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[quote=Anonymous]Our kid graduated from LAMB in 2020 (pandemic years), so we know that there have been a lot of administrative changes. I am going to share our academic observations about the immersion and Montessori experience only. Our kid went to Sojourner Truth Montessori for Middle School and then chose a DCPS for H.S.

Montessori myth: kids don’t just do what they want to learn. Classroom instruction is called “work.” The teacher teaches a concept in small groups. The kids practice that concept until they master it. The kids do choose at what pace they finish their work with the support of the teacher and guidance from their older peers.

1) Immersion: instruction was appropriate for elementary school. Your child will not likely have a large Spanish vocabulary unless you speak Spanish at home (which we did).
That being said, in MS, they no longer wanted to speak Spanish and lost a lot of their fluency. Lesson for us : use it or lose it.

2) Math: the Montessori experience was great. In MS, our child really soared and as a 9th grader, they are doing work above their grade level (taking Geometry and Algebra 2 at the same time). I think the concrete way of teaching with Montessori tools really worked for our child.

3) Reading: our child needed support at LAMB. They received in-classroom help and worked with a reading specialist. We were very grateful for the resources the school provided.

4) Social Emotional: our observation was that in elementary, the LAMB Montessori students tended to be a bit more confident, yet kind, patient kids versus some kids from other schools. We saw that first hand when LAMB and Perry Street students shared a playground. The Perry street kids often bullied and fought each other.  (Note: I was a classroom parent who volunteered 1x a month at the school). Clearly, no young kids are angels, but LAMB kids seemed to be a bit more chill than other kids their age.

Practical life skills: that was pretty awesome. Your 3/4 year old will learn how to wash dishes, sweep, polish silver and cook. Our kid really loved being able to help in the classroom and house.

Multi-generational classrooms: great for peer-peer leadership. It’s very cool to see the kindergartners mentor the 3 year olds and 3rd graders help guide 1st graders through their concept work.

No grades/no homework : Montessori was good for teaching our child to love learning. They only had progress reports from age 3-13. Your child is assessed on their mastery of skills so it is a continuum of progress, then they start over at level I for new concepts.

It was not until 9th grade that our child received traditional “grades”. They didn’t understand why you need grades. They were used to trying their best at their classwork because the work needed to be done, not because of a grade.

No homework- Montessori teaches kids from a very young age time management and agency. Being able to finish your work in the classroom and have more free time afterschool to be a kid is a great benefit of Montessori.

Good luck, OP, there are a lot of great school options in DC so hope this helps provide some insights on a LAMB experience.
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