Garden Oaks - History of the Program

Garden Oaks Elementary is home to a public Montessori program for children ages 3-11. In its 14th year on the Garden Oaks Elementary School Campus, Montessori classes integrate needed academic, social and emotional skills. This program is partially funded by the Houston Independent School District with additional funding raised through Friends of Montessori (FOM), a volunteer parent, teacher and community organization. This public elementary Montessori program is designed to give children of all learning and language abilities the opportunity to be educated and socialized in an environment with a methodology and philosophy that reflects the world these children will soon lead. Because we are a public school, we maintain that the program is available to all ethnic and socio economic levels. It provides each child with a developmentally appropriate, multicultural, family centered education.

The seeds of this program were first planted in 1993 with a small group of parents and community members interested in changing the educational process within the public school system, and specifically at Garden Oaks, which was in decline. They realized the future of the neighborhood and the inner city as a whole lies with quality public schools. To facilitate this change, they worked within the framework of the established rules of the Shared Decision Making Committee on the Garden Oaks Campus. The parents organized and funded the Montessori program, which now boasts six classrooms and 125 neighborhood students, ages 3-11. Since the first class opened in 1994, this program has almost doubled in size. As a result of this growth over the 14-year history, we have a waiting list of over 25 students each year.