The mission of Creekside Montessori School is to serve an economically and culturally diverse community, providing high quality Montessori learning environments that meet the developmental needs of the whole child. Our vision is to prepare all children of all backgrounds for a healthy and productive life. We seek to instill in children the values of respect, responsibility, grace and courtesy, self-motivation, self-discipline, and inclusivity.
In today’s world, where all cultures are fast becoming accessible to each other and where a peaceful future depends on mutual understanding and acceptance, we take pride in fostering familiarity with and respect for many different races, nationalities, gender identities, and religions. We are a non-sectarian community. While we are a tenant of Mayflower Church, no religious training is incorporated into our curriculum.
Our Equity, Inclusion & Belonging Statement
Creekside Montessori’s mission is to serve economically and culturally diverse families, providing high quality learning environments that meet the needs of the whole child. As a Montessori school focusing on early childhood development, we are uniquely poised to help children develop healthy, complex identities as well as anti-bias thoughts and behaviors.
We want children of every race, ethnicity, religion, nationality, immigration status, ability, gender and orientation to reach their full potential and to feel they and their families belong at our school. Yet we know that bias, prejudice, stereotypes and racism exist within ourselves, our school, our community, and our world.
We value the Montessori approach to celebrating cultural diversity and helping children develop in their own unique ways, but we know that’s not enough. We need to intentionally and actively teach children to recognize identity-based bias and mistreatment and speak out when they see it happening.
As a school, we commit to:
- Engaging in on-going Anti-Bias Education conversations, reflections, and training with our staff, parent and caregiver community, and CMS board.
- Reviewing and developing our policies and procedures using an anti-bias lens, especially in the areas of admissions, staff recruitment, and family engagement.
- Integrating the five tenets of Anti-Bias Education:
- Build on children’s innate sense of empathy.
- Foster the development of healthy, complex identities.
- Develop respect and appreciation across differences.
- Acquire the ability to name, notice and reject bias, prejudice and stereotypes.
- Practice the skills needed to stand up to injustice (teasing, bullying, harassment, or exclusion) for self and others.
These tenets are the AMAZEworks model of Anti-Bias Education, based on Anti-Bias Education for Young Children and Ourselves by Louise-Derman Sparks, Julie Olsen Edwards and Catherine M. Goins.