Family Guide for Parents & Guardians

One of the most unique things about Pittsburgh Montessori is our mixed age classrooms! 

• Children’s House Classrooms (ages 3-6): Also known as the pre-K/K classrooms, these are home to pre-K 3, pre-K 4 and Kindergarten students. They are located in both the demountable (detached building) and on the first floor of the main building. 

• Lower Elementary (ages 6-9): The lower elementary classrooms are for 1st, 2nd and 3rd grade students. There are Lower Elementary Classrooms on both floors of the main building. 

• Upper Elementary (ages 10-12): The upper elementary classrooms are for 4th and 5th grade students. These classrooms are located on the upper floor of the main building. 

Specials refer to the classes taught by specialized teachers or that students take part in on certain days. Specials at Pittsburgh Montessori include Art, Physical Education, Music, and Library. 4th/5th grade students also have the opportunity to take part in Instrumental Music.

All Pittsburgh Public Schools follow a district-wide 6-day rotation schedule, where each day corresponds to a specials class. For example, your students may have Gym on Days 1 and 3 (so those are days they will need sneakers!)

Greenway is the name for Pittsburgh Public's Gifted and Talented Center, which serves students who have been enrolled in the Gifted and Talented programs. Greenway programming is for grades K-8. Students who participate travel from Pittsburgh Montessori to Greenway on Thursdays. Parents, teachers or other stakeholders can request that any K through 8th grade student be evaluated for Gifted Services by Pittsburgh Public Schools. Learn more about that process and PPS's Gifted and Talented program here. 

Regular Dismissal: 

• PreK at 3:35pm

• K-5th at 3:50pm 

Half Day Dismissal:

• PreK at 12:15pm

• K-5th is at 12:30pm

School-level contacts

• Kellie Meyer, Principal: 412-529-2010, kmeyer1@pghschools.org

• Ryan Lokay, Counselor: 412-529-2024, rlokay1@pghschools.org

• Sara Conway, Family and Community Engagement (FACE) Coordinator: 412-529-2010, sconway1@pghschools.org

• Susan Lipchak, PSE Learning Support Teacher/Special Education; 412-529-5810,  slipchak1@pghschools.org

• Tamara Roach, PSE Learning Support Teacher/Speacial Education: troach1@pghschools.org

• Victoria Sunder, School Secretary: 412-529-2010,  vsunder1@pghschools.org

• Nile Ross, Student Data (change of address requests, email update, any student data update): nross2@pghschools.org

• Lorenda Porter, School Nurse: 412-529-2020, lporter1@pghschools.org

• Tiffany Stuckey, Kidsville (independently owned & operated before- and after-school care program that operates onsite at the school): 412-992-0480, tcstuckey18@me.com

District-level contacts

• PPS Parent Hotline: 412-529-HELP (4357), parenthotline@pghboe.net

• PPS District Calendar: pghschools.org/calendar; this lists all half-days and days off, as well as district board meetings and district events

• PPS Transportation Office: 412-529-8125

  • • Carrier information can be found here

    • Transportation office staff directory can be found here

This text is from the American Montessori Society

The Montessori Method of education, developed by Dr. Maria Montessori, is a child-centered educational approach based on scientific observations of children from birth to adulthood. Dr. Montessori’s Method has been time tested, with over 100 years of success in diverse cultures throughout the world. It is a view of the child as one who is naturally eager for knowledge and capable of initiating learning in a supportive, thoughtfully prepared learning environment. It is an approach that values the human spirit and the development of the whole child—physical, social, emotional, cognitive

Components necessary for a program to be considered authentically Montessori include multiage groupings that foster peer learning, uninterrupted blocks of work time, and guided choice of work activity. In addition, a full complement of specially designed Montessori learning materials are meticulously arranged and available for use in an aesthetically pleasing environment.

The teacher, child, and environment create a learning triangle. The classroom is  prepared by the teacher to encourage independence, freedom within limits, and a sense of order. The child, through individual choice, makes use of what the environment offers to develop himself, interacting with the teacher when support and/or guidance is needed.

Multiage groupings are a hallmark of the Montessori Method: younger children learn from older children; older children reinforce their learning by teaching concepts they have already mastered. This arrangement also mirrors the real world, where individuals work and socialize with people of all ages and dispositions.

Dr. Montessori observed that children experience sensitive periods, or windows of opportunity, as they grow. As their students develop, Montessori teachers match appropriate lessons and materials to these sensitive periods when learning is most naturally absorbed and internalized.

In early childhood, Montessori students learn through sensory-motor activities, working with materials that develop their cognitive powers through direct experience: seeing, hearing, tasting, smelling, touching, and movement.

In the elementary years, the child continues to organize his thinking through work with the Montessori learning materials and an interdisciplinary curriculum as he passes from the concrete to the abstract.  He begins the application of his knowledge to real-world experiences.

This organization of information—facts and figures—prepares the child for the world of adolescence, when thought and emotion evolve into understanding more abstract, universal concepts such as equity, freedom, and justice.

There are many ways to volunteer with the PTA, school, and your child's classroom. Some volunteer tasks, especially situations where you may be alone with a child, require child abuse clearances be on file with the school. PTA volunteer signups will always indicate if a position requires clearances.

Prior to volunteering in a school or on a school trip, a volunteer must complete and submit the following to the school:

• District In-Take Form for Volunteers

• Pennsylvania State Criminal History Report

• Child Abuse  History Certification

• FBI Criminal History Report (Service Code 1KG6ZJ)

  • Fingerprinting is required at a cost of $21.35, paid at the fingerprinting site (funds are available to cover cost of fingerprinting if needed, please contact the school social worker)

  • You can also apply via phone at 1-844-321-2101

  • When visiting the fingerprinting site, you must present a valid ID (driver’s license, military ID, passport, US visa)

  • A signed Pennsylvania Resident Form AND Waiver Request can be submitted in lieu of this report if you have lived in Pennsylvania for 10 consecutive years

• A TB test is also required to volunteer in PreK classrooms.

Volunteer roles that DO NOT generally require clearances

• Assissting in the main office

• Assisting teachers/staff with clerical duties

• Assisting with a birthday party

• Reading to the class

• Attending school-wide events during or after-school 

• Volunteering at school-wide events with general interaction with students

Volunteer roles that DO generally require clearances

• Chaperoning field trips when the chaperone will have responsibility for the welfare of children

• Regular classroom volunteer assistants

• Recess, cafeteria, library volunteers

• Volunteer coaches/club advisors

• Volunteering at school-wide events with one-on-one interaction with students