First Montessori high school school opening in Columbus, focusing on ecological education

Columbus will get its first Montessori high school this fall.

The Montessori Environmental Action through Research and Technology (EARTH) High School plans to accept a ninth grade class this fall at its building on Woodward Avenue on the Near East Side near Ohio Dominican University's campus.

The private, nonprofit school will focus on small class sizes of 15-20 and "hands-on, individualized learning with an emphasis on exploration of current ecological and social issues both locally and globally."

The Montessori Method, developed by Maria Montessori in the early 1900s, is a method of education that involves self-paced learning in a hands-on environment focused on children's interests and skills. The EARTH School will be a part of the Wildflower Schools network, a collection of more than 60 Montessori schools across the country. The network also has schools in Cleveland and Cincinnati.

Columbus currently has a number of Montessori Pre-K through eighth grade schools, including Saint Joseph Montessori School, but the EARTH school plans to be the first Montessori high school in the area.

Jenn Jordan, who is launching the school, is a Columbus native and a graduate of Saint Joseph Montessori School and Wellington School in Upper Arlington. She said her experience has shown her a small class environment is empowering to students.

"I want to bring together that small school feel with Montessori’s amazing approach to education and a curriculum which doesn’t back away from the issues that young people care deeply about," Jordan said.

The school will be located in a residential neighborhood on a property sold to the school by Ohio Dominican University.

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Jordan has previously helped open Montessori schools in New York and Indiana, and holds credentials from both the American Montessori Society and the Association Montessori International.

The school plans to offer sliding-scale tuition based on family income in order to foster inclusivity.

“We are a private school so that we can offer a progressive model of education, which the public sector can’t support at this time, but we want to avoid the elitism often associated with private education," Jordan said in a statement. "EARTH School is for everyone."

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Cbehrens@dispatch.com

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Montessori EARTH plans to be first high school of its kind in Columbus