 Dr. Maria Montessori once stated, “Free the child’s potential, and you will transform him into the world.” It’s a lovely sentiment, where we, as caregivers, do all we can to make sure our children have the kind of environment that will give them the world. A world they will one day become a part of as adults. It is important, however, in these times, that when we look toward the children and their future, we ask are we doing all we can for them? Are we freeing their ultimate potential?
At Alcuin Montessori, we pride ourselves on adhering to the basic Montessori tenet of following the child. What this means is taking their lead, meeting their needs, and advocating for them. As such, we recently introduced our “Alcuin Montessori School Policy Regarding Transgender, Gender Non-Conforming, and Non-Binary Students and Staff Members” policy. While Alcuin has always been a safe space, we felt it was important to have this policy in place. According to Trans Student Educational Resources, “80% of trans students feel unsafe at school because of their gender expression.” Our policy is meant to foster an educational environment that is safe, welcoming, and free from stigma and discrimination for all students and staff members regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression. Yes, the policy facilitates compliance with local, state and federal laws concerning bullying, harassment, privacy, and discrimination, but it also achieves so much more. It ensures that all students (and staff members) have the opportunity to safely experience and express themselves, and live authentically. Dr. Montessori stated, “To assist a child we must provide them with an environment which will enable him to develop freely.” At Alcuin, we strive to provide that environment for each and every child. We could list the countless facts and data about the positive impact acceptance has on trans youth, but as with everything else we approach at Alcuin, ultimately it is about people, not statistics. Alcuin Montessori promotes acceptance throughout our school and provides a safe space as a support network for all. We strive to create an environment in which it is safe for people to express themselves and their individuality without consequence or judgment. We hope to both educate and cultivate an attitude towards others marked by a generosity of spirit and acceptance, and welcome all students and families to our community. By instating this policy, we are not changing what we already do. We’re merely reinforcing our ideals that all children deserve recognition, respect, and love---and at Alcuin, they receive just that. Each year, our Senior Elementary visits Nature's Classroom. Nature's Classroom is an outdoor education center and Montessori school in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. The children are immersed in the great outdoors from the time they wake up until they fall into bed. The trip is an annual favorite where children can meet other students from various Montessori schools that are also visiting, but more importantly, it serves as a bonding experience for the classroom. Ms. Alla shares the classroom's experience this week... We all have been having an immeasurable amount of fun at Nature’s Classroom. The children’s unbounded enthusiasm is shown from very early in the morning till the very moment they close their eyes at night. Transition into nighttime has been smooth and successful. Ms. Heather reads aloud every night, which enables the children to fall asleep faster; plus, they really enjoy listening to her read “The Thing about Jellyfish” book. Your letters have also been anticipated and welcomed with much delight. The weather and the scenery are so beautiful that the children truly enjoy staying outside all day. They are also enjoying the food at Nature’s Classroom. It turns out, NCI has the “BEST bread sticks in the World!”, and the “salads taste better than the ones back home.” We must admit, we have never witnessed so many children eating so much salad before.  Every day, children are immersed in different activities and learning experiences. They get to pick and choose from a wide range of classes, such as:
 Here are also some quotes from our students that can give you a small window into their own view of NCI:
We will see you on Friday! On Tuesday, October 1st, Alcuin Montessori hosted our annual High School Night. At this event, parents were able to learn about different high school options for their children. This year, representatives from Trinity, Fenwick, Nazareth Academy, Wolcott, GCE Lab School, Beacon Academy, and OPRF were able to join us. Parents learned about admissions requirements, testing dates, and application procedures and had some of their burning questions answered. Our favorite part of the evening, however, was the panel discussion made up of Alcuin alumni who shared some of their high school experiences. Hillary Y., class of 2016 and a senior at Trinity High School, stated she felt Alcuin prepared her more than other students because, “The expectation [at Alcuin] was so much higher and… going into Trinity was very, very seamless. I felt super prepared, and the workload was something that I didn’t have difficulty with.” Vincent V., class of 2019, and a freshman at Nazareth Academy, stated the daily schedules at Alcuin helped him with time management. This translated to the workload in high school feeling manageable. “Going into high school, all you need to do to keep up with the work,” he said with a smile, “is to do the work.”
