Nestled on seven wooded acres in Ohio’s historical Western Reserve Region, Hudson Montessori School was founded by a group of parents in 1962 as the 13th Montessori school established in the United States. Hudson Montessori is an independent coeducational day school serving 266 students in grades P-8, where 70 percent of the staff has participated in All Kinds of Minds professional development.
“We were looking for a professional development program designed around current, research-based principles to help maximize the learning potential for each student — one that would give us tools to support the individual learning needs of our students and one that would fit with and enhance our mission of fostering a Montessori educational environment conducive to each child’s unique qualities and abilities,” explains Julia Brown, Hudson Montessori’s Head of School. “The All Kinds of Minds approach was the logical choice. The program’s focus on student affinities and strengths dovetails perfectly with Montessori Method principles of building upon the child’s interests and encouraging him/her to explore and discover, and helping the child develop confidence and self-esteem, a joy and enthusiasm for learning, and a sense of care and respect for others.”
The school’s Educational Support Team (which includes a school psychologist, a speech & language pathologist, and a reading/literary specialist) works to support faculty and staff in integrating All Kinds of Minds’ principles throughout curriculum and school programs.
“This program enables our entire faculty and staff to better understand the variations in all children’s learning—not just that of struggling learners,” adds Karen Lazar, Director of Development at Hudson Montessori School. “The common language from All Kinds of Minds’ neurodevelopmental framework empowers us to describe and identify strengths and understand breakdowns in student learning—not only among ourselves as a professional community, but also with students and parents.”
