Chesterfield Day School
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 |
This article or section needs to be wikified to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. Please help improve this article with relevant internal links. (April 2008) |
 |
This article does not cite any references or sources. (April 2008) Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed. |
Chesterfield Day School, located in Chesterfield, MO, opened its doors as the St. Louis Montessori Academy, the first Montessori school in the St. Louis area, in 1962. [1]The founder, Mrs. Elna Amant, opened the doors at Craig and Olive Boulevard in Creve Coeur. The school serves up to 350 students age 18 months through Grade 6.
The school moved to its current location, 1100 White Road, in Chesterfield, the former Barat Hall, in 1974. The first Grade 6 class graduated in 1977, and since then, more than 600 students have graduated from Chesterfield Day School.
Not only is Chesterfield Day School affiliated with the American Montessori Society, it is the home of the Missouri Montessori Teachers Program (MOMTEP), which is the only Montessori accrediting agency in the State of Missouri. Teacher candidates travel from all over the world for in-service education and certification from the MOMTEP program, and graduates are hired as needed as classroom instructors at Chesterfield Day School.
Chesterfield Day School offers Montessori education for students ages 18 months through Grade 1. Toddlers and preschoolers can attend morning, afternoon or all-day programs two, three or five days a week. In addition to Montessori classrooms, students may learn from Chesterfield Day School specialist teachers for Spanish, physical education, art, music and library science. The curriculum allows Kindergarten students to pair with Grade 1. Grades 2 and 3 are combined with team teachers; one a trained Montessorian and the other a traditional classroom instructor. Grades 4, 5 and 6 use team teaching and introduce science and advanced mathematics to the regular curriculum.
The school changed its mission in 2008 to "Chesterfield Day School strives to provide a personalized education of unparalled excellence to students of diverse backgrounds." A new headmaster, Dennis Guilliams, was hired in 2007 to redesign the school's administrative structure and to lead the school into new directions.
Chesterfield Day School students typically continue their education at independent schools, and the highest matriculation is among John Burroughs, Whitfield, Priory, Villa Duchesne, Westminster Academy and MICDS. [2]The school's strategic initiatives include developing a new interactive website to improve communications with alumni, current parents, and prospective families, and to build technology as a key tool of classroom instruction.
Chesterfield Day School offers rolling admissions to qualified candidates, and has a generous financial aid budget.
Chesterfield Day School is accredited by the National Association of Independent Schools, Independent Schools Association of Central States, American Montessori Society and is a member of Independent Schools St. Louis.
