sink
3 compartment sink
Prep Tables
Dry Storage
174
Outdoor Playgrounds
An ideal location would have space for two separate and fenced outdoor play spaces with grass or
shock absorbent surface (woodchips, rubber chips, etc). One for Primary students (ECE/Kindergarten)
that would be approximately 4500 sq ft in size168, and the other a space for Elementary students that
would be 4500 in size from the ’13-’14 to the ’15-’16 school years and 9000 in size at full enrollment. It is
possible (although not preferable) to install playground space over an existing parking lot.
Parking/Drop-off
Between 2013 and 2016 we anticipate the need for approximately 30 staff parking spaces during the
day. We will also require drop off and pick up parking for approximately 45 cars and space for cars to
drive through and pick up children. (At full implementation in 2019 we anticipate 36-40 staff cars and
100 parent pick up/drop off spaces.) If possible, it would be nice to have space for a bus to pull up to the
school – we don’t know yet if we will be able to support bus transportation but it would prefer to leave
this open as an option.
Occupancy
The school will need e-occupancy designation when we open. It is possible to change the designation of
an existing building but will likely increase renovation costs. Aurora City Planning office recommends
that an A-occupancy might be most easily converted to e-occupancy.
Potential Facilities
Our team is interested in leasing a property during the formative years of the school. We have
considered Office Spaces, Retail Spaces, Churches, City Buildings and Former Schools near our targeted
neighborhoods. The decision criteria considered:

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

Targeted student population proximity (low income, Spanish speaking)
Available transportation
Costs to lease, maintain and renovate
Site availability for parking and playground
“Feel” of the location – safe environment
Space availability for the first 1,2 or 3 years (14,000-28,000 sf) (see Facility Needs Assessment)
The information provided demonstrates the viability of several sites, and we continue to consider many
other available options as well.
168
75 sq ft/child as per CDHS requirements assuming a max playground occupancy of 60 Kindergarteners at a time during
Kindergarten lunch recess. (Two ECE classrooms at a time = 52 kids or 4050 sq ft.)
175
Current locations under consideration
Eric Gold has spoken with property owners about square footage cost, use of the facility as a Montessori
School, lease terms and the availability of increased space needs as time progresses. Further discussion
will commence upon charter approval when consultation with Space Planning professionals and
negotiation with lessors will be needed to analyze the comparative costs of each property.
1. Existing Retail: 15300-15390 Alameda Parkway
This location in Central Aurora offers several, different sized spaces totally 28,238 sq ft. It would
be possible to lease a smaller portion of the building and expand into the larger spaces as the
school grows. Playground space is available in a grassy lot at the end of the retail strip, adjacent
to an existing day care center. Lease ($10/sf/yr NNN) and maintenance costs (est. $4/sf/yr) are
within our budget.
The space has some partitioning that will work for classrooms and multi-purpose room. There is
ceiling, lighting and flooring throughout. Security, fire protection and HVAC systems will also
need to be augmented for functionality and E occupancy. Tenant Improvement allowance, if
any, from the property owner will need to be supplemented, though the renovation will not be
as costly as other properties discussed.
The facility is near low income residences and on public transportation routes.
176
2.
2. Existing Medical Office Building: 830 Potomac Circle
This location in Central Aurora allows us to lease as little as 15,000 sq ft to start, and then add
more space as our program grows .With 28,000 sq ft on each floor and all four floors currently
vacant it could easily accommodate our program. Playground space is available on the parking
lot. The full service lease ($17/sq ft/yr including maintenance costs) is at our allocated budget.
The building owner plans to upgrade all infrastructure and life safety. The former use of the
building (medical offices) has plenty of plumbing services that can be reconfigured to serve our
restroom, classroom and kitchen needs. Security systems will be necessary in several places, as
this is a multi -tenant building. Partitioning, exiting and HVAC systems will all need to be
modified for our use, and to obtain the E occupancy required. The tenant improvement
allowance ($4/sq ft/yr) will need to be supplemented, though the improvements will not be as
costly as the other properties.
The facility is near low income residences and on public transportation routes.
177
3. Existing Hoffman Heights Library: 1298 Peoria
This location near Central Aurora has been recently used as a day care center. Utilizing both
floors would allow approximately 24,000 sq ft, accommodating our program for the first three
years. This is a very desirable location and facility. We have submitted a letter of interest to the
City of Aurora, and await the next step to offer a proposal. Playground area is adjacent in an
existing City of Aurora pocket park which contains a play-structure that meets ECE licensing
codes. Financial information for leasing this facility has not yet been made available from the
City. Tenant improvements would likely be less than other facilities, due to the recent uses and
occupancy ratings. The facility is near low income residences and on public transportation
routes.
178
4.Existing 2 Story Office Building: 16251 E. Colfax Ave.
This location in Central Aurora has 19,000 sq ft available on the ground level, with an additional
8,800 on the 2nd floor, and could accommodate our program through year 3. There are big fields
adjacent that could be considered for playgrounds. Lease ($7/sq ft/yr NNN) and maintenance
costs (est. $5/sq ft/yr) are within our budget.
Several facility improvements would be required, as most of the space does not have ceilings or
floor covering. Partitioning of the space will be required, as well as more restrooms. Security,
fire protection and HVAC systems will also need to be augmented for functionality and E
occupancy. The existing event center could easily be used for the
kitchen/cafeteria/multipurpose space. The tenant improvement allowance ($7/sq ft/yr) from
the property owner will need to be supplemented. This will be the most costly renovation of the
properties discussed.
The facility is near low income residences and on public transportation routes. Laredo
Elementary is within a few blocks (though, overcrowded).
179
These are the top sites Montessori del Mundo has considered for facility options. As the application
process is underway, the circumstances of these sites are subject to change. We continue to keep
options open and consider additional facilities.
Schedule for obtaining a facility
Our broker, Eric Gold, continues to search for properties that may be considered. Once the charter is
approved in November, we will begin negotiations with one or more of the property owners. We will
finalize a location and business deal early in 2013. This timing will allow for a 4-6 month renovation
period prior to August of 2013.
180
Waivers
Pursuant to the Charter Schools Act, Montessori del Mundo (MdM) requests waivers of certain Colorado
Revised Statues listed below. Each statue is identified and the reason for each request given as well as a
replacement plan. The waivers will enable the school to better meet its mission, goals, and objectives,
and implement its education program. The MdM budget has been developed under the assumption
that these waivers will be granted. Although a replacement plan is identified with each waiver
requested, additional replacement policies and refinement of the replacement plans will be developed.
School Name ___Montessori del Mundo _________________________________________
School Address ____TBD____________________________________________________
Prepared by _________ ____________________________________________________
Preparer’s Phone Number ________________________________________________
Preparer’s Email Address __________________________________________________
Principal’s Name __Karen Farquharson_____________________________________
Principal’s Email Address [email protected]____________________
Governing Board President’s Name__________________________________________
Governing Board President’s Email __________________________________________
REQUEST FOR WAIVER OF COLORADO REVISED STATUTES
STATUTE DESCRIPTION AND RATIONALE
C.R.S. § 22-9-106 Local Board of Education—Duties—Performance Evaluation System
This provision requires school districts to adopt written evaluation systems for all licensed personnel
and outlines the requirements for such evaluation system.
Rationale for Waiver: Because of the unique duties and responsibilities of teachers in the dual language
Montessori model, the MdM will develop its own evaluation system for its personnel.
Plan: MdM will be responsible for designing and implementing a personnel evaluation system, rather
than CSI. A description of the personnel evaluation system that will be used at MdM is (attached in
Appendix E).
Duration of the Waivers: MdM requests that the waiver be for the duration of its contract with the
Charter School Institute Board. Therefore, the waiver is requested for five academic operating years,
through June 30, 2019.
181
Financial Impact: MdM anticipates that the requested waiver will have no financial impact upon the
Charter School Institute.
How the Impact of the Waivers Will be Evaluated: Since teacher performance has a critical impact on
the performance of the entire school, the impact of this waiver will be measured by the same
performance criteria and assessments that apply to MdM, as set forth in this Charter School Agreement.
Expected Outcome: With this waiver, MdM will be able to implement its program and evaluate its
teachers in accordance with its own evaluation system, which will be consistent with the school’s goals
and objectives. This will benefit staff members as well as students and the community.
C.R.S. § 22-32-109 (l)(f) Boards of Education—Specific Duties—Personnel
This provision requires the local board of education to employ all personnel and fix their compensation.
Rationale for Waiver: MdM will be responsible for its own personnel matters, including employing its
own staff and establishing its own terms and conditions of employment, policies, rules and regulations,
and providing its own training. Therefore, MdM requests that these statutory duties be waived or
delegated from the Charter School Institute Board of Education to the principal and Board of Directors
of MdM. The success of MdM will depend in part upon its ability to select and employ its own staff and
to train and direct that staff in accordance with this Charter School Agreement and the goals and
objectives of the school. All MdM staff will be employed on an at-will basis.
Replacement Plan: MdM will be responsible for personnel matters rather than the District. A sample of
the type of teacher contract that will be used at MdM is (attached in Appendix E).
Charter School Institute. The school must operate within its budget and the cost of employing staff has
been included in that budget.
How the Impact of the Waivers Will be Evaluated: The impact of the waivers will be measured by the
same performance criteria and assessments that apply to MdM, as set forth in this Charter School
Agreement.
Expected Outcome: As a result of these waivers, MdM will select, employ and provide professional
development for its own teachers and staff, in accordance with the terms and conditions set forth in the
Charter School Agreement.
C.R.S. § 22-32-109 (l) (n) (I) Boards of Education—Specific Duties—Length of Academic Session
This provision grants the local board of education authority to determine the length of time during
which the schools of the district must be in session during the following school year.
182
Rationale for Waiver: The Charter School Insititute Board has granted to the Board of Directors of MdM
the authority to determine the length of time during which the school will be in session.
Replacement Plan: MdM will be responsible for establishing a school calendar that complies with the
statutory minimum requirements for planned teacher-pupil instruction and teacher-pupil contact during
the school year.
Duration of the Waiver: MdM requests that the waiver be for the duration of its contract with the
Charter School Institute. The school must operate within its budget and the costs of the school’s
calendar have been included in that budget.
How the Impact of the Waiver Will be Evaluated: The impact of the waivers will be measured by the
Agreement.
Expected Outcome: MdM expects that as a result of this waiver it will be able to implement its
curriculum and schedule in a manner that ensures students meet the educational standards of the
school.
