By Kate Olsen

By age three, children achieve nearly 80 percent of their total brain growth, and before a child enters kindergarten, intelligence, behavioral patterns and ersonalities are largely formed.  Mile High Montessori creates a stimulating learning environment for young children so they are prepared to succeed when they enter school.

Serving 1,000 children every year, Mile High Montessori is Denver’s oldest and largest provider of comprehensive, subsidized early childhood care and education.  Most families serviced live in the city’s most financially distressed neighborhoods with 89 percent living at or below 185 percent of the Federal Poverty Level.

Mile High United Way and Mile High Montessori have been community partners for thirty-four years.  The two non-profit organizations currently collaborate in Mile High United Way’s School Readiness initiative: ensuring children from low-income families will be prepared to succeed when they enter kindergarten. 

As I toured the school with Anna Jo Haynes, president and CEO, I noticed something very distinctive about the early childhood center.  Children at Montessori don’t rush the door as we enter the classroom to see who the new faces are - they are truly engaged in their individual learning.  This is an important mark of a high quality early learning center.  In each classroom, children from a few months old to 5 years of age are engrossed in whatever their activity may be from painting and playing with blocks, to reading with their teachers or receiving a group music lesson.

There are also no tangible objects in the classrooms that restrict a child’s movement, like highchairs or playpens.  Children use their own body to manage how they learn and it is believed to enhance their independence.

“The Montessori method breeds children who are curious, critical thinkers and are able to make decisions for themselves at a very young age.  They are also able to control their own environment.  This is critical to their development as most kids here live below the poverty line and as a result may have chaotic lives outside Mile High Montessori.  We give them a safe, nurturing space where they can thrive,” said Haynes.

Another benefit is the 1:4 and 1:8 student-to-teacher ratios; each classroom is structured around individual learning.  Mile High Montessori believes it is important to instill in children at a young age that they are able to make their own choices, instead of a teacher telling them what to do.  As a result, children always choose their own activities.

The surprising result is an extremely peaceful environment.
 
Teachers do not raise their voices and scold the children if they do something wrong.  Instead, the teacher remains calm and works with the child so that they learn from their mistakes through positive reinforcement.  Teachers go home every night feeling satisfied, instead of exhausted, because they are not spending most of their day correcting children’s behavior.
 
“I know when they leave Mile High Montessori, these children are ready for life.  Some kids are here for 10 plus hours a day, so we become a big part of who they are.  The birth to five age gap is incredibly critical for a child’s development; we know what we are doing is making a difference every day,” concluded Haynes.

Click here to donate or volunteer for Mile High United Way’s School Readiness initiative.