TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) - The largest school district in northern Michigan is building a school for the sole purpose of teaching children in the Montessori method.
The Traverse City school board voted to spend more than $20 million on the project. The district has a Montessori school, but the new building will be specifically designed for a communal learning setting, the Traverse City Record-Eagle reported.
The school will have a pod classroom structure, science lab, art and Spanish room, a greenhouse, music rooms and a full-size gym. Up to 550 students can be served through 8th grade.
Children in the Montessori school learn at their own pace and according to their own choice of activities, the school district said. There are no grades.
“I’ve done a lot of research on other pure public Montessori schools within Michigan. There are very few and none that have ever had a new building built specifically to honor a Montessori program,” principal Lisa Van Loo said.
The new building should be ready by fall 2022.
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