Enrollment and Admissions Procedures
Monocacy Montessori Communities, Inc. (Updated 05 May 2002)
Charter School Legislation (Updated 14 April 2002)
Financing public charter schools
First Montessori public charter school

Enrollment and Admissions Procedures

In accordance with BoE FCP Section 343.1C, Student Admission, admission in Monocacy Valley Montessori School will be open to all students residing in Frederick County eligible for kindergarten through sixth grade at the start of the 2002-2003 school year. Students will be eligible for admittance without tuition charge. No eligible Frederick County student will be denied admittance in order to accept an out-of-county student. Others residing outside of Frederick County will comply with the FCPS policies and regulations governing enrollment and tuition charges for nonresident students. Monocacy Valley Montessori School will not deny admission to students based on discriminatory factors such as race, gender, ethnicity, religious preference, socio-economic conditions, or disability.

Admission will be granted to eligible children of the initial founders and the School Improvement Team members of Monocacy Valley Montessori School during the first year of operation, as well as during subsequent years.

According to our charter application, student enrollment applications will be accepted through 22 May 2002 for inclusion in the first admissions and/or lottery process if necessary. If no lottery is necessary, all students completing applications by 22 May 2002 will be admitted.
15 May 2002 was the date set by the Board of Education at which point Monocacy Montessori Communities, Inc. must be able to demonstrate that we are able to fill 70% of our first year enrollment (118 students of the 168 first year capacity). This was one of the two conditions placed on our organization in order to obtain final approval of the charter application.

A random-selection process or lottery will only be used if the number of qualified applicants exceeds the predetermined student capacity of 168 students or a specific grade within the multi-age clusters (kindergarten, lower elementary, upper elementary) is oversubscribed. This lottery, if required, will be held 24 May 2002. The only students eligible for the lottery are those who have completed the application process in full by 22 May 2002. Those students not admitted through the lottery process will be placed at the head of the waiting list. All applications received after 22 May 2002, will be placed on the waiting list in the order that they are received.

If you have questions concerning this procedure please contact us at [email protected] or (301) 473-9716.

Monocacy Montessori Communities, Inc.

Thank you for your interest in the Monocacy Valley Montessori School application which was submitted by Monocacy Montessori Communities, Inc., a nonprofit corporation, to School Superintendent Dr. Jack Dale and the Frederick County Board of Education. Here's an update on the progress of the application:

On Wednesday, 13 March 2002, the Frederick County Board of Education, by a unanimous vote, tentatively approved the Montessori public charter school application. The BoE will give their final approval for the charter school if Monocacy Montessori Communities, Inc. has filled 70 percent of the planned 168-student enrollment and secured a school building by May 15.

Upon final approval, the first public charter school in Maryland plans to open for kindergarten through sixth grade in August 2002. Seventh- and eighth-grade classes will be added in 2003 and 2004, respectively. The BoE will allow the school to hire Montessori-certified teachers, or teachers with at least year of Montessori training, who have provisional Maryland teacher certification.

Enrollment applications and enrollment transfers for all students wishing to be enrolled in the Monocacy Valley Montessori School will be tentatively processed from now until May 22 through the office of Mr. Ron Johnston, Frederick County Public Schools, at (301) 644-5238. Students wishing to transfer from somewhere outside of Frederick County will only be eligible to enroll if they pay tuition to Frederick County Public Schools as per state regulations.

Proposed Charter School Legislation

Legislative Update: The 2002 Maryland General Assembly has once again failed to pass charter school legislation. Similar to last year, the conference committees were unable to compromise between the House (HB 131) and Senate (SB 213) bills. The bills died in committee on the last day of session.

HB 131: Amendments adopted by House and Senate.
SB 213: Amendments adopted by Senate and House.

The Issue of Financing Public Charter Schools

From January 18-30, 2002 the Board of Education of Frederick County conducted its telephone survey to gather opinions regarding school budget considerations. They had listed funding for charter schools as an additional budget requirement, outside the funding "needed to maintain the current level of programs and services and accommodate an enrollment increase of about 900 students next year." You may see this information also presented at the Superintendent's Roundtable discussions.

Unfortunately, this is a very misleading categorization of charter schools and their funding. In a county suffering from inadequate space in which to instruct students and class sizes that are viewed as too large by many parents, it is hard to think of spending our dollars on "extras" when it is evident that we don't have what we "need."

