Pamela - How awsome to have your children in a Montessori School. I taught at a Montessori Preschool/Kindergarten for 3 years. I LOVE LOVE LOVE the learning program. We did not have a parent group though. Have you spoke with the directors of the school, I imagine they have some specific ideas for you because the parent group should hold the same values as the school. The group would most likely need to be very formal, I would buy a copy of Roberts Rules and make some very detailed bylaws.
I would also figure out exactly what the purpose of the parent group would be. Is it fundraising, parent volunteers?? The whole idea behind Montessori is the "Child's House" so it wouldn't be fair to the teachers or the students to bring any stress into their learning environment. You are definatly in a different situation than we are in a public school environment.
Some questions:
How many students?
What ages are the students?
Our Montessori Charter school is need of some assistance organizing a Parent-Teacher Group. We have made nice growth in our little school the past years and we have reached the point that some parents feel we need a PTO/PTA group for discussions. Some in this group have some issues and concerns about many different items at school and they started having discussions on their own. Now there are many negative rumors about this group and I'm hoping to turn it around to a productive, sharing, positive group discussions.
So if there is someone with info specific to Montessori based groups, if you are involved in one or know of one please share with me. THANKS~ This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.