C.R.S. § 22-32-109 (l) (t) Boards of Education—Specific Duties—Educational Program
This provision grants the local board of education authority to determine the educational program to be
carried on in schools of the district and to prescribe textbooks.
Rationale for Waiver: The Charter School Institute Board has granted to the Board of Directors of MdM
the authority to determine the educational program and textbooks to be used in the school.
Replacement Plan: The MdM educational program and curriculum is detailed in this Charter application.
Charter School Institute. The school must operate within its budget and the costs of the school’s
educational program and curriculum have been included in that budget.
Agreement.
Expected Outcome: MdM expects that as a result of this waiver it will be able to implement its
curriculum and ensure that students meet the educational standards of the school.
183
C.R.S. § 22-32-110 (1) (h) Boards of Education—Specific Powers—Terminating Personnel
This provision makes the local board of education responsible for terminating personnel.
Rationale for Waiver: MdM will be responsible for its own personnel matters, including employing its
and terminating its own employees. Therefore, the school requests that these statutory duties be
waived or delegated from the Charter School Insitute Board of Education to the principal and Board of
Directors of MdM. The success of the school will depend in large part upon its ability to select and
employ its own staff and to terminate individual staff members should they not perform in accordance
with this Charter School Agreement and the goals and objectives of the school. All MdM staff will be
employed on an at-will basis.
the type of teacher contract that will be used at MdM is (attached as Appendix E).
Financial Impact: MdM anticipates that the requested waivers will have no financial impact upon the
Charter School Institute. MdM must operate within its budget and the cost of employing staff has been
included in that budget.
Agreement.
Expected Outcome: As a result of these waivers, MdM will select, employ and provide professional
development for its own teachers and staff, in accordance with the terms and conditions set by this
Charter School Agreement.
C.R.S. § 22-32-126 Principals—Employment and Authority
This provision authorizes the local board of education to employ principals.
Rationale: MdM will be responsible for its own personnel matters, including employing the principal, its
and providing its own training. Principals employed at MdM will be employed on an at-will basis.
Therefore, MdM requests that these statutory duties be waived or delegated from the Charter School
Institute Board of Education to the Board of Directors of MdM. The success of this school will depend in
large part upon its ability to select and employ its own principal and staff in accordance with this Charter
School Agreement and the goals and objectives of the school.
Replacement Plan: MdM will be responsible for these matters rather than the district. The MdM
principal and teachers will have flexibility in structuring professional development and school policies to
meet their needs.
184
Charter School Institute. MdM must operate within its budget and the cost of employing staff has been
Agreement.
Expected Outcome: As a result of this waiver, MdM will select, employ and provide professional
development for its principal in accordance with the terms and conditions set by the Charter School
Agreement.
C.R.S. § 22-63-201 Employment –License Required
This provision prohibits board from entering into an employment contract with a person who does not
hold a teacher’s certificate or letter of authorization.
Rationale: MdM will be responsible for its own personnel matters, including selecting the hiring criteria
for and employing its own staff. The success of this school will depend in large part upon its ability to
select and employ its own staff in accordance with this Charter School Agreement and the goals and
objectives of the school.
Replacement Plan: MdM will hire Highly Qualified staff, as required by federal law, who may or may not
possess current Colorado teaching licenses.
Agreement.
Expected Outcome: As a result of this waiver, MdM will select and employ teachers and staff, in
accordance with the terms and conditions set by the Charter School Agreement.
C.R.S. § 22-63-202 Employment Contracts—Duration
This provision prescribes specific elements of the annual term or non-probationary teacher contracts
used by districts.
185
Rationale: MdM will be responsible for its own personnel matters, including selecting, hiring, and
terminating its own staff. The success of this school will depend in large part upon its ability to employ
its own staff in accordance with this Charter School Agreement and the goals and objectives of the
school.
Replacement Plan: MdM will use its own form of employment agreement or contract, reflecting “at
will” employment practices.
Agreement.
C.R.S. § 22-63-203 Probationary Teachers—Renewal and Non-renewal of Employment Contract
This provision provides for contract with probationary teachers and allows for non-renewal and renewal
of employment contract.
Rationale: MdM will be responsible for its own personnel matters, including selecting, hiring, and
terminating its own staff. The success of this school will depend in large part upon its ability to employ
its own staff in accordance with this Charter School Agreement and the goals and objectives of the
school.
Replacement Plan: MdM will use its own form of employment agreement or contract, reflecting “at
will” employment practices, rather than annual term contracts.
Agreement.
186
C.R.S. § 22-63-206 Teacher Employment, Compensation and Dismissal Act—Transfer of Teachers
This provision permits transfer of teachers between schools upon recommendation of district’s chief
administrative officer.
Rationale: MdM is granted the authority under the Charter School Agreement to select its own
teachers. Charter School Institute should not have the authority to transfer its teachers into MdM or
transfer teachers from MdM to district schools, except as provided for in the Charter School Agreement.
Replacement Plan: MdM will hire teachers on a best-qualified basis. Teachers who wish to transfer from
MdM may follow district procedures.
Financial Impact: MdM anticipates that the requested waivers will have no financial impact on the
Charter School Institute or MdM.
Agreement.
Expected Outcome: MdM expects that as a result of this waiver it will be able to manage its own
personnel affairs. Consistent with the terms of this Charter School Agreement and the Colorado Charter
School Law, MdM will provide the opportunity for teachers to transfer into the district if they so choose.
C.R.S. § 22-63-301 Transfer Employment, Compensation and Dismissal Act—Grounds for Dismissal
This provision outlines the grounds for termination of non-probationary status or mid-term termination
of an annual contract.
Rationale: The success of MdM in accomplishing its mission is dependent primarily upon the talents,
skills and personal commitment of its teachers. The school must be able to terminate employees who
cannot deliver its educational program successfully. All employees of MdM will be employed on an atwill basis.
Replacement Plan: Continued employment at MdM shall be subject to an annual satisfactory
performance evaluation. Teachers who are rated unsuccessful may be terminated by the school.
187
Financial Impact: MdM anticipates that the requested waivers will have no financial impact on Charter
School Institute or MdM. MdM must operate within its budget and the cost of employing staff has been
Agreement.
Expected Outcome: As a result of these waivers, MdM will be able to provide instruction in accordance
with the philosophy and mission as stated in this Charter Proposal.
C.R.S. § 22-63-302 Transfer Employment, Compensation and Dismissal Act—Procedures for Dismissal
This provision outlines the process for terminating a non-probationary teacher.
Rationale: The success of MdM in accomplishing its mission is dependent primarily upon the talents,
skills and personal commitment of its teachers. The school must be able to terminate employees who
cannot deliver its educational program successfully. All employees of MdM will be employed on an atwill basis.
Replacement Plan: Continued employment at MdM shall be subject to an annual satisfactory
performance evaluation. Teachers who are rated unsuccessful may be terminated by the school.
Agreement.
Expected Outcome: As a result of these waivers, MdM will be able to provide instruction in accordance
with the philosophy and mission as stated in this Charter Proposal.
C.R.S. § 22-63-401 Transfer Employment, Compensation and Dismissal Act
This provision authorizes a local board of education to adopt a salary schedule and place teachers
employed by the district on the schedule.
Rationale: MdM should be delegated the authority to determine compensation rates, in accordance
with the Charter School Agreement. The workday and work year in MdM may be different from that of
the District and compensation must be adjusted accordingly.
188
Replacement Plan: MdM will adopt its own salary schedule. The school will set competitive rates for
each level of teachers it employs. MdM’s principal will determine the placement of teachers on the
salary schedule. The district’s salary schedule will be used as a guideline for developing the MdM salary
schedule.
How the impact of the Waiver Will be Evaluated: The impact of the waivers will be measured by the
Agreement.
Expected Outcome: As a result of this waiver, MdM should be able to attract qualified personnel and
provide instruction in accordance with the philosophy and mission as stated in this Charter Proposal.
C.R.S. § 22-63-402 Services –Disbursements
This provision prohibits disbursement of district monies to teacher without a valid teacher’s certificate,
letter of authorization or written authorization.
Rationale: MdM should be granted the authority to hire teachers and principals that will support the
school’s goals and objectives. The school will seek to attract principals and teachers from a wide variety
of backgrounds, including, but not limited to teachers from out-of-state, teachers with a lapsed
Colorado certificate, persons with several years of successful teaching experience in a setting not
requiring a license, as well as persons with business or professional experience. All employees of MdM
will be employed on an at-will basis.
Replacement Plan: MdM will, where possible, hire certified principals and teachers. However, in some
instances it may be advantageous for the school to be able to hire principals and/or teachers without a
certificate and who possess unique background and/or skills or fill the need of the school.
Agreement.
189
Expected Outcome: As a result of these waivers, MdM will be able to employ professional staff
possessing unique skills and/or background filling all staff needs.
C.R.S. § 22-63-403 Payment of Salaries
This provision governs payment of salaries upon termination of employment of a teacher.
Rationale: MdM should be granted the authority to develop its own employment contracts and terms
and conditions of employment. The schoo will be operating differently from other schools with a unique
curriculum for which having the proper teaching staff is essential. Not every teacher who is successful in
the regular public school will be successful at MdM. All employees of MdM will be employed on an atwill basis.
the type of teacher contract that will be used at MdM is (attached as Appendix E).
Agreement.
Expected Outcome:As a result of these waivers, the MdM will be able to employ professional staff
possessing unique skills and/or background, filling all staff needs.
190
Student Discipline
As Montessorians, we believe that a child’s natural state is to be a productive and positive member of a
community. When children make choices that jeopardize their own or other’s safety, well-being, or
learning, there is something preventing them from achieving this natural state. Our goal as educators is
to help them to learn to make better choices that allow them to be productive and positive community
members.
When serious consequences are necessary, Montessori del Mundo will follow the Aurora Public Schools
discipline policy which can be found in the Safe Schools brochure at: http://aurorak12.org/docs/safeschools-policies-2012-2013-english.pdf. Teachers and students will also follow the MdM non-violent
discipline policy found in Appendix F.
Montessori del Mundo will publish a parent and student handbook including a summary of our discipline
policy, and will make a copy of the district discipline policy available to parents each year.
