User:Buster7/Sandbox- Westside Montessori, Toledo

Founded in 1975 as a small Montessori preschool, West Side Montessori has grown to become the largest private Montessori school in Ohio and one of the largest and most successful private Montessori schools in the United States. The school enrollment is currently over 380 children from 13 months through 8th grade. West Side Montessori is accredited by the American Montessori Society and chartered by the Ohio Department of Education.

2 campusses
http://www.montessoritoledo.org/
 * classrooms at the two school campuses serve the communities of Toledo, Sylvania, Perrysburg, Maumee, Southeast Michigan, and surrounding areas.
 * The Little House
 * Children's House
 * Lower Elementary
 * Upper Elementary
 * Middle School
 * assorted co-curriculums

Montessori
The Montessori program is based on Maria Montessori’s “erdkinder” philosophy and on five core values of community, hard work, learning, respect, and peace. Students, parents, and teachers work together toward the goals of learning and achieving.

Philosophy from WSM website
WSM adheres to the philosophy and methods developed by Dr. Maria Montessori, an Italian physician and educator (1870 – 1952). Early in the 20th century Dr. Montessori envisioned an educational approach grounded in close and insightful observations of children. She understood that children can construct knowledge, particularly within a meaningful context. WSM provides highly organized classroom learning environments that give children countless opportunities to take charge of their own learning. Montessori learning materials are designed to be introduced when children are in a sensitive period for the acquisition of a particular concept. For example, very young children are sorting and categorizing their world and are very sensitive to order in their lives. The Montessori classroom environment and materials are designed to aid the young child in the development of his or her sense of order.

Cooperation and collaboration are cornerstones of the Montessori learning environment. Montessori philosophy and curriculum promote an understanding and appreciation for the interconnectedness of all that exists and a consequent social policy that teaches "we are stewards of the earth". Social outreach and community improvement service projects are an integral part of the curriculum. Students work together, learn from one another, and support each other in a non-competitive atmosphere.