The area’s newest Montessori is just around the corner. Garland ISD strives to provide all students with a well-rounded education that includes school choice. Currently, the district boasts 10 specialized magnets at 16 campuses. Montessori provides families with another option to customize their child’s learning. Additionally, the locations of Herfurth and Luna elementary schools extend GISD’s programs into the Rowlett and Sachse areas.
Montessori will debut in 2016-17 with six primary classes at each campus, consisting of three and four-year-olds, as well as kindergartners. Any interested student can elect to apply. Since three-year-olds are not traditionally serviced by GISD schools, the district will allow employees and community members to enroll their children for $475 a month. At four years old, those who qualify for prekindergarten will be offered a discounted rate, and others can still enroll at $475.
“We are excited to be able to offer these new opportunities—full-day prekindergarten, three-year-old enrollment and an education that traditionally costs more than $1,000 a month,” said Associate Superintendent for Curriculum, Instruction & Assessment Jovan Wells. “We want to ensure all our students succeed academically, and magnet programs like Montessori allow us to accommodate different learning styles.”
Montessori offers individualized, integrated instruction. The classroom environment contains multisensory materials rather than textbooks, and children move around the room at their own pace, studying art, geography, history, language, math, music, science, etc., at the same time. In Montessori, education is an exciting process of discovery, leading to concentration, motivation, self-discipline and a love of learning. It also provides practical life experiences, such as cooking and gardening.
Montessori classes group grade levels together, forming communities in which older children spontaneously share their knowledge with younger peers. In addition to the primary level, lower elementary includes first-third grades and upper elementary fourth-fifth.
Herfurth and Luna will stagger the rollout of classes throughout 2020, adding new levels and grades each year. For more information, visit www.garlandisd.net/montessori. For questions, please email montessori@garlandisd.net or call 972-475-7994 (Herfurth), 972-675-3040 (Luna).
Information provided by Garland ISD.