Coastal Montessori Charter School is the only choice school in the district offering a free alternative to public schooling.  As a charter school we submitted our charter, and specifically our charter school goals, to the State and then to our sponsors, Georgetown County School District.  Since 2012, our enrollment has grown from 146 students in grades first through sixth, to 227 students in grades first through seventh.  In addition, our waiting list has grown from 6 students to 69 students.  This statistics tells me, and the Coastal Montessori Charter School staff, that our community supports school choice and a Montessori choice, specifically.

For those of you new to our community our charter goals ar e three-fold and with the addition of middle school I will be proposing an additional goal addressing the middle school student and curriculum.  Our first charter goal is to reduce the achievement gap, which in education research is also known as the resource gap.  Our second charter goal is reading proficiency by the end of 3rd grade for each student.  This charter goal is supported by the State Department of Education.  Our third charter goal represents our Montessori perspective of the child by carving out a space for students to learn and apply executive functions and their emotional intelligence.  Specifically, we refer in our charter to cultivating the seven survival skills: critical thinking, problem solving, self-regulation, taking initiative, communication, inquisitiveness, and the ability to work as part of a team.

Public Montessori research is currently underway in South Carolina and the preliminary findings are overwhelming positive.  Some highlights include how Montessori students in South Carolina schools outperform their non-Montessori peers in executive functions, and that 97% of Montessori teachers in South Carolina feel that Montessori shows great potential for growth and impact in the public school system.  Like CMCS, over half of the Montessori schools in the state have a waiting list, indicating that the demand for this option is strong.

As parents of choice-school students your voice is vital to our future. Please embrace every opportunity to show your support for school choice, for Montessori and specifically for CMCS, so that decision-makers on every level are aware of your passion for these great educational equalizers that give every child the opportunity to reach her full potential.  On that end, I look forward to seeing you at our upcoming Topping Off Ceremony this Friday at 4 p.m., where just your presence alone will show your resounding support.


Kindly,  
Dr. Hunt