Strongbridge Montessori School

Front of Strongbridge Montessori Facility

The Program

Strongbridge Montessori School provides a strong, Montessori-based education for children aged 2.5 through 5 years old. During her extensive early childhood education research, Dr. Montessori discovered that when children are allowed to learn through a prepared environment, they are capable of acquiring many skills, such as language arts, including reading, early math and science, as well as geography and arts and music. The child chooses their own activities from the didactic materials carefully designed by Dr. Montessori to be self-correcting and informative. Teachers act as a guide to introduce concepts to children and to urge them onward progressively. Subject areas include self-care, respect for others, human development and opportunities for outdoor free play. A typical 3-year-old student reads 3-letter phonetic words, can do simple math, and can identify the continents of the world. There are also monthly field trips throughout the community. Strongbridge strives to help the child establish a strong sense of themselves as productive members of society.

Enrollment

In order to enroll, a student’s parent(s) must schedule a minimum of a 45-minute observation with the child at the school. After that, parents can download and print out registration forms, and if there are current openings, the Director will schedule a home visit with the family, and a start date for the student will be established.

All students must be fully toilet trained before entrance and capable of respecting the rights of others (i.e. sharing, no hitting, the ability to follow basic directions, etc…). Children are assigned a cubby where a complete spare change of clothes are kept, and where their snack and lunch will be kept.

SCHEDULE: Strongbridge follows the Arcata Elementary annual calendar (with the exception of an abbreviated winter break and two summer recesses), and operates during the summer. The full day program begins at 9 a.m. and ends at 3 p.m. The morning half-day session begins at 9 a.m. and ends at noon. The afternoon half-day session begins at noon and ends at 3 p.m. All programs are five days a week, without exception.

RIGHTS: Strongbridge is fully licensed by the Community Care Licensing Division of the State of California Department of Social Services. Under the guidelines of the state, students and parents have personal rights which the school is dedicated to uphold.

WAITING LIST: If the child is too young or immature to start, or if there are no current openings, a parent may fill out the registration packet and pay the one-time, nonrefundable registration fee to get their child on the waiting list. The waiting list guarantees that when the child is ready for enrollment, they will get the first space available for their place on the list.

FOOD: Morning and full day students bring a snack from home; afternoon and full day students bring lunch from home. No food is prepared at school.

NAPPING: All full day students are offered an opportunity to lie down and relax after lunch for at least several minutes.

click here to see our daily schedule

School Day Schedule

e-mail Hilary Mosher