Montessori del Mar Community School Enrollment Process

​

  

 

The enrollment window for 2020-2021 is currently closed. Admissions into the program is based on available openings, as well as, the ability of the school to match the needs and values of prospective families and students. New applicants are processed on a first-come basis. See Enrollment Timeline here and Frequently Asked Questions below. 

 

Priority for enrollment and reduced tuition is given to current families and previously enrolled or returning students.   All returning and new families must attend Fall Parent Orientation session. The Enrollment Process is:

​

1. Review our website and program description

2. Submit completed application and application fee of $75

3. Meet with the Director and/or Staff for an enrollment conference

4. Read and accept MdMCS policies and practices

5. Submit completed enrollment packet and nonrefundable one-month deposit by stated deadlines. Completed packets can be mailed or submitted online. 

6. Parents requesting reduced tuition will be notified of space availability within two weeks of the stated application deadlines. 

​

Enrollment FAQs

 

What is the difference between the Montessori del Mar Community School and the Montessori del Mar Children’s House? 

The Community School is an elementary school serving ages 5 years to 13 years (grades K-8) and is located at our north Fort Bragg campus. It has three classrooms: The Primary Bridge Program (ages 5 & 6), the Lower Elementary (ages 6-9) and the Upper Elementary (ages 9-13). The Children’s House is a Primary program that we plan to open for Fall of 2020 and is located in central Fort Bragg. It will serve ages 3 to 5 years during the 2020-2021 academic year. For Fall 2021, all Montessori del Mar students aged 3 to 6 years will attend our Children’s House campus. Each program has its own admissions application, enrollment packet, tuition fees and program schedule. 

 

NOTE: For Fall 2020, children who are five before Sept 1, 2020 may apply to our elementary school Primary Classroom. Children who are four years or younger on Sept 1, 2020 apply to our Children’s House. 

 

How does MdMCS consider applicants?

We take into account a number of factors when considering a student application. Returning families receive priority for both enrollment and reduced tuition allotment. To ensure the financial viability of the school, reduced tuition applicants are considered once our quota of full tuition students is met. In addition, MdMCS is committed to cultural and social diversity.  Other factors we consider include:

1. Previous Montessori experience.

2. Age of the child--space for each age is limited based on classroom make-up and to ensure the multi-age experience.

3. How well our school can meet the needs of an individual child.

 

What MdMCS does NOT do is discriminate in the admission, retention, or dismissal of a child on the basis of gender, national origin, ancestry, primary language, race, religion, class, handicap or disability or the marital status, religious beliefs, sexual preference, or political persuasion of parents/guardians/families.

 

What About Tuition & Other Fees?

Our full tuition for the 2020-2021 school year at the elementary school is a sliding scale of $800-$1250 per child per month. Anything within this range is considered full tuition and does not require the completion of a reduced tuition application. Reduced tuition is considered on a case-by-case basis and requires the completion of a reduced tuition application and documentation of need.  All tuition information is confidential and remains within the tuition committee. 

 

MdMCS does not offer sibling discounts for tuition.  At the elementary school, there is a $75 application fee per family. The Nutrition Education, Extended Day, and enrichment programs, like music lessons, have additional fees to be determined at the start of the school year. 

 

At the Children’s House, tuition will be monthly.  It will be determined based on what model MdMCH will be able to operate based on public health orders for early learning centers.  Tuition includes organic snacks. Lunch is not included and must be sent from home. There is a sibling discount of 10% and a $50 application fee. For families in need of tuition assistance at our Children’s House, please contact Executive Director Chloe Reed at chloedirector@montessoridelmar.org. 

 

What if I cannot afford the tuition deposit or application fee due to COVID-19 related hardship? 

Submit your enrollment application and then contact Executive Director Chloe Reed at chloedirector@montessoridelmar.org to request tuition deposit payment modification or the application fee to be waived. Each request is considered on a case-by-case basis. All tuition information is confidential and remains within the tuition committee. 

 

When can families see the school and meet the teachers?

In “normal” circumstances, we hold several Open Houses in the spring and invite families to visit and observe in our classrooms.  Given campus closure and the shelter-in-place order, we will be scheduling video conferencing Q & As for potential new families over the next few weeks. Once new families have submitted an application, they can be put in touch with their child’s prospective teacher and have a more child-specific and individualized conversation at that time.  In the meantime, descriptions of the core tenets of our Elementary and Children’s House Programs can be found on this website.

 

Once the shelter-in-place order is lifted, we will offer campus tours to interested families at our elementary school. The Children’s House campus is being renovated and will be open to the public for tours this summer. 

 

What will my child’s classroom be like next year? 

Each classroom is it’s own community within our greater school community. We like to think of our classroom make-up as “responsive”. This means that our classrooms are thoughtfully designed each year in response to our changing enrollment and the social, emotional, and academic readiness of our students as individuals and a community. Despite children typically spending 2-3 years in a classroom, each year is a different experience as the age of the students progress. The first year in a classroom, a MdMCS student will be in a younger and less experienced stage. This child will have many unfamiliar materials, routines, and expectations to which to acclimate and will be mentored and guided by older students in the class as well as by the teacher. In subsequent years, the child will gain competence, further develop their identity and interests, and take on ownership of learning and the classroom routines. Finally, the child in the last year in each classroom will lead and teach others in addition to managing their own work and learning more independently. At every stage the MdMCS child:

• Is offered challenging and meaningful lessons and materials that match their readiness; 

• Is free to explore and develop individual interests;

• Develops productive work habits and relationships that support learning and growth;

• Progresses at their own pace while staying connected to the classroom community through shared experiences, routines, and values.  

Each of the stages within a classroom continuum is valuable and offers unique benefits to the overall cognitive, social, and emotional growth of a child. 

 

Our classrooms, as is typical in a Montessori school, tend to include students of a 3 year age range. Restrictions in physical space and state mandates on the age of “school-age”children impact classroom populations. Movement between the MdMCS classrooms is fluid and determined by each child’s readiness and maturity, not by birth dates or grade levels as in traditional schools. Maria Montessori believed that learning occurs along a developmental continuum. Decisions to move students from the primary to the lower elementary and the lower elementary to the upper elementary reflect careful observation of the natural learning characteristics of the child at each stage of development. In Maria Montessori's metaphorical language, "the successive levels of education must conform to the successive personalities of the child."  

 

NOTE: For Fall 2020, children who are five before Sept 1, 2020 may apply to our elementary school Primary Classroom. Children who are four years or younger on Sept 1, 2020 apply to our Children’s House. 

​

​

​