Our School

The first public Montessori school in the nation, Sands provides a culturally integrated education that nurtures the relationship between the child, parent, school and community. Multi-age classrooms, hands-on learning activities, outdoor education and a robust fine arts program makes Sands unique. Sand’s community of empowered, responsible, life-long learners benefit from hands-on experiences that guide students from concrete to abstract understanding. A strong partnership with families and community members is essential to Sands success. 

Sands Montessori Vision Statement

Sands Montessori is a community of empowered, responsible, and lifelong learners.

Sands Montessori Mission Statement

Sands Montessori, a Cincinnati Public School, educates the whole child to be a lifelong learner and a responsible contributor to our global community.  We do this through culturally integrated education that nurtures the relationship between child, parent, school and community.

Montessori Environment 

The Montessori environment focuses on the whole child.  Students are grouped into multiage classrooms of different developmental levels:  3-6 year olds, 6-9 year olds, and 9-12 year olds.  At the 9-12 level, students remain with their class of 4th, 5th, and 6th graders for the entire day and rotate between two classrooms for instruction. One teacher teaches language arts and the other teaches math. Each teacher also teaches social studies or science.

Students develop strong leadership skills, learn from each other, and create a caring community.  Classroom design, materials and daily routines support each child's emerging independence and self-regulation. Learning is an exciting process of discovery, leading to concentration, motivation, and self-discipline.  Students engage in hands-on learning experience in the early developmental stages and then later progress to explore and think critically in a more abstract manner.  

Teachers help students maximize their individual potential by accommodating all learning styles and helping students learn at their own pace through individualized work plans.  Children in the public school setting are expected to complete the grade level curriculum each year and teachers provide interventions and enrichment in order to help all children thrive.  Please visit the Ohio Department of Education website for information about state initiatives such as the Ohio Academic Standards, 3rd Grade Reading Guarantee and Ohio State Tests for grades 3-6 at http://education.ohio.gov.