Question on PG county Montisorri magnet program

[Anonymous]

I am just starting to look into the various PG county magnet programs and I don't understand how the Montessori program lottery works.
The schools seem to go from pre-K up and in order to apply as an older student you have to come directly from a Montessori program. But I thought that the eligibility for pre-K in PG county was based on income eligibility.
Can you get into the pre-K Montessori programs regardless of income or do you have to send your kid to a private pre-K in order to give them a chance to get into the K-6 program?

[Anonymous]

My daughter attended a Montessori PreK program in PG County this year as a three year old. There were no income restrictions. For three year olds, the program is half day only, and parents are responsible for transportation -- there are no buses for 3 year old children.

The Montessori classes are for children in preK-3, preK 4 and K. THat's one class and they stay with one techer for the three years. (Ideally). The next class up is for kids in grades 1,2 and 3. The final class (I think) is kids in grades 4,5, and 6. Not sure how it works after that.

[Anonymous]

Thanks! That's exactly what I wanted to know.

[Anonymous]

You are welcome!

Also -- you might want to check this out because things change, but my understanding is a child can enter preK-3 year OR preK-4 year with no prior Montessori experience. To enter at the K level they need to have (I think) a year of Montessori at a different school.