All Students Need Support
All students can benefit from extra support sometimes, and the flexibility of our Montessori curriculum is perfect for providing it. Because we have that flexibility, our dedicated Montessori teachers can adapt to your student, meeting your child where they are. At Free Horizon Montessori we see our students as individuals and whole people. That allows us to find creative and innovative ways to help every child in our community shine and excel.
Montessori teachers are trained observers, and their mission is to really know and understand each and every child in their classroom. That means that they are experts at detecting when a child can benefit from some extra support.
Free Horizon Montessori offers a continuum of supports, starting with Universal Interventions (provided by the classroom teacher), continuing with Targeted Interventions (provided by the classroom teacher and an interventionist), and continuing on to Intensive Interventions (also provided by the classroom teacher and an interventionist). There are interventionists on staff to help students with IEPs.
Free Horizon uses an Inclusion Model of instruction for Montessori curriculum, which is designed to accommodate mild to moderate needs. Our model provides accommodations and modifications, but does not support alternative curriculum. We have the same standards and thresholds for our general education inclusion model as all other Jeffco schools.
Support for Gifted and Talented Students
Just as a Montessori teacher’s trained observation skills can help identify students who could benefit from extra support, so it helps them to identify students who might be a good fit for our gifted and talented program.
Free Horizon supports Advanced Learning Plans in the same ways as at district gifted center programs. As a Montessori school, our curriculum is uniquely suited for gifted students. We offer mastery-based instruction with no ceilings, so students can pursue a subject as far as their ability takes them. And our multi-aged classrooms provide gifted students with both social and academic peers.
Montessori provides a hands-on, experiential, constructivist model of education that gives students freedom within structure. Free Horizon also offers learning extension opportunities, and our GT Coordinator works with students and teachers to provide enrichment, support, and communication with parents.
Free Horizon uses the same process as Jeffco to identify high-potential children who could benefit from an Advanced Learning Plan (ALP).