General Philosophy on Discipline
Montessorians believe that children are intrinsically driven to do the right thing, and that the use of
extrinsic rewards gets in the way of the child’s ability to build their own sense of morals and their
internal drive to make good choices. Instead of making good choices in order to feel good about
themselves and do good for the community, they begin to make good choices to earn stickers, or candy,
or marbles in a jar. At Montessori del Mundo we do not offer children bribes, stickers, candy, or prizes in
exchange for good behavior or academic work. We
work with children to recognize and celebrate the
Montessorians believe that children are
good feelings inside of themselves when they have
intrinsically motivated to do the right
accomplished a hard task or done the right thing
thing. We work to foster this internal
and to cultivate this intrinsic motivation which will
drive and teach students how to do good
remain with them for their entire lives.
for their own sake, not just to earn
rewards.
Teachers may point out to students times in which
students are exemplifying positive behaviors in
order to help students identify those times, however teachers will work to release the responsibility of
recognizing those behaviors to the students themselves such that their motivation becomes more
intrinsic and self-reliant as time goes on. In life it is good to recognize when other people have done
something nice for you, therefore we will also work with students so that they can recognize and
appreciate times when their classmates do nice things for them or their friends. In this way the
recognition for good behavior comes from peers and from within instead of from authority figures.
191
Positive Behavior Management System
MdM will use a modified Positive Behavioral Intervention and Supports (PBiS) system to create positive
school culture and clear expectations for student behavior.169 PBiS focuses on setting clear expectations
for behavior, rewarding good behavior, and preventing bad behavior. PBiS is typically implemented
using lots of extrinsic motivators: stickers, marble jars for class rewards, pizza parties, popsicles for
perfect attendance, etc. The Montessori philosophy, however, focuses on intrinsic motivation and
avoids extrinsic rewards. As part of our school health plan, Montessori del Mundo also does not use
food or candy as a reward for any behavior.
Montessori del Mundo’s PBiS will focus on clear expectations, positive framing, and intrinsic motivators.
We believe that students have an intrinsic desire to be positive and productive community members;
that extrinsic rewards are not necessary. Additionally, we believe that the use of extrinsic rewards such
as stickers, candy, prizes, etc., rob the child of the opportunity to behave positively for their own
reasons and reap those intrinsic rewards, and cause children to start responding only to such extrinsic
motivations.
The PBiS system works well within the Montessori environment with a few minor adjustments. The
following chart compares the typical PBiS system with the Montessori del Mundo modified system:
Typical PBiS System with extrinsic
Montessori del Mundo PBiS System
rewards
Establish clear expectations for positive Establish clear expectations for positive behavior early in the
behavior early in the school year and
school year and re-teach these expectations as needed
re-teach these expectations as needed
throughout the year.
throughout the year.
Recognize positive behavior with a
Allow children to recognize their own positive behavior with a
visible symbol such as a sticker which is symbol like a PBiS necklace which children can choose to
handed out by the teacher or teacher’s wear when they feel they are emulating the PBiS behavior
representative.
standards.
Set a class goal for positive behavior
Set a class goal for positive behavior tied to the desire to
tied to a reward such as a class pizza
better our community. Reflect upon completion on the
party which is earned over time.
feeling of satisfaction one has when one accomplishes a
difficult task or goal.
Optional: After the goal is accomplished, allow the class to
select a way to celebrate success of a goal such as by planning
an extra recess. (Note: these rewards should not occur every
time a goal is met so that children do not automatically
expect or assume that a reward is coming and start complying
for the reward instead of for the community building.)
Recognize perfect attendance by having Recognize perfect attendance by having students stand to be
children stand up at a school assembly
recognized at a school assembly.
and giving children a popsicle at the
end of the month if they’ve attended
school every day.
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Collection of research on PBiS in primary classrooms: http://www.pbis.org/research/primary/default.aspx
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Teacher or students selects a class
leader every month who exemplifies
positive behavior and responsibility.
Teachers give shout-outs and
certificates to students who are
exemplifying PBiS behavior.
Expect all students (particularly the oldest in the class) to role
model for their younger peers.
Teacher or students select a class leader every month who
exemplifies positive behavior and responsibility.
During community meetings, students are encouraged to
identify other classmates that they saw exemplifying PBiS
behavior. During work time, students are encouraged to
thank another classmate for contributing positively to the
community if they see them displaying PBiS behavior.
Students can choose to keep a personal journal where they
record times they showed PBiS behavior, how they
contributed to the community, and how it made them feel.
In the PBiS system, a slogan and acronym are generated which capture the core values of the school and
the positive guidelines for student behavior. These are then used to define expectations in each
environment within the school, creating a positively-worded, predictable set of guidelines so that
students always know what level of behavior is expected. By defining, emphasizing, and rehearsing
these expectations, many behavior problems can be avoided. Emphasis on the positive expected
behaviors, rather than the behavior that will get you into trouble, creates a climate in which students
feel respected. We at MdM believe that it is very valuable to have a PBiS acronym and that our teaching
staff will have more of a commitment to the PBiS system, and its highlighted component values, if they
themselves collectively generate the acronym before the start of school. Time will be scheduled before
the first day of school to brainstorm an acronym and prepare PBiS materials.
Natural Consequences
Consequences are a natural part of life. While we believe in intrinsic motivation and minimizing external
rewards, we also recognize that decisions have consequences, sometimes good and sometimes bad.
Montessori classrooms have strict guidelines and expectations and natural consequences are an
important learning tool for children who choose to break the rules or classroom norms. For example, a
child who scribbles on another student’s work must apologize to that student and get them a new copy
of the work and complete any work that the first child had done. In this way they repair the relationship
with the student and the work that was destroyed. Another example of natural consequences is evident
in Friday Fun projects, which always contain an academic component and an artistic component. The
academic component must be completed before the artistic component is begun. Projects are designed
to be in-depth and lengthy in order to build students concentration, perseverance and time
management. A student who does not listen to directions will not be able to complete the project. A
student who chooses to gossip with their friends despite teacher reminders to stay on task will not
complete the academic portion in time to move on to the art portion of the project. A student who
listens to directions, stays on task, and asks for help when needed will complete the project and be able
to display it in the hallway or take it home.
Restorative Justice and the Peace Rose
At MdM we believe strongly in Restorative Justice and in utilizing conflict mediation strategies to help
teach victims to self-advocate, and teach aggressors about the damage they have caused, and how to
make smarter choices in the future. Each classroom, as well as the cafeteria and playgrounds at
Montessori del Mundo will have a “Peace Rose.” Children as young as 3 years old will be taught how to
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use the Peace Rose to mediate their own conflicts. Children can then resolve their conflicts
independently, or request the assistance of a peer or a teacher when necessary.
The Peace Rose is a mediation tool that was developed many years ago by a Montessorian with a
background in conflict mediation. After working with adults she determined that it would be much
easier for adults to participate in conflict mediation and self-advocacy if they had been practicing the
skills since childhood. The Peace Rose is a physical rose which is used by students in a Montessori
classroom to guide their interactions in independently mediating a conflict. Children are taught how to
make “I statements”, listen to the other person, fix any problems caused, and repair the relationship.
For example, if Child A steps on Child B’s work and Child B is upset, the following Peace Rose interaction
might take place:
Child B retrieves the Peace Rose from the Peace Shelf and approaches Child A
Child B: I don’t like it when you step on my work.
Child A: I didn’t step on your work.
Child B: My work’s right here and you just stepped on it when you walked by.
Child A: I’m sorry, I didn’t see it. It was an accident.
Child B: That’s ok. Please be more careful.
Child A: Ok, I’ll be more careful.
Both Child A and Child B: We’re still friends, we declare peace.
An older child in a more complex interaction might sound like:
Child B: It hurt my feelings when you didn’t invite me to your house to play this weekend.
Child A: I didn’t want to invite you because I could only invite two people and last time you came over
you wouldn’t let us play what we wanted, you only wanted to play Legos.
Child B: I really like Legos, I’m sorry you didn’t want to play them. But it really hurt my feelings when
you didn’t invite me.
Child A: I’m sorry I hurt your feelings. Next time you come to my house can we both decide what we
play?
Child B: Sure.
Child A: Ok. Do you want to come over tomorrow?
Child B: Ok.
Both Child A and B: We’re still friends, we declare peace.
Discipline
As a school it is our responsibility to ensure the safety, both emotional and physical, and the learning
environment for all students. Any student’s behavior that prevents others from feeling or being safe, or
that prevents others from learning will not be tolerated. While our goal is to prevent disruptive
behaviors, there will be times when discipline is required.
When discipline is needed we will follow the APS Discipline Policy (with the exception that internal
school appeals will be made to the MdM board of directors) and the MdM Non-violent Discipline Policy
in Appendix F.
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MdM Board and Superintendent Authority
Where APS policy indicates that appeals can be made to the Superintendent in regards to incidents and
consequences occurring at Montessori del Mundo, appeals should be made instead to the MdM Board
of Directors, as outlined in our grievance policy in Appendix G. This might include appeals of suspensions
or other disciplinary action after an appeal has been made to the MdM Head of School.
Prevention of Bullying
MdM takes seriously our responsibility to provide for all children a school environment in which they are
physically and emotionally safe. Bullying will not be tolerated under any circumstances. MdM will place
considerable effort and investment in pro-actively teaching children positive ways to interact and
resolve their own conflicts and in creating a school environment that is conducive to healthy peer
relationships and not bullying. In the event that a child is found to be bullying other children, MdM
teachers and staff will immediately intervene to stop the bullying and will follow the APS discipline
policy for dealing with bullying.
We also believe that the bully requires support and help in addition to the victim. MdM will provide the
emotional, behavioral, and psychological support necessary to bullies in order to stop their behavior and
help them to learn more productive and positive ways to interact with their peers.
Suspension or Expulsion
In the event that Montessori del Mundo must suspend or expel a student we will follow the APS
discipline policy in regards to suspension and expulsion. Every attempt will be made to ensure the
student’s continued education, and therefore out of school suspension and expulsion will be reserved
for the most severe of circumstances.
Montessori del Mundo grants the Head of School the authority to suspend a student for up to 10 days
for any offense listed in the APS discipline policy. The Head of School must notify the Chairperson of the
Board of any suspension. For suspensions longer than 10 days, the Head of School will make a
recommend to the Board Chair. The Board Chair will confer with the Head of School and other members
of the Executive Committee to determine whether or not an extended suspension is justified and what
the terms of such a suspension will be. The Head of School may require parents to meet with teachers or
administration prior to the child being permitted to rejoin their class.
In the case that expulsion is being considered as a potential consequence, the Head of School will gather
evidence to present during a closed executive session which the student’s parents shall be permitted to
attend. Montessori del Mundo will make it known to their authorizer, Charter School Institute, that they
are considering expulsion of a student for a disciplinary infraction and the pertinent details of the
expulsion will be made known to the Superintendent.
