SoBRO Helps Bring First Montessori Charter School to the Bronx

January 31, 2011

PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

January 24, 2011: SoBRO is pleased to announce that an application to establish the first Montessori Charter School in the Bronx was approved by the Board of Regents last month. The New York City Montessori Charter School, which has formed an institutional partnership with SoBRO, will open its doors next September.

Gina Sardi, founder and principal of the school, reports that it will be located in School District 7 of the South Bronx. School District 7 has been designated by the State Education Department as in need of improvement for two years in a row due to poor results on standardized tests.

The Montessori method, in which students work in mixed-grade classrooms and are given assignments tailored to different ability levels and learning styles, has proven successful with English language learners and students with disabilities. Phillip Morrow, SoBRO's President and CEO, believes this method is especially promising in School District 7. "If the Montessori method of providing lessons at different skill levels has worked all over the world, why not in the South Bronx? The need here for individual-centered teaching is greatest, and families are clamoring for a better alternative that will help create an educated and competitive workforce," he said.

SoBRO plans to provide a wide range of development services at the school once classes begin in the Fall. Applications for student admission will be accepted from mid-February to April 1 and will be available at the SoBRO center and at the school's website, which is presently being developed. The public lottery for student admission will be held in April.

Dr. Denise Clay, SoBRO's Director of Education & Staff Development and Chair of the NYC Montessori Charter School Board of Trustees, is proud of the development. The innovative educational program "will empower students to be critical thinkers and creative problem solvers, and prepare them to succeed academically now and in the future," she said.