Montessorians believe that quality early childhood education is key to helping children develop their innate love of learning, sense of self and social skills necessary to lead an enriching life in the greater community. It is our hope that you thoughtfully consider several factors when deciding on the right fit for your family.
Our acceptance process involves:
- School visit. Come have a tour with an administrator to learn about the Renaissance community, the classrooms, outdoor space and more. Here we will discuss some aspects that your family is looking for in a school and your child’s readiness to begin a program. Call the office today to schedule a tour: 919-439-0130 or book a tour using our online calendar.
- Consider the commitment.
- Your child will likely have a phase-in process to smoothly acclimate to the routine of their new school. This may be as short as one day, or as long as two to four weeks of gradual acclimation, depending on his or her comfort level and previous experience in a school setting. This phase in will be recommended by your child’s teacher, and during this time we ask that parents stay flexible.
- The Renaissance community asks that parents that they attend parent education events. They are also welcomed to join committees. Committees include new-parent outreach, literacy groups, philanthropy, fundraising, grant writing and more. Committees generally take 1-2 hours per month, and can meet online, at school, at neutral locations and more.
- Renaissance asks parents to understand the Children’s House program is a three-year cycle, thus hopefully a three-year commitment. Children enter the program as novices, re-enroll to practice skills in each area of the classroom, and return for the final year to master the skills. Each year of this cycle awards students a new experience that builds upon the first, and culminates in mastery of the academic and social topics first introduced in year one.
- We also ask parents to encourage their child’s independence at home. This may mean instilling ways for their child to contribute to the family by helping with daily chores and more. While a typical school may not ask as much of its parents, we feel that a healthy school and its children thrive on the collective contributions of each family.
- Understand that school tuition is an investment in your child’s future. Click to view current tuition.
- Request and submit an application. The administration committee will gather to consider how your child would enhance the classroom environment; at this point you may be invited to have a phone or in-office meeting to get to know your family better before a decision is made. Factors that the administrators will consider are your child’s temperament, his past school experience, developmental readiness, the family’s academic goals and willingness to work with your child’s teacher and to contribute to the community as well as the current dynamics of the classes. Please note that the $100 application fee is non-refundable and does not guarantee acceptance. Only parents serious about consideration at Renaissance should take this first step. Click to download application.
- Child visit. This 20- to 60-minute appointment with a lead teacher allows us to see how comfortable your child would be in the Montessori environment and its various transitions. Your child will be invited to work with the teacher through several individual and/ or group activities. The teacher will provide feedback to administrators and parents regarding your child’s ability to separate, his comfort level during the visit, responsiveness to the teacher, students and environment. Depending on the visit, your child may be invited back to increase his comfort level before beginning school.
- Acceptance. When your child is offered a space in one of our classrooms, you will be given an orientation packet and will be contacted to plan a phase-in process for your child. We encourage parents to allow time during the child’s first week of school to gradually ease him in to the new environment and schedule. We will create a custom phase-in period if necessary. For more information on our school policies and procedures, please see our Parent Handbooks.
- Submit forms, fees. At this time you will be asked to submit the forms and supply fee prior to your child’s first day. Should your child begin after the first of any month, the month’s tuition will be prorated and collected at this time.
Contact us to start the acceptance process or to schedule a tour today, or click to download application.