Park Road Montessori School

Park Road Montessori is located in south Charlotte. The campus has a rolling landscape of 26 acres along with three buildings that house 20 classrooms, a stand-alone gym, a Media Center, a cafeteria and two mobile units. The property borders the Sugar Creek Greenway which lends its creek to further student ecology studies. The school facility was built in 1948 and became established as a neighborhood school in 1949. The original building remains along with an office/media center complex which was completed in 1997. Park Road Montessori is a part of the original Billy Graham family farm. The campus has two of the twenty treasure trees in Charlotte. Due to efforts from staff and students, Park Road Montessori was named the 2000th school-yard habitat in the United States. The Montessori program began in 1992 and has many of the original teachers remaining with the school. Our program is a full magnet with no neighborhood component.

The goal of Park Road Montessori is to provide an optimal learning environment that is based upon Montessori pedagogy that will guide, develop and nurture the individual child. Respect for the child is the foundation of Park Road Montessori s philosophy. The staff of Park Road Montessori believes strongly that the needs of the child come first - children, not subjects are taught. The Montessori Method is based on careful observation of and respect for the natural development of the child and has been used to educate children in America and around the world for over 100 years.

Our staff also believes in the importance of instilling intrinsic motivation in our children so that they can begin to take on the responsibility of their learning. Within our nurturing environment, students can begin their quest to become active, life-long learners. Furthermore, there is also a focus on social and emotional growth that helps students become better citizens of the world.

From the first day of school, our students are given freedom along with responsibility. In the Primary grades, students begin to develop lifelong habits to help them focus on, organize and find satisfaction in their work. In Lower and Upper Elementary, those habits are further developed into a strong educational foundation because our students have learned how to work independently and collaboratively, how to think, and how to see tasks through to completion. Expectations for doing one's best, working hard, and serving the community are part of the school's eve