The Montessori Education

What is Montessori Education?

The Montessori philosophy of education focuses on lesson mastery, independence, and building a love of learning.

With mastery as the goal, there is no need to assign grades to a student’s work, because essentially all students would receive an “A.” Homework is also not part of our school culture. We believe that students work hard while at school and should spend their afternoons and evenings engaged in life – playing sports, taking music lessons, cooking with their family, and not doing more school work.

Three times a year parents receive a progress report for their child. These reports include academic achievements, but also highlight a child’s emotional and social development. All three make up the “whole child” and all are key components of the learning experiences.

Conferences are held four times each year: August, October, February, and May. Parents and teachers meet, currently via Zoom, with children elementary aged and up joining as well. In August, we kick off the new school year with goal setting. What social, emotional, and academic gains do parents want to see? Students in elementary school set goals for themselves along with their parents. October and February serve as check-ins and in May we wrap up the year with a look back at all that was accomplished and an assessment of the child’s progress. 

Students in grades 3+ participate in the standardized testing each year. While the test scores have no impact on teacher salaries or a child’s academic standing, we do use them as benchmarks. These tests help us to gauge the child’s progress as well as to identify areas in the classroom where we could better meet our student’s needs.

At The Montessori School of Fort Smith, we believe that each child is an individual and their education should reflect that.

What are the benefits of Montessori education?

• Focus on key developmental stages
• Encourage students to learn natural self-discipline
• Creativity is encouraged
• Hands on learning
• Enhanced social interaction
• Individualization for each student

The Montessori School of Fort Smith does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex (including gender identity, sexual orientation, and pregnancy), national or ethnic origin, age, socioeconomic level, physical ability or genetic information, disability, or learning style/differences or any other class protected by law in its policies, procedures, or practices, including but not limited to the admission of students and hiring of employees.