Gilpin County School to Host Montessori Education Night

2/16/2006 - BLACK HAWK, Colo. – Gilpin County School (10595 Highway 119 in Black Hawk) will host Montessori Education Night on Thursday, February 16, 2006, from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. Families will meet the teachers, talk to parents, see students in action, receive information about registering for the 2006-2007 school year and enjoy refreshments.

Families will also get answers to frequently asked questions, such as:  What is the difference between Montessori and traditional education? Why don’t classrooms have desks? Why are children taught in multi-grade classrooms? How do teachers maintain structure in the classroom when each child works at his/her own level of interest and ability?

  Dr. Maria Montessori founded Montessori education in 1907. She based her educational methods on scientific observations of children’s learning processes. She believed that no human being is educated by another person. Children must do it themselves, or it will never be done. Dr. Montessori felt the goal of early childhood education should not be to fill children with facts from pre-selected studies, but to cultivate their natural desire to learn. Today, Montessori education is found worldwide, spanning ages from birth to adolescence.

  In 1997, Montessori education became available at the elementary level in Nederland. In 1999, a pre-school/kindergarten program was started at Eagle’s Nest Early Learning Center in Black Hawk as a feeder program. Gilpin County Montessori (GCM) Preschool/Kindergarten Teacher Bev Brownson was instrumental in expanding Montessori education in Gilpin County. “My husband and I belonged to a grassroots parent group from Mountain Child Montessori in Nederland who believed that Montessori education should be available to everyone, not just a privileged few,” said Brownson. “So we worked together to integrate the Montessori curriculum into Gilpin County School District. The School Board adopted the elementary program in 1998 and the preschool/kindergarten program in 2001.”

  GCM offers two programs: a preschool/kindergarten classroom for students ages three to six and an elementary classroom for students ages six to nine. “Montessori is a wonderful option for students who like to work at their own pace, allowing students who understand a concept quickly to move rapidly through the curriculum, and those students who need extra time to understand a concept to receive that extra time,” says Elementary Teacher Janelle Ramsay. “Additionally, much of the curriculum in the Montessori classroom is hands-on, maximizing the learning experience for kinesthetic and visual learners.”

  A quality and affordable educational program, GCM maintains the uniqueness of the Montessori method and offers the advantages of being located in a public school: free tuition for first through third-grade students, affordable tuition for preschool/kindergarten students, enrichment activities (art, computer, music, gym, Spanish classes), library, cafeteria, transportation for district students beginning at age five, sports and extracurricular activities, special education services, as well as services for gifted and talented students. For more information, contact Gilpin County School’s Pat Putnam at (303) 582-3444 x307.