Island Village Montessori School

Serving Sarasota, Manatee and
Charlotte Counties, Florida

South Campus: 941-484-4999
North Campus: 941-954-4999

"What is Montessori?"

Many of you visiting here for the first time or just getting started at our school may have a few questions about the Montessori philosophy or methods. A visit to the Montessori FAQ and the Montessori Concepts pages may be just what you are looking for.

Come Visit Us

Island Village Montessori is a wondrous experience for both the student and the family alike. If you are considering enrolling your child at IVMS, we invite you to visit us in person and experience all we have to offer in person. Directions and maps can be found on the How To Find Us page.

Photo Galleries

IVMS School Grounds    Music and Arts    Early Childhood

Elementary School    Middle School

Visit the Art Dept. Web Page!          Visit the Music Dept. Web Page!

    Nearing our 10th anniversary as a public charter school, Island Village has grown because of the support of our families and the efforts of our faculty and staff. Our school is an example of how a public school can meet accountability standards and still maintain the commitment to a child-centered, constructivist approach such as the Montessori method.

    IVMS is also dedicated to preparing children for the future through an emphasis on technology, foreign language, and the arts. In the end, a child's future depends on a good self-concept, emotional balance, an ability to navigate social situations, as well as the development of social consciousness and self-direction. Each day at IVMS, our students are provided these opportunities in preparation for high school, college, and beyond.

    It is a priveledge working with our students and families. Thanks for your
support over the years. We look forward to many more!

IVMS Accomplishments Letter to Parents

    A school that celebrates the arts; do you find that surprising? I just graduated from IVMS. It has inspired me and a majority of the other graduates to realize their talents in the fine arts. Everything from ceramics to singing, foreign languages to painting is celebrated at Island Village Montessori School.

    Fine arts are part of Kindergarten through 8th students every day curriculum. There are Art classes for ceramics, drawing, and painting. Because of art class, the hallways are an art gallery. For some this may be a glance into the future, their art being admired by all. With so many different aspects of art offered, there is bound to be an art class for every student to enjoy. Music classes are extremely popular as well. In music you can learn to play basically any instrument you want! Piano, guitar, and drums seem to be favorites with the students. Dance is an enjoyed class too. Students exercise both mind and body, choreographing dances, learning different styles, and learning how to work their muscles.

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   This letter is from a parent of a middle school graduate. She has given permission to share her impressions of the middle school with you so that you all may have a better understanding of our goals at IVMS. Names were removed to protect privacy. All else is how she sent it.

    Dear Kym,

    The year has unfortunately come to an end. We leave Island Village and move on to high school, with tears in our hearts. I hate that our time here is over, but I am happy that my son has gained so much from Island Village. I have watched as he transformed into the unique, gifted, independent young man he is. I, myself, have learned so much from you and his educators. Thank you, Kym, for the vision you had to start a school for all our unique learners. Thank you for your wisdom, your creativity, and your endurance.

    When we first moved to Florida, I was excited to be in the States, to be in a new place and unfortunately, that excitement ended as my son moved through the school system here. I am sure the public schools strive to do their best at reaching their goals but, they have seemed to forgotten the goal of teaching.

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    While we do not suggest judging our school simply by these measures, the FCAT and AYP standards are important. At Island Village, we seek to balance the need to show accountability toward grade level expectations and our commitment to a learner-centered Montessori approach. There are many areas of student progress not measured by test scores...

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    After-school Specials are now available. The pdf's below contain the menus and descriptions of the available specials. For more information contact Jan (484-4999 ext. 224 or email her here)

After School Specials Menu

After School Specials Letter 2009

After School Specials Selection Form w/Prices

2009-10 District Calendar

IVMS Lunch Calendar

    IVMS Community Director Peter Simms has put together a website that gathers all the happenings at IVMS, all the fundraising efforts and much more into one, simple place for all to enjoy and be informed. The beta version of the site is temporarily on Google sites and can be found here.

Please visit the pages and keep your eye on here for the permanent link to Peter's new website soon.

"If education is to be an aid to civilization, it cannot be carried out by emptying the schools of knowledge (wisdom), of character, of discipline, of social harmony, and, above all, of freedom."
~ Maria Montessori

Remembering the Original Vision

Island Village Montessori School opened its doors on August 13, 2001 to 175 students as the first charter Montessori school in Sarasota County.

In 2001, our vision was to create a public Montessori elementary program open to all children regardless of income, race, or ethnic background.

A History of Our School

• In 2001, we also opened an early childhood program to serve children from the age of three, serving 35 children.
  
  
• In 2003, we partnered with Children First to give a Montessori opportunity to families not able to afford a private tuition before kindergarten.
  
  
• In 2005, we elected to participate in Florida's Voluntary Pre-K program to help families afford the cost of the four year-old year.
  
  
• In 2005, we opened a middle school on our Venice campus as well as satellite Montessori programs in Sarasota.
  
  
• In 2005, we began developing an online teacher training program for Montessori teachers called Montessori Live.
  
  
• In 2005, we began developing a student tracking program for Montessori schools called Montalign.
  
  
• In 2007, we have over 500 students in our programs combined.

What is the Vision of IVMS Today?

• Developing public Montessori programs open to all children regardless of income, race, or socio-ethnic background.
• Working toward the highest standards in public and Montessori education.
• Being a model of responsible leadership for the community; sharing best practice with the world through affordable professional development programs.
• Creating a school of optimal size where a sense of family makes students feel safe, and will not allow them to fall between the cracks; where families choose a point of view rather than simply attending a school.
• Becoming a community where individuals are equally important and where differences are respected; creating a sense of belonging for all.
• Connecting children to their civilization through the Montessori cosmic curriculum; training gardeners of the human potential who contribute to a peaceful world.
• Working with students to foster independence, self-motivation, self-discipline, creativity, responsibility, citizenship, autonomy, competence, tolerance, and kindness.
• Treating education as a holistic journey of self-discovery; establishing patterns for lifelong learning; focusing on the process of learning.
• Developing sister schools worldwide in an effort to make cultural studies real to our students. Our school currently has partnership with schools in Vladimir, Russia and Perpignan, France through the Sister Cities program.