New Student Enrollment (1)

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:

  1. Re-Enrolling Students,
  2. Children of Full-Time Faculty, and
  3. 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:

  1. Review of the child's most recent IEP, 504 Palan or other accommodations plan by our Learning Resource Team.
  2. 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:

  1. 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. 
  2. Student visitation for a minimum of one-half (½) day to allow for teacher observation as well as evaluation of program compatibility.
  3. Student observed at their current school by member(s) of the Learning Resource Team and/or FHM teacher, and/or Head of School.
  4. 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. 
  5. FHM staff will collaboratively determine whether FHM's Montessori learning environment best meets the child's identified needs.
  6. 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.

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