Education through Community Service Montessori education fosters concern for other human beings and community at every level. This is fundamental to the Middle School and is manifested in the curriculum, in the caring, respectful relationships nurtured between and among teachers and students, and in special community projects. Another project matches each eighth grade student with a resident of a retirement community. Students mature during this project as they refine social skills, learn about aging and community, and develop a relationship with an elderly person outside their own families. Student Assessment Middle School teachers provide a qualitative assessment of each student s performance twice a year, in both a written format and through a personal discussion with the students, parents, and faculty.
Teachers carefully consider the student s whole educational experience when preparing assessments.
This includes focusing on academic strengths and weaknesses as well as social, physical, and creative achievements. To prepare for receiving grades in high school, students may choose to receive grades at the end of each semester. With tremendous exuberance and energy, adolescent students want to experience young adulthood, emotionally, spiritually, and intellectually. The Elizabeth Ann Clune Montessori School of Ithaca s Middle School addresses this need through innovative teaching and through providing a safe and challenging environment that emphasizes personal responsibility, community, creativity, and academic excellence. We welcome questions or comments about this site.