Students found guilty of any act that carries the punishment of immediate expulsion such as the use and
possession of a dangerous weapon on school grounds will be suspended pending an expulsion hearing
by the board of directors.
Parents may appeal a suspension that is longer than 10 days, or an expulsion to the MdM board of
directors in writing and within the appropriate time frame. More details about the process of appealing
a decision to the board of directors can be found in the Grievance policy in Appendix G.
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Legally Required Consequences
As outlined in the APS discipline policy, Montessori del Mundo will follow all state laws regarding the
reporting and consequences of severe discipline infractions including making reports to the Aurora
Police Department in the case of arson, false fire alarm, bomb threat, possession of a firearm or serious
weapon, 1st and 2nd degree assault, robbery, sexual harassment, or sale or purchase of a controlled
substance.
Discipline and Consequences for students with IEPs
As outlined on Page 30 of the APS Safe Schools Handbook:
Students with disabilities are neither immune from a school district’s disciplinary process nor
entitled to participate in programs when their behavior impairs the education of other students.
Students with disabilities who engage in disruptive activities and/or actions dangerous to
themselves or others will be disciplined in accordance with their IEP, any behavioral intervention
plan, and this regulation.
When the removal of a student with a disability is required, it shall be completed in accordance
with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Information Act (IDEIA), the Exceptional
Children’s Act (ECEA) and/or Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.
Nothing in this regulation shall prohibit an IEP team from establishing consequences for
disruptive or unacceptable behavior as a part of the student’s IEP.
Montessori del Mundo is committed to equity of Access to our educational program for all students
regardless of income, race, home language, or special education status. As such all efforts will be made
to work with students who have a disability to provide them with an environment that is conducive to
their success and to eliminate barriers to their education and appropriate behavior.
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Serving Students with Special Needs
Core Beliefs
 All children can learn and be successful in a bilingual environment.
 It is the school’s and teacher’s job to remove barriers to children’s success.
 It is important to evaluate if a difficulty is related to Language or Concept/Skill.
 Interventions should be available in both languages and provided in the language that most
effectively meets the child’s needs.
 Early intervention is the key to mitigating students’ academic difficulties and setting them on a
path for long-term success.
Staffing and Funding of Staff and Services
Funding of special education staff will come from three sources. Each December a count of eligible IEP
students enrolled in the school will be taken. The school will receive funding during the following school
year to assist with the services required for those students. Estimates for the 2012-2013 school year put
these funding levels at $1660/IEP student from IDEA and $1330/IEP student from ECEA. The third
source of funding is the school’s per pupil allotment of public funds. MdM plans to set aside
$400/student enrolled in the school into a special education fund. This will be used in conjunction with
the IDEA and ECEA funds to pay salaries and benefits of special education staff, to contract out any
special education services that we can not provide on site, to purchase any curricula, materials, or
assessments needed by the special education department.
Because of our strong belief in the importance of having a fully bilingual staff, MdM will place a strong
preference on hiring bilingual Special Education staff. Professional development and training will be
provided for these staff, along with our classroom teachers and assistants, on Montessori philosophy,
Dual Language philosophy, best practices for working with second language learners, etc. All staff hired
to teach Special Education will be required to be Highly Qualified and hold a license to teach Special
Education in the state of Colorado, as well as any additional certifications or requirements placed by the
state or CSI as our authorizer.
Montessori del Mundo will also retain responsibility for providing all Special Education Services to ECE
students. We have built into our budget a .25 Special
Education Teacher to provide consultation for teachers,
MdM is committed to hiring bilingual
OT/PT services and to move any students of great concern
special education staff who can support
through the special education identification process and
our model of educating children in both
complete any paperwork necessary. We have also built
$20,000/year for speech/language services for ECE
English and Spanish, who can
students.170 MdM has spoken with Therapies of the
communicate effectively with parents,
Rockies, a company that contracts with schools to provide
and who can provide support to children
speech/language services for ECE students. A letter
in either language.
describing their services is available in Appendix B.
170
Listed in the budget under “Professional Education Services.”
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MdM is committed to providing intervention services for students who are struggling regardless of
whether or not they have been identified as needing Special Education services. For this reason we have
included a part time K-6 intervention teacher which will phase in over the development of the program.
Additional funding for reading interventionists may also come from the READ Act. Montessori del
Mundo, along with all schools in Colorado will report each spring the number of students with
significant reading deficiencies and will receive money for these students on a per pupil basis. This
money will go to fund a reading interventionist to work with these children. MdM will also be eligible for
the READ competitive grant program and will explore opportunities in applying for this grant. While
these funding sources will be available for existing schools during the 2013-2014 school year, MdM does
not anticipate collecting these funds until the 2014-2015 school year as we will not have data to report
during the Spring of 2013 on students with significant reading deficiencies.
All totaled, MdM will employ a special education teacher, speech language pathologist, occupational
therapist, physical therapist, intervention teacher, GT teacher (in year 6), and school psychologist. These
positions will make up the intervention team which will be led by an administrator, either the Director of
Education or as the school grows and budget and staffing allows, a Director of Interventions, who is
tasked with overseeing and coordinating all special education services and RTI interventions in the
building. As the school reaches full implementation, MdM will hire a Director of Interventions
administrator either full- or part-time to coordinate interventions and
The Montessori RTI (Response to
special education services at the school. All of the staff members on
the Interventions Team will be licensed to practice in their given field.
Intervention) process is designed
Whenever possible, MdM will hire its own staff members to ensure
to ensure that any child who is
consistency of educational philosophy, vision, and bilingualism.
struggling receives prompt and
appropriate support.
Identifying Students in Need of Additional Services
We hope to identify students with special needs before they begin classes at MdM because we would
like to support these students before they are allowed to even struggle, let alone fail. The early
identification process is detailed below in our RTI procedures, Step Zero. Those who are missed in the
initial screening or begin to demonstrate a special need mid school year at MdM will go through the
following RTI process beginning at Step 1. This safety net will ensure that all students in need of
additional support receive it in the least restrictive environment possible.
Montessori del Mundo RTI Process
During the RTI Process, teachers will continually accumulate a body of evidence (BOE) on each child in
their classroom. BOE will be used to help determine if a child: is on track to meet grade level
requirements; is progressing at a rate commiserate with their knowledge, skills, and abilities; should be
receiving any special services; and if a child is receiving interventions and services that are meeting
his/her needs. The BOE will also be used during parent/teacher conferences, during SIT meetings, and
for the purposes of writing progress reports. BOEs will include: formal (normed or standardized) test
results, informal (classroom) test results, pieces of work, anecdotal notes, progress charts, and/or any
other pieces of data pertaining to the child in question and must include nationally normed tests that
meet the requirements for documentation an implementation of IEPs or 504 plans.
In providing for our Tier II and Tier III interventions, Montessori del Mundo will use research based
intervention programs, intervention models, special education curricula and normed assessments. We
will assign these interventions on a per-student basis in order to meet the specific needs of each child in
our school. There are a multitude of such research based intervention programs, models, and curricula
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available. The school will purchase and/or implement various programs needed during the school year
and where appropriate and permitted will utilize district programs and assessments.
Step Zero: Pre-Screening for New Students (Tier I, II, III)
New students to MdM entering in grades 1-6 will be screened in the days before school starts to identify
any areas of concern that will need to be monitored throughout the first few months of the child’s
transition to school. Screenings will include the DP-3, DRA, and/or EDL, and a normed math assessment.
Teachers will make appointments with students to conduct this screening during the afternoons of the
first two days of school or after school during the first two weeks of school.
Students entering in ECE or Kinder at ages 3 to 6 will be screened using Connor’s Early Childhood Global
Index (available in Spanish and English) if either the teacher or parent expresses concerns about the
child’s level. Screenings will be conducted at these ages as needed and as problems are identified.
Due to the diverse make up of our targeted student population we anticipate that students will arrive at
school with a variety of school readiness skills. The purpose of these screeners is to give teachers more
information at the beginning of the year about the academic and linguistic needs of their students so
differentiated instruction can begin on the first day of school. We will meet the needs of our students
with special needs (Special Education, Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapy, Speech/Language
Therapy, Psychological Services, Gifted Education) by beginning services as quickly as possible. Having
this data to begin the school year will help achieve these goals.
Step One: Teacher Identifies a Student of Concern (Tier I, II, III)
Teachers at MdM will be expected to be continuously observing the students in their classroom and
comparing their observations to their expertise and training of expected developmental stages and
normal progression for students through the curriculum. Teachers will be expected to modify their
instructional strategies and works presented to children to meet their individual needs for growth and
success. Teachers will likely be the first to notice when children are struggling (or achieving highly) with
the curriculum, this should become apparent through these daily observations and/or when the teacher
analyzes data from periodic standardized assessments. The teacher will keep a body of evidence with
anecdotal notes and data points that demonstrate the progress of each student. Students of concern
will be brought to grade-level data team meetings. Students who show signs of giftedness in one or
more areas will be put on a watch list for possible GT identification and services.
Step Two: Monthly Grade-Level data team meetings – Set SMART goals (Tier II, III)
One Friday afternoon a month each grade level will meet with the intervention coordinator to discuss
students of concern in their classroom. The conversation will follow the format of:
1. Observations and Body of Evidence: What is the child doing/not doing?
2. Background/identified strengths: Reviewing pertinent background information on the
child and areas of strength that could be utilized to support areas of need.
3. Brainstorming: Other grade-level teachers provide suggestions and feedback.
4. Goal Setting: The classroom teacher sets smart goal(s) for the child for the following
month, records strategies that will be implemented, including the frequency with which
the teacher will address these goals and the anticipated outcome.
The Intervention Coordinator will assess whether or not there is an intervention group which would be
appropriate for meeting the child’s needs as outlined by the classroom teacher; if such a group exists,
the team may decide to enroll the child in that intervention.
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When teachers meet together to discuss
children who are struggling, plan for
interventions, enact those interventions
and progress monitor, children are more
likely to succeed academically.
Step Three: Initial intervention and Progress Monitoring
(Tier II, III)
The teacher(s) will initiate the strategies and interventions
agreed upon by the data team and will collect at least four
data points of progress monitoring data over the course of
the following month. At the end of the month the gradelevel team will meet again.
