Montessori: A Seed in the Mountains

The Pasto Second Unit school serves students from Toddlers to Secondary I.

By Andrea Santiago Vicente

Twelve years ago, the future of the Segunda Unidad del Barrio Pasto School in Aibonito wasn’t encouraging. A high incidence of school violence, high dropout rate, and the presence of drugs in the community were just some of the challenges that, coupled with a threat of closure, led the school to the brink of failure.

Today, that community that was disconnected from their school, is a thing of the past. Twelve years ago, the school began a process of transformation to the Montessori method, that more than academic, has resulted in a new school for the Pasto neighborhood.

"The school was for school-dropouts referred by the prosecutor, because the school had barely any students. Nobody wanted to come to this school because there were a lot of drugs... we lived in a state of worry, and after the project [Montessori] started, it began to improve. Today we feel very happy that the school is in this neighborhood '', said Juanita, a community leader and a grandmother that volunteers at the school.

Twelve years ago, the school had 163 students distributed in 25 classrooms: in each classroom, there were 6 to 7 students. Today, each room operates at capacity. The school has a student population of 411 children and has a waiting list.

"The Pasto neighborhood was the neighborhood where nobody wanted to take their children to, and with the Montessori method and the transformation of these years, we made the municipality of Aibonito look at this neighborhood as the alternative for their children," reported Janice Alejandro, director of the school since 2013.

The Montessori project began on this school in 2007 with an Early Childhood environment and two teachers that were full of enthusiasm: Yolanda Latorre and Carmen Ortiz. These pioneers left traditional education to implement the Montessori philosophy, which they studied at the Instituto Nueva Escuela.

Faced with an uncertain outlook - a school that did not have Montessori materials, without the support of the administration and with no other school personnel that knew anything about Montessori - Carmen and Yolanda accepted the invitation and began working with Montessori in the school. Thanks to that seed, today the school implements the Montessori curriculum in all of its classrooms, 92% of its faculty holds Montessori credentials, and the community is empowered. This community is an integral part of the operation of the school, as Janice explains:

"They are a bridge: if on a Saturday or a Sunday the gate happens to stay open or something happens at school, they call you, which did not happen before. If there are teachers painting, they come and help. If there is an open house they offer to help. That bridge with the community has been one of the greatest achievements, '' the principal said enthusiastically.

Part of the transformation has been the participation of parents. Participation is so high, that family assemblies have to be divided by level. This did not happened 12 years ago.

"We have not transformed only teachers who decide to study, we have transformed families, we have transformed a community that didn't knew it had a beautiful school and children with so much academic potential," Alejandro concluded, with the pride of someone who is part of a history of solidarity and transformation.