Great River Charter Montessori School

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Location
Great River School

Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States
Information
Principal	Aaron Drevlow
Staff	21
Enrollment	173
School type	Montessori charter school
Grades	7-12
Campus	Urban
Opened	2004-2005
Homepage	http://www.greatriverschool.org/

Great River School is a Montessori charter school in Saint Paul, Minnesota.

Great River School is a charter Montessori Junior High and High School in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Known to insiders as simply "GRS." It is known for being community-oriented, and creating confident, kind leaders.

The school was founded in 2004 and has been successful. It has a very strong academically rigorous program. Because it is a public school, entrance is by lottery if there are more students who want to enroll than there are spots. Typically, the enrollment period is over at the end of February with the lottery the last day of the month. In 2007, there was a waiting list to get into Great River, simply because so many people want to attend. Little do the students realize what they are getting in to. One day a week, both the Junior and Senior High students meet in their respective groups in a community meeting where everyone meets to discuss various topics that impact the whole community. The elected student leaders lead this meeting, and the school talks about "important" issues.

One unique example of how Montessori is being applied to a High School, is the way in which the High School Student Government was set up in the fall of 2005. During the fall trip, a group of students that showed an interest in student government, met and brainstormed ideas about how the system should be set up for the future. After long discussions, the end result was a student-written constitution detailing the jobs and responsibilities of the cabinet and the senate. As of today, the Government is running smoothly and the constitution is framed in a classroom.

Great River School is an urban Montessori charter school in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Founded on leadership, service, and peace formation, Great River fosters independence, critical thinking, respect, responsibility to self, to others, and to the earth.

[edit] Three key experiences

In the fall of each year, Junior High students go on an Odyssey Trip. The first year the Odyssey East traveled to Williamsburg, Virginia and Washington, D.C. The community traveled by charter bus and camped along the way, while visiting important historical and cultural sites. The Odyssey West in 2006-2007 traveled to Jackson, Wyoming where they stayed at the Teton Science School. The major stops along the way were Badlands National Park, Devil's Tower, and Yellowstone National Park. In the fall of the 2007-2008 year, students traveled to Williamsburg, VA again camping along the way and visiting different sites including Monticello, Shenandoah National Park and Jamestown. It was a great way to learn about colonial history. Each spring, the Junior High ends the year with a bike trip, a physical challenge and wonderful community building activity.

The High School students have had a short Odyssey experience in the fall of each year. For the first few years, all high school students went to the Lake Country Land School to work on the farm, do service work, learn about farming, canning and other important tasks. In the fall of 2007, the 11th and 12th graders went on a 5-day tour of 14 colleges in the Upper Midwest. A longer Odyssey trip in the spring gives the older students opportunities to explore more of the US. In the spring of 2007, students traveled west to Estes Park, CO the and YMCA outdoor education facility. During the spring of 2008, high school students will travel to Louisiana to do a service project planting mangrove trees. Along the way, they will visit cultural landmarks such as the Civil Rights Museum in Mississippi.

Every January the students have a "J term" when the Junior High puts together a play in a month and the High School students are in one of many different month-long classes or "intensives". Past High School J-Term classes have been Film, Photography, Canoe-Building, Theatre and Music. There are also workshops during two afternoons which can be about anything under the sun: sliding, crafts, yoga, egg painting, peace and justice movement building, dancing, etc.

For more information, please see the Great River School website.