Step Four: Follow-up Grade-Level Data Team Meeting (Tier II, III)
The classroom/Intervention Teacher will share the results of the previous month’s interventions. Was
the SMART goal(s) met? Were the barriers to success eliminated? Did the child make progress, and was
that progress significant enough to indicate that the child is closing their achievement gap and on track
to meet grade-level expectations by the end of the year?
If the classroom teacher and the team agree that the child has made significant progress and there are
no longer concerns about their academic progress and achievement, the intervention will be considered
a success. The teacher will return to Step One: Ongoing Observation and Periodic Assessment to ensure
that the student continues performing as expected.
If the classroom teacher and the team agree that the child has not made significant progress with the
interventions in place, or that progress has been made but not at a rate that puts the child on track to
meet grade-level expectations by the end of the year, a SIT team meeting with the parents will be
initiated and scheduled within 3 weeks of this second data team meeting.
Step Five: SIT Team Meeting (Tier III)
A meeting will be scheduled with the intervention coordinator, classroom/intervention teachers, the
child (where deemed appropriate), parents of the child, and the intervention team. The meeting will
follow this format:
1. Background of the child
2. Strengths of the child
3. Struggles of the child (Body of Evidence)
4. Previously implemented interventions and results
5. Recommendations from the team for subsequent interventions/screenings/evaluations
6. Set SMART Goals
7. Plan for providing the classroom teacher with additional support in meeting the needs of the
student including: enrolling the student in an existing intervention group, creating a group for
the student, or creating time for an intervention teacher to work with the student on specific
goals inside the classroom.
8. Set a time-table of 4 or 8 weeks before the team will meet again to discuss progress.
Step Six: Implement SIT Team Plan and Monitor Progress (Tier III)
The student will be enrolled in the recommended interventions and progress monitoring data will be
collected171. The Intervention Teacher and/or Instructional Support Staff will consult regularly with
171
Care will be taken that progress monitoring data is collected using approved normed assessments that can become evidence
for triggering an IEP or 504 plan for students in case the students do not show improvement through their interventions and
require additional services and protections.
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classroom teachers to ensure that their efforts are aligned and make adjustments to instruction as
necessary. If evaluations or observations were recommended they will be conducted.
Step Seven: SIT Team Re-convenes to Plan Next Steps (Tier III)
If interventions were successful and the student has made enough progress to be considered on-track
for grade-level proficiency by the end of the year, the team will determine student long-term goals that
will trigger an exit from services.
Requirements for Exit from Interventions:
 Student meets short-term and long-term goals.
 Student achieves skills mastery, not simply progress.
 Classroom teacher has a plan for continued in-class support.
 Family and child (when appropriate) are on-board with the decision to discontinue services.
If interventions were not successful, the team will plan for additional interventions or additional data
gathering, either by the teacher or formal evaluations, to get a better idea of the students’ areas of
strength and weakness and to more accurately target interventions to meet their needs.
The team will determine whether or not the child might qualify for an IEP, ILP, or 504 and whether to
proceed with formal evaluations to provide the child with legal protections and services from the special
education teacher or other specialists.
The child will then either enter the IEP process or continue with regular SIT team meetings (once every 6
weeks) until such a time as he or she is progressing at a rate that puts him/her on track for end of year
grade-level expectations, or the team determines it necessary to start the IEP process.
After the IEP process has begun, the Interventions Team members involved with serving the student will
engage in regular (every 4-6 weeks) meetings with the classroom teacher, the child, the child’s parents,
and any available administrators to discuss the child’s progress and determine the effectiveness of the
measures in place on the IEP.
Students with Speech/Language Concerns
Appropriate and rigorous preschool speech services can
completely resolve a child’s delay, thus eliminating longterm impact on academic achievement and social
interaction.
Children with speech/language delays are
often highly successful in Montessori and
Dual Language environments, especially
when they have early interventions and
the support of a highly qualified, bilingual
speech/language therapist such as those
employed by Therapies of the Rockies.
Given that many academic delays, particularly in early
grades, can stem from speech and language delays we
feel it is especially crucial to provide these students with
immediate services as soon as a concern is identified. Therefore students with Speech/Language
concerns will bypass the typical RTI process and instead follow these steps:
1. Pre-screening: We will prescreen for all children oral language development when children
enter MdM.
2. Speech Screener: A Speech/Language Therapist from Therapies for the Rockies will conduct an
initial speech screener for all students in the ECE program to identify whether or not children
will benefit from services. Any students entering the school in grades K-6 whose parents or
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teachers raise concerns about their speech/language skills will receive a speech screener from
the K-6 Speech/Language teacher.
3. Evaluation: If a child would benefit, services will begin immediately. If delays are severe enough
to merit further testing and documentation, the formal evaluation process may be initiated at
this time. If not, the regular RTI process may be implemented.
Students will be exited from Speech/Language services once the child has scores on standardized
assessments within the normal range for their chronological age; and/or once the child’s skills are at a
level that is within the “no disability” to “mild” range on the Colorado Severity Rating Scale for the
affected area(s) (including fluency, articulation, social language, receptive language, expressive
language, and voice).
Special Education Plan and Procedures
Our identification process has been described above in our RTI process. We believe strongly that our RTI
process will help us to serve Tier I, II, and III students and identify and serve students who will require
special education services. If a student gets to Step Seven of our RTI process and sufficient progress has
not been made, that student will be referred to the Special Education team for additional testing and to
be put on an IEP or a 504 plan as appropriate to the student’s needs. We will follow all legal mandates
and processes for SPED identification.
We will also take care to ensure that we are carefully distinguishing between students who have a
learning disability and students who are struggling in their second language in order to avoid
misidentification. To this end, assessments will be conducted in the student’s native language whenever
possible, and we will compare a student’s performance in both their first and second language. To assist
students who are struggling in only their second language, we will offer second language interventions.
Although we are only required to have one annual IEP review for each student, we will have frequent
meetings to review progress monitoring and assessment data. The Interventions Team members
involved with serving the student will engage in regular (every 6-10 weeks) meetings with the classroom
teacher, and will check in regularly with the child, the child’s parents, and any available administrators
to discuss the child’s progress and determine the effectiveness of the measures in place on the IEP. We
believe in the importance of keeping the child and his/her family involved in the educational process,
and we believe that families who are highly involved in decision making regarding their children have a
greater investment in their children’s future academic success. For the purposes of these meetings we
will use the entire student BOE, which will include all required progress monitoring and evaluation
materials, anecdotal observations, student work, etc. In these meetings the student and his family will
be involved as much as possible in determining goals and next steps for the student and his education.
One of our goals is that every child that attends MdM will have success in middle school, graduate from
high school and be able to go on to college if they should so desire. Our special education services will
be a key piece for many of our students. One major consideration for students receiving special
education services is whether or not retention would benefit the student in achieving their long term
academic goals. We must seek to balance the potential academic benefit with the student’s
developmental stage and possible social repercussions. We must also consider whether the
interventions and services the student would receive in repeating a grade would not be available to
them in the next grade and would add value to the grade repeated. We believe that retention, when
judiciously applied, holds a significant benefit for many children. We also believe that retention should
be a step left for when all other methods have not yielded the desired result, and a child is, in all ways,
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not ready to progress to the next grade. These decisions must be made on a case by case basis and with
the complete buy in of the student and his or her parents.
Due to the multi-age nature of our classrooms at MdM, retention between grades in the same
classroom will not carry the same social stigma, and can be a much more flexible process. Teachers are
expected to teach all children at their exact level every day, so labeling a child a 1st grader vs. labeling
them a 2nd grader does not change the work the child is doing, it simply changes the expectations the
teacher has for that child at the end of the year (i.e. the pace at which they need to be moving through
the curriculum). For this reason the most crucial grades for deciding whether or not to retain or advance
a child are the transition points in between the classrooms: Kinder to 1st grade, 3rd to 4th grade and 6th
grade to middle school.
Special education services will be administered by highly qualified staff members who are certified in
Elementary Education and Special Education, and who are bilingual. Services will be provided to
students as stipulated in IEP and 504 plans. Services may be delivered by either push in or pull out
methods and services may be delivered one-on-one or in small groups of not more than 4 students at a
time. Because in the Montessori classroom instruction is completely individualized to meet each
student’s needs, our environment are particularly conducive to the push-in model, but we recognize
that sometimes the needs of the student may dictate that services be provided in another location. Our
emphasis on individualized education also supports students with special needs by always providing
them with materials and works that are at their appropriate instructional level. We are uniquely able to
scaffold all instruction to meet the student’s individual needs.
It will be the work of the Special Education and Interventions Team members to provide Professional
Development and assistance to other staff members throughout the year on an as needed basis.
Professional Development will be provided yearly to refresh staff on what common disabilities in the
school population are and how to serve them. We will also ask them to provide training for all teachers
new to the school on reading IEPs and 504 plans to understand and plan for the needs of all of their
students. Also should a specific need arise at the school, Special Education staff will provide both whole
staff and one-on-one coaching with teachers to meet the new need. For example: if a teacher has a child
with autism, the teacher will be provided PD on Autism spectrum. Also, all teachers in the school will
receive PD on how to begin the identification process for a child on the autism spectrum by learning
specific behavioral and academic markers such a child might demonstrate.
We recognize that while some students may require Special Education services throughout their school
career, others will only need to receive Special Education services for a limited time. We also recognize
that some students who have reached grade level may still need services in order to maintain their
success level. We will ensure that our exiting procedure meets with all legal requirements, and we will
involve the child and his parents in all major decisions surrounding him and the services he is receiving.
Guidelines for our exiting procedure are as follows:
Requirements for exit from Special Education Services:
 Student meets short term and long term goals.
 Required, normed assessments show the student has made the growth required by his IEP or
504 plan.
 Student achieves skills mastery, not simply progress.
 Classroom teacher has a plan for continued in-class support.
 Interventions are in place to support the child during the transition and beyond.
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
Family and child (where appropriate) are on-board with the decision to discontinue services.
As a public school, Montessori del Mundo will be legally obligated to provide services and education to
any students who are classified as mild/moderate. We believe that the Montessori philosophy and
curricula provides an excellent service to these children due to its differentiated nature and its use of
concrete materials and manipulatives providing a multi-sensory approach to learning. We anticipate
that 10% of our student population will require Special Education services. Students will be recruited
and enrolled in MdM regardless of their Special Education needs. MdM also anticipates the need to
identify the majority of our Special Education students due to the early age that students will enter our
preschool program.
Students who struggle with Reading
Montessori del Mundo anticipates serving a diverse group of students some of whom may struggle with
reading, yet may not qualify for other services or have identifiable disabilities.