What makes Alcuin’s program so unique is that it incorporates both traditional Montessori philosophy and current best practices. Its design helps transition students from the Montessori classroom to a traditional high school setting with relative ease. Ellie S., Alcuin class of 2017, and a junior also at Trinity, added, “One thing that really helped me at Alcuin was time management and organization… and that transferred over to high school.” Alcuin's curriculum has been carefully designed to meet or exceed state standards in all fundamental areas of study, as well as to align with the benchmark outcomes of local public schools. This ensures a full preparation for a smooth transition into high school. Our comprehensive curriculum is theme-based and encompasses mathematics, science, social studies, literature, writing, Spanish, art, theater, physical education and more. Education should not be one size fits all. At Alcuin, we follow a philosophy proven over more than a century to discover and develop each child's interests and talents and prepare them to excel in the next level of education and beyond. It's no surprise that a large percentage of our graduates take advanced placement and honors courses in high school. We invited you to come and visit the Roosevelt Campus and see for yourself. Throughout the school year, we hold various Institute Days when classes are closed, and our faculty and staff come in for a full day. What is the purpose of our Institute Days? For the faculty and staff, it’s additional time for everyone to discuss school-wide events, freshen up our environments, and plan and prepare curriculum for the upcoming months, but Institute Days also serve to reconnect as a community professionally and personally. Often during Institute Days, we have professional development for everyone. In the past, we have had talks about food allergies, gender, childhood development, and social media—to name a few. These discussions not only serve as a springboard for more in-depth conversations but also to keep teachers abreast of current topics in order to better serve the children.  Institute Days also give time for intra-level connections. Co-workers who may not have an opportunity to interact during the school day have time to chat and build relationships on these days. They discuss new ideas and bounce them off one another, seek guidance or advice. All of this affords everyone time to see things from different points of view or another classroom level. It’s all about growth and maintaining perspective. However, in between all the serious bits, we also make room for some good old-fashioned fun. Today, our teachers competed in a fast and furious game of Hot Potato (or rather, Hot Donut!) They also had a highly contested relay race—and let it be known that our very pregnant teachers are not afraid to out-run their competition. We also take moments to celebrate and acknowledge our amazing staff, from birthday cake to compliments during circle time. When the children return on Monday, the teachers and staff will eagerly receive them happy to share new ideas and thoughts. And little will the children know that only a few days prior, their teachers were involved in a cut-throat game of Hot Potato. One of the components of the Alcuin Montessori middle school is Beyond the Classroom Walls. The Beyond the Classroom Walls program is designed to extend students’ learning into our broader communities and beyond. Each week, they take one afternoon and leave the campus for a trip into Oak Park or Chicago. These trips are designed to encourage independence, orienteering, and community building while enhancing and reinforcing the curriculum. The biggest BTCW outing is our biannual trip to San Jose, Costa Rica. During their time in Costa Rica, the students go on various day trips to see the Costa Rican sights, but they also participate in a Spanish immersion language program at the Costa Rican Language Academy. Additionally, they volunteer at the Ana Frank Day Care (a government-run day care) for the day where they work with children infant through ages ten. This allows the middle schoolers to work outside their community and truly become citizens of the world. The students compiled some journal entries from their time in San Jose. Here are some excerpts:  At 7:30, we got on the bus and headed to the Doka Coffee Estate. We got there around 9:00 and ate the provided breakfast. At breakfast, we sampled some coffee, and some of us even took espresso shots! After that, we got a tour of the plantation and learned how the coffee is made. A 46-kilogram bag of coffee (not from this estate) once sold for $30,000! After that we took another bus ride to La Paz Waterfall Garden. We saw toucans, butterflies, frogs, snakes, monkeys, and wild cats such as ocelot and jaguars. Next, we had a buffet lunch. After lunch, we went to see the waterfalls. They were beautiful! While we were touring the waterfalls, it started to pour. It made it even more fun. After a long beautiful day, we went back on the bus.  The drive to Braulio Carrillo National Park was long, but there were a lot of cool sights. People were all having their own little conversations, and eventually, we got there. We were in the middle of a rain forest (but it thankfully wasn’t raining), and it was quite hot out. Our tour guide showed us around, and right away, we saw some sloths, which had not been in the area recently. After this, we got on a tram in groups of six. It was great, and we went through the rain forest at several different levels of elevation. Then, we turned around and returned to where we started. At the beginning of the day we had our breakfast before heading off to CRLA. We had our usual classes and had a small break for 15 minutes before heading off to some more classes, before finally having lunch. After lunch, we headed out to the Ana Frank orphanage and daycare, where we played with the children, toddlers, and babies. We also brought our donations as they needed extra supplies. After our visit, we were taken to see the sorts of conditions that the children lived in once they went back to their families at the end of the day.  Today was a super fun day in Costa Rica! We learned a lot. Our classes at the CRLA were very interesting and I received a lot of homework. It is nice to learn some extra Spanish so we can talk with our host families. The classes helped, and I can talk more easily. After classes, we spent the rest of the day on tour. We visited Cartago, which is not as busy as San Jose. It was a former capital of Costa Rica. The tour consisted of traveling to different viewpoints in the surrounding mountains and looking around Cartago. The views were beautiful. We visited the famous basilica in Cartago that is very important to the Costa Rican community. Every August, Costa Ricans from all over the country walk, sometimes for days, to get to the basilica and pray to the virgin angel. After visiting the basilica, we headed to a very nice restaurant for dinner, and then returned to our host families.  