Public/Charter Preschool types (Montessori, Reggio, Expeditionary Learning, IB, Tools of the Mind...

[Anonymous]

Does anyone have comments on Montessori for elementary school? I like it for preschool/ k, but am not sold on the idea through 5th grade. Does the model apply well to actual academics? What are the "materials" for older kids? Just the fact that Montessori elementary schools seem pretty rare gives me pause.

Thanks for any input!

[Anonymous]

Are there any reggio options after preschool?

[Anonymous]

"The Reggio Emilia-inspired program is offered in pre-school and pre-kindergarten at Ludlow-Taylor, Miner, School-within-a-school at Peabody, Takoma, and Walker-Jones."

http://www.dc.gov/DCPS/In+the+Classroom/Academic+Offerings


I'm a DCPS early childhood teacher who uses the Tools of the Mind curriculum. I enjoy the program and believes in benefits my students, but as previous posters have said, it typically depends on the child.

One of the primary focuses of TOTM is for children to develop self-regulation (e.g. the ability to control one's own behaviors and inhibit certain undesirable actions, as well as delay gratification; "I really want that toy and want to snatch it from this student, but I'm going to control that emotional response and wait until it is my turn.").

I think the program works well in meeting the needs of diverse learners. For example, one of the components of our day is "Play Planning", where children "write" out a plan for what they want to do when they go to Centers. Their plans could include what they're going to play, with whom they want to play, what roles they will assume, or even what props they will use. I have some students in my PS/PK class who are using developmental spelling to sound out the words in their message (e.g. "I am going to bake the cake in the oven" looks like "I m gng to bk the ck in the ovn"), some students are writing lines to represent the separation of words in their message, while others are still focusing on making pictoral representations. All of the activities that we do during the day allow for this same type of scaffolding so that I can meet the needs of all of my students.

What I like most about the program is that it allows kids to learn through playing. Aside from Make Believe Play/Centers, all of our small group activities are never longer than 15 minutes, and we have plenty of time for movement. Throughout the year, the kids are able to build up their self-regulation so that we can move on to more challenging activities, which change about four times a year.

While this program may not seem academic, this depends on the quality of your teacher. While we do not explicitly teach content in lessons (e.g. "Today we are learning how to rhyme; Today we are going to do a guided reading lesson), we embed the skills kids need to learn throughout the day (e.g. In the Bakery Center, we just made a shopping list for what the students needed to buy at the store; students helped to developmentally spell each item on their list). The effectiveness of this style of teaching largely depends on the teacher. If you have a great teacher, they can do this well. If the teacher isn't as great, it doesn't work as well.

In my opinion, though, one of the greatest things about the program is the relationships that the students are able to build with one another, and with their teachers. Students are allowed to be themselves, and are given the opportunity to play, which is what young children should be doing at this age. Their learning should be paced to where they are developmentally, and I think TOTM allows for this. I also know that I'm a great teacher (sorry, not trying to be pretentious) and I work well with TOTM, so understand my bias in evaluating the program.

I don't have experience in other models except for charter. I will say that if your charter does not have a curriculum or writes their own, PLEASE DO NOT SEND YOUR CHILD HERE. I worked in this type environment before coming to DCPS, and it was terrible for students and teachers. We were overworked, and had nothing cohesive to teach the students because the admin did not know how to support a non-existent curriculum. The exception might be Apple Tree. They have written their own curriculum, I've observed it in action, and it seems to work well for the students.

Oh, one more thing! Yes, TOTM was originally developed with low-income students in mind. This is most likely because of the correlation with low-SES status and low-levels of self-regulation. I believe that DCPS chose to use this curriculum in schools because about 75% of all DCPS schools are Title I schools (having 60% or more students below the poverty line). But this doesn't mean it doesn't benefit all children.

Here is the official website: http://www.toolsofthemind.org/

Also, I'm not proofreading, so sorry for any errors.

[Anonymous]

Do you have a list of the 28 TotM schools in DC? Can't seem to find on their website.
Thanks

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:"The Reggio Emilia-inspired program is offered in pre-school and pre-kindergarten at Ludlow-Taylor, Miner, School-within-a-school at Peabody, Takoma, and Walker-Jones."

http://www.dc.gov/DCPS/In+the+Classroom/Academic+Offerings


I'm a DCPS early childhood teacher who uses the Tools of the Mind curriculum. I enjoy the program and believes in benefits my students, but as previous posters have said, it typically depends on the child.

