Why is APS's Montessori 2/3 restricted to low-income?

[Anonymous]

It's my understanding that Arlington's Montessori program is filled via lottery, but that two-thirds of those spots are reserved for low-income families. Why? Is there a reason that Montessori is more important or benefits low-income kids more than children from mid or high income families, that would give them an unfair advantage in gaining entry to the program? I'm sure there's a reason behind it, but can't really come up with one on my own.

[Anonymous]

Drew Model School and its montessori program should have more spots open for non-low income families. I believe it's still a k-5 countywide montessori program.

[Anonymous]

I'm guessing it is more to do with the benefit of preschool for low-income families than the specific benefits of a Montessori program.

[Anonymous]

Maria Montessori originally designed her program for children from low income families.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm guessing it is more to do with the benefit of preschool for low-income families than the specific benefits of a Montessori program.

This. If these kids didn't get to go to this preschool, they most likely wouldn't go to preschool at all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm guessing it is more to do with the benefit of preschool for low-income families than the specific benefits of a Montessori program.

This. If these kids didn't get to go to this preschool, they most likely wouldn't go to preschool at all.

Not sure this is true. Arlington has free regular preschool (VPI) for low income kids.

[Anonymous]

So why can't low income kids participate in the Mont. program too? The point is that most people can afford to pay for preschool for their kids in Arlington so the majority of spots should go to kids who normally wouldn't be able to go otherwise, Mont. or not.

[Anonymous]

The Virginia Preschool Initiative (VPI) pre-k classrooms in Arlington are entirely made up of low income families and the Montessori classrooms are 2/3 low income families because these families don't have the means to send their kids to other private pre-k programs. Most of these kids would not get preschool education if they were not given spots in the public school system and tuition on a sliding scale.

I know lots of families who want their kids to participate in the Arlington Montessori program for many different reasons (some want Montessori education, some want the convenience of having kids at school with older siblings, some want full-day instruction) and are frustrated that there are few spots available but the truth is, these same parents usually have a lot more money, flexibility, and options than the families that VPI and the Montessori spots are trying to serve.

At our elementary school, a lot of the children enrolled in Montessori are not native English speakers, have parents who do not speak English, come from single-working-parent or dual-working-parent homes, and do not have a car, much less a home computer. How are these families supposed to research, apply for, pay for, and get their children to-and-from the private preschool options that exist in Arlington?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So why can't low income kids participate in the Mont. program too? The point is that most people can afford to pay for preschool for their kids in Arlington so the majority of spots should go to kids who normally wouldn't be able to go otherwise, Mont. or not.

Valid point, if and only if, the supply of privately-run, full day preschools in Arlington is sufficient to meet demand. Otherwise, regardless of income, not every child whose parents want them to, is guaranteed a preschool experience to prepare them for kindergarten.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The Virginia Preschool Initiative (VPI) pre-k classrooms in Arlington are entirely made up of low income families and the Montessori classrooms are 2/3 low income families because these families don't have the means to send their kids to other private pre-k programs. Most of these kids would not get preschool education if they were not given spots in the public school system and tuition on a sliding scale.
I know lots of families who want their kids to participate in the Arlington Montessori program for many different reasons (some want Montessori education, some want the convenience of having kids at school with older siblings, some want full-day instruction) and are frustrated that there are few spots available but the truth is, these same parents usually have a lot more money, flexibility, and options than the families that VPI and the Montessori spots are trying to serve.

At our elementary school, a lot of the children enrolled in Montessori are not native English speakers, have parents who do not speak English, come from single-working-parent or dual-working-parent homes, and do not have a car, much less a home computer. How are these families supposed to research, apply for, pay for, and get their children to-and-from the private preschool options that exist in Arlington?

Not true.

They would attend Head Start or they would get subsidized care at a center or home daycare which are generally sufficient for that age group to make enough progress to enter school.

[Anonymous]

Why is this so difficult to understand. If the county doesn't have sufficient resources to make something available to everybody, then they are going to prioritize low-income families to benefit first. The rest of us have the option to send our kids to private montessori. Much as I think it would be great if Arlington had public Montessori for every child, I am okay with this set up.

[Anonymous]

It benefits us all as a community. If kids who might not otherwise go to preschool get that leg up, then when all of our kids go to kindergarten it is more of an even playing field. The teachers are not spending all of their time playing catch up to these kids and ignoring the kids who went to preschool. It's really a win for everyone.

[Anonymous]

OP here. Not totally objecting to it. Just not clear why, when there is a Head Start program, that a seemingly-coveted opportunity like Montessori was also being restricted.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The Virginia Preschool Initiative (VPI) pre-k classrooms in Arlington are entirely made up of low income families and the Montessori classrooms are 2/3 low income families because these families don't have the means to send their kids to other private pre-k programs. Most of these kids would not get preschool education if they were not given spots in the public school system and tuition on a sliding scale.
I know lots of families who want their kids to participate in the Arlington Montessori program for many different reasons (some want Montessori education, some want the convenience of having kids at school with older siblings, some want full-day instruction) and are frustrated that there are few spots available but the truth is, these same parents usually have a lot more money, flexibility, and options than the families that VPI and the Montessori spots are trying to serve.

At our elementary school, a lot of the children enrolled in Montessori are not native English speakers, have parents who do not speak English, come from single-working-parent or dual-working-parent homes, and do not have a car, much less a home computer. How are these families supposed to research, apply for, pay for, and get their children to-and-from the private preschool options that exist in Arlington?

Not true.

They would attend Head Start or they would get subsidized care at a center or home daycare which are generally sufficient for that age group to make enough progress to enter school.

You piqued my interest on Head Start - since you know so much about it, maybe you can explain how it works and why when I search for Head Start in Arlington there are no official government links except the link to the county's child care booklet online, which indicates Head Start has two locations for its programs in Arlington (one is at a church and another is at Campbell ES)? If that's the extent of its reach then I suspect more options for low-income families would be needed...