Admissions - New Student Enrollment
Free Horizon Montessori
is open to all children from age 3 to 14 years of age. FHM is a free
public charter school for students in Kindergarten through 8th grade,
with a private tuition-based preschool program for 3 and 4 year olds.
FHM does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex,
sexual orientation, nationality or ethnic origin in the administration
of its educational policies.
Directions for Enrolling and Application Process
Enrollment is accepted and offered on a lottery system for First-Round and
then a first-come, first-served basis according to date & time
complete application packet is received throughout the Second-Round with priority given to:
- Re-Enrolling Students,
- Children of Full-Time Faculty, and
- Siblings of Currently Enrolled Students.
While
residents of Jefferson County receive placement priority, we accept
enrollment from a wide range of communities with a simple process of
visitation-application-acceptance.
Choice Enrollment Round 1: January 8, 2018 – January 31, 2018
Choice Enrollment Round 2: February 9, 2018 – August 31, 2018
Spaces from First-Round Enrollment will be offered to families between
February 1 - 12th. Families will have 48 hours to accept or refuse. If
response is not given within time period, space will be offered to next
on the list.
Second Round Enrollment is open February 9 - August 31st and operates on a space available, first-come, first-served basis.
Enrollment Considerations
Age and Birth Date Requirements
As
a Jeffco Public Charter School, we follow the same date and age
requirements as Jeffco Public Schools and other public districts in
Colorado. Children need to be three years old by October 1st of their
preschool year, four years old by October 1st of their pre-kindergarten
year, five years old by October 1st of their kindergarten year, and six
years old by October 1st of their first grade year. Students who
transfer from another state and completed the previous grade level but
miss the age cutoff can enter the next grade so long as the previous
school is accredited. Contact the Director of Enrollment for
information.
Early kindergarten entrance is granted only to
those four year olds who qualify under Jeffco Public Schools' Early
Access program. Students applying for Early Access must submit an
application and other supporting documentation and participate in two
testing days. The application deadline is typically mid-February each
year. Students must score in the 98th percentile or above in order to
qualify for Early Access. For more information, visit the Gifted and
Talented page of Jeffo Public Schools website by clicking here.
Preschool Readiness
Like
all preschools, our program requires a degree of independence from
students in order for them to have a positive experience. Even though
each of our Primary classrooms is well staffed with a lead teacher and
two assistants, students need to be able to manage many self-care tasks
on their own. In general, children enrolled in our Primary program
should be able to feed and dress themselves as well as be independent in
the toileting process. By this we mean that students can manage their
bathrooming needs independently, and that they have been accident-free
for at least one month prior to enrollment at FHM. Our Primary program
is licensed by the Colorado Department of Human Services as a preschool.
As such, we are not permitted to have diapers or pull-ups at school –
including at naptime.
In general, children starting preschool
should be able to work and play independently for short periods, to
focus on one task or project for several minutes, to follow simple
instructions, and to sit still for a few minutes for lessons and circle
time. In addition, students need to be three years old by October 1st
in order to enroll in preschool at FHM.
Click here for our comprehensive preschool readiness document.
Exceptional Learners
In
keeping with the Jeffco Choice Enrollment Policy, Free Horizon
Montessori is obligated to review the educational needs of each child
and ensure that the school has the ability and resources necessary to
meet a student’s educational needs. Generally, testing and evaluations
is not a required path for enrollment at FHM. However, special
categories of enrollment as listed below may require such testing. Like
all Jeffco Public Schools, FHM utilizes the Response to
Intervention/Instruction (RtI) model, which supports all students by
adjusting instruction within the regular classroom along with frequent
progress monitoring to ensure growth.
Students with Special Needs:
FHM welcomes the opportunity to benefit both students and community by
accepting students with special needs. A special needs student is any
child who may require time, energy, education and programming beyond the
scope of our regular program. Designated areas of special needs are as
follows: physical, cognitive, social, emotional and work/study skills.
Any
student with special needs must be able to function in an integrated
and inclusive classroom and be able to access our core curriculum and
instructional methods without the need for one-on-one extra supports,
which is aligned with state and federal mandates to educate students in
the least restrictive environment. FHM utilizes a Learning Resource Team
(LRT), which includes the following professionals: Special Education
Teacher, Occupational Therapist, Speech Therapist, Psychologist, Speech
and Language Assistant, and Instructional Assistant, to meet the various
needs of our students. This team supports teachers in individualizing
education for all students with a primary focus of supporting students
who have diagnosed conditions requiring Individualized Education Plans
(IEP’s), Individualized Literacy Plans (ILP’s), and 504 Plans.
It
is our priority to meet the needs of every student enrolled to the best
of our ability. For a special needs student just entering FHM, the
following criteria must be followed:
- Review of the child's most recent IEP, 504 Palan or other accommodations plan by our Learning Resource Team.
- Conversation between our Learning Resource Team member(s) and/or Head of School with the child's current teacher.
In addition, one or more of the following might take place, depending on the outcomes of the previous items:
- Parent
meeting with Head of School, Teacher and LRT Representative to discuss
the student’s needs and FHM’s overall ability and staffing to meet those
needs.
- Student visitation for a minimum of one-half (½) day to
allow for teacher observation as well as evaluation of program
compatibility.
- Student observed at their current school by member(s) of the Learning Resource Team and/or FHM teacher, and/or Head of School.