Charter schools are not an "extra" and that is what I would like to address here. The FCPS Poll, "How Should Our Public Education Dollars Be Spent?" may easily lead one to believe that the entire funding that a charter school receives in its first year is an additional one time cost to the system that is never recovered. This is indeed inaccurate.

First, children like my own have been in the public school system for two years. They are already included in the enrollment numbers tied to 2002-2003 funding. If they are able to attend a charter school in the fall, the per pupil allocation for my children will follow them to the charter school. There is no additional cost to FCPS. This is the same process that occurs if my family chooses to move from our current neighborhood into another neighborhood and attendance area. Many families move within the county for a variety of reasons and children transfer from one school to another. There is no additional budget requirement associated with these transfers. It is the way a public school system does business on a daily basis.

Second, the most appropriate place for addressing the funding of any student enrolling in a charter school, who has not previously attended a Frederick County public school, is right in the first paragraph of the FCPS flyer. If we are projecting about 900 new students next year and the system anticipates that the creation of a charter school would attract additional new students to the public school system, the 900-student figure should be increased accordingly. Public charter school students and their families should be given no less consideration. The only thing that distinguishes these students from others is that their families will have chosen to send them to a Frederick County public school, which offers a program different from that of the traditional public schools.

So, how many students are we talking about? I can only address the Montessori application that was submitted on Dec. 18, 2001. The enrollment for the first year was projected to be 136 students. Sixteen of those children will be Kindergarten students - new to the system just as other kindergartners are new. In the application we have identified the founding families. Many of them, like myself, have children already in our public school system and have been active supporters of public education.

Is there any way to predict who will apply to attend this charter school? Not really. Applicants will most likely include families that believe their children will have a positive experience in a Montessori environment or ones that are just looking for a smaller school overall. You can read the statistics for the other 2000 charter schools that currently exist. One thing that is clear, the schools are a reflection of their communities, attracting their fair share of all types of students. The fear that charter schools would remove all of the best students and most involved parents from the traditional schools has not come to pass.

The Board of Education policy regarding charter schools allows the opportunity for charter schools to exist. Our organization has worked diligently to present a thoughtful, organized, and justifiable application. It must be reviewed on its own merits. In order for that review to occur, accurate information needs to be presented to all involved.

Please view comments from the BOE regarding this issue at Yahoo Groups ([email protected]).

Thank you for taking the time to become informed about the charter school issue.

Leslie Mansfield

Frederick County’s First Montessori Public Charter School

On December 18, 2001, an application to establish the first Montessori K-8 public charter school in Frederick County was submitted to the School Superintendent, Dr. Jack Dale. His review and recommendations will be heard by the Board of Education who will then vote on whether to grant the charter to the group of parents and teachers who have collaborated to make their vision a reality.

The charter "Founders" are a group of committed people who believe that the Montessori educational approach is the best way for children to reach their full potential and who have a firm belief in the value and necessity of a sound and diversified public education system, in which all children, regardless of background or means can obtain a quality education.

Charter schools are an excellent means through which these beliefs can be acted upon. They are public schools that are given greater autonomy than traditional public schools in return for greater accountability – academic and fiscal. The charter or contract is granted for a renewable term of 4 years. In Frederick County, the charter will be granted by the local Board of Education, which established a charter school application policy in 2001. Maryland has not yet passed a charter law.

A Montessori education is the best foundation for a society where lifelong learning is the norm. Montessori emphasizes learning through all five senses, not just through listening, watching, or reading. Children in Montessori classes learn at their own, individual pace and according to their own choice of activities from hundreds of possibilities. Montessori materials are designed for use by individual students or small groups, rather than as teacher presentation aides.

Montessori classes foster an attitude of cooperation rather than competition. It is common for students to ask other students for help. Montessori classes place children in three-year age groups (3-6, 6-9, 9-12, and so on), forming communities in which the older children spontaneously share their knowledge with the younger ones. Learning is an exciting process of discovery, leading to concentration, motivation, self-discipline, and a love of learning.

If you would like to find out more about the Montessori public charter school, please contact Leslie Mansfield at (301) 473-9716 or email her at [email protected].

Last Updated 21 May 2002