Today was another fun and interesting day in Costa Rica. It began by waking up muy temprano or, very early. We had a delicious breakfast made by our host families and headed off on a tour of San Jose with one of the lovely people from CRLA. We saw many things such as the National Museum of Costa Rica, multiple homes of former presidents, the building where the congress meets, el Parque de España, lots of street art, the National Theater of Costa Rica, and many tiendas (stores). After our pleasant tour around the city, we made our way to CRLA for a relaxing lunch. We had Spanish classes followed by a sweet little graduation ceremony where we got a certificate of our participation. In the afternoon, we had our second Latin American dance class as well as a cooking class. At the end of the day, we said our goodbyes and hopped on the bus to go to the supermercado to buy snacks for the airplane. In the evening, we went back to our host families to share one last meal. For us, this was a bittersweet moment.  Now that the trip is coming to a close, we are thinking about our experiences from this past week. Zip-lining in the rain forest, climbing up lots and lots of stairs above waterfalls in the pouring rain, singing in the bus, buying chicharrones in the market, watching Costa Rican game shows, playing with children in the daycare, and drinking WAY too much cafe. All of which have contributed to this trip being an unforgettable learning experience, however, there are a couple that stick out as the highlights of the trip. For example, zip-lining. Our zip lining experience taught us many things about having to handle disappointment. This was because at first, we were told that we would be able to go zip-lining and were ecstatic about it, then, when we arrived in the rain forest, we learned that we would not be going zip-lining and would be going on a tram tour instead. We were determined not to let it ruin our day. This made it even more exciting when we actually were able to go zip-lining and ended up having lots of fun. It was one of our favorite parts of the trip! Another learning experience on the trip was going to the Ana Frank Day Care Center. We not only learned about taking care of babies and playing with children but also about different lifestyles. Although the children did not have as much as we did, such as parents, they were still happy. When they were at the daycare, they had food, water, teachers, and a safe place to play, which cannot be said about the neighborhoods that these children live in. They were very grateful for this sense of safety and community, especially those who lack parental figures. This shows that community and love are the most important things in life. Lessons that we have learned on this trip are important in being a culturally aware person and having a good perspective of the world. These skills will help us in whatever walk of life that we choose. This trip has been a fun, interesting, educational, and, most of all, an unforgettable experience.   It's been a busy few weeks over at 6942 W Roosevelt Road. It was such a great sight to see the crew from Bulley & Andrews plug away as walls were created right before our very eyes. Dave Hempfling, Sr. Project In addition to walls, we now have floors and windows as well. Bulley & Andrews have been working hard as they continue to drywall (tape, mud, and sand) in preparation for final touches and paint! Utilities are coming, tiles are being polished in the bathroom, and so much more—all of which brings us one step closer to completion.  Next, the exterior structural wall framing was erected. Within the next week or so, a joist will come to assist on the next part of the project as the B & A crew commences roof work. Construction demo on the Middle School has been completed and work will soon begin on renovations of that space. At the moment, Bulley & Andrews projects that all work will be completed by the end of June. We look forward to sharing more news and updates with you next month. It’s dismissal and apart from the buzz of busyness, jackets being pulled on, and shared laughter, there are also excited murmurs. “I can’t wait for Makerspace after school!” “Running Club is going to be crazy awesome. We’re running around all of Chicago!” “I signed up for cooking class because my mom wants me to make dinner from now on.” Our spring session of after school classes (for ages 5 to 14) is underway, and the children were ready to dive into a variety of activities including gardening, chess, cooking, running and set design. In the past, we've offered robotics, anime, ballet, hip-hop, and playwriting.   At Alcuin, our after school classes provide a wide variety of options whether the child wants to hone in on already developing skills, or try something new in a safe environment. We've heard the children exclaim, “This class is amazing!” or “I am getting so good at chess. I can now beat my dad.” Their happiness is palpable. The after school classes at Alcuin aren’t just about “something to do after school.” The children bring in their passion, energy, and creativity into each class. Children enjoy problem-solving, working with their hands, building and inventing while further developing their cooperative working skills. Oh, and did we also mention they also have fun?  "The road to success is always under construction." - Lily Tomlin It's been a busy few weeks over at 6942 W Roosevelt Road as our floor was poured. It was such a great sight to see the crew from Bulley & Andrews plug away as floors were created right before our very eyes. Dave Hempfling, Sr. Project Manager with Bulley & Andrews, hosted Sandra Simmons (our Toddler Directress) and Gina Gleason (our Executive Director) as the crew worked quickly and precisely on our floor. On our FB Live video, Dave informed us that eighteen trucks came in that morning, with approximately 8500 sq. feet of cement which were needed for our space, which will consist of two toddler classrooms, two infant classrooms, three garden spaces, a large multipurpose room, a full kitchen and much more. Next, the exterior structural wall framing was erected. Within the next week or so, a joist will come to assist on the next part of the project as the B & A crew commences roof work. Construction demo on the Middle School has been completed and work will soon begin on renovations of that space.  At the moment, Bulley & Andrews projects that all work will be completed by the end of June. We look forward to sharing more news and updates with you next month.
