| St. Joseph Montessori
School was established in 1968 as a preschool preparation
program for St. Joseph Academy which was operated by the
Sisters of Notre Dame. The Academy consisted of grades one
through twelve. Recognizing the value of the Montessori
approach to education, parents requested and were granted
the extension of the program into the elementary school.
Declining enrollment forced the closing of the 100 year old
high school in 1977. A cooperative effort between the
Sisters and the parent body resulted in the transition of
SJMS into a private Diocesan school with a nonprofit status
and an elected parent Board of Trustees. After nearly twenty
years, St. Joseph Montessori School moved from its original
location to its current campus. |
 |
We offer an alternative educational program to families
throughout the Central Ohio area. Our school is located in a
lower middle class residential neighborhood near the
downtown area and serves children from Franklin County as
well as six surrounding counties. We occupy three buildings
on approximately three and a half acres. Due to increasing
enrollment, we recently erected a 3200 sq. ft. addition to
the main building. This construction has enabled us to create
separate rooms for our art and music programs and increase
our classroom space by almost 1700 square feet. Our families
are primarily middle class and a significant number of
parents are professionals. However, tuition aid allocations
have assisted us in extending enrollment to families less
financially comfortable.
The student population is diversified with a minority
enrollment of 19%. Our multi-sensory educational approach
has enabled us to meet a wide range of student needs.
resulting in a 12% enrollment of student with specific
disabilities. Additionally, several students have attention
deficit hyperactivity disorder.
Our annual rate of student turnover is approximately 20%.
The largest number of these students leave after completion
of the preschool level. Since SJMS offers the only private
Montessori elementary program in the area, our elementary
classroom spaces are usually allocated to students from
other local Montessori preschools. |
