Under one roof: Montessori school combines locations in McCordsville

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Max Taylor concentrates on a class assignment. (Tom Russo | Daily Reporter)

McCORDSVILLE — Cindy Schuler describes the Montessori education method as an extension of the home.

“We are one big family,” the executive director of Geist Montessori Academy in McCordsville said.

Now that family is all under one roof in Vernon Township.

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Students have started in the new Geist Montessori Academy building, where the school has combined its two former locations and continues the tradition it started 20 years ago.

The school started in 2000 and became a public charter in 2006 under the supervision of Ball State University. It’s now located at 6058 W. 900N, McCordsville, uniting its former locations near the intersection of Olio Road and 96th Street in Hamilton County and in the 6600 block of County Road 900N in McCordsville.

Schuler said Geist Montessori Academy has about 400 students pre-kindergarten through eighth grade and a staff of close to 50.

Logan Bonar, assistant executive director, said the building is more than 36,000 square feet and has 15 classrooms, a gym and a robotics team. Schuler said the property’s playground is under way.

The North American Montessori Teachers’ Association estimates there are about 4,500 Montessori schools in the United States and about 20,000 worldwide.

Schuler described the Montessori method’s philosophy as developing “the whole child” — emotionally, socially and academically. She said it involves observing children, noticing what they’re drawn to and determining how to use that to help with anything they may be struggling with.

The method is also multi-sensory, Schuler continued.

In one of Geist Montessori Academy’s kindergarten rooms one day last week, students matched objects with tiles displaying the first letter of the names of those objects. A tiny toy zebra rested on a tile with the letter Z on it. That Z was made from a rougher material than the smooth tile it was displayed on.

“That helps with their thinking — to have the different tactile and sensory experiences,” Schuler said.

Montessori is hands-on in other ways too, Schuler said. The academy’s middle school students helped pick out the lockers for their new building by looking at prices and sizes and drafting a code of conduct for them.

“It’s really honoring their preference, their learning styles, and just empowering them to be the best that they can be,” she said.

Karin Swan, director of pre-K at the school, said students ages 3 through 5 undergo a curriculum covering math, language, geography, botany, zoology, sensory, art, music, gym and practical life. Their studies also involve fine motor skills to help strengthen their hands and prepare them for writing.

“The Montessori philosophy observes that there are times in a child’s life when they are naturally drawn to something, or the mind and body is telling them to do something over and over again, and we refer to those times as sensitive periods,” Swan said. “And from the ages of 0 to 6, there are 11 sensitive periods, so our curriculum is set up to make certain that all 11 sensitive periods are being met.”

The sensitive period for math is between ages 4 to 6, Swan continued, while language is 2½ to 6.

“So we really want to make certain that we’ve introduced reading and math, to capitalize on those times,” she said.

In one of the academy’s preschool rooms, some students put together words with plastic letters, which Swan called a “movable alphabet.” Montessori calls for teaching the alphabet phonetically, she said, allowing students to learn to read faster by associating sounds letters make right away.

Classes remain with one teacher through several grades.

“You’re with that same cohort and you just become this huge family,” Schuler said.

Many of Geist Montessori Academy’s classrooms had their overhead fluorescent lights off and were lit instead by incandescent lamps throughout the learning space. Many of the students wore slippers instead of shoes.

“We think of the school as an extension of the family and the home,” Schuler said. “…It’s a way for them to come and be comfortable; this is their home away from home.”

In another kindergarten room, school counselor Michael Skiles passed around two frog puppets — Kelso and Lily — so students could try them out and see how they worked. Next, he donned Kelso while a student took on Lily and the pair acted out a conversation between the two frogs about what games they like to play.

“We noticed that they were making eye contact, right?” Skiles told the students afterward. “We noticed that Lily didn’t interrupt when Kelso was talking, right? And we saw that Lily’s body was still. All of the certain things that are necessary for a good, responsible, respectful conversation.”

Schuler said Geist Montessori Academy students get work plans with different subjects that they can pursue in any order they wish. Last week, some students carried out their independent work at desks, while others sat before mats on the floor.

“It’s not like a traditional plan where everybody’s sitting and we’re all going to do something at once,” Schuler said. “They get to choose, they get to go back to the things that they’re interested in, so it’s inviting… They have that flexibility of just what works for them.”

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WHAT: Community Grand Opening Ceremony

WHEN: 6 to 7:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 31

WHERE: Geist Montessori Academy, 6058 W. 900N, McCordsville

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