New Horizons Montessori School welcomes boys and girls without regard to race, religion, or ethnic origin. We are committed to providing an excellent education to a diverse group of children.

Admissions Policies

The goal of the admissions procedure at New Horizons Montessori School is to match qualified applicants with available openings in our Toddler, Children’s House pre-school/Kindergarten, and Elementary programs. When a family applies for admission, the following factors are considered in selecting candidates for enrollment:

Readiness evaluation for first-year pre-schoolers

• Educational assessment, including an evaluation of previous Montessori experience for older preschoolers, kindergarten and elementary level students
• Age

Toddler Program

A child entering the Toddler program must be at least 18 months old at the time of enrollment. Our Toddler program is most appropriate for children 18 months through 3 years of age.

Pre-School/Kindergarten Program

A child must be at least 2 years, 7 months old and fully toilet-trained to enter the Children’s House preschool program, and 5 years old to enter the Kindergarten program.

Elementary Program

A child must be 6 years old to enter 1st grade in the Lower Elementary level, and 9 years old to enter 4th grade in the Upper Elementary level  both by September 1st.

Age & gender balance: Montessori philosophy encourages a balance of ages and gender in all classrooms.

Parents’ interest in, and commitment to the Montessori philosophy of education

Appropriateness for the program: Many children benefit from a Montessori education, but it should not be viewed as the perfect educational environment for all children. In that regard, a strong effort on the part of the school is exerted to help ensure that each child accepted will flourish.

Admissions Procedures

Initial inquiries are received by the school year round. Prospective families may obtain information about the school and admissions materials in several ways: in person (walk-in), through mail or email (by requesting a packet from our Admissions office), on our website: www.nhms.info, or at any of our periodic Open Houses. A packet is sent to all families requesting information about NHMS.

School Tours / Classroom Observations are conducted during our Open Houses or by appointment. Prospective applicants may call the Admissions Director to schedule a tour of the school

1. Application for enrollment is considered complete when the following items are  received by the school:

• Application Part I
• Application Part II - Child Profile Questionnaire
• Non-refundable $50.00 application fee
• Recommendation Form
• Progress reports/records from current school

2. After receipt of these items, an applicant will be scheduled for an initial visit and evaluation by the Guides (teachers).  Applicants applying for fall enrollment will visit in late winter /early spring.  Visits/evaluations are conducted for all applicants except Toddlers.

Please note - Typically, applications for enrollment into the elementary program are accepted only for children who are moving to New Horizons from other Montessori schools. However, if parents of non-Montessori children apply for admission, NHMS will consider these applicants as well. Parents of such children are informed that the odds of acceptance are significantly lower if their child is coming from a non-Montessori background.

3. Notification Parents are notified by telephone and/or by mail of the outcome of the visit (i.e., accepted, not accepted, or revisit). Enrollment Agreements are then sent to the parents of accepted applicants. Notification typically occurs within one week, but no later than two weeks, after the applicant visit. Accepted candidates are given 14 days to accept or decline the offer of enrollment, and to submit the required deposit fee and $100.00 (per family) bond.

4. Wait List - In the event that there are more applicants to whom we would like to make an offer of admission than there are spaces, these applicants’ names are put on a wait-list. While an effort is made to accept students based on their date of application, exceptions may be made to balance age or gender grouping in classrooms, or to give preference to children whom the Guides believe will be more likely to thrive in a Montessori classroom setting.