Student-led school fundraising for scholarships, expansions
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STEUBENVILLE -- A student-led school in the LaBelle neighborhood will host its annual Mardi Gras fundraiser this weekend to fund student scholarships and prospective program expansions.
Hilltop Montessori School will host its sixth annual Mardi Gras Gala on Saturday from 6-10 p.m. at Froehlich's Classic Corner, 501 Washington St.
The "stylish evening" will include live jazz, dancing, New Orleans food, dice games, an open bar, auctions, raffles and a king cake, a release from Hilltop said. Guests are encouraged to dress up -- masks, beads and hats will be provided.
Sponsorships and individual tickets are available at hilltopmontessorischool.org. Hilltop Children's House, doing business as Hilltop Montessori School is an independent, non-profit 501(c)(3) school. All donations are tax-deductible.
Founded by Tom and Noelle Crowe in 2017, Hilltop has a primary program for children aged two-and-a-half to six and an elementary program for ages six through 12. Having begun in 2018 with only two students in a single program, Hilltop now educates 43 total students in two buildings, one for each of its programs.
The Montessori education method was developed by Dr. Maria Montessori, the first female medical school graduate in Italy. According to the method, individual students engage with educational material at their own pace, while being observed and encouraged by instructors, or "guides," who introduce concepts to the students and ensure they're engaging with the material properly.
Tom and Noelle Crowe are the guides for Hilltop's students. On Thursday, the two described how Montessori education begins with a "prepared environment," an open space filled with educational tools for subjects like math, writing, science, art and more.
Hilltop's spaces are noticeably lacking any front-facing desks as would be seen in a typical classroom, the Crowes noted. This is because lessons are not taught by a teacher speaking at the students as a whole. Rather, as Noelle Crowe put it, "It's the child's own drive to learn that brings them into all these academic subjects."
With no grades, tests or lesson plans, students work individually or in groups on whatever subject he or she is drawn to at the time, Tom Crowe said, adding that students could choose to stay with a subject for minutes or even hours, hence the self-pacing aspect.
"There are no blocks of time. ... It all can flow from one (subject) into another depending on the interest of the child at the moment," Tom Crowe said, adding, "No day looks the same."
Apart from the elementary and primary separation, the spaces are not divided according to age. This mixed-age setting allows older students to mentor younger ones, Noelle Crowe said, and students build strong relationships together by collaborating and spending so much classroom time together.
"Sometimes parents are worried about their kids learning certain aspects," Noelle Crowe said. "You want your kids to enjoy reading, but forcing them to read doesn't help. One of the joys of a mixed-age classroom is seeing the joy of reading. (Students) see another student doing it and they want to do it too."
School spaces are filled with educational materials that students are introduced to by their guides but dive deeper with on their own. There's as little plastic as possible among the educational materials, with real wood, glass and ceramic being used for various pieces -- real plates and silverware for lunches, which elementary students help prepare and clean up after each day.
Montessori education generates independence and responsibility, Noelle Crowe said, with each student taking ownership of his or her education and decisions. Furthermore, she said, if a student breaks a material, the mistake is seen as a learning opportunity.
The guide's job is to make sure students' learning is well-rounded and emphasize the interconnectedness of different subjects. Guides become hyper-sensitive to each student's interests and strengths, therefore being able to understand the student and provide constructive direction when needed. Hilltop's guides have training in line with standards from the Association Montessori Internationale, with Noelle Crowe certified by the AMI's training center.
In its sixth year, Hilltop's gala will benefit the school's tuition reduction efforts, aimed at eliminating financial entry barriers for low-income families and their children, Noelle Crowe said.
The school offers tuition reduction based on a sliding scale to families with limited ability to pay -- that system is applied to roughly two-third of the school's families, with a handful of students attending for less than $600 per year. Scholarship opportunities are also offered, as well as a tuition offset program, through which families can assist with fundraisers or other events to reduce tuition costs in relation to their effort.
"Our goal is to make Montessori available to families who really want it for their children regardless of their means," Noelle Crowe said. "We never want money to be a reason a family does't choose Montessori for their child."
Noelle Crowe noted Montessori education's particular benefits for low-income individuals, citing a study from the University of Virginia. The study claims Montessori is the only educational method that eliminates income achievement gap, meaning students from low-income families have the same academic success rate as students from wealthier families.
Proceeds from the gala will also help Hilltop expand its educational services, Noelle Crowe said. Hilltop's next evolution would be developing an adolescent program for students aged 12 to 18, which may require the purchase of a new building. With two students preparing to graduate the elementary program, Noelle Crowe said she would like to see the adolescent program in place by fall 2024.
Additionally, funds may benefit the development of an overgrown lot, recently purchased by Hilltop, with the intention of turning it into a school garden.
Having founded Hilltop with the aim of community benefit, Noelle Crowe said, "We hope we're a positive in the community ... in the lives of the children and their families (and) also a place of beauty and stability right here in the middle of LaBelle."