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We say here at Highland that you don't just enroll your child; you enroll your whole family.
This is a very unique and special place.
We're a family centered Montessori school that is known for our nurturing, caring and
respect for all our children.
In the Montessori classroom, the learning experience is a self guided experience. So
that's how we let the children guide themselves to determine what they need to get out of
the experience.
Each child in essence has their own individualized education plan that they're working toward.
Fifty percent of the teachers here are also parents at this school.
It sounds so cheesy, parent run school, a lot of people don't know what that is, but
that's exactly what it is.
The difference with Highland vs. a lot of other schools is that the board consists of
parents. It's fully run by parents that have children that attend this school. And the
reason why that's important is because parent's know what is best for their children. And
so if we have an environment that is filled with parents that can give back in a different
way, can give back in a way that is so supportive of their community, they are then invested.
Kids are explorers. They like to look around and see things that are different. They like
to go within the environment, they like to pick up the materials and say, "Can you show
me how to do this? I'd like to work with this material." They like to explore. It's like
landing on a planet they've never been on before within the classroom.
The ideas that some schools are borrowing now from Montessori are just that we do need
to be looking at the child more as an individual rather than as part of a larger group.
We really look at each as their own person and we tend to them that way.
At one of our board meetings when we were making the decision to grow Highland, we had
a board member who said, "Let's make it as big as we can. Let's have 3, 4, 5 Highlands.
Let's get all the kids in the city into Highland." Because we believe that it's that model for
change. We believe that what we do here is so special and so effective and so enriching
for kids, that we want all the kids to have it.
I can honestly say that there is never a day that goes by that when I wake up the morning,
I can't wait to get here. Because I love my job.
I definitely feel like I am changing the lives of these children. And the good part for me
is that I get to see it at the beginning. I get to be that influence at the beginning
stages of their lives. And hopefully when we get that good start, when they're in my
classroom, will make great children for the rest of the world.