If you'd like to get more information on our Middle School program or tour the main campus, please call 708-366-1882 or email our Director of Admission, Alex Valera, at avalera@alcuin.org. As always, videos, pictures, and more can be found on our Alcuin Facebook page, so be sure to like us! Paper plates were converted into something more exciting in eager anticipation of what was to come. The children smiled as they brushed green paint and the busy hum of happy activity swept through the classrooms. “I didn’t count on getting a green manicure today,” Primary classroom assistant, Ms. Gigi, laughed as she washed her hands after a productive morning. “I’m wearing my dragon scale because of China!” One primary student proudly proclaimed. And as they wore their paper plate scales, the children of Alcuin Montessori participated in an all-school parade celebrating the Chinese New Year and welcoming the Year of the Pig. “Let’s start our parade and go all the way to Senior Elementary,” Primary teacher, Mr. Mike, called out as he held the dragon head and called the “scales” into formation. We celebrate children’s awe of everything around them. Places, things, ideas — we help them explore it all. In ways both large and small, the children of Alcuin become aware of the greater world around them. We celebrate cultures, people, diversity, histories, and holidays across the curriculum. For the younger children, it may be via maps, storytelling, and art — for the older children this becomes more in-depth through literature, plays, music, timelines, guest speakers, field trips, and even more elaborate art studies. We follow children’s curiosities which lead to deeper knowledge and personal connection to what they learn, and then we help apply what they’ve learned continuously to other subjects, topics and life. We broaden the learning environment so our children can continually push the fence over to explore new territory and test their growing potential.  Finally, we inspire our children to question everything, express themselves and respect and consider diverse responses and ideas — so they can learn more holistically and inclusively. Alcuin children celebrate the world around them and the people in it, and get to march in a fun parade! It's all in a day's work at Alcuin.  We’re pleased to announce that the final step in our seven-year-long dual accreditation process with ISACS (Independent School Accreditation of the Central States) and AMS (American Montessori Society) is coming as we prepare for our team site visit at the end of the month.
We will be hosting nine education professionals which include teachers and administrators (both Montessorian and non-Montessorians alike) who will spend four days with us. During this visit, every aspect of the school is examined and documented, including governance, curriculum, fiscal and personnel policies, facilities, health and safety practices, teacher preparation, and learner outcomes. So, what exactly does this dual accreditation mean? Accreditation, for ISACS and AMS, begins with an intensive self-study, by the school, involving the school’s entire community. Our whopping almost-200-page self-study goes over every aspect of our school. At the end of the self-study period, a thorough onsite peer visit is conducted. In addition to determining whether the school meets the over 200 AMS and ISACS standards, the visiting team evaluates the school to see how well it is achieving its mission and goals—whether the school is what it says it is and does what it says it does. ISACS is a membership organization of more than 230 independent schools from 13 states in the Midwest region. The purpose of ISACS is to promote the development of active learning communities characterized by high achievements, social responsibility, and independence of governance, programs, and policies. This goal is achieved partly through a rigorous school accreditation process. While the United States Department of Education can only recognize accrediting bodies for higher and adult education, ISACS accreditation is recognized by the U.S. Government. AMS accreditation affirms that a school meets a standard of excellence recognized within the Montessori community and by educators worldwide. Because AMS is accredited by the National Council for Private School Accreditation, schools that are AMS-accredited also gain accreditation by the NCPSA. Additionally, accreditation assures families that their child's school is a quality one and that it is accountable to a larger body. Finally, we will receive a report with commendations and recommendations from the visiting team which will help us grow as a school. We will be in great company as our peer ISACS or AMS schools include: Near North Montessori, Brickton Montessori, Ancona School, Avery Coonley, Beacon Academy, The British School, The Latin School of Chicago, Francis W. Parker, Rogers Park Montessori, Countryside Day School, and University of Chicago Laboratory School. A special thanks to the Steering Committee: Roxy Krawczyk, Nicole Cochrane, Phoenix Holt, and Alex Valera. Thanks again to everyone who has supported this incredible journey, and we can’t wait to celebrate our final steps. Gina Gleason Executive Director |
ABOUTA blog by various Alcuin staff members. Updated monthly... Archives
November 2019
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