What did Maria Montessori have to say about teens? The vast majority of Montessori schools serve younger kids. Another component of Montessori is the “exemplar” or “control of error.” In high school, that looks like folders throughout the room with answer keys, or an exemplar piece of writing, so kids can guide their own instruction. Every room has a rug in the middle, and maybe bean bag chairs or mats to allow for flexible seating and different forms of grouping. Kids sit down at group tables, which encourages collaboration. Teachers strive to have attractive lighting-something to soften the feel of the classroom. Students work in uninterrupted, independent blocks, allowing them to engage with their work, collaborate with others, or participate in small group lessons and one-on-one instruction.Ī “prepared environment” is a core component of Montessori. The teacher sets the objective and supplies materials throughout the room, but each student has a unique work plan that requires them to plan and prioritize how they’ll meet the objective. On a day-to-day level, the classroom is prepared for the student to come in and engage right away. In math, they’re looking at how statistics can be manipulated to create a sense of dystopia or utopia. In English, they’re reading dystopian novels and comparing that to the utopia they’re trying to create. The current theme for freshmen and sophomores is “dystopia/utopia.” In biology, they’re studying evolution and different environmental pressures. We really focus on cross-curricular connections through our “cycle of study” themes. In a Montessori high school, what sets the academics apart from a traditional high school? One Day spoke with her about what it looks like when a teaching philosophy often associated with preschoolers is adapted to teens. The school serves 110 students within Camelback High’s 2,300-student body-“a small school feel with big school opportunities,” says Phoenix '08 alumna Danchi Nguyen (above), a founding teacher and now its leader. Students study core subjects, but in a setting that encourages creativity, collaboration, and self-pacing, Nguyen says. It opened in 2012 as a small “school within a school” at Camelback High, then amid a turnaround under the leadership of Chad Gestson, a Phoenix ’01 alumnus who is now the superintendent of Phoenix Union High School District.
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