Community Montessori is a Charter school.
Community Montessori is a Public school.
Community Montessori believes in public education.
In comparison to traditional public schools, “We are more alike, my friends, than we are unalike” - Maya Angelou
With our local traditional public schools crafting their options to participate in Red for Ed Day, Community Montessori has our own plans.
It can often be disenchanting to hear a negative spin about charter schools in the news and in our communities. Members of our community often don’t understand what a charter school is, or how funding works. Charter schools are sometimes blamed for why traditional public schools need more funding (keep reading to learn more) AND often folks don’t understand that WE ARE A PUBLIC SCHOOL. We believe we have an option to do something about it.
Next Tuesday, November 19th - Traditional public school Districts are going to INDY to ask for three things from legislators:
1) Invest budget surplus in teacher compensation
2) Hold students, teachers and communities harmless from I-LEARN
3) Repeal PGP/externship requirements for renewing teaching licenses
Community Montessori also agrees with those three things, regardless of sometimes negative views from traditional public schools toward charter schools. We are thankful to the many partnerships from our local traditional public school districts:).
While we agree with the three premises for Red for ED, next Tuesday we will also be wearing RED for CM. Our staff and some families will be wearing red t-shirts reminding our community that WE ARE A PUBLIC SCHOOL.
With several traditional public schools closed on November 19th, we are adding another tour/observation day for our community to learn more about CM and charter schools in general. With our lottery deadline for 2020-21 fast approaching on December 6th, families can visit our school at 9:00am on this day or every Wednesday (our school is open)at 9:00am.
Last week I spoke to a local educational leader who asked me how much our tuition is for families, demonstrating the lack of knowledge and understanding about Community Montessori. Here are some fast facts so you can be an ambassador and answer questions in our community:
Community Montessori converted from a private school to a charter school in 2002, right after the charter school law passed in Indiana to allow ALL FAMILIES to attend our Montessori school for FREE!
Several public school superintendents have embraced public charter schools in our state as bringing more great public school options to our community. My first conversation was with Ed Adams in 1997, the then NAFC Schools Superintendent. He spoke in favor of the charter school movement before the law was passed (and while he was still alive) because he understood that Charter (choice) Public Schools, like Community Montessori, could make our local schools even better.
Community Montessori is a non-profit organization - which means it is created to serve the community and not to create profit for the owners. This means it is run by volunteer community members who serve on the Board of Directors of Community Montessori.
Per Indiana law, CM cannot choose who attends our school and can only give preference to certain groups, for example, siblings of current learners. All residents of the State of Indiana are eligible to apply.
Unlike traditional public schools, CM cannot levy taxes for facility funding and receives about $3500 less per learner in funding from all sources.
When CM converted to a charter school in the fall of 2002, and for many years after that, traditional public schools still received funding for the children that attended CM, and no longer attended those schools.
Public charter schools in Indiana need to follow all safety laws and are held to high accountability standards to the Indiana Department of Education and our authorizer, Ball State University.
Public charter schools are not virtual schools, but are often lumped together. Virtual schools are private schools that are accepting voucher money from the state for some families that enroll in their private school. Most public charter schools do not agree with virtual school law, and agree with traditional public schools about this.
“We are more alike, my friends, than we are unalike” - Maya Angelou
Community Montessori encourages anyone to visit our school to learn more about our philosophy of learning. We hold regular tours/observations on Wednesdays when the school is open at 9:00am, with no appointment needed to attend. Because many schools are closing on November 19th, we will also be hosting an additional tour/observation on Tuesday November 19th at 9:00am. You can also visit the school’s website at www.shiningminds.com for general information about the school.