Choosing a Montessori School – Are Private School and Montessori Benefits Being Maximized?

– Private schools can be more academically rigorous than public schools, and students who attend private school may have to meet more criteria to keep up their grade point averages. According to The Condition of Education 2001, from the National Center for Education Statistics, “Private high schools typically have more demanding graduation requirements than do public high schools. Compared with public schools, private schools required more coursework (in 4-year high school programs).” Private schools may also be more likely to instill within their students the expectation of attending college, and provide more access to information about college options.

– Private schools tend to control their class sizes, offering a lower ratio of students per teacher. Placing students in small groups may lead to closer working relationships between teachers and students, thus enhancing learning. Lower ratios may also offer more personal attention and allow the teachers to have a better sense of who your child is, as well as what his or her unique strengths and weaknesses are.

– With lower ratios, teachers are often better able to keep the children focused on learning. Most private schools also place special emphasis on discipline. Strict disciplinary policies and lower student teacher ratios often mean that any major problems will be handled and eradicated more quickly.

– Government regulations on public schools often prevent them from spending more than a certain percentage of funds on the arts. However, private schools are not subject to the same regulations. They have more freedom to develop and expand these programs as they wish, and often develop programs that emphasize the arts, maybe more so than local public schools.