Middle School at Childpeace
The Montessori Environment: Middle School
Metro Montessori Middleschool is an engaging learning community for students in 7th and 8th grades. Currently located in the rich urban environment of Northwest Portland and eventually moving to a land-based location, the work of METRO students demands that they explore the world outside the classroom, exercise independence and creativity, and have a sense of responsibility to humanity.
Based on the principles of Maria Montessori, METRO cultivates a life-long love of learning. The ability to put plans into action and a strong sense of personal identity are natural results of our developmentally tailored approach to the needs of young teenagers.
Some key components that make this happen include combining hands-on work with academics, relating the students to the roles and responsibilities of adulthood, and participating in the environment that surrounds the school.

METRO is an extension of Childpeace Montessori, an AMI-certified school established in 1976 and now serving toddlers through adolescence. METRO is a response to many Montessori parents' request for continued education at the middle school level, and the school also accepts a few students with non-Montessori backgrounds. The METRO program is led by experienced adolescent teachers who collectively bring Montessori training and state teaching credentials. The middle school is directed by Sue Pritzker and Merri Whipps, who combined have 50 years of experience in school guidance and Montessori teaching at other age levels.

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Metro Montessori Middleschool has five themes underlying the curriculum: Humanities, Occupations, Self-Expression, Connection to Nature, and the Living Community. These age-appropriate themes were suggested by Maria Montessori, the early 20th century educator whose ideas revolutionized early education and continue to influence progressive institutions worldwide.
Humanities
Humanities Projects are deep-dive studies of people in particular places and times, with a focus on what challenges they faced and what they created to further the progress of humanity.

Building on the elementary Cosmic Education perspective, a main goal is to bring the adolescents to a point of appreciation for other people and to respond to the adolescent tendency to use their understanding of history to anticipate needs of the future. Adolescents are motivated by social justice, and by the human relationships that spur inventions, migrations, and explorations -- so these aspects are a focus in any Humanities exploration.

Each student experiences four month-long Humanities projects each school year, and the projects move chronologically from early history to modern history, exposing the students to human experiences at various points on the globe. Humanities provide a context for various lessons in history, social studies, and language arts. Sometimes science, math, and art lessons have natural applications to a Humanities project. An example cycle of a student's year of Humanities projects is: 1) Early Life in Sub Sahara Africa; 2) The Inca; 3) European Renaissance; and 4) Modern Russia.
Occupations
Occupations Projects provide direct experience of solving a problem in the real world. The adolescents take on work roles (occupations) that are urgent and engaging, and which demand knowledge in order for the work to be done. Occupations build on the Practical Life work of the younger Montessori classrooms, converging physical work of the hands with studies in the classroom. Occupations lend themselves to a variety of lessons in life skills, language arts, sciences, and economics; sometimes math, art, and history lessons are needed. The context of purposeful, adult work provides a strong motivation for the adolescent. When the value of the work is felt and acknowledged by the community, the adolescents feel valued and even more motivated in their work.
Each student experiences four month-long Occupations projects each school year. The projects identify a task or challenge in our immediate environment, require lessons to learn what is needed to accomplish the task, and the students work to acquire the knowledge and proficiency to get the job done.
An example year of Occupations for a student could be: 1) How to budget, cook, and serve lunch for our group of 20; 2) Cooking Sourdough Bread as a money-maker; 3) Reclaiming a parking strip of invasive plants and redesigning with permaculture; 4) designing and painting a mural on the school building. Our long-term goal is to be located on land that allows the adolescents to experience the simple and immediate occupations that land provides, such as gardening, raising animals, and building fences.

Self-Expression
Self-Expression is particularly important in adolescence. From her observations, Montessori wrote, "The chief symptom of adolescence is a state of expectation, a tendency toward creative work, and a need for the strengthening of self confidence." (Childhood to Adolescence) Our goals in the area of Creative Expression are

  • to introduce forms of expression in art, music, drama, and speaking, offering a breadth of options for the adolescents to explore
  • to give students the opportunity to gain greater mastery of forms of expression that they have found they enjoy
  • to assist the adolescent in feeling comfortable and competent in expressing him/herself
  • to provide productive ways to channel confusing and strong emotions
  • to have a greater understanding and appreciation of other's perceptions and perspectives

A dedicated 2- to 3-hour block of creative expression lessons and practice (art for the sake of art) is offered once/week. The opportunity and expectation for the use of artistic skills is also woven into the Humanities and Occupations projects.
Connection to Nature
Connection to Nature is a critical component of the best environment for adolescents. At a time when their physical, cognitive, and emotional development is growing and changing in fits and starts, adolescents benefit from the calm and honesty of nature, the physical work of being in nature, and the cognitive elegance of natural systems working in harmony with one another.
For these reasons, MMM teachers incorporate frequent times for the students to be in more natural settings than we find on our school block. Extended trips in nature, farm experiences, and lessons given in Forest Park and other natural areas in the Portland vicinity are all part of the school year.  As we look to our future, we will eventually be located on land that allows us daily interactions with the natural world.
Our human connection to the natural world is also important to convey to our students as they move into the adult world, where political, economic, and social decisions will be guided by this understanding. Watershed mapping, kayaking on the Willamette, reclaiming the native species in Forest Park, and gardening through the seasons are all examples of experiences of nature we can offer in our urban neighborhood. "Place-based Education" is an approach we use to fully acquaint the students with all aspects of their home ground.
This is interdisciplinary, and immerses the students in their local landscape and cultural history. As we engage in Humanities and Occupations studies, we explore how experiences in other places and times are mirrored in our own place and time. The connection with nature plays an integral role in understanding our block, our neighborhood, our town.

Living Community
A strong sense of community is integral to the Montessori adolescent experience. The students' moral development is just as important as intellectual development as they move into adulthood. "The bottom line is this: Adolescents must develop a sense of genuine belonging and acceptance in a community before they can be committed to its moral precepts. Belonging and acceptance result from repeated concrete experiences of having value in the community, of being recognized and appreciated for one's gifts, one's contributions, one's hard work, one's good ideas, and one's leadership." (Laurie Ewert-Krocker, long-time Montessori adolescent guide)

Our teachers are conscious of offering experiences both large and small that build a positive sense of belonging and acceptance in the group, and build toward a cooperative and morally responsible consciousness. Students begin the year with an Odyssey Trip, followed by Orientation days. Opportunities for individual contributions to the group, for leadership roles, and for social collaboration are a constant part of the class environment. Weekly Council Meetings provide a dedicated time for reflecting on what went well during the week, reporting about ongoing group projects, and tackling issues in the class community. Conflict resolution skills are honed with the guidance of the teachers. Working as a team on Occupations projects and Humanities presentations provide natural, constant contexts for community to be a part of each school day.

Download Brochure
Download 2012 MMM Application
September 2011 Update

This dense article is a look at the Montessori perspective on adolescent development and how it guides the curriculum we offer at this age level. Download Article