Committee Holds Off on Montessori

The Cambridge Public School Committee could not reach a decision about implementing a Montessori program at the Tobin School at a meeting last night, questioning the results of a survey suggesting that Cambridge parents would enroll their children in such a program.

The survey, conducted by RKM Research and Communications, consisted of phone interviews with 404 Cambridge parents whose children are already in kindergarten at a Cambridge public school or are applying for enrollment. According to the study, 59 percent of parents would enroll their children in a Montessori program if the district implemented one.

The proposal to create a Montessori program at Tobin was originally brought before the committee almost two months ago as a way to curb declining enrollment at the school.

But committee members expressed concern that RKM’s question choice—one asked parents if they had heard about the Montessori teaching method—might have influenced the survey results.

“After you ask if you’ve heard about Montessori, in many ways…you have what I call a very leading question,” said School Committee member Patricia M. Nolan ’80.

Despite their reservations about the results of the survey, committee members praised the Montessori program for encouraging a sense of independence and a connection to the environment in young children.

Other committee members raised concerns about beginning an isolated program within the Tobin School, which has a history of having several competing programs under its roof.

“The history of the Tobin is that at one time, there were three different programs within the school. It’s a period that...was not necessarily a positive time in the school’s history,” said committee member Nancy Walser. “Is that your idea of what this proposal is going to be?”

Senior Committee Member Alfred B. Fantini said that the decision about whether or not to implement the Montessori program would take more than a few meetings.

“This is one tool…of many to determine what kind a decision we’re going to make,” he said. “This is the very beginning level.”

—Staff writer Laura A. Moore can be reached at lamoore@fas.harvard.edu.