First Montessori school set to open in Hillsborough County district

CARROLLWOOD, Fla. - The application period opened Wednesday for Hillsborough County School's first Montessori school, a program that has only been offered in Hillsborough in private schools.

The Montessori school will operate out of classrooms at Essrig Elementary School and will accept 54 students to start. It'll be open to children who are three and four years old or entering kindergarten.

"This is all about individualized development," Superintendent Addison Davis said during a news conference. "There's a lot of concentrated private institutions that offer Montessori, and we want to be an option for our parents as well, where they choose Hillsborough County Public Schools."

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According to the American Montessori Society's website, there are currently a dozen private Montessori schools in Hillsborough County. Davis said the tuition can often be too pricey for some families and waiting lists at the schools are long.

The Montessori School will operate out of Essrig Elementary School in Carrollwood. It's the first under Hillsborough County Public Schools.

The district's program will be a magnet program and is open to families throughout the county.

"Education has been revolutionized, and our industry has changed, and we've got to continue to change with the growing needs of our parents," Davis said.

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According to Kim Bays, the district's Chief of Innovation, Montessori learning is individualized and allows students to be grouped together based on learning speed and knowledge of the specific subject, rather than age.

"So we might have a five-year-old who is progressing at the same age as a seven-year-old, or a three-year-old who's progressing beyond, like a four-year-old or five-year-old," said Bays. "The point is to put them together so that they can grow at their own pace, in their own speed."

Davis said the plan is to expand the program as the students enrolled in it get older. The district also hopes to launch additional Montessori programs at other schools in the county.

Applications are available at www.hillsboroughschools.org/choice and are being accepted from May 18-27.