As the 2024-2025 school year begins, Noozhawk’s Private & Independent School Guide is here to simplify the process of planning your child’s education. Our comprehensive guide offers all the essential information you need about school options in Santa Barbara County.
To help parents make informed choices about the best school for their children, Noozhawk has conducted exclusive interviews with representatives from local private and independent schools, ensuring this year’s guide is packed with valuable insights and up-to-date details.
In this interview, Noozhawk spoke with Megan Stevens, Director of Communications at Montessori Center School to learn more about what their school has to offer.
Montessori Center School
Question: What is the educational philosophy of your school?
Answer: The rigorous Montessori educational program at MCS inspires curiosity and a love for learning through hands-on exploration and discovery. Children are empowered to dive deep into subjects at their own pace, mastering core academic skills while developing critical thinking and problem-solving abilities. With personalized guidance from skillfully trained teachers, students build confidence and independence as they tackle new challenges with joy and excitement. It’s a comprehensive educational journey that nurtures not only academic excellence, but creativity, resilience and compassion!
Q: Can you describe the unique aspects of your curriculum?
A: Unlike traditional models, we do not silo the curriculum by content area. Our curriculum is at its core interdisciplinary. Backed by research, interdisciplinary teaching and learning is effective because it connects concepts across subjects, fostering deeper conceptual understanding, curiosity and critical thinking.
Q: What is the average class size, and how does it impact the learning experience?
A: Our classrooms are guided by two teachers – a head teacher and an assistant teacher. Grounded in research that reveals the benefits to children of learning with the same teacher for two or more years, each classroom at MCS spans a multi-year learning continuum. The child stays with the same teacher for two to four years, which allows the teacher to build an enduring relationship with the child and their family – one wherein the teacher gets to know the child’s unique strengths and interests.
The multi-age classroom in a Montessori school creates a rich learning environment where children of different ages learn from and support one another. Older students become mentors, reinforcing their knowledge while guiding younger peers, who also benefit from this collaborative experience. This structure fosters community, independence, and empathy among students.
Q: What are the qualifications and experience levels of your teaching staff?
A: Each classroom at MCS is led by a credentialed expert Montessori teacher and is supported by a full-time assistant teacher. Our teachers train at the top accredited teacher certification centers nationally. Our head teachers bring an average of 16 years of teaching experience and expertise in child development and the Montessori curriculum. Our upper elementary teachers additionally hold traditional teaching credentials and masters degrees and are well versed in California’s common core standards. Dual credentialing allows them to scaffold toward the typical learning formats our students will experience at the middle school level.
Q: What is your admissions process, and what qualities do you look for in prospective students?
A: We still have a few openings for the current school year, and we invite interested families to schedule a tour with our Director of Admissions, Tyler Clark, HERE.
Our priority deadline for the 2025-26 school year is January 15, 2025. After visiting campus, families complete an online admissions application. When reviewing applications, we are looking for a commitment to Montessori, as research has shown that the longer a child stays in a high-fidelity Montessori program like ours, the greater the short and long-term benefits to their wellbeing. We hope families choose MCS for the complete learning continuum in its entirety through the upper elementary years where the transformational impact of Montessori learning becomes especially clear.
Q: Can you explain the tuition and fees structure? Are there any scholarships or financial aid options available?
A: Tuition contracts are offered on an annual basis. We also offer early care before the school day begins, after care, winter and spring break care, and summer camps for additional fees. The school also funds a need-based tuition assistance program, and we encourage families to apply for tuition assistance if the full cost of attendance is out of reach financially. Qualifying families reapply for tuition assistance grants annually.
Q: How does your school support students with special learning needs or exceptional talents?
A: The Montessori method uses a flexible, open-ended, and child-centered curriculum which is well-suited for children across a broad spectrum of learning styles, strengths and needs. We offer additional services designed to ensure that every child receives the personalized support they need to thrive – including auxiliary support and interventions when appropriate. Students access a range of tailored interventions and resources within our inclusive Montessori environment, focusing on each child’s unique strengths and challenges. Services on campus include weekly sessions with our on-campus learning specialist and speech and occupational therapy. Our dedicated team works closely with families and students to create unique individualized plans that promote their development and to nurture confidence and a love of learning.
Q: What extracurricular activities, sports, and clubs are available to students?
A: Every child in the school takes art, music, library, and physical education classes weekly. Our families also select from Spanish and Mandarin Chinese classes for their children. Elementary students also take drama and prepare for musical theater productions. And they participate in our STEM lab program, exploring the worlds of engineering, physics, chemistry, and coding. All of this takes place during the school day and augments the Montessori curriculum.
After school, we participate in the Santa Barbara independent schools intramural athletics league in soccer, basketball, flag football and volleyball at the elementary level. Students can also enroll in extracurricular classes on campus after school in cooking, fiber arts, still life drawing, Lego robotics, chess club, hip-hop, Chinese culture club, and musical theater.
Q: How does your school incorporate technology into the learning environment?
A: Montessori places strong emphasis on the research-based approach of establishing and capitalizing on the hand-brain connection in learning and memory formation. We are also purposeful about not rushing childhood. Our classrooms are screenless through third grade, and students learn from hands-on experiences and our rich panoply of Montessori materials.
In upper elementary, our students are gradually introduced to safe and purposeful use of technology. Each year, our 4th, 5th and 6th grade students complete the YLP (year-long project), where they pick a topic to thoroughly research. Through the research process, they learn how to use a variety of technology tools and platforms and present their ideas in writing and through formal presentation. They also explore the world of technology, coding, and engineering in our STEM lab specialist class.
Q: What steps does your school take to foster a sense of community among students and families?
A: Our community of students and families is the heart of MCS! Our Montessori Parent Organization (MPO) plans amazing events and opportunities for families to connect and have fun. From classroom potlucks and our lower elementary family beach campouts to our weekday morning parent coffees, to our annual Harvest Picnic and auction benefit gala, there are myriad opportunities for families to get involved and forge lasting friendships.
Community is especially felt within our classroom environments. Thanks to our multi-age classroom model, families spend two to four years with the same teachers, who are experts at fostering a vibrant culture of inclusivity and joy for the children. The children play a significant role in this by running daily class meetings, supporting one another, and practicing leadership and collaboration in their classroom communities.
Q: How does your school ensure the safety and well-being of students on campus?
A: At MCS, our environments are carefully designed with the child at the center – their safety, developmental phase and needs come first. Montessori does so much to develop students’ executive functioning skills and social-emotional capacity. This is evident in the physical nuances of our classrooms and in the purposeful choices our teachers make in their interactions with students each day. Our approach is a big part of why so many families choose MCS.
A study published in 2021 looked at how attending a high-quality Montessori program impacted students’ wellbeing – how people think and feel about their lives. The researchers’ analysis revealed that the more years a child attended Montessori, the higher their wellbeing as an adult.
Q: Is there anything you would like to share that was not mentioned above?
A: This fall marks the launch of our one-of-a-kind Montessori Spanish immersion program. The inaugural classroom is a kindergarten-first grade cohort, and we will add a grade level each year as we expand the program. Children learn in a resource rich Montessori environment and will become bilingual and biliterate by 6th grade! If you would like more information about the program, or about any of our programs, please reach out to our Director of Admissions, Tyler Clark: t.clark@mcssb.org.
To learn more about Montessori Center School click here.