Explore Elementary

Through our Montessori Elementary program’s curriculum, students advance academically well beyond their same-aged peers from other schools. Mixed-age learning means that students can go farther and learn deeply.

The broad and integrated curriculum allows children to delve into big projects that excite them! They are exposed to various areas of science commonly left out until middle school or high school. This allows students to refine their skills, while exploring areas of their own interests at their own pace.

Mixed-Aged Classrooms means age-appropriate classrooms. Lower Elementary (ages 6-9) Upper Elementary (ages 9-12). Students can work with peers who are on their level rather than being limited to peers who are in their age range. This allows students to be challenged in areas of strengths with a curriculum that spans several years rather than one.

Students choose when & how long to spend on each work in all disciplines & fields of study. Our expert guides ensure that their work is completed each week by working together with the students to create a weekly work plan. This leads to more ownership over their work and practice of important executive functioning skills.

Children in the Montessori Elementary program are joyful and deeply engaged in their learning. They are provided the freedom to navigate their environment with autonomy, choosing where to work, when to get a snack, use the bathroom, or seek a new lesson. Along with a written work plan, students learn to become true advocates for their learning while their teacher facilitates. 

Our team of literacy specialists works with students multiple times a week. Students are grouped by reading level, rather than age alone. 

While formal tests are not used in Lower Elementary, weekly spelling quizzes and regular reading evaluations allow us to target learning to each child’s needs. Continuous academic assessments happen through daily observation and interaction. Teachers closely monitor children during work, lessons, and individual sessions. This deep understanding helps educators to tailor our support of children and fosters individual progress. 

Students' academic milestones and growth are also extrenally Nationally-normed benchmark assessments starting in Kindergarten, and standardized tests starting in 3rd grade. Literacy Specialists also conduct 1:1 Literacy Testing, also beginning in Kindergarten. These tests are used to inform instruction and show growth over time. 

In our Montessori Elementary program, your child's teacher will present an individualized plan for him or her based not only on the Montessori curriculum but also on the teachers’ careful observations and detailed record-keeping of your specific student. 

The flexibility and individualized teaching, as well as the student : teacher ratio at Gladwyne Montessori, cannot be found in any other school on the Main Line for elementary-aged learners.

At Gladwyne Montessori, our students excel without the pressures of an externally driven competitive environment, which is often experienced at other private elementary schools. As a result, our Elementary students gain a strong appreciation for holding themselves accountable for extraordinary effort and work. This intrinsic motivation yields a healthy, happy, emotionally mature child who possesses a profound desire to excel in every area of life.

Our small class sizes mean that students form deep connections with everyone in their classroom. Graduates leave our program with a strong sense of self after spending time learning and exploring themes of justice, identity, collaboration, and independence. 

Students who complete our program gain an impressive depth of understanding and mastery across all subjects which makes our students extraordinary contributors at all schools who are fortunate to receive them once they complete our program.