PROGRAMS
High School

Curriculum and Courses

Meaning of Montessori High School • Counseling and Student Life • Overseas Travel • Recent Activities

Curriculum

There are four distinct parts to our curriculum: Academics, Global View, Community Action and Leadership, and Practical Life.

Academics
Students have a well-rounded and complete liberal arts/college preparation curriculum. Our students work at the advanced placement level in most areas and/or take college level courses. (See Course Guide Link).

Mentorship
An important part of our program is the Mentor. Each student is assigned a mentor (with a limit of 10 students to one mentor). The role of the mentor is to guide his/her students both philosophically and practically. The mentor spends time each day with students in discussion and academic support. The mentor is also responsible for coordinating the student's schedule, assisting with college selection and applications, and always--ALWAYS--searching for and exploring additional educational opportunities.  

Global View: Citizens of the World
Building on the groundwork already in place from the Montessori elementary and middle school curricula, high school course work stresses the understanding of people and events through a historical, national, and international perspective.

Community Action and Leadership
Ongoing community action/involvement is an important part of the high school program. Leadership is a skill that is both taught and developed.

Community service at MMS begins at the elementary level and continues through the middle school program. In high school, community service becomes community action. For example, a first-year high school student might coach an MMS tee-ball or soccer group. But leadership truly occurs when a person starts something new-- a new service, club, or activity.

Practical Life
We recognize that education involves real life skills. In the Montessori world, real life skills are taught from the earliest ages, so it only makes sense that we continue this practice in high school. The following practical life activities will be required for graduation:

• Driver's training (including basic mechanics)
  
• Basic culinary skills
  
• Personal finance
  
• Consumer education
  
• Physical education / activity
  
• Health

Course Guide

The Meadow Montessori High School program is a three-year college preparatory program. The core of the program is an individualized educational plan with an emphasis on high academic performance, unique experience, and opportunities for leadership and service.

The academic program has two main elements:
Courses at Meadow Montessori and Dual Enrolled Courses at Monroe County Community College

The program is very unique, blending of a rigorous course load at Meadow with university Freshman/Sophomore parallel courses from Monroe County Community College. The student has a challenging and enriching academic career that will prepare him/her for college.

When a student is accepted into our program, we will sit down and work with him/her and his/her parents to create a plan for his/her career at MMHS. We look at what college courses the student might wish take over the next three years and then develop a timeline. It is necessary for the student to have ACT scores or acceptable scores on the COMPASS test for placement.

A student must earn a minimum of 20 graduating credits in grades 10–12 which are distributed in the following six categories:

Group 1: Literature and language arts-eight semesters

Group 2: Foreign language-six semesters

Group 3: Individuals and Culture, which would include history, geography, economics, social and cultural anthropology, information technology, business and management-four semesters

Group 4: Sciences-six semesters at least two in life science and two in physical science

Group 5: Mathematics and Computer Science-four semesters

Group 6: The Arts-two semesters

Meadow Montessori High School Courses

As a 9th grader (in our middle school program), the students may take AP Human Geography and then continue through a three-year cycle of American, European and Modern World History as a high school student. These courses, as well as course offered in literature, mathematics, and the sciences, prepare the student to know how to take college courses at MCCC. 

Another unique series of courses is the The Integrated Course study that is composed of two to four courses per year. These courses enrich the learning process by connecting the dots of the different disciplines. The students help decide, select and drive the courses. These courses integrate the disciplines of history, science, art, and math while working with the skills of writing, reading, critical thinking and presentations.

Past courses have been in Studies in Genocide, Media Literacy, Irish Studies and 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.
 
Courses that have been offered at MMHS include:

AP US History
AP European History
AP Human Geography
Algebra
Trigonometry
Pre-calculus
Earth and Environmental Science
Physics
Shakespeare
Foreign Language (Spanish, French, Latin)
Music Theory and History
Music--Instrumental
Art

It is impossible to overemphasize the importance of student input in the process of both course selection and course design.

Monroe County Community College (MCCC) Dual Enrollment

Another unique feature of MMHS is the privilege to take courses from MCCC as a 10th grader. Our students have the chance to get a head start on the college careers. They learn how to be college students, which requires not only significantly stronger study skills, but also how to interact with professors and the college environment.  These courses help supplement the high school curriculum as well as build substantial credits in University Freshman and Sophomore Parallel courses that can be transferred to four-year institutions.

We have created a list of college courses that required and strongly recommended. All of the courses are typical Freshman and Sophomore college required core courses.
 
 
Required Selection of MCCC Courses
Literature and Language Arts
ENG 151- English Composition 1
 
Physical Science Requirement (one of the following)
CHEM 150- Fundamentals of Chemistry
PHY 151 - General Physics I
PHYSC 151 - Physical Science
ESC 151 - Earth Science
 
Natural Science Requirement (one of the following)
BIOL 151 - Biological Sciences I
BIOL 152 - Biological Sciences
BIOL 154 - Introduction to Environmental Science
 
Mathematics Requirement (at least)
MATH 157 - College Algebra
 
Computer Requirement (one of the following)
CIS 130 - Introduction to Computer Information Systems
CIS 132 - Introduction to Computer Programming
CIS 150 - Computer Science I