All in a Day’s Work
By Katherine Pierpont, Senior Editor

Drummond's principal, Isabel Mesa-Collins (left) and Montessori director, Mark Neidlinger (right) discuss their plans for incorporating the Montessori philosophy into each of Drummond's classrooms.

From the sidewalk, Drummond Montessori Magnet School, a 117-year-old hulking mass of a building in Chicago, IL, appeared to be just another prosaic part of any American cityscape. On the morning of our visit this past May, we witnessed a schoolyard scene that has probably unfolded numerous times in Drummond's long history – laughing kids hanging upside down on monkey bars and congregating in loud packs on the school's asphalt playground. However, as soon as we crossed the school's threshold, the ghosts of Drummond's past receded and were replaced by a sense that somewhere along its cavernous hallways and light-filled, airy classrooms, a miraculous sea change had just recently occurred.

It can only get better. "We're really a school within a school," Isabel Mesa-Collins, Drummond's principal, explained. When she first signed on as principal in 1995, Drummond was in rough shape. The school was two times above its building capacity, teachers had to share their classrooms and the neighborhood was at a 95% poverty level. Even though the situation was grim, Isabel knew things had nowhere to go but up. "I had a faculty meeting with everyone and said, 'Here's what I'm about. My priority is the students and that's going to be my focus for the rest of the time you want me here,'" she told us. Luckily, the teachers stood by her and by 1996, the school had improved its math and reading scores by 10%. "I knew we still had to somehow reinvent ourselves," Isabel said. "We had a good thing going, but people in the area were put off by sending their kids to a public school." When she was approached by a member of the central office about considering a switch to the Montessori philosophy, Isabel knew that was the key she had been looking for. "My automatic response was yes," she said. Initially, she was nervous about telling the teachers about a change in direction because doing so would require them to devote their time to intensive training in the Montessori philosophy and methods. "But I only had one teacher who said, 'This is not for me,'" she said.

An early childhood student works on learning multiplication basics with his teacher, Maria Gonzalez. You read that correctly - multiplication.

Isabel also was determined to fill the school's new leadership roles with people from her own ranks. She approached Mark Neidlinger, who taught fourth grade at the time, about becoming the school's Montessori director – a position in which he has since flourished. And this practice continues – Mary Wheatley, who was teaching fourth grade when we visited, will take over as the reading resource teacher this year.

The gamble of reinventing Drummond is one that has paid off in spades – the kids are thriving, the teachers love the direction in which they're being led and by the year 2010, the entire school will be fully incorporated into the Montessori philosophy.

What's the plan? After learning about Drummond's auspicious makeover, we couldn't wait to see this progress in action. Stepping into each of the school's four 3, 4, 5-year-old classrooms was a surprisingly serene experience. Columns of light poured from the bank of huge, old windows, the sills were awash in greenery (most Montessori classrooms try to employ ways in which the kids can interact with nature, whether it be through a classroom pet or a small garden) and soft classical music played gently in the background. This clearly was a haven where personal space and mutual respect rated high – each child had his or her own throw rug to use as a portable workspace during the school day. We also noticed that the children were wearing slippers so when they went about their business, their footsteps wouldn't distract their neighbors.

A young Drummond student in deep concentration while working on her Practical Life skills.

Each child in the early childhood and elementary grades is also responsible for being in charge of his or her success in the classroom. Every student is given a daily "Work Plan," which is developed by the teacher and divided into the areas of Math, Language, Natural Science and Cultural. As long as they complete all of the day's planned goals, students are allowed to tackle each subject in any order they choose.

Caution: students at work. The typical Montessori classroom consists of four areas: Practical Life (which includes activities such as sweeping, pouring, dish and hand washing), Sensorial (activities that stimulate and train the child's sense of hearing, touch, smell and taste), Language and Mathematics. We saw many examples of Practical Life in action in Drummond's Montessori classrooms – from the little girl on our cover who was hard at work cleaning a mirror in her classroom to the children who rushed to mop up a water spill during an assignment about land masses. We were not at all surprised to learn that the Practical Life skills the kids are learning are a big hit with Drummond's parents.

The parents and teachers are thrilled about Drummond's revamped philosophy, but what do the students think of being in charge of their own learning? We approached a studious-looking duo in Kathleen Kerber's 3, 4, 5-year-old room.
"And what are you two playing?" we asked.

Juan Gonzalez gets right in the middle of a science lesson with a seventh grade class.

The little boy's gaze didn't waver from the eye dropper he was carefully navigating toward a beaker full of turquoise-colored water. The little girl, however, paused for a just a second before she replied, "We aren't playing. We're working."

Well, that answered that question.

On the upswing. Even though Drummond's upper grades are still considered to be "traditional" elementary, they're already well on their way to incorporating the Montessori method. During our visit, Tim Tuten from the Chicago Public School Office of Communications stopped by to say a few words about Drummond and the innovative teaching that can be found in every classroom. "This isn't a huge, modern school," he said. "This is a neighborhood school that's really made up of teachers, parents and the kids. They put all this together."

A fifth-grader confers with Jonathan Zielinski (otherwise known as "Mr. Z") during a poetry workshop.

With a major beautification project soon to be underway, thanks to the help of Greg Raymond, a local landscape architect who is working with the school on a pro bono basis, and much more on the horizon, things are most definitely looking up for Drummond Montessori Magnet School.

October 2006, Vol.37, No.2