- If
further objective assessments are necessary, parents will be asked to
seek out testing and provide written reports of student’s assessment and
needs according to an objective professional (Note: this may or may not
be available through FHM or Jefferson County professionals at no cost
to the family.) Costs of testing beyond the scope of school/county
resources are the responsibility of the student’s parents.
- FHM staff will collaboratively determine whether FHM's Montessori learning environment best meets the child's identified needs.
- If enrolled, evalution of the continued suitability of the FHM learning envrionment will occur on an annual basis.
Finally,
and most importantly, parents should note that while FHM understands
that “labeling” a disability is often necessary as part of determining
educational needs, we do not believe that “labeling” serves the child in
realizing his/her educational potential. Labels, whether positive or
negative, limit a child’s ability to take risks outside of the
externally defined expectation and in so doing inhibits the development
of self-efficacy and subsequent learning. To that end, we ask adults not
the use of learning/ability-associated labels in our school
environment.
Gifted Students:
Identification:
Determining giftedness is a multi-faceted approach, which includes both
objective and subjective tests. These are completed by parents,
teachers, and trained psychologists.
- Gifted students measure
at least one standard deviation above the norm on standardized tests of
intelligence. IQ does not solely determine giftedness.
- Gifted
and talented students are those whose abilities, talents, and potential
for accomplishment are remarkably higher when compared with others of
their age, experience, or environment. These may be seen in areas of
intellectual ability, specific academic aptitude, creativity, productive
thinking, leadership and human relations skills, visual and performing
arts, and psychomotor abilities.
- Gifted students manifest
specific personality or learning characteristics that may require
adaptation of curriculum or instruction. Checklists are used to assess
the level of adaptation and are completed by both parents and teachers.
Some standardized measures are also used to assess psychological and
social traits common with gifted students.
What does Free Horizon Montessori offer gifted students?
- The Montessori curriculum
is designed to support both risk-taking and assure challenge of
studies. We do this by balancing interest and meaning with the
demonstrated ability level of individual students. Instead of following a
dictated curriculum by grade level, we use a scope and sequence and
allow students to progress at the highest level of ability, regardless
of grade. In short, our curriculum engages the mind to the limits of
one’s capability.
- Inclusive Instruction:
Montessori education embraces a multi-age classroom that allows for
cooperative learning and challenge in the four pillars of learning
(physical, psychological, social, and cognitive). As such, we do not
believe that separation and isolation from one’s social/emotional peer
group is required to support the needs of a gifted student.
- Advanced Learning Plan (ALP):
If a student is determined by Jefferson County public schools to be
“gifted,” then we are mandated to implement an ALP. This plan defines
goals and evaluates progress in reaching such goals on a yearly basis.
- Individualized Education:
While an ALP document is required for students identified as gifted,
all FHM students are individually monitored for progress in reaching
their academic goals. Progress is measured by observation, authentic
work samples, unit assessments, and standardized assessments.
- Integrated Curriculum:
True learning must integrate interest and hard work. It requires
teachers to make lessons meaningful while still guiding the student in
the skills necessary for success. These skills move from concrete
(hands-on) learning to abstract understanding and serve to expand
awareness and understanding at a broader level. A good example of this
is when you talk to a friend about your own reading. Do you say, “Wow,
I’m reading at a 12th grade level!”? No, instead we talk about what we
read, what it meant to us, what we think about it, and how it changed
our lives. The same is true for math – we talk about how we use it, not
necessarily what it is. These examples demonstrate how true learning is
used and expanded each and every day, and Montessori education is
renowned for this successful approach to education.
Transfer Enrollment
The
atmosphere of a Montessori classroom is one that requires students to
make responsible choices regarding time management, decision-making and
the prioritization of educational responsibilities. It is important to
remember that students who are new to this “responsible independence”
very often need time to learn its ways. Therefore, it is necessary, that
children transferring into FHM’s elementary grades show a sense of
responsibility toward their involvement with school. Each child in the
elementary program is expected to complete schoolwork in a timely
fashion, to resolve interpersonal difficulties through communication and
cooperation, and to function within the parameters of the environment
as set forth by the classroom teacher. A spirit of cooperation is
required for these criteria to develop. All children considered for
transfer enrollment will be evaluated on their potential for successful
integration according to the above stated criteria.
Students
seeking transfer enrollment from another school after October 1st of the
current school year must complete the Jeffco Administrative Transfer
process. Such enrollment is offered only on a space-available basis and
must be approved by the student's current principal, FHM's principal,
and the Jeffco Public Schools Community Superintendent. The
Administrative Transfer process is initiated at the school where the
student is currently enrolled.
Choice Enrollment Information
Enrollment in a charter school is a choice enrollment
under Jeffco School Board Policy JFBA and Regulation JFBA-R. Under
choice enrollment policy, a student who is accepted into the school is
accepted for the span of grades of that school, and is not required to
reapply each year for admittance. The school in which the open enrolled
student is admitted becomes the "home" school of the student for the
span of grades of that school.
Should a parent and student wish to
return to their neighborhood public school, they would have to apply to
the neighborhood school for admittance. If the neighborhood school has
"space available" in the requested program, and the student meets the
applicable program entrance requirements, (age, etc.), the child would
be admitted. If the student is not admitted, the student would continue
to be enrolled at the charter schoool.
Save