Montessori Head Start Gaining Momentum

The last issue of MPSC Update described the Montessori Head Start project, aimed at collecting data from model Montessori Head Start classrooms in Philadelphia and Cleveland in order to create a basis for a national information network, including consultation services, follow-up study data, assessment tools, and parent education materials designed for urban parents. Philadelphia's promise lies in its history (as the oldest Montessori Head Start in the nation, founded in 1965) and in the support currently being demonstrated by school district administration. Cleveland's Marotta Montessori Schools, operating outside the school district, represent a unique private-public partnership illustrating the advantages of de-categorized funding.
Since our last report, three events have brought the Montessori Head Start project closer to its goal. First, in an unprecedented cooperative plan agreed upon in principle on April 12, 1993, by the Philadelphia Public Schools desegregation office, the Philadelphia Head Start administration, and the principal of Thomas Mifflin School, three-, four-, and five-year-olds would be integrated into two classical Montessori multi-age classes at Mifflin School. This would be Philadelphia's first Montessori integrated pre-K/K model with Head Start support in direct cooperation with the local district. The project was designed by Montessori Development Partnerships of Cleveland, Ohio.
Second, the Florida legislature has recently opened the door for an advance in the de-categorization of educational funds in that state by passing a bill authorizing the Florida Department of Education to combine state education funding with federal Chapter I monies "for the aggressive and progressive pursuit of learning by students." The language of the bill sets a favorable precedent: "The department is encouraged . . . to consider any program that has been proven effective with children in Chapter I schools, including Montessori programs for children in prekindergarten through grade three . . ." In addition, the bill encourages continuity by mandating that "the programs should be carried out for at least three years to stabilize the academic achievement of students."
Finally, approximately a dozen representatives from the New Haven (Connecticut) Public Schools made a privately funded visit to Cleveland in May to look at the configuration of Montessori Head Start feeding into Montessori elementary programs. The New Haven district is considering becoming a third model in the Montessori Head Start project and is receiving direct input from Yale University. This location is advantageous because of its proximity to the office of Dr. Edward Zigler, one of the founders of Head Start, who has agreed to speak at the MPSC public school conference in Kansas City, November 12-14, 1993.
Since we first announced Montessori Head Start, inquiries have come from St. Louis, Missouri; Dade County, Florida; Charlottesville, Virginia; Denver, Colorado; Houston and Dallas, Texas; Detroit, Michigan; Albany, New York; Akron and Columbus, Ohio; and Fort Wayne, Indiana. If you would like more information, contact Montessori Development Partnerships, 11424 Bellflower Road NE, Cleveland, OH 44106.Ý