MdM will comply with all requirements of the Read Act of 2012. The READ Act will be implemented in
the 2013-2014 school year, replacing CBLA and ILPs. Because this is the first year MdM anticipates
serving students we will not need to meet CBLA requirements as the READ act repeals those
requirements.
In compliance with the READ Act, teachers will notify parents at least 45 days before the end of each
school year that the child is in K-3rd grade, if their child is considered to have a significant Reading
deficiency. Teachers in collaborate with the student’s
parents, will then write a READ plan for each students with
Montessori del Mundo will
a reading deficiency, that will: identify the deficiency, set
comply with all assessment,
student goals, identify future interventions, set evaluation
reporting, interventions, and
and monitoring methods, give parents strategies to use at
progress monitoring required by
home, and set forward any other additional services or
the READ act.
strategies the teacher deems necessary. Read plans will be
evaluated and updated at least once per year.
The Read Act of 2012 will provide for funding of Research Based Interventions and Intervention teachers
to assist students with a deficiency in reading. MdM will constantly monitor the reading progress and
skills for each student in the school through teacher observations, anecdotal records, and Montessori
Record keeping. In order to comply with the Read Act, we will also conduct progress monitoring using an
approved normed assessment such as the DRA/EDL and will formally submit reading assessment scores
for students in K-3 grades.
Gifted Education Plan
Not all gifted students have the same strengths or present in the same ways. In fact, 5 of the 6 gifted
personalities are not necessarily what we would call “successful” students. In order to ensure that all
students at MdM are given access to an equitable screening process for gifted services, beginning in
Kindergarten, all students will be evaluated on these 4 criteria every year: teacher checklist, parent
check list, exceptional products, and reading level. Also, because of the under-representation of
minority students in Gifted Education, we would like to administer the CoGAT 7 online in 1st grade and a
creativity test in 2nd grade to all students.
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Any student entering the school after 1st or 2nd grade will take these tests upon entry. Any measure we
use must be able to be equivalently administered to both English and Spanish speakers. Parents may
request additional IQ testing for their children, but they may be asked to contribute to the cost incurred
depending on their free and reduced lunch status (children who are full pay may be asked to contribute,
but the school will cover the cost for free lunch students). Also, they must understand that additional IQ
testing will not be used for the purpose of our school in determining whether or not a student qualifies
for gifted services.
In order to qualify for gifted services, a child must have at least 3 formal indicators or 1 informal
indicator and 2 formal indicators which support that the student is gifted.
Formal Indicators:
 Gifted on Creativity Test
 2 years above reading level as shown by DRA/EDL
 Score as Gifted or above on any of the 3 CoGAT evaluation areas (Verbal, Non-Verbal,
Quantitative)
Informal Indicators:
 Parent Check List
 Teacher Check List
 Exceptional Product
As our Education Plan states, Montessori education is intrinsically differentiated to meet the needs of
each individual student at their readiness and ability levels. This supports that our GT services will be
provided in classroom through high level interventions, curriculum extensions, enrichments, and
compactions, project based learning, inquiry based learning, and the use of ILPs. Our Gifted Education
services will include a .2 (1 day a week) certified GT teacher starting in year 6 who will come into the
school to: advise teachers and help create curriculum enrichments, extensions, and compactions;
administer and score assessments required for the GT program; evaluate exceptional products; work
with highly, exceptionally, and profoundly gifted students one-on-one; and write and administer
Advanced Learning Plans (ALP).
Due to the differentiated nature of instruction in the Montessori classroom many of the
accommodations that a GT teacher might make for students are already built into the Montessori
curriculum. A Gifted student in a Montessori classroom has their own individual work plan for the day,
week or month. The teacher can easily practice curricular compacting, moving the student more rapidly
through the curriculum than the typical student. Students are also encouraged to engage in deep
exploration of topics of interest through research, scientific experimentation, etc. Because every child in
the Montessori classroom is working on their own individual educational goals it is natural for gifted
students to create more elaborate work products, explore topics more in depth, modify assignments or
projects to meet their needs etc. The beauty of the Montessori classroom is its ability to simultaneously
meet the needs of at-risk students and gifted students in an environment that is positive and nurturing
for all.
Janis is a 2nd grade student who is Gifted in Mathematics. Ms. Yardeni has been Janis’ teacher for 1 year
already and knows Janis has already completed all of the 2nd grade level mathematics works in the
Montessori curriculum and has met all of the district standards for 2nd grade mathematics. Ms. Yardeni
also knows that she has materials in the classroom for all of the 3rd grade curriculum and standards, as
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well as materials and works that reach beyond the 3rd grade scope and sequence. While the majority of
other 2nd grade students are working to master 4 digit dynamic subtraction (each working at his or her
own pace and on a variety of works), Ms. Yardeni has begun to introduce Janis to multiplication on a
variety of materials such as the checkerboard and the bead frame. Janis can move from work to work on
a schedule she has set for herself with the aid of her teacher. Ms. Yardeni has also asked her most
advanced 3rd grade mathematics student to mentor Janis. Ms. Yardeni works with Janis to help her come
up with projects involving mathematics that interest her and will push her to apply her skills to real life
problems. For example, she has allowed Janis to collect information on the cost of certain items she
would like to buy. She then helps Janis figure out how to use multiplication to figure out how much it
would cost to buy, for example, four stuffed animals instead of one. Janis gets to present her projects as
she completes them to an interested group of students from both her classroom and other classrooms.
At-Risk Students
Montessori del Mundo anticipates serving a variety of “at-risk” students, including students who require
special education services, students with speech/language delays, students who come from poverty,
students who are children of immigrants, students of color, second language speakers, children of teenmothers, and students whose parents have limited formal education.
We believe that the Montessori and Dual Language philosophies and curricula serve all at-risk students
well. The differentiated nature and focus on developmental needs and mastery of core content area of
the Montessori classroom make it an exceptional learning environment for a wide variety of at-risk
students. The focus on bilingualism and language development serves second language learners
exceptionally well by building on the skills and knowledge they already have in their native language.
Children who speak a language other than English or Spanish benefit from the emphasis on sheltered
instruction and oral language development. All students are stimulated cognitively by the demands of
learning in a second (or third) language.
Montessori del Mundo is committed to serving all students in our community, to rigorous, differentiated
instruction designed and implemented thoughtfully with the standards in mind, and to careful progress
monitoring and intervention services designed to ensure all students’ success.
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Serving Second Language Learners
Montessori Del Mundo will be running a 90/10 Dual Language Program. This means that all of our
students will be Second Language Learners (L2) for at least a portion of their day and will be bilingual
and bi-literate by the time they leave our school at the end of the 6th grade. This also means that all of
our students will need the same supports in place that English Language Learners (ELL) need in
traditional models. Below you will read more about how we will meet the needs of all language learners
in our school.
Montessori del Mundo is considering two potential neighborhoods in Aurora for the location of our
facility. Hispanics make up 40-60% of each of these areas and the Hispanic population is still increasing
in each area. There are also many ELL students who do not come from a Spanish background living in
these areas. All of these students have the potential to do well in the MdM program, where our
instruction will always be targeted to meet the needs of L2 students. In fact, we will intentionally market
our school to recruit a diverse pool of applicants with at least 50-60% of our students coming from nonEnglish speaking homes. We aim to ultimately have a student body in which more than half of all
students come from non-English speaking homes.
Identification
It is very important that we identify a student’s home language, and their level of proficiency in their
home language, as early in our relationship with the student as possible in order to fully implement the
dual language program and serve each child successfully. To this end, we propose a developmental
screening for each student upon enrollment at MdM. The screening will be given in the home language
if that language is English or Spanish. For students who speak a language that is neither English nor
Spanish, the school will conduct a survey with the child’s parents to gain as much information as
possible about the child’s language development. This will help identify students who may need
language interventions to enable them to succeed in both their first and second languages.
We will also use the SOPA / ELOPS Oral Language Assessment in each student’s home to determine their
level of proficiency in Spanish for native English speakers, English for native Spanish speakers, and both
for students coming from a home that speaks neither Spanish nor English. By assessing all students in
Spanish and English, we can accurately gauge the student’s level of proficiency in both languages and
target our instruction appropriately.
Upon entry to the school, each family will receive a home language survey to complete for their
student(s). We believe the results of these surveys, while not formal or objective, should support the
results of our more formal assessments and give us information about the language of the student from
those who have had the most experience with the student: their parents.
Any Home Language Survey that indicates a language other than English is spoken in the home will
trigger a CELA placement test which will be administered to the student to measure their level of English
proficiency.
Teachers will continually collect a Body of Evidence (BOE) on each student. One component of the BOE
will include anecdotal notes concerning the student’s linguistic development in their first and second
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language. This information will be used to inform daily instruction in the classroom, and may be used to
support additional language services for the student.
Finally, we will administer the CELA exam annually for each English Language Learner. We will use the
data from this annual, standardized assessment to support our identification process, to determine the
success of our program in supporting the growth of truly bilingual students, and to exit students who
originally had limited proficiency in English from their designation as limited English proficient students.
We will avoid misidentification of language delays, special needs students and students with limited
language proficiency in three primary ways. First, we will be providing language support to all of the
students in our school in their second language, so no child or group of children will be singled out for
language support to the detriment of other content areas. Secondly, native Spanish Speakers will
receive instruction in both Spanish and English. Finally, our multiple, overlapping assessments will
prevent us from designating any student as an English Language Learner if their English skill level is high,
or diagnosing a special need in place of a need for language support.
Progress Monitoring
We will use both formal and informal processes to continually monitor the success of our ELL students.
Our formal progress monitoring will involve biannual language assessments and second language
reading assessments for students beginning in the 2nd semester of Kindergarten: In the fall, we will use
the SOPA and ELOPA to monitor all of our students’ growth in their second language. Mid-year, ELL
students will take the CELA, which tests students’ English capabilities across 6 areas of language
development.
Informal progress monitoring will consist of second language assessments built by the school or teacher,
along with anecdotal evidence from the classroom. Because Montessori instruction is completely
individualized, teachers are able to have more one-on-one interactional time with students and thus
benefit from this chance to observe their students’ language abilities firsthand. Teachers’ informal notes
contain invaluable information about the progress of each individual student towards proficiency in that
student’s L2. These notes will become part of the student’s body of evidence.
