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In June of 1986, five mothers who shared a vision for creating a Montessori School in the Sewickley Valley came together and formed The Glen Montessori School. They knew the power of the Montessori methods for teaching children and they wanted that for their own children as well as the community at large. In addition, they recognized the power of combining direct parent involvement and guidance with an educational philosophy that encouraged independence and development at a child’s own pace.

The following September, the school was opened and welcomed its first class of 15 students. News of The Glen Montessori School and the power of the Montessori methods grew rapidly. Even then, the community responded with overwhelming support for the school.

By the following fall (1987), the school enrollment reached its maximum of 24 students. Due to the increasing demand, a second classroom was then added, taking the school’s enrollment to 48 students.

During the 2000 - 2001 school year, the school applications doubled, generating a waiting list long enough to support another two classrooms. At the end of the school year, The Glen relocated to a larger facility in Emsworth Commons that has three large classrooms and office space to support The Glen’s growth.

This new location gives The Glen the proper amount of square footage per child, as recommended by Montessori and allows for room to grow. There is a beautiful outdoor play area for the children to enjoy, as well as an enclosed park to support school functions, which is located adjacent to our building.

During the 2001 –2002 school year, The Glen operated at full enrollment and a third classroom, supporting both morning and afternoon programs, was added to accommodate a larger volume of new students.

Our Mission

It is the mission of The Glen Montessori School to meet four objectives:

1. Provide an educational experience that upholds the tenets of education and development as espoused by Dr. Maria Montessori.
2. Provide this experience to children of diverse ethnic or cultural and economic backgrounds.
3. Create an environment that encourages active parental involvement in the education of the children. This manifests itself through parent committees and a parent-led Board of Directors.
4. Ensure the future viability of the school by practicing sound business principles and obtaining alternative sources of non-tuition related funding.

The Glen's Program

The program at The Glen is rich with learning. Following is a description of the developmental areas and materials used at The Glen:

• PRACTICAL LIFE exercises instill care for themselves, for others and for the environment. The activities include many of the tasks children see as a part of the daily life in their home, such as washing and ironing, doing the dishes, arranging flowers, etc. Through these activities the children develop muscular coordination which enables focused movement and exploration of their surroundings. They learn to work at a task from beginning to end, develop their will (defined by Maria Montessori as the intelligent direction of movement), their sense of discipline and their capacity for total concentration. These exercises enhance the development of order, the refinement of physical movement, as well as coordination.
  
  
• SENSORIAL MATERIALS are tools for sensory development. Children build cognitive skills and learn to order and classify impressions. They do this by touching, seeing, smelling, tasting, listening and exploring the physical properties of their environment through the manipulation of specially- designed materials such as cylinders, spheres, rods, bells and cubes. These materials provide the child the opportunity to order, classify and describe sensory impressions such as temperature and color, to name a few.
  
  
• MATHEMATICS makes use of manipulative materials to enable the child to internalize the concepts of numbers, symbols, sequence, operations and memorization of basic fact. Mathematical materials help children learn and understand mathematical concepts by allowing them to work with tangible objects. This work provides the children with a solid foundation for traditional mathematical principles and provides a structured scope for abstract reasoning. The learning is accomplished by working with beads and objects that enable them to understand the decimal system, fractions, multiplication and division.
  
  
• LANGUAGE is vital to human existence. The Montessori environment provides rich and precise language development. It includes oral language development, written expression, reading, grammar, creative dramatics and children’s literature. Basic skills in writing and reading are developed through the use of sandpaper letters, alphabet cut-outs, the moveable alphabet and various presentations that allow children to link sounds with letter symbols effortlessly and to express their thoughts through writing. Letter sounds are linked together, which is fundamental to the reading process.
  
  
• GEOGRAPHY, HISTORY, BIOLOGY, BOTANY, ZOOLOGY, ART and MUSIC are integrated into the sensorial and language activities. Spanish is also integrated into the curriculum in all areas. Children learn about other cultures—past and present. This allows their innate respect and love for their environment to flourish and creates a base of solidarity with the global human family and its habitat.
  
  

The Montessori Toddler curriculum strives to enhance development in four major areas: movement, independence, language and self-control. This program offers a prepared environment for the very young child, complete with age-specific materials and activities. While serving the needs of our community’s youngest members, such a program would also allow for a smooth transition into the wider world of the 3-6 environment. The Elementary prepared environment is designed for six- through twelve-year-old children. This curriculum is notable for both its academic rigor and breadth of content. The impressive achievements of the typical Montessori elementary student are made possible by the child’s free access to a range of stimulating academic and cultural materials and through opportunities for self-directed research. Montessori Elementary programs typically strive to allow children involvement in their local communities through extensive field trips and community service projects. Through this involvement, children can develop the awareness of self, community, culture and that is a cornerstone of Montessori education.