1.  Qualities of UPM's classroom community:

1. Holistic Approach:

• a.   Supportive, respectful community atmosphere in classrooms and throughout our school
• b.   Subjects are taught as interconnected, not in disconnected separate segments
• c.   Physical and emotional well-being of students is partnered with academic learning
• d.   Students learn for mastery of concepts, not just to test well – student development is measured by much more than test scores

2. Each of UPM’s Highly Qualified Teachers is both DPI Licensed and Montessori Certified

4. UPM has a great relationship with the students, staff, teachers and parents of Appleton West High School, the school whose building (and much more!) we share.

5. UPM students have many co- and extra-curricular opportunities available as a part of the UPM/Wilson Middle School/West High School Community, including Arts and Sports.

2.    What does an adolescent Montessori adolescent middle school entail?

Following the Montessori tradition, UPM will focus on supporting the internal development of the personality of young adults. Adolescents have an intense need to feel valuable, useful and capable of being a productive member of society. It is important that the work in which they are involved is relevant, meaningful, and appreciated by others. These needs of the emerging adult and of the human spirit are critical to the culture of the learning environment.

Informed discussions, reflections, service work, and rotating internships provide a stimulating, academically challenging, and developmentally appropriate learning environment. This atmosphere allows young adults to explore their passions, and serve the community, and students are able to explore their potential vocation by assuming meaningful and practical roles in society. Experience in the community is the key to forming the character and conscience of the young adult.

3.    How much does it cost to send my child to United Public Montessori?  

NO TUITION: UPM does not charge tuition to students living in the Appleton Area School District, because it is like all of the other public middle/high schools; students still are charged the same school fees as at the other middle/high schools, according to District policy.  Students who reside outside of the AASD attendance area can attend for free if they follow the State of Wisconsin Open Enrollment procedures, although they may be charged out-of-district tuition if they have not followed the procedures. 

4.    Is United Public Montessori a religious school? 

No.  United Public Montessori is a public school with NO religious affiliation, instruction or indoctrination.  Montessori education itself is not religiously-oriented, although many private American schools who use the Montessori Method do have religious support.  Montessori Cultural Studies include and encourage learning, discussion and celebration of the beliefs and traditions of cultures from all over the world, to promote cultural literacy, awareness and understanding.

5.    Will my child be able to ride a school bus to United Public Montessori? 

No, unless your child’s ‘home’ middle/high school is Wilson Middle or West High School.  Transportation is not provided to AASD charter school students outside of the ‘home’ school.  However, the Montessori approach is a cooperative, family-friendly one, and the Governance Board does facilitate carpooling among the families.

6.    Can my child participate in extracurricular activities? 

Yes, UPM students have the same access to these programs as other district middle/high school students have.

7.   What extra-curricular activities are available to UPM students?

UPM students are able to participate in the full range of extra-curriculars established at Wilson Middle/West High School before UPM’s arrival at West.  Montessori, and charter schools in general, emphasize parent involvement, and so naturally, UPM parents also are asked to contribute time to support these activities. 

8.   Will my child’s younger brothers or sisters get an admission preference?

Yes, there is space set aside for siblings.  Please do consider each of your children’s personalities, learning styles, and needs, because you may find that Montessori may not be a fit for the whole family.

9.  How large are the classes at UPM?

Classes at UPM will include up to 30 students, with nearly equal portions of students from each grade level in seventh through ninth and tenth through twelfth (beginning in 2011 or 2012), respectively.

10.  What will the student to teacher ratio be?

During uninterrupted work time, there will be two teachers in each classroom, and the student to staff ratio will not exceed 15:1.

11.  Why would we want kids in a classroom with up to 30 students? Aren’t smaller class sizes better?

In a traditional classroom, the teacher is assumed to be the only source of instruction, and so as the class size decreases, the teacher should be able to spend more time with each student. By contrast, Montessori philosophy holds that: 1) The best teacher of a child is often a slightly older child, who might give a lesson on a material or help a younger child with research or a project. This process allows one-on-one learning, and the instructing child learns by teaching, reinforcing knowledge s/he has learned;  2) The culture of the multi-age classroom, where two-thirds of the children remain in the class each year, is very stable, and newcomers quickly learn what conduct is expected because the older students model behavior;  3) The Montessori classroom has rules and customs, but the teacher spends less time in discipline because students are engaged in interesting pursuits of their own choosing; 4) When there are fewer students in a classroom, some children may find it more difficult to  find fellow students s/he can connect with.

12.  How will my child do if s/he has not had Montessori schooling before?

Most students are quite adaptable, and parents need to remember that it can take everyone time to settle into the school year, even in a traditional classroom. Parents do need to be aware that that it can take a few children new to Montessori elementary up to several months to get used to their new environment, and so it is important to take a long-term view.  Students entering in third grade and above have had a few more initial challenges adapting to being more responsible for managing their time, directing their own work, and knowing when it is necessary to bring work home to complete it outside of the school day.  Since these are all independence skills crucial to later learning and adulthood, time a student spends developing them cannot be considered wasted.   Dr. Montessori maintained that "education is an aid to life". There is no period in the child's life that cannot benefit from the Montessori approach to education.

13.    Is Montessori for all students? What kind of student will do well in Montessori?

Montessori education has been used successfully for nearly 100 years with children of all income levels, of all academic abilities, and from all cultural backgrounds.  No single educational approach can work for all children, and there may be some children who do better with more teacher-directed instruction, fewer choices and more consistent external structure. Consider if your household is very parent-directed – if so, your child may have difficulty being allowed  choices during the school day, and Montessori would not be a good fit.  If, on the other hand, your home allows for more input from the children, they might find Montessori just right.  In general, a child who can become engaged with an activity or topic and spend time exploring it and concentrating on it if left uninterrupted, should do well in Montessori.   

