Preschool - 5th Grade
Giving the Future Wings
Durango Montessori School Serves Families Preschool to 5th grade
​Why Choose Durango Montessori?
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Loving and experienced teachers
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Intentional, supportive community environment
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Emphasis on collaborative relationship-building, independence, and academic growth
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Small class sizes
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Enriching field trip and excursion opportunities
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Unique location in historic multi-use community building in downtown Durango
What is Montessori? Montessori is a method of education that puts an emphasis on self-directed or child-led activity through hands on learning and collaborative exploration.
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​Children are given uninterrupted time for the work of their choice. The materials in the classrooms are engineered to teach concepts through exploration versus direct instruction.
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Our teachers serve to nurture each child in reaching their potential by preparing learning experiences that champion their physical, emotional, intellectual, and social development.
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The Montessori curriculum covers practical life skill, sensorial exploration, and culture as well. This helps to feed the growth of our school community as a culmination of may backgrounds and experiences. We learn and live our axiom that peace begins within.
Our school is community-centered and caring: through all-school community meetings, parent volunteer involvement, birthday celebrations, peace awards, and more. We encourage and model respect and care for each other through everything we do. Your child will recall crafting unique science fair and Peace Day projects each year, making Friendship Fruit Salad alongside their classmates, holding special birthday celebrations with a symbolic Montessori tradition, and sharing in many longstanding school traditions that set Durango Montessori apart.
Outdoor education and free play not only support emotional, behavioral, and intellectual development but improves academic performance and overall brain health. Through our Montessori lens, we see our outdoor environment as an extension of the classroom.
We also allow ample outdoor lunch and recess time, and spend lots of time in the Smiley Building’s large, grassy play yard, aligning with our core value of play and outdoor time being critical to children’s development.
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Students are given time in which they choose their own work, while still being responsible for completing specific tasks on time. The Montessori method allows students to work on a skill until they have mastered it. Middle school teachers tell us that our 5th graders come to middle school fully prepared, eager learners, and often ahead of other students.
At Durango Montessori School we seek to honor your child as a whole person by utilizing the whole-child approach. This teaching philosophy prioritizes all the personal as well as developmental needs of students in addition to their academic achievement.
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We partner with the 9R Shared School program and local professionals to provide art, music, P.E., movement, peace works, social/emotional learning, Spanish, and cultural studies. We also offer varying field trips and excursions each year, including Nordic skiing, ice skating, nature studies at Colvig Silver Camps, and the Powerhouse Science Center.
Nestled in historic Downtown Durango we are so fortunate to have partnered with the Smiley Building as our school location from the beginning. The Emory E. Smiley Junior High School served as a high school until 1994 at which time the Shaw family undertook the rehabilitation of the project to create a dynamic multi-use space for businesses and the community alike. The Smiley is not only one of the leaders in sustainability but has led Durango Montessori to build some amazing connections with fellow tenants. Seed Studio is one of these partnerships we are so fortunate to foster, their program combines art, yoga, and nature and serves as one of our “specials” for kindergarten and beyond. The Smiley also offers peaceful transitions for families at drop off and pick up. You will often see parents connecting in the afternoon not only with teachers but fellow parents as the children enjoy free play on the lawn. There is no rush of a line of cars or chaos but a time to ground in and connect with your child about the day. There are also amazing treats at the Smiley café in case the after-school hunger takes over.
