Ridgeline's Mission

The mission of Ridgeline Montessori is to provide a challenging academic program based on the educational philosophy of Dr. Maria Montessori. The Montessori approach balances two interdependent elements: the students' freedom to explore and think for themselves, and their responsibility to work and learn within a community.

Ridgeline Montessori strives to achieve these goals:

High Academic Achievement

Historically, Montessori elementary students do well compared to their elementary peers and Montessori schools are highly rated academically. Ridgeline Montessori continues this tradition by combining the same high standards found in all Eugene schools with an innovative, engaging Montessori curriculum and pedagogy previously unavailable in local public education.

Our curriculum is unique to the school, merging the Oregon Curriculum Goals with the Montessori Scope and Sequence. The richness and depth of this curriculum, combined with the motivating elements of the Montessori method, engage students and challenge them to work at their full capacity.

All Oregon assessments are administered to Ridgeline students to ensure they are meeting or exceeding Oregon standards.  We are proud of our testing record, which compares very well to that of older, more established programs.  For more information on our test results, see www.ode.state.or.us and select Statewide Assessment Results.  Then click on Eugene School District 4J and Ridgeline Montessori to see our scores in various subject areas.  If you have additional questions, call Ridgeline.

Social Growth and Emotional Development

Education of character is a basic tenet of Montessori education.  Students realize the non-academic outcomes of the Montessori philosophy including respect for others, self-motivation, and self-reliance.  Children learn to take care of themselves, their environment, and each other.  Students in a Montessori classroom, in cooperation with their teacher, set their own goals, manage their time, and take responsibility for their learning.

Active Parent Participation

The Montessori classroom fosters community spirit not only in the classroom, but throughout the school community.  Just as Ridgeline students take responsibility for classroom jobs such as taking attendance, recycling paper, cleaning, and tending the garden, Ridgeline parents take on a variety of roles that assure the school’s operation.  In this way, parents show children that their education is worthy of a family effort.

Ridgeline Montessori families are expected to complete 40 hours of volunteer work per academic year.  Strong parent support is vital because, per the terms of our charter, Ridgeline Montessori receives effectively 70% of regular state per-pupil funding.  Compensating our experienced teachers, purchasing Montessori materials, and paying rent to District 4J for space limits our ability to pay for support functions.  Instead, we rely on a committee structure of parent volunteers to handle fundraising, special events, student recruiting, newsletter production, teacher-assigned tasks, and other school-supportive efforts.  All parents are encouraged to participate in Parent Council meetings.  Parents also may serve on the Site Council by election, or the Board of Directors by appointment.