Wilmington Montessori School

Infobox Secondary school
name = Wilmington Montessori School
established = 1963
city = Wilmington
state = Delaware
country = USA
type = Nonprofit, Montessori
head_label = Headmaster
head = Linda Zankowsky
students = 375 (2007-2008)
grades = Infant–6
address = 1400 Harvey Road
Wilmington, DE 19810
accreditation =
mascot = Monty the Meerkat
colors = Blue and White
free_label_3 = Contact
free_3 = [phone]
website = [http://www.wmsde.org/ wmsde.org]

Wilmington Montessori School is a Montessori elementary school located in Wilmington, Delaware, USA. Currently, the school has more than 360 students on a 25 acre campus and is recognized as Delaware's oldest and largest Montessori school [ [http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa4097/is_200404/ai_n9399213 "The Journey Forward"] ,Amy Henderson, Montessori Life, Spring 2004] . Its facility has over 30 classrooms, including a library, gymnasium, performance stage, music and arts rooms and outdoor playing fields.

Academic approach

The curriculum is rooted in Montessori principles found in the Montessori Method. The school implements an open-ended curriculum intended to allow students to progress at their own pace. Montessori classrooms are multi-age, operating on the philosophy that the youngest children learn by watching the older children and the oldest children demonstrate true understanding of a concept when they can explain it to a younger child. This method is intended not only to teach children to collaborate and work together but also to inspire them to strive for their personal best in a non-competitive atmosphere. The social curriculum emphasizes the concepts of grace and courtesy throughout the program levels.

History

In 1963 the school was initiated by a group of Delaware parents. It began as Wilmington Montessori Association with fourteen children in a storefront in downtown Wilmington. The school later moved to a little red school house in Arden.

Asbestos implications for school budgets

In December 1989 the New York Times reviewed the implications for school budgets of cleaning up asbestos pointing out that private schools were disproportionately affected. The article exampled Wilmington Montessori where the school paid $10,000 to remove asbestos insulation from boiler pipes in a storage shed, wiping out a contingency fund for teacher salaries. [ [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=950DE1D7153AF930A25751C1A96F948260 "Schools and 'Clean' Asbestos: What Price Safety?"] , Steven A. Holmes, The New York Times, December 13, 1989]

Notable faculty

*Linda Zankowsky Ed.D., the current Head of School, serves on the American Montessori Society Research committee. She recently published an executive position paper: School-wide reading assessment in a Montessori Program (University of Delaware). [ [http://www.amshq.org/research.htm "Research - What’s happening at AMS?"] , American Montessori Society, "accessed 5 February 2008"]

*Marie Dugan - Founder and Director of the Wilmington Montessori School, DE. Co-founder of The Montessori Foundation. Marie M. Dugan was the Interim Executive Director of the American Montessori Society in 2004. She is currently the Chair of both the AMS Centennial Campaign Committee, the AMS Archives Committee and the Keynote Committee for the Montessori Centennial Conference in 2007. She is a former President of AMS, former Accreditation Commission member and former Chair of the AMS Heads of Schools Section, serving on the Board of Directors of AMS for 13 years. She is currently the co-representative to the United Nations as an NGO. Marie was the Head of the Wilmington Montessori School in Wilmington, Delaware for 25 years. She is currently an Educational Consultant, serving CMTE/NY and AMS in both independent and public schools. [ [http://www.familyliteracygroups.org/aboutus.html "Board of Directors"] , Family Literacy Groups, "accessed 5 February 2008"] [ [http://www.montessori.org/story.php?id=164 "The Montessori Foundation"] ,Montessori.Org, "accessed 6 February 2008]

*In 2007, teacher Lisa Wilson-Riblett shared first place as "Teacher from a Center or Preschool" in the 9th Annual Governor's Awards for Excellence in Early Care and Education. [State of Delaware. (October 10 2007) [http://governor.delaware.gov/news/2007/10october/100407eeceawardwinners.shtml Gov. Minner presents awards for excellence in early care and education] . delaware.gov Retrieved 2 Feb. 2008.] [ [http://www.delawareonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080110/CROSSROADS/801100305/1008/NEWS03 "Learning at own pace earns first place"] Dead link|date=September 2008, The News Journal, 2007, "accessed 5 February 2008"]

