Transition FAQs

After Montessori: Transition After Discovery

Discovery Montessori School provides your child with the tools to meet life's challenges. Our children turn these challenges into opportunities for success. According to the American Montessori Society the number one question asked by parents is, "How will my child transition to a traditional school after spending many years in the Montessori environment?"

There is no definitive answer to this question as each child is different and has a unique set of emotional, social, and academic characteristics. Yet after 90 years, Montessori parents have normally found that their children make a very smooth and successful transition to traditional programs when they eventually move on.
There appears to be no evidence to support the fact that the longer a child stays in Montessori programs, the more difficult the transition will be to traditional programs.

Parents often feel that if they do not get their child enrolled into a private school in kindergarten, they will not have the opportunity to enroll their child in an advanced grade level. The statistics which Discovery has gathered from 1997 to the current year show that many children were accepted at local private schools once they had completed our kindergarten and lower elementary program. All private schools lose students each year from various grade levels. These schools want to fill those spaces with students who are academically prepared, independent, respectful and cooperative. Our students fit that profile and parents have discovered that they are readily accepted into traditional programs at well-known private schools and public schools.
 

Listen to what parents of some of our former students have to say:
 

"My child adapted well socially and emotionally to the new environment. The school was able to provide enrichment for my child in certain areas of the curriculum in which my child excelled." Child entered 1st grade, private school.
 

"Parents put their fears of transition on the child. If the parent is comfortable with the change, the child will be also. He had no trouble adapting to the new environment. Very well prepared for the gifted class. However he was far ahead in math and so has only been repeating things he learned in Montessori second grade." Child entered 3rd grade in public gifted magnet program.
 

"He had no problem adjusting to third grade in the private school. He’s very happy and content. He was very well prepared. Although somewhat ahead of the group in certain areas he feels challenged since he has had to manipulate information in a different way. His knowledge from Montessori has helped him do that." Child entered 3rd grade in private school.
 

"My daughter made the transition easily. She was prepared for the level of work she was asked to do in the new class. She had no problem adjusting to test taking and has made excellent grades on her report cards." Child entered 4th grade in private school.
 

Montessori Principles in the 21st Century

Middle and high schools are now recognizing the potential of using Montessori principles in educating students for our 21st century. Duval county's Paxon High School, rated number 2 in academic standing in the US by Newsweek, is adding a Montessori curriculum to their high school programs. Many Montessori students describe their experience and the transition process in words quite similar to those of Frances Merenda, a 1990 graduate of the Barrie Montessori School in Silver Spring Maryland. "I started in Montessori at age 2. I'm a product of the entire system. I did well in the lower grades and upper school. But still, many wondered if I had been prepared for college, whether I could "make it" in a "real school". The skepticism of so many acquaintances was so disconcerting that I never bothered to step back and see what 15 years of trust, respect, teaching, and learning had done for me. When I went off to college at Northwestern University, I left my support system and community behind and entered a world that was much colder and uncaring. At first, I deeply missed that sense of belonging. I didn't realize that Barrie had not only given me a second family, but had also taught me how to build new friendships, support systems and community wherever I go. Now, at Northwestern, I have used my years of experience in community building to cultivate secure relationships with people I have come to know. Barrie did more for me than just prepare me academically for college, it prepared me for anything to which I chose to apply myself. I feel prepared for life and I wouldn't want it any other way." Child entered Northwestern University.