The equivalence of ages with grade levels is a fairly ingrained tradition in American education. If a friend tells you her son is five years old, it’s reasonable to assume that the child is in kindergarten; and if a teenager has just gotten her driver’s license, it’s a safe betRead More

In March, an American educator was awarded the highest honor in teaching – the inaugural Varkey Foundation Global Teacher Prize, which some have called the “Nobel Prize of Teaching.” Nancie Atwell of Edgecomb, Maine, is the founder of the Center for Teaching and Learning, an independent private school. At theRead More

On Wednesday, we wrote about how play can be used for learning and the efforts of Ashoka and the LEGO Foundation to encourage innovation in that area. The Re-Imagine Learning Challenge brought forth some great new ideas; however, the general concept of learning through play is not new in and ofRead More

The Montessori Method of education is a common alternative to the traditional classroom structure. It emphasizes “the development of the whole child” and allows students independence to learn at their own pace and in their own way. A Montessori classroom is decentralized and open, and multiple grades are typically combinedRead More

Montessori-style programs have long been a popular choice among upper-class parents for their children,  but recent research suggests that Montessori-style pre-kindergarten may particularly beneficial for low-income Latino children – especially for acquiring language skills. Ayra Ansari of UT-Austin and Adam Winsler of George Mason University examined 13,000 low-income black andRead More

The Houston Independent School District has modified a controversial proposal to standardize future magnet school funding. During the April 24 budget workshop, HISD administration proposed eliminating extra funding for Vanguard programs that serve gifted and talented students to redistribute funding more equally across non-magnet schools. On May 15, the administrationRead More

When you first walk into the Museum District’s Post Oak High School, little is hidden, including the teachers. The school, a single story, 6,000 square foot brick and glass-walled structure with an open-concept floor plan, was designed with the third teacher in mind. The third teacher is not a humanRead More

Imagine if the principles of individualized, self-paced learning could be merged with the brutal competitiveness of the business world.  You might need to “Think Different” (-ly) to see the result.  Eleven schools in the Netherlands, dubbed “Steve Jobs Schools” think they know what that vision looks like — it involvesRead More

Sisters Edna Ann Herbert and Shirley Owens founded St. Catherine’s Montessori (originally named Dominican Montessori) in 1966 and are affiliated with the Association Montessori Internationale.  Before moving to its current location in 2006, St. Catherine’s was hosted by St. Agnes Academy’s old building.  The school then was hosted by theRead More

The School of the Woods was originally founded as a nursery school in 1962, a few years after Montessori education resurfaced in the United States.  The school received its name to honor the work of Dr. Ernest Wood and Hilda Wood in developing the school’s curriculum.  The School of theRead More

St. Stephen’s Episcopal School teaches children in pre-kindergarten through 12th grade following Montessori principles.  It was originally founded in 1971 as a parish school at Palmer Memorial Episcopal Church following the educational curriculum of Dr. Maria Montessori.  The school moved to the St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church facility in 1983 andRead More

Woodrow Wilson Montessori School, founded in 1925, was named after the 28th president of the United States and serves Pre-K through 8th grade. Still at its original location, Wilson Montessori was built on the location of the home of Mirabeau B. Lamar. Mr. Lamar was the second and last presidentRead More

Founded in 1963, The Post Oak School now enrolls nearly 450 students from 14 months through high school on two campuses.  The school originally served children between the ages of 3 and 6 in a one-room schoolhouse located in the Briar Grove section of Houston.  According to the school, PostRead More

The Fay School (TFS) is a private elementary school founded in 1991 by Marie Fay Evnochides in her home along Houston’s Buffalo Bayou.  In its first year, the school worked with early childhood students and added a grade level each year after, culminating in the fifth grade.  The school boastsRead More