Montessori schools delivering for parents
As I recall, it was around 2002 or so when John Gardner, a particularly colorful member of the Milwaukee School Board, had one of his outspoken moments at a board meeting.
There were a small number of Montessori schools in the MPS system (three, as of then, I believe). They were popular and had wait lists for enrolling. Overall, MPS leaders were worried about competition from non-MPS schools and about losing enrollment.
Gardner said (well, “bellowed” would be an OK word), why aren’t we giving people what they want? They want Montessori. Give it to them. Gardner was right.
Change doesn’t come easily. I remember going to a community meeting a year or two later at Fernwood School in the southeast corner of the city. Many people who were then Fernwood parents were upset about plans to convert the school to a Montessori program.
Fernwood Montessori became one of the most popular and successful schools in the city, with wait lists so long that they spurred the creation of other Montessori schools.
And Montessori as a whole grew. The approach to education, based on the ideas of an Italian doctor and educator, Maria Montessori, who died in 1952, emphasizes students learning in a largely self-directed but guided way. You won’t see much lecturing by a teacher in a Montessori school. You’ll see a lot of kids working alone or in small groups, and teachers working with them.
You also don’t have a standard system of moving up from grade to grade each year. Students stay together with the same teacher for three years, starting often with 3-to-6-year-old classes and continuing, in some cases, through high school.
“It is truly customized learning,” said Laura Graven, who has two sons at Highland Community School and who has become a leading Montessori supporter in Milwaukee. “There is freedom in the structure and structure in the
freedom.”
Milwaukee stands out on Montessori scene
In general, including some Montessori programs not part of MPS, the rise of Montessori has been one of the positive developments in the last couple of decades of Milwaukee education. The schools are generally good, successful and popular.
There are now seven Montessori schools staffed by MPS teachers, plus Highland, which is a charter school authorized to operate by the School Board. The eight schools enroll about 3,500 students, which is roughly five percent of the MPS total. And there are several other non-MPS Montessori programs in the city and in the suburbs.
Montessori advocates say the MPS schools form the largest group of Montessori public schools in the United States.
But it is not easy to create or sustain a Montessori school with quality. A lot depends on having teachers and principals who are trained in the approach. They are in limited supply, a factor that holds down growing the number of schools.
A fresh piece of good news for Montessori in Milwaukee: A group of parents and educators created a citywide Montessori Advisory Committee last fall. It has drafted a report on what is needed going forward to assure the viability and quality of Montessori offerings.
The draft plan was presented to a School Board committee Thursday night. Rather than big growth, it calls for cultivating what has been achieved, possibly with one more school ahead. It emphasizes the need to develop more Montessori-trained teachers.
Board members and MPS administrators appear to be receptive and supportive. A final plan is expected in several months. It doesn’t appear to carry a large price tag, but some recommendations may show up in the coming MPS budget.
Keeping families in the system
The text of the draft plan emphasizes a message for MPS leaders: People are staying in the system because of Montessori. The more who stay, the better the enrollment overall and the better the MPS financial picture. Give people what they want, in other words.
There are other good developments for Montessori. Alverno College began a partnership this year with the Milwaukee Montessori Institute to develop more teachers trained in the approach.
And Montessori offerings are increasing in areas not served so well in the past, including Lloyd Barbee Montessori School at 4456 N. Teutonia Ave., and a dual language (English and Spanish) Montessori program at Riley School, 2424 S. 4th St. (The dual language element presents particular opportunities, but also challenges for finding qualified teachers).
Is Montessori for everybody? Some say no, it’s not a good fit for some kids. Nationally, there is criticism that it is geared to middle income or upper-income parents.
Montessori leaders disagree. “Montessori is for every child,” Andrea Corona, principal of MacDowell Montessori School, said. MacDowell, located in the former Juneau High School building on the west side, is the only kindergarten through 12th grade Montessori school in the nation. She said, “The beauty of the system is it is so differentiated they can work with every child to meet their needs.”
I’d suggest that if some parents don’t find it right for their kid, that’s OK. Many parents do, with good results. More of them are getting the opportunity to make that choice across the city, and more of them are standing up for Montessori. They’re getting what they want.
And that’s a good answer to John Gardner’s question of years ago.
The rise of Montessori has been one of the positive developments in the last couple of decades of Milwaukee education.