14.   Will my child receive Special Education or ELL services at UPM? 

Students who have been or are identified as needing Special Education or English Language Learning help will receive those services, in accordance with AASD policies. 

15.  Can the Montessori approach help a child with difficulties in reading, spelling or math?

Dr. Montessori observed that every child has an intuitive goal of self-development, and it was only necessary to give him or her useful tools to accomplish learning. Each student in the Montessori classroom moves at his or her own pace, and is not rushed through concepts. And, because the students are not all working on the same thing at the same time, they are each focused on their own work, not on comparisons with neighboring students. A child is able to perform the work with minimum interference from the adult and therefore receives the ultimate satisfaction of self-accomplishment.

16.  How will a child with limited English language skills do in Montessori? 

Montessori is not as strongly language-based as a traditional classroom is, and students can make progress and be and feel successful while they are improving their English language skills.

17.  How do gifted child do in the Montessori classroom?

In Montessori, gifted students stay engaged in learning and do not become bored, because each child in the Montessori classroom works at his or her own pace, and is never rushed or held back due to the abilities of classmates. A Montessori teacher would facilitate a child to ‘move ahead’ in areas in which s/he excels, even teaching peers.  A parent must consider not only their child’s intelligence level, but also his or her learning style – some gifted students do still require a more direct-instruction approach. 

18.  Do UPM students have to take standardized tests?

Yes. The No Child Left Behind law mandates student testing to measure achievement, and authorizes federal funds for charter schools like UPM to promote effective education alternatives. At the government level, the measure of how effective a charter school like UPM is will be its standardized test results. There is an added challenge for Montessori schools to make certain that academic results seen daily in the classroom are translated into good test-taking, as “testing” per se is not emphasized in the Montessori Method, and “teaching to the test” is unknown in true Montessori education.  As an additional measure, UPM students also participate with other AASD schools in the Measure of Academic Progress (MAP) testing, which, if a student is a good test-taker, can also provide teachers and parents with information on a student’s progress in main academic areas.  In Montessori, the MAP results aid the teacher’s guidance of each student’s work.

19.  What if my child is wait-listed?

Please do not be discouraged if you receive a wait list number. The response to the Montessori approach has been amazing, and unfortunately, we may not have places available to accept all of the students who apply.  If we cannot get your child placed at UPM during the next year, please do apply for the following year.  In the meantime, you are welcome to keep checking back with the website and get on the emailing list to keep informed about and attend UPM happenings and events.

20.   What happens when a student leaves Montessori education?

The habits and skills that a child develops in a Montessori class last a lifetime. Since Montessori education is successful in developing concentration, self-discipline, a love of learning, good self-concept, and social skills, the child is better equipped to enter new situations and to easily adjust to a different school environment and continue a lifelong pursuit of knowledge.

21.   What if we change schools and later want to return to UPM?

UPM understands that parents try their best to meet the educational needs of their children as well as the best logistical fit for their families.  If your child leaves UPM and wishes to return, provided there are spaces available at his or her grade level, parents should meet with the principal.   

22.   What is a charter school anyway?

A charter school is a public school that has received approval from the State Department of Public Instruction and the local district to teach children using a different approach than the traditional classroom that most of us grew up with. Research over the past 20 years has shown us what parents already knew: each child has different strengths, and each learns differently. Dr. Howard Gardner and others have written about Multiple Intelligences, the different talents each of us has that may not always be valued in a traditional classroom. The state and federal governments have decided to allow the use of alternative approaches in hopes that every child will be educated to reach his or her true potential.

23.  I always thought we had good schools here -- what’s wrong with Appleton’s schools that we need all of these charter schools?

Nothing! Appleton has excellent traditional public schools and talented, dedicated teachers. A charter school simply offers a different instructional approach from a traditional classroom. Many children do not learn well, or as well as they could, in a traditional classroom, where most students are doing the same task and studying the same concepts at the same time. Teachers can’t always allow a student to move far beyond the contents of the chapter in the book being studied or the grade level’s standard curriculum. Other students may be swept along faster than they should be to grasp the material to go on to the next unit with everyone else. In the traditional setting, the day is teacher-directed about 80% of the time, with 20% allowed for some activities of choice. By contrast, the Montessori Environment allows for education to be child-directed about 80% of the time, with the 20% of teacher-directed instruction being more tailored to the individual or small groups. If we are to successfully educate every child, we need to have alternatives.

24.   Do charter schools only accept applications from certain types of students or families?

NO! Charter schools are required under state and federal law to recruit applicants and admit students from every background. Also, United Public Montessori’s founders firmly believe in the public schools, and the school has been established so that children from every walk of life and every ability level can learn together, because it is the responsibility of the whole community to see that all children are well-educated. A child is NOT required to have gone to a Montessori school before to be accepted to United Public Montessori.  

25.   Don’t charter schools take money away from public schools?

NO!  Charter schools ARE public schools. The federal government, as part of its No Child Left Behind program to improve education, has set aside federal grant funds to cover the start-up expenses for charter schools who have been approved by the State Department of Public Instruction. These grant funds can bring $575,000 or more into the district. In the Appleton Area School District, one of the conditions for being granted a charter by the Board of Education is that operating costs for the Charter school will not be more than the operating costs of other district schools – our teacher-student ratio must be similar, and ongoing expenses no more than in other schools. 
Charter schools also help to keep students inside their local district rather than Open Enrolling into a neighboring district that may have an attractive program, or in parochial school, or another alternative, all of which reduce the amount of State Aids [funds] that that district receives.