One of the primary focuses of TOTM is for children to develop self-regulation (e.g. the ability to control one's own behaviors and inhibit certain undesirable actions, as well as delay gratification; "I really want that toy and want to snatch it from this student, but I'm going to control that emotional response and wait until it is my turn.").

I think the program works well in meeting the needs of diverse learners. For example, one of the components of our day is "Play Planning", where children "write" out a plan for what they want to do when they go to Centers. Their plans could include what they're going to play, with whom they want to play, what roles they will assume, or even what props they will use. I have some students in my PS/PK class who are using developmental spelling to sound out the words in their message (e.g. "I am going to bake the cake in the oven" looks like "I m gng to bk the ck in the ovn"), some students are writing lines to represent the separation of words in their message, while others are still focusing on making pictoral representations. All of the activities that we do during the day allow for this same type of scaffolding so that I can meet the needs of all of my students.

What I like most about the program is that it allows kids to learn through playing. Aside from Make Believe Play/Centers, all of our small group activities are never longer than 15 minutes, and we have plenty of time for movement. Throughout the year, the kids are able to build up their self-regulation so that we can move on to more challenging activities, which change about four times a year.

While this program may not seem academic, this depends on the quality of your teacher. While we do not explicitly teach content in lessons (e.g. "Today we are learning how to rhyme; Today we are going to do a guided reading lesson), we embed the skills kids need to learn throughout the day (e.g. In the Bakery Center, we just made a shopping list for what the students needed to buy at the store; students helped to developmentally spell each item on their list). The effectiveness of this style of teaching largely depends on the teacher. If you have a great teacher, they can do this well. If the teacher isn't as great, it doesn't work as well.

In my opinion, though, one of the greatest things about the program is the relationships that the students are able to build with one another, and with their teachers. Students are allowed to be themselves, and are given the opportunity to play, which is what young children should be doing at this age. Their learning should be paced to where they are developmentally, and I think TOTM allows for this. I also know that I'm a great teacher (sorry, not trying to be pretentious) and I work well with TOTM, so understand my bias in evaluating the program.

I don't have experience in other models except for charter. I will say that if your charter does not have a curriculum or writes their own, PLEASE DO NOT SEND YOUR CHILD HERE. I worked in this type environment before coming to DCPS, and it was terrible for students and teachers. We were overworked, and had nothing cohesive to teach the students because the admin did not know how to support a non-existent curriculum. The exception might be Apple Tree. They have written their own curriculum, I've observed it in action, and it seems to work well for the students.

Oh, one more thing! Yes, TOTM was originally developed with low-income students in mind. This is most likely because of the correlation with low-SES status and low-levels of self-regulation. I believe that DCPS chose to use this curriculum in schools because about 75% of all DCPS schools are Title I schools (having 60% or more students below the poverty line). But this doesn't mean it doesn't benefit all children.

Here is the official website: http://www.toolsofthemind.org/

Also, I'm not proofreading, so sorry for any errors.

This is so helpful, thank you!

[Anonymous]

does anyone know what kind of program EL Haynes is? I don't see any reference to any of these types on their website. They seem to follow Common Core for math and their 'social development' is predicated on Responsive Classroom and Second Steps. I have no idea what these are....

[Anonymous]

Beyond Montessori, are any of these progressive models (TOTM, Reggio, Expeditionary) put into practice in post early childhood/elementary school?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Beyond Montessori, are any of these progressive models (TOTM, Reggio, Expeditionary) put into practice in post early childhood/elementary school?

Do you mean after 6th grade?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Beyond Montessori, are any of these progressive models (TOTM, Reggio, Expeditionary) put into practice in post early childhood/elementary school?

Do you mean after 6th grade?

I believe TOTM is geared specifically to Pk and thereafter it's application has not been formally tested anywhere, but perhaps the PP teacher could weigh in there.

In DC public schools specifically, many charter schools (mundo verde, yu ying come to mind) and some DCPS (those that refer to themselves as "museum magnet" programs) claim use of expeditionary learning, but how it's actually put into practice at each school varies widely. I think expeditionary learning just poses some natural hurdles in a public school setting. If you look private there are some awesome expeditionary programs through high school in the area; schools in which students actually spend substatial amounts of their time "in the field."