Highly Qualified Staff
All of our instructional staff will be working with L2 students; thus, it is incredibly important that all of
our instructional staff be highly qualified to serve the particular needs of these students. Hiring
preference will be given to teachers who are ESL endorsed, have gone through a district certification
program to become certified as second language teachers (such as LDE certification through Aurora
Public Schools or ELA-E or ELA-S in Denver Public Schools), or have experience using TRPS, SIOP, Literacy
Squared, or Dual Language Strategies172. We will also provide ongoing Professional Development (PD) to
staff members to ensure that we are continually honing skills for working with Second Language
Learners.
Professional Development
In order to ensure that all of our instructional staff members are highly qualified to meet the needs of
our specific student population, we will send teachers to the Literacy Squared summer institute on their
first available summer after they are hired at Montessori Del Mundo. This will be either the summer
they are hired, or the summer after they have completed Montessori training if the two are in conflict
172
For further explanation of these strategies please see the Instruction section.
208
with each other. We would also like to assist all of our teachers in becoming ELA certified. That is the
current district mandate, and we agree that such training is valuable. MdM will pay, or assist in paying
for, the appropriate ELA certification classes as funds become available.
In addition to out-of-building PD, we will also ask teachers who are experts on different L2 strategies to
present to the staff periodically throughout the year. At Montessori del Mundo, we recognize the
wealth of information that each teacher brings to the school. We want to honor our teachers and their
expertise by involving them in their own professional development as we grow a community of
dedicated and skilled dual language Montessori teachers.
Instructional Programs and Practices for ELL students
Montessori del Mundo intends to establish a program in which all students excel regardless of their
home language. This is why we have chosen to implement a 90/10 Two-Way Immersion Dual Language
Montessori program. We will use research-supported best-practices for oral language development,
literacy, and content instruction, as well as cultural and character education lessons in both Spanish and
English for every student.
Two-way immersion programs, particularly the 90/10 dual language model proposed by MdM, close the
achievement gap between Spanish speakers and English speakers to a degree that no other program has
ever been shown to do173. In fact, two-way programs are the only ones that have demonstrated the
ability to close the gap completely. Successful two-way dual language programs erase the gap in
achievement attributed to language by the fifth grade– six years into the average monolingual program.
Meanwhile, pull-out ESL and transitional bilingual programs have not shown any promise in closing the
achievement gap. Indeed, every other model serving ELL students leaves those students below average
on standardized tests and far behind their English-speaking peers. ELL students in these programs also
have the highest drop-out rates of any group in the country. 174
173
Linguistics.Report 63.August 2003.
174
Collier & Thomas, 2009.;Howard, Sugarman, & Christian, 2003; Christian, Genesee, Lindholm-Leary, & Howard, 2004.
209
175
Reyes & Vallone recognized the abundance of data highlighting the academic success of dual language
programs for ELL students in their 2007 article, “Toward an Expanded Understanding of Two-Way
Bilingual Immersion Education: Constructing Identity through a Critical, Additive Bilingual / Bicultural
Pedagogy.” In the following excerpt, they note the multitude of studies showing positive academic
results in a report by the Center of Applied Linguistics.
This report [by the Center of Applied Linguistics] notes three longitudinal studies (Lindolm-Leary,
2001; Thomas & Collier, 1997, 2002) and a host of smaller scale studies (Ajuria, 1994; Castillo,
2001; Coy &Litherland, 2000; Stipek, Ryan, & Alarcon, 2001; Sera, 2000; Lindholm&Aclan, 1991;
Lucido&McEachern, 2000; Cazabon, Lambert & Hall, 1993; Gilbert, 2001; Alanis, 2000; Kortz,
2002; Kirk &Senesac, 2002; Clayton, 1993; Cazabon,Nicoladis, & Lambert, 1998) that have
attempted to document the academic outcomes of students in two-way programs. The report
concludes that “On aggregate, the research summarized indicates that both native Spanish
speakers and Native English speakers in TWI programs perform as well or better than their peers
educated in other types of programs, both on English standardized achievement tests and
Spanish standardized achievement tests” (p.25). More recently, a review of research on
academic achievement in English (reading and writing) and math, (Lindholm-Leary, 2005) notes
that students in two-way programs consistently demonstrate high levels of achievement, often
times surpassing their peers in monolingual programs.176
175
Reyes, S., &Vallone, T. (2007). Toward an Expanded Understanding of Two-Way Bilingual Immersion Education: Constructing
Identity through a Critical, Additive Bilingual/Bicultural Pedagogy. Multicultural Perspectives, 9(3), 3-11.
176
210
Thomas & Collier in particular are well known for their national meta-analysis of academic bilingual
programs, including dual language programs, which have examined thousands of students over the last
few decades. Their aggregate data underscores the unequivocal academic success of well-run dual
language programs. Figures 1 – 6 represent their findings, published in 2009, highlighting the long-range
benefits for students in 90/10 dual language programs. It is important to note that a large sector of the
students involved in one of Thomas & Collier’s studies were at-risk inner-city African American students
with limited skills in standard English, and no skills in Spanish, upon enrollment. These students
experienced the full benefits of the 90/10 program, making gains that closed poverty and race
achievement gaps alongside the ELL students accomplishing the same.177
178
177
Collier, V.P., & Thomas, W.P. (2009).Educating English learners for a transformed world.Albuquerque, NM.:Fuente Press.
Collier, V.P., & Thomas, W.P. (2009).Educating English learners for a transformed world.Albuquerque, NM.:Fuente Press.
178
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212
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180
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For more graphs and data about the effectiveness of DL education see:
http://www.dlenm.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=83)
For all of these academic reasons, and many equally important social reasons, MdM will be using the
90/10 Two-Way Immersion Dual Language Model to give our students the opportunity to become
bilingual, bi-literate, and bi-cultural.
This means that students will start their experience in preschool with 90% of their time in mixedlanguage groupings in a Spanish environment. They will hear stories in Spanish, complete Montessori
works in Spanish, and listen to directions in Spanish. Our youngest students will spend a significant
amount of classroom time developing complex vocabulary and oral language skills in both languages
215
while also developing concentration, fine and gross motor coordination, order, and independence
through the Montessori Early Childhood curriculum. As the students progress through their elementary
years, the amount of time allocated to Spanish language development will decrease as the amount of
time devoted to English increases. By the 4th grade, all students will be learning and working with time
divided evenly between English and Spanish.
There are many strategies and practices that have been shown to be effective for English Language
Learners. Teachers at MDM will have the ability to adjust their teaching to meet each student’s
individual academic and social needs while pulling from a rich variety of research-based educational
strategies and practices including, but not limited to, the following. For in-depth descriptions of each
strategy, please see the instructional section of this document.
Strategy
Teaching
Proficiency
through
Reading and
Storytelling
(TPRS)
Total Physical
Response
Dialogic StoryTelling/Reading
Why is it good for Second language Learners?
TPRS provides authentic opportunities to communicate through the target language,
comprehensible input, and a scaffold with which to approach second language
output.182 It relies on a child’s natural need to communicate and desire to participate in
story-telling and play-acting to build on skills for students in the pre-productive stage of
language acquisition through the intermediate fluency stage of language
development.183 The use of controlled and targeted vocabulary in the stories also helps
to reduce cognitive and language loads for the second language learners.184 The TPRS
stories also build on the students’ existing knowledge to engage the learners and lower
the cognitive load further, leading to more successful language acquisition.185186
TPR purposefully encourages connections to existing knowledge and connections
between the child’s first and second languages to encourage long-term memory
development and language acquisition.187 Since TPR is an active learning method, it
caters to kinesthetic learners and is highly effective for students at all levels of language
development from pre-productive to advanced fluent, and even native speakers, as it
engages the body and brain in new ways that help build connections for long term
memory by leveraging motor memory. 188189
This strategy involves visual cues, connections to existing knowledge and experiences,
and the conscious use of language objectives, all of which have been shown to be
effective tools for Second Language Learners.190
182
Echevarria, J., Vogt, M., Short, D. (2008).Making content comprehensible for English learners: The SIOP model. Boston, MA:
183
184
185
186
UCLA Language Materials Project at:http://lmp.ucla.edu/k-12/tools_tprs.aspx.
187
188
Krashen, S. (1998). TPR: Still a very good idea. NovELTy vol. 5 issue 4. Retrieved from:
http://www.languageimpact.com/articles/other/krashentpr.htm.
189
TPR http://www2.vobs.at/ludescher/total_physical_response.htm.
190
Institute on Education Sciences: What Works Clearing House
http://ies.ed.gov/ncee/wwc/interventionreport.aspx?sid=135.
216
Sheltered
Instruction
Strategies
Isolation of
difficulty
Scaffolding
Individual
Montessori
Work Plans
Sheltered instruction lowers the cognitive load and the language load while also
lowering affective filtering and stress reactions to help Second Language Learners
access subject area content through controlled vocabulary and explicit instruction.191 It
involves the use of multiple scaffolding strategies to help students build on existing
knowledge and skills in manageable increments in order to attain grade-level or higher
knowledge of content in the child’s second language, and is this particularly useful for
Second Language Learners.192193
“Isolation of difficulty” is the term used in Montessori for pinpointing the desired
learning objective and teaching directly to it as opposed to teaching to an array of
possible learning outcomes.194 This lowers the cognitive load and the language load for
the student, as well as focusing on a specific language objective and using controlled
vocabulary. All of these strategies have been show to boost Second Language Learner
success.195196
Scaffolding strategies reduce large goals or complex skills into to smaller, manageable
steps.197 This helps to engage students because they get to experience more immediate
success with each small step rather than waiting for the larger success of a more
complicated skill or goal, especially students for whom every step is not only a step
towards a new idea or skill, but also a step towards fluency in a new language.198
Scaffolding also builds on previous knowledge and experiences to create the new
knowledge and skills necessary for success.199 Working in small, specific, controlled
increments towards a large goal lowers the cognitive and language load on the student
and lowers affective filters and frustration levels in a low-risk environment. All of these
characteristics make scaffolded instruction highly successful for Second language
Learners.
Individual Work Plans are used in Montessori classrooms to differentiate the sequence
of work for each individual student and make sure they are working in the zone of
proximal development as often as possible.200 This can help Second Language Learners
focus on specific content and language objectives built into their individual learning
plans.201 It also helps to lower the cognitive load and the language load because
191
Brown University Education Alliance retrieved at http://www.alliance.brown.edu/tdl/tl-strategies/mc-principles.shtml.
193
194
Montessori in the Redlands, Montessori glossary (http://www.montessoriinredlands.org/glossary/index.shtml).
