Montessori Curriculum
What does Montessori provide for the adolescent that other middle schools don’t?
The Adolescent Program is specially designed to meet the developmental needs and characteristics of the adolescent. Between the ages of 12–15, there are significant physical, emotional, and psychological changes as students enter adolescence. No longer children, these young adults ask questions such as: Who am I? How can I contribute to society? What are my strengths and weaknesses? The Adolescent Program is therefore constructed as a unique space for students to discover their identities and their passions during this transitional time in their lives.
No longer children but not yet adults, Maria Montessori recognized adolescence as a time of rapid growth, not unlike the very first years of life. Designed for students ages 12 to 15, the Middle School program provides the ideal setting for students to expand their knowledge and embark on adult-like responsibilities, resulting in a solid, unique foundation for young adulthood.
The Adolescent Program is a community and every student within that community is both valued by others and learns the value that they contribute to the group. This is a concept unique to Montessori education known as “valorization”. When adolescents feel a sense of ownership and responsibility for their work, their friendships, and their actions, they understand what it means to be a contributing member of society. Montessori education is designed as an “aid to life,” and the program gives students all of the tools they need to succeed along their journey to adulthood. Our students have strong academic passions, important practical life skills, lasting relationships with others, a true appreciation for nature, a deep love for their school, and a secure sense of their personal identity.
Study and Work
The emphasis of study at the middle school level is on finding a place in society. A strong academic curriculum is complemented with land-based projects, using knowledge to perform “real work” valued by the community while encouraging students to be thoughtful and critical, while developing maturity and creativity.
QI Montessori Middle School (QIMMS) offers students a program of academic excellence and intrinsic experiences that exercise the development capabilities of early adolescence. Middle school students are ready to undertake the related tasks of working together and living interdependently. All of the components of the curriculum work together to strengthen the abilities of the adolescents to act responsibly, communicate effectively, and become more self-sufficient through acquiring necessary life skills.
QIMMS students begin the school year with an Odyssey trip designed to introduce and develop individual and group skills for creating a successfully functioning environment. In addition, QIMMS students participate in service work throughout the year to help meet the needs of the local community while learning to make the world a better place through their own talents.
The students participate in a rigorous yet broad curriculum that emphasizes the need to strive towards model citizenship and community with others. The program is designed to respond in an age-appropriate way to the young adolescent’s social, emotional, physical, and intellectual needs.
QIMMS graduates are independent, competent learners well prepared for high school with a high academic foundation.