Montessori School helps below grade students

For elementary school children who are not up to grade level, the Jamaica Montessori School is the place to go to help them rise scholastically. Principal and founder of the school Yvonne Kyler, states they have a 90 percent success rate in bringing academically struggling children to grade level and above.
It's not hard to see why Kyler purposely maintains small classrooms. Jamaica Montessori has four head teachers and four assistant teachers for its entire population of 65 children ranging from pre-schoolers to sixth-graders.
The school has been in operation since 1980, beginning with only 25 pre-schoolers and three teachers. All of the teachers have Masters degrees in education. Students are also taught one of two foreign languages, French or Spanish, starting at the pre-school level. Class sizes range from 12-18 students for pre-schoolers, and 15 students for the higher grades. Students are placed according to their ability and not by age. The Montessori Method developed by Maria Montessori of Italy in the early 1900's uses the whole child to facilitate learning through all five senses. Students learn by manipulating materials and interacting with their peers, which Kyler believes accelerates learning.
Kyler is a graduate of Syracuse University and holds a degree in political science. It was while an undergraduate exchange student in Florence, Italy, that she discovered the Montessori Method of teaching. &#8220I saw three- and four-year-olds” doing addition and subtraction,” Kyler says of her time in Italy. She was so impressed by this that after graduating from college Kyler enrolled in the Montessori training program, studying under Joy Hardinge who was taught by Maria Montessori herself.
The Jamaica Montessori School began classes on Wednesday September 6. For further information call 718-739-0319.