195
Miller, P.C., Endo, H. (2004). Understanding and meeting the needs of ELL students” Phi delta kappan, June 2004, 786-791
196
197
From: Larkin, M. (2002). “Using Scaffolded Instruction
to Optimize Learning”. Retrieved from ERIC Clearinghouse on Disabilities and Gifted Education Arlington VA. At:
http://www.vtaide.com/png/ERIC/Scaffolding.http.
198
199
200
For an example of a work plan for a second grader, follow these links:
http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=16&ved=0CFoQFjAFOAo&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mn
ps.org%2FAsset39141.aspx%3Fmethod%3D1&ei=15PxT5faNpOo8gTxltWQAg&usg=AFQjCNHz0LZyMrNA62bGDEftfzMleO3E_g&
sig2=rUUvFg2vU7zfg7Mb6IMYTQ
http://www.montessoriforeveryone.com/Elementary-Workplans-Teacher-Tools_ep_62-1.html.
201
192
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Experiential
Learning
Cooperative
Learning
Literacy
Squared
Montessori
Three Period
Lessons
students have a clear plan of what they have to work on during the extended work
period and do not need to make additional decisions about daily activities.202 The clear
limits and structure outlined by the plan also lowers the students’ affective filters and
helps them to feel more confident and able to take the risks needed to synthesize new
knowledge.203 All of these characteristics make the Montessori Work Plans particularly
useful for students working to attain fluency in a second language.
Experiential learning builds off existing experiences while also helping the students to
create new experiences from which to build.204 These actual experiences encourage the
need to communicate and in so doing build authentic opportunities for second
language learners to use the target language, creating an essential pathway to gaining
fluency in that language. Experiential learning is student-centered and helps to build
purposeful connections between the students’ first language and second language
using the students’ individual experiences as bridges between their two languages.205206
Cooperative learning again provides an opportunity for authentic communication in the
target language. In so doing it offers additional oral language development
opportunities to second language learners, as well as access to peers who can serve as
coping models for language use. Thus it also lowers the sense of risk for the student
who is attempting to communicate in his second language.207 Cooperative groupings,
when assigned by the teacher, also help to foster cross-cultural community outside of
the classroom, encouraging further communication in each student’s second language
outside of the school day. These additional opportunities for students to practice
speaking, reading, writing, and listening in their second language will help them to gain
fluency and vocabulary.208209
Literacy squared is a bi-literacy model involving direct explicit instruction in second
language literacy development with specific attention to cross-language connections,
vocabulary, and language growth. It was built around the specific needs of second
language learners and has been shown to be very successful in bilingual and dual
language classrooms.210
A three-period lesson is a way of teaching vocabulary or concrete content subject
matter to children using three stages that gradually increase in difficulty. It uses visual
cues and/or physical objects as well as movement and explicit vocabulary and content
objectives, and in so doing lowers the cognitive load and the language load for
learners.211 Three-period lessons are typically taught one-on-one or in a small group of
two or three students for maximum student talk time and instant teacher feedback and
202
204
205
206
UC Davis Experiential Learning Page: http://www.experientiallearning.ucdavis.edu/why-el.shtml.
207
208
209
Kennesaw State University’s Education Department at:http://edtech.kennesaw.edu/intech/cooperativelearning.htm.
Specific cooperative learning strategies such as the jigsaw, and think-pair-share can be found here:
http://edtech.kennesaw.edu/intech/cooperativelearning.htm#activities.
210
Literacy squared Website, the Bueno Center: http://literacysquared.org/home.htm.
211
203
218
Demonstrations
/Realia/Visual
Aids
Active, ChildCentered,
Hands-On
Learning
Brain Mapping
Thematic
Instruction
Personalized
differentiation
/Individual
lessons
encouragement. All of these characteristics make the three-period lesson an excellent
tool for second language learners.212213
The use of demonstrations is advised by many sources on ELL and ELA education. Many
Montessori lessons, including the three-period lesson, are based on demonstrations by
the teacher using realia and visual aids. Such methods help reinforce concepts and
vocabulary while allowing students to progress in content areas as well as language
mastery even while in the pre-productive stage of language acquisition.214
Piaget's research indicates that children learn best through physical experiences. He
considered involvement through the physical manipulation of objects to be the key for
intellectual development. At MdM, as in all Montessori classrooms, we agree with his
assessment of the importance of hands-on activities. Activity-centered classrooms
encourage student creativity in problem solving, promote student independence, and
help all students succeed, especially ELL students who may be in the early stages of
language development. This indicates that the active demonstration of a concept makes
that concept more accessible than a verbal explanation or discussion alone could.215216
Graphic organizers and word webs that show the relationships between concepts and
vocabulary strengthen existing language connections and build new ones. Teachers can
capitalize on these tools to form connections between cognates and related vocabulary
in Spanish and English for content instruction as well as language instruction. These
types of explicit connections have been shown to increase Second language Learner
performance.217218
Integrating content and language goals through rich, authentic, thematic study
effectively engages students while also providing a reason and motivation to master
vocabulary and an authentic venue for practicing new vocabulary and communicating
about common experiences. Thematic instruction can benefit second language learners
in particular by giving a background context to new vocabulary and concepts in order to
more explicitly draw connections between the two languages and render the academic
input comprehensible.219220
Montessori work time is built around the creation of individual trajectories of growth
for each individual student. Most lessons are taught one-on-one or in small groups.
Lessons are structured for mastery so that each student has the chance for success at
their own pace. There is never a student who is too low, or too advanced, for the
Montessori curriculum because its basic format is designed to meet every student on an
individual level in every subject. It is truly built to challenge every student every day.
212
213
Example Three Period Lesson taken from Montessori for Everyone at:
http://www.blog.montessoriforeveryone.com/montessori-basics-1-the-3-period-lesson.html.
214
215
Echevarria, J., Vogt, M., Short, D. (2008).Making content comprehensible for English learners: The SIOP model.Boston, MA
216
Woolfolk, Anita. (2004). Educational Psychology. (9th ed). Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
217
218
Mind mapping with second language learners, see: http://www.eslbase.com/articles/mind-maps.
219
220
Benefits of thematic instruction:http://www.netc.org/focus/strategies/them.php.
219
Explicit use of
content and
language
objectives
Dictation/
Dictados
Cloze
Activities/Note
blanks
Music/Songs
This is very good for students who are in the process of learning a second language as
their lesson can be individualized to fit into their zone of proximal development, both
with regards to language comprehension and production as well as with regard to
content.221222223224
Teachers will plan lessons and themes around specific content and language objectives.
This means that in addition to a content objective (content information the teacher
aims for the child to learn), they will also have a language objective (language
structures, vocabulary, and uses they want the child to learn). This is simply a best
practice where second language learners are concerned, as it lightens the language load
and the cognitive load and more specifically communicates learning goals to students so
that they feel safe and informed and do not raise their affective filters and complicate
their path towards success.225226
Dictation is used heavily in the Literacy Squared method and has proven to be very
helpful for providing a means to create targeted instruction for second language
learners. The teacher reads a passage for the student or students to write down. The
teacher then uses the errors in the student writing to structure future mini-lessons in
vocabulary and grammar.227
These activities can be conducted on paper or orally. They involve the use of a sentence
or turn of phrase from which words have been removed. The student’s task is to use
comprehension strategies in their listening or reading skills to fill in the blanks and
respond appropriately. These types of activities help second language learners develop
vocabulary and comprehension skills, and also build up the students’ ability to use
context clues in listening and reading situations in order to help themselves develop
new vocabulary independently.228229
The use of music and songs in early childhood and elementary classrooms can be
miraculous. Many students learn new vocabulary and concepts quite easily when they
are put to song, especially in a second language. At MdM songs will often be used to
link English and Spanish through thematic content and to reinforce literacy skills in both
languages. The beat and melody can reinforce memory and help new vocabulary and
concepts stick for Second language Learners.230231 Songs can help lower affective
barriers and build automaticity for increased fluency and engagement.232
221
Stanford, Ed. (2012). “Meeting the needs of each student.” Maria Montessori.com Retrieved from:
http://mariamontessori.com/mm/?p=1310.
222
223
http://www.simplypsychology.org/Zone-of-Proximal-Development.html
224
225
227
Literacy Squared Website, the Bueno Center:http://literacysquared.org/home.htm.
228
Cloze/ ESL:http://seattlecentral.edu/faculty/baron/Winter_courses/ITP163/cloze_skills.htm.
229
230
Canadian Association of English Language Teachers: http://caslt.org/resources/english-sl/classroom-resource-linksmusic_en.php
231
232
Schoepp, K. (2001). Reasons for Using Songs in the ESL/EFL Classroom.The Internet TESL Journal, Vol. VII, No. 2, February
2001. Retrieved from:http://iteslj.org/Articles/Schoepp-Songs.html.
226
220
Dispute Resolution
Except as otherwise provided in C.R.S. 22-30.5-108, Appeal Standard of Review Procedures, any disputes
that arise between Montessori del Mundo (MdM) and Charter School Institute (CSI) concerning
governing policy provisions of MdM’s charter contract shall be resolved pursuant to C.R.S. 22-30-107,
Dispute Resolution Governing Policy Provisions Appeal.
These two sections of Colorado law outline in detail how disputes between MdM and CSI, concerning
governing policy provisions of the charter contract shall be remedied. The plan for dispute resolution
includes the following:

MdM or CSI may initiate a resolution by providing reasonable written notice to the other party
of intent to invoke a dispute resolution. Such notice shall include:
o A brief description of the dispute matter; and
o The scope of disagreement between MdM and CSI;

Within thirty (30) days of receipt of written notice, both MdM and CSI shall either reach an
agreement by mutual consent, or mutually agree to use any form of alternative dispute
resolution as allowed by Colorado state law;

Alternative dispute resolution shall result in final written findings by a neutral third party within
one hundred twenty (120) days from the receipt of written notice;

The neutral third party shall appropriate costs reasonably related to the mutually agreed upon
dispute resolution process;

MdM and CSI may mutually agree to be bound by the findings of the neutral third party or may
appeal such finding to the Colorado State Board within thirty (30) days after release of such
findings; and

Any decision issued by the state board, pursuant to state law, shall be final and is not subject to
appeal.
221
School Management Organizations
Montessori del Mundo does not plan to contract with any School Management Organizations or Charter
Management Organizations.
222
Application Components Checklist
223

Montessori del Mundo - Colorado Charter School Institute

Transcription

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