SWS is, to my knowledge, the only Reggio focused ELEMENTARY, (it will go through 5th but only goes through second right now. I think most schools that claim its use in preschool phase out the bulk of Reggio concepts for more traditional programs by first grade.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Does anyone have comments on Montessori for elementary school? I like it for preschool/ k, but am not sold on the idea through 5th grade. Does the model apply well to actual academics? What are the "materials" for older kids? Just the fact that Montessori elementary schools seem pretty rare gives me pause.

Thanks for any input!

Might want to visit a number of threads here in regard to Logan. It appears to have mixed reviews in the upper grades but a common theme: seems like that it teacher-dependent.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does anyone have comments on Montessori for elementary school? I like it for preschool/ k, but am not sold on the idea through 5th grade. Does the model apply well to actual academics? What are the "materials" for older kids? Just the fact that Montessori elementary schools seem pretty rare gives me pause.

Thanks for any input!

Might want to visit a number of threads here in regard to Logan. It appears to have mixed reviews in the upper grades but a common theme: seems like that it teacher-dependent.

great thought, thanks!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Do you have a list of the 28 TotM schools in DC? Can't seem to find on their website.
Thanks

Unfortunately, I don't, and it doesn't seem like the link on the DCPS website is working. My advice would be to do a process of elimination by taking out the schools that you know are not doing TOTM, and generally assuming the pool that you have left are using that curriculum.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Beyond Montessori, are any of these progressive models (TOTM, Reggio, Expeditionary) put into practice in post early childhood/elementary school?

Do you mean after 6th grade?

I believe TOTM is geared specifically to Pk and thereafter it's application has not been formally tested anywhere, but perhaps the PP teacher could weigh in there.

In DC public schools specifically, many charter schools (mundo verde, yu ying come to mind) and some DCPS (those that refer to themselves as "museum magnet" programs) claim use of expeditionary learning, but how it's actually put into practice at each school varies widely. I think expeditionary learning just poses some natural hurdles in a public school setting. If you look private there are some awesome expeditionary programs through high school in the area; schools in which students actually spend substatial amounts of their time "in the field."

SWS is, to my knowledge, the only Reggio focused ELEMENTARY, (it will go through 5th but only goes through second right now. I think most schools that claim its use in preschool phase out the bulk of Reggio concepts for more traditional programs by first grade.

PP (teacher) here. TOTM only goes to kindergarten. There are two "phases" of the curriculum. One of which focuses on PK (which encompasses PS3 and PK4), the other being Kindergarten. The purpose of each model is essentially the same, but adjusts the activities to best fit the developmental needs of the students.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Beyond Montessori, are any of these progressive models (TOTM, Reggio, Expeditionary) put into practice in post early childhood/elementary school?

Do you mean after 6th grade?

I believe TOTM is geared specifically to Pk and thereafter it's application has not been formally tested anywhere, but perhaps the PP teacher could weigh in there.

In DC public schools specifically, many charter schools (mundo verde, yu ying come to mind) and some DCPS (those that refer to themselves as "museum magnet" programs) claim use of expeditionary learning, but how it's actually put into practice at each school varies widely. I think expeditionary learning just poses some natural hurdles in a public school setting. If you look private there are some awesome expeditionary programs through high school in the area; schools in which students actually spend substatial amounts of their time "in the field."

SWS is, to my knowledge, the only Reggio focused ELEMENTARY, (it will go through 5th but only goes through second right now. I think most schools that claim its use in preschool phase out the bulk of Reggio concepts for more traditional programs by first grade.

Yu Ying is NOT an Expeditionary Learning school. They use the Primary Years Program, which is related to IB.

http://www.washingtonyuying.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&layout=blog&id=25&Itemid=39&lang=en

These are the Expeditionary Learning charter schools in DC: Mundo Verde, Two Rivers, Capital City. There do not appear to be any EL high schools (at least in the official "Network") in the DC region, unless you count Baltimore.

http://elschools.org/about-us/school-network?order=field_state_value&sort=asc

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do you have a list of the 28 TotM schools in DC? Can't seem to find on their website.
Thanks

Unfortunately, I don't, and it doesn't seem like the link on the DCPS website is working. My advice would be to do a process of elimination by taking out the schools that you know are not doing TOTM, and generally assuming the pool that you have left are using that curriculum.

NP here. I think you could email or call the myschooldc hotline to ask for a list of schools.