Hearts and Hands Montessori, Inc.

Enrollment and Admissions

Enrollment Process:

1. Parents tour the school and meet with the Directress (Head of School).  Parents are introduced to the Montessori educational approach and school philosophy.  The purpose of the initial visit is to share more information about the family, child and school.  Congruence  of goals between home and school is the focus, with attention to the child's readiness for the classroom experience.

2.  Application is submitted to the school for enrollment (or for application on the waiting list if no openings are available at that time).  One time $40 application fee is submitted as well, reserving the child's place in the classroom or on the waiting list.

3.  Parent schedules an appointment with the office and attends an observation day of our morning work period for 45 minutes up to two hours.  The visit gives the parents an insight into the working environment--what goes on and how we do it.  We are sure many of your questions will be answered by your observations.

4.  The prospective student may visit to become acquainted with the teachers (parents stay on school grounds).  This appointment will be arranged through the office and may last 30 minutes to an hour.

5.  The Directress will notify families of acceptance. 

6.  Once accepted, there still remains a Trial Period of Attendance for one school week (how ever many days your child is signed up to attend weekly).  This week will give the teachers more time to interact with the child and better assess whether the child is ready to attend regularly.  During the Trial Period of Attendance, Hearts and Hands Montessori, Inc. reserves the right to put a child's enrollment status on hold until a later date that better meets the child's developmental needs for regular attendance.  In this case, a meeting with the Directress and at least one other teacher will be set requiring both parents to attend and discuss the best option for the child.

7.  When our classroom enrollment is full, families on the waiting list will be notified by phone when openings become available.  Families are put on the waiting list in the order the child's application and application fee are returned to the school office, and families will be notified in that order.  A family will be given three school days to commit to enrollment before the school contacts the next family on the list.

Admission Policies:

Each application is carefully considered with a goal of meeting the child's needs with the Montessori classroom.  Hearts and Hands Montessori, Inc. would like to help families understand the Montessori educational approach and process, and find the best placement for each child.  Our Primary classroom offers many Montessori didactic materials that are intended for one-on-one presentation--individual lessons for each child presented by a certified teacher.  Children can best reach their fullest potential by participating for three consecutive years--interacting with the materials, other children, and experiencing life in our classroom.  When accepting children into our school community, families committing to three years of Montessori education with Hearts and Hands Montessori, Inc. may have priority over those committing to less.  Once a child is accepted into our program, the faculty of Hearts and Hands Montessori are committed to a relationship with the family and meeting the child's needs as best we can.

Children with special physical and developmental needs are welcome in our classroom.  The faculty of Hearts and Hands Montessori, Inc. are professional, Montessori trained and patient individuals.  We will work with individual children's needs, but children must meet below requirements.  If a child does not meet any of the requirements below, a meeting can be arranged with parents to address individual concerns and  arrangements could be made to meet your child's needs.  If the faculty feels a personal aide for your child is needed in order to meet any of the requirements below, special arrangements would need to be made and met by the family (including additional pay for an additional, personal teacher aid) before acceptance.  If below requirements are not met, Hearts and Hands Montessori faculty may state that our classroom is not currently the best match for your child.

Our Primary classroom is carefully designed and prepared daily to meet the needs of children in the stage of development ranging from ages 3-6.  Sometimes a child at age 2.5 is ready to enter our Primary classroom.  

When considered for enrollment, a child must be able to:

1.  Use the toilet--this means the child is wearing underwear daily (even when not at school), can sit on the school's toilet safely, and is using the toilet independently (including taking clothes down and back up independently, and cleaning him/herself when/how necessary).

2.  Reach faucets and wash his/her hands independently.

3.  Sit safely in classroom chairs.

4.  Carry a Cylinder Block from the Sensorial shelf to a classroom table, and back to the shelf carefully (showing muscles are developed enough to carry lessons independently).

5.  Take shoes and coat off, and put them on independently (staff will help all children when appropriate, especially with winter clothing).

6.  Reach upper level of cubby (where lunch and belongings are kept).

7.  Receive instructions and respond appropriately.

8.  Verbally communicate his/her needs appropriately to faculty and peers.

9.  Show respect for classroom materials and others.

10.  (If a sibling presently attends) Interact in classroom without interrupting sibling's progress.