*In 2005, teacher Angie Meadows was one of 100 educators in the country chosen as an "Unsung Hero" by ING Financial Services. [ING Financial Services. (2005) cite web |url=http://www.ing-usa.com/us/aboutING/communityconnections/ineducation/unsungheroes/001134.html |title= ING Unsung Heroes Previous Winners |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20070906011532/http://www.ing-usa.com/us/aboutING/communityconnections/ineducation/unsungheroes/001134.html |archivedate=2007-09-06 ING-USA.com] [EducationWeek. (October 19 2005) [http://www.edweek.org/login.html?source=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2Fsearch%3Fhl%3Den%26q%3D%2522wilmington%2Bmontessori%2522%2Bawarded&destination=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.edweek.org%2Few%2Farticles%2F2005%2F10%2F19%2F08grant.h25.html&levelId=2100&baddebt=false ING Unsung Heroes] EducationWeek]

Accreditation

* American Montessori Society
* [http://www.citaschools.org/ Commission on International and Trans-Regional Accreditation]
* National Association for the Education of Young Children

Memberships

* Association of Delaware Valley Independent Schools
* Delaware Association of Independent Schools
* Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools
* National Association of Independent Schools

Notes

Further reading

*cite web
url= http://delcat.udel.edu/F/9NCNCX31Q7EX92R1AQCBBSEJCCJB6NSYPFGJE1AFX28YE1ANRI-09157?func=full-set-set&set_number=043594&set_entry=000004&format=999
title= School-wide reading assessment in a Montessori program
accessdate= 2008-02-03
author= Zankowsky, Linda Stewart, Ed.D.
last=
first=
authorlink=
coauthors=
date= 2007-06-12
year=
month=
format=
work=
publisher= University of Delaware
pages= 271
language=
doi=
archiveurl=
archivedate=
quote= This Educational Position Paper focuses on the design of a classroom-based reading assessment system for Wilmington Montessori School that provides: (1) evidence of children’s progress across the developmental milestones of reading, (2) proactive information about children at risk of later reading difficulties, (3) a framework for teachers to monitor children’s progress against the developmental milestones of reading (4) for the collection of information across the school community to evaluate the overall success of the school in supporting children’s reading growth, and 5) for the school to hold to the principles of the child-centered Montessori philosophy.

* cite web
url= http://www.amshq.org/scanda/THEAUTHENTIC.pdf
title= THE AUTHENTIC AMERICAN MONTESSORI SCHOOL. A Guide to the Self-Study, Evaluation, and Accreditation of American Schools Committed to Montessori Education.
accessdate= 2008-02-06
author= Rambusch, Nancy M.
last=
first=
authorlink=
coauthors= Stoops, John A.
date=
year= 2002
month= May
format= pdf
work=
publisher= The American Montessori Society and The Commission on Elementary Schools of The Middle States Association
pages= 95
language=
doi=
archiveurl=
archivedate=
quote= Acknowledgments...In particular, Marie M. Dugan, who is both a CES Commissioner and a prominent leader of AMS and instrumental in joining the two organizations for this cooperative endeavor. The Wilmington Montessori School, which she heads, was the first to undergo the kind of evaluation presented in this Guide...

* cite web
url= http://www.epa.gov/owow/wetlands/restore/5star/fy01grants.html
title= Projects Funded by Five Star Restoration Program in FY01
accessdate= 2008-02-03
author=
last=
first=
authorlink=
coauthors=
date= 2007-04-17
year= 2007
month= Aug
format= html
work= epa.gov
publisher= United States Environmental Protection Agency
pages=
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quote= The Five Star Restoration Program was established so the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) can work with its partners for education through community-based wetlands restoration projects in watersheds across the U.S. The National Association of Counties, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, and the Wildlife Habitat Council have joined together with EPA for this effort.

* cite web
url= http://www.nsta.org/pd/tapestry/thisyears.htm
title= 2007 Toyota TAPESTRY Large Grant Awardees in association with the National Science Teachers Association
accessdate= 2008-02-04
author=
last=
first=
authorlink=
coauthors=
date=
year= 2007
month=
format= html
work= nsta.org
publisher= National Science Teachers Association
pages=
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quote= While there are many funding sources available at the collegiate level, there are limited opportunities for pre-collegiate teachers to obtain funds for innovative teaching projects. Toyota TAPESTRY grants are a unique source of support for teachers who have an early influence on students.

