With the 2023-2024 school year starting, Noozhawk’s Private & Independent School Guide is sure to make things easy when planning for your child’s education! Our school guide provides you and your child with all the necessary information about local private schools in Santa Barbara County.
To give parents the tools to help make informed decisions about which school is the best fit for their kids in Santa Barbara, Noozhawk has conducted a series of interviews with representatives of local private & independent schools for this year’s school guide.
In this interview, Noozhawk spoke with Tyler Clark, Director of Admissions at Montessori Center School to learn more about what their school has to offer.
Montessori Center School
Question: What is the name of your school and what grade levels do you offer?
Answer: Founded in 1965, Montessori Center School is an American Montessori Society-affiliate school. We serves students ages 18 months through 6th grade.
Q: How is your school operated or governed?
A: MCS is a nonprofit independent school governed by a Board of Trustees. The daily program operations of the school are handled by our School Leadership Team under the guidance of our Head of School.
Q: What curriculum is available and taught at your school?
A: MCS offers a whole-child program in our authentic Montessori classroom environments. Montessori is a method of education grounded in the planes of development identified by Dr. Maria Montessori. Each classroom environment is designed to cater to the particular ages of the students it serves, prepared carefully to inspire creativity, independence, curiosity, kindness and a love of learning!
Students are offered choices of activities within the structure of the classroom that feature hands-on learning experiences, collaborative student interaction and guided lessons by Montessori-trained teachers.
Montessori has its own unique curriculum which is broad and expansive, allowing teachers a large range of lessons for all learning levels. The curriculum is individualized for each child. Montessori classrooms incorporate the use of specialized educational materials created or inspired by Maria Montessori.
The materials are organized by their specific curricular areas, including: Language, Mathematics, Practical Life, Sensorial and Cultural (all sciences). MCS aligns the Montessori curriculum with the California Department of Education’s learning standards, and our program is designed to ensure that our students reach middle school well prepared for the academic journey ahead.
The Montessori curriculum goes more deeply into many subjects than a traditional school curriculum.
Q: What is your student to teacher ratio?
A: Our student-to-teacher ratio at the Pre-Primary level (18 months-3 years) is 6:1. Our Primary and Elementary classrooms have a 12:1 student-to-teacher ratio.
Q: How does your school measure student progress?
A: Observation of student learning is a key feature of the Montessori pedagogical philosophy. Our teachers observe the students daily, gauging and nurturing academic progress, independence, pace, quality of work and motivation. We also use reading and math benchmark screeners that we administer three times annually to identify any students who may benefit from additional tailored support.
Q: What sports or extracurricular activities does your school offer?
A: Every child in the school participates in classes in Spanish language and culture, visual arts, music, library and physical education. The school has an intramural soccer team, drama and a spirit squad for children in grades 4-6. Our after-school extracurricular offerings vary each season and include Lego robotics, cooking classes, art and French.
Q: How does your school address special education needs?
A: The Montessori Method uses a flexible, open-ended and child-centered curriculum, which is well-suited for children with a variety of different learning strengths and styles. Our teachers are trained observers, who individualize and modify their instruction for all students.
The Student Support Services program at MCS provides the infrastructure to support students with learning differences and ensures diverse learning needs are met within the classroom.
Our Student Support Services Director helps facilitate the identification, assessment and case management of students and coordinates communication among parents, teachers and outside service providers. When learning challenges or high potential learners are identified, the team creates a plan to work with parents and outside service providers to determine strategies, interventions and accommodations to best support the student’s needs and potential.
The school employs a full-time, seasoned learning specialist, who works intensively with students identified for additional academic support. We also have relationships with local speech, occupational and adaptive behavioral therapists, who come onto campus to work with children who can benefit from these forms of support.
Q: What opportunities do you provide for parent involvement?
A: MCS has a strong parent community and prides itself on families taking an active role in their children’s education. A cornerstone of our community is our dynamic Montessori Parent Organization (MPO). The purpose of the MPO is to foster and celebrate a strong sense of community while furthering the MCS mission.
Q: What is the cost or tuition to attend your school? Do you offer scholarships?
A: Montessori Center School’s 2022-2023 tuition rates range from $14,535- $22,295 annually. This covers the ten-month academic school year. The tuition depends upon the program level. Our tuition rates can be found on our website.
MCS has a financial aid program. For more information regarding the financial aid process please click here.
To learn more about Montessori Center School click here.