* Hembreck, Valerie. (Fall 2002) "If we build it, will they come? Creating a building as good as your school." "Montessori Life", v14 n4 p11-13. ( [http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/Home.portal?_nfpb=true&ERICExtSearch_SearchValue_0=%22Helmbreck+Valerie%22&ERICExtSearch_SearchType_0=au&_pageLabel=RecordDetails&objectId=0900019b8015844d&accno=EJ663302&_nfls=false Article abstract] )

* Gillespie, Terri. (Spring 1994) "You Start with Trust: An Interview with Marie M. Dugan. Montessori People" "Montessori Life", v6 n2 p18-20. ( [http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/custom/portlets/recordDetails/detailmini.jsp?_nfpb=true&_&ERICExtSearch_SearchValue_0=EJ484027&ERICExtSearch_SearchType_0=no&accno=EJ484027 Article abstract] )

*cite web
url= http://www.puremontessori.com/explained/f.htm
title= Does Montessori Prepare Students for the Real World?
accessdate= 2008-02-04
author= Weaver, Catherine
last=
first=
authorlink=
coauthors=
date=
year= 1996
month=
format= html
work= Tomorrow's Child, Vol. 4, No. 2, 1996
publisher= The Montessori Foundation
pages=
language=
doi=
archiveurl=
archivedate=
quote= Montessori schools have come "of age" since the early days.

*cite web
url= http://www.delawareestuary.org/pdf/EstuaryNews/2003/estuary%20news_fall_2003_web.pdf
title= Fourth Annual Excellence in the Estuary Awards
accessdate= 2008-02-04
author=
last=
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authorlink=
coauthors=
date=
year= 2003
month=
format= pdf
work= Estuary News. Volume 14, Issue 1, Fall 2003
publisher= delawareestuary.org
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archivedate=
quote= In 2002, the students, staff, and administrators at the Wilmington Montessori School in Delaware undertook a large endeavor, to restore the stream bank of Perkins Run, a tributary to the Delaware River.

*cite web
url=http://www.oursportscentral.com/services/releases/?id=3285783
title= Wings Players Present Lacrosse To Wilmington Montessori School
accessdate= 2008-02-05
author=
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date= 2006-03-29
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publisher= National Lacrosse League
pages=
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quote= The Philadelphia Wings will assist the Wilmington Montessori School in launching their new lacrosse program.

*cite web
url= http://foundationcenter.org/findfunders/statistics/pdf/08_fund_pop/1999/50_recp_pop/pop_p5_r.pdf
title= Top 50 Recipients of Foundation Grants for Early Childhood, circa 1999
accessdate= 2008-02-03
author=
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date=
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work= foundationcenter.org
publisher= The Foundation Center
pages=
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quote= "Based on a national sample of 1,016 U.S. larger private and community foundations (including 800 of the 1,000 largest ranked by total giving)"

*cite web
url= http://foundationcenter.org/findfunders/statistics/pdf/03_fund_geo/1999/50_recp_states/de-r_99.pdf
title= Top 50 Recipients of Foundation Grants in the State of Delaware, circa 1999
accessdate= 2008-02-03
author=
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format= pdf
work= foundationcenter.org
publisher= The Foundation Center
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*cite web
url= http://foundationcenter.org/findfunders/statistics/pdf/03_fund_geo/2001/50_recp_states/r_de_01.pdf
title= Top 50 Recipients of Foundation Grants in the State of Delaware, circa 2001
accessdate= 2008-02-03
author=
last=
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authorlink=
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date=
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format= pdf
work= foundationcenter.org
publisher= The Foundation Center
pages=
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archiveurl=
archivedate=
quote=

*cite web
url= http://foundationcenter.org/findfunders/statistics/pdf/03_fund_geo/2004/50_recp_states/r_de_04.pdf
title= Top 50 Recipients of Foundation Grants in the State of Delaware, circa 2004
accessdate= 2008-02-03
author=
last=
first=
authorlink=
coauthors=
date=
year=
month=
format= pdf
work= foundationcenter.org
publisher= The Foundation Center
pages=
language=
doi=
archiveurl=
archivedate=
quote=

External links

* [http://www.wmsde.org/ Official site]