The French immersion programs that Canadians are most familiar with were born out of the multicultural movement of the 1970s, and to some extent, they continue to reflect their age. The public school immersion programs begin, most typically, with Grade 1. Which is strange, given what we know about language acquisition, including uptake as well as the overall academic benefits of leering a second language. Ecole Montessori offers a rich program that addresses precisely that, providing an early and authentically immersive French-language program. Given what we know about what learning languages can do for cognition, confidence, and just general academic engagement, the question isn’t “should we enroll in immersion?” but “why not?” The Ecole Montessori program has a lot to offer, including a strong basis for children to advance to immersion programs in the primary years. Class sizes are small, allow for a high level of student-teacher engagement. The summer camp programs offer a nice opportunity for students to continue in a familiar environment outside the standard academic year.
We questioned the school administration
1. Who are you, as a school?
"École Montessori is Durham Region’s premier private French Montessori school for ages 18 months to 12 years. Children develop true bilingual fluency while engaging in hands‑on, academically enriched Montessori learning. They work independently and collaboratively, building critical thinking, social competence, emotional regulation, and confidence in a safe, nurturing setting. With small mixed-age classrooms, strong parent‑school partnership and an emphasis on well‑being, each child thrives."
Full French Immersion from toddler to grade 6.
Progressive Montessori curriculum.
Small class sizes.
Individualized student attention.
2. What do you do differently and uniquely well?
Information not yet available.
3. What tradeoffs has your school made to serve families in this way?
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4. What key junctures in your school's history have most shaped its present?
Information not yet available.
5. What type of student is a good fit for your school?
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6. Under what conditions would you advise a family against choosing your school?
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7. To your knowledge, why do families choose your school over others?
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8. How would you characterize your school's image amongst the public?
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9. What aspect of your school is underappreciated?
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10. What might families find surprising about your school?
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11. What improvements or changes has your school made recently?
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12. How will your school change in the next 5 years?
My daughter started attending École Montessori in grade 2 during the Fall of 2020 and has now completed grade 3. Her experience has certainly been enjoyable and beneficial. My daughter likes the smaller class sizes and the attention she receives from the teachers. Our main goal was to ensure that my daughter would learn French as a second language and eventually become bilingual within a few years. I was extremely surprised and amazed at the end of the first year, to see that my daughter was able to communicate in French and had enough of a vocabulary to understand conversations in French. During the online learning process due to the recent pandemic, I was able to observe first hand the level of achievement that my daughter had reached with her French language skills, based on her in-class participation and completed assignments. Her teacher has also confirmed the tremendous level of academic progress.
Our daughter loved her first year at Ecole Montessori. She loved everything from the curriculum to the extra curricular activities to recess.
What she loved about the curriculum was how she could progress at her own pace, in particular, she was able to learn well beyond grade one expectations. Having friends in the older grades pushed our daughter to keep up with her friends, all in a positive way. She was always encouraged to learn more if she had the interest and capability.
When it came to extracurricular activities, our daughter loved the variety of activities (e.g. indoor soccer, African dance, karate). These are activities that you would rarely see in the public school system.
Recess gave our daughter the opportunity to run around and expand her friendships.
Overall, a great experience!
My child’s experience at Ecole Montessori is great. She entered the school with no knowledge in French and now after one year, she is able to read, write, understands and speaks a little bit of French. I was looking for a French Montessori school as she was already studying in a Montessori system and I wanted her to learn French. I was skeptical initially as I don’t speak French and if I didn’t know how I will be able to help her learn French. After speaking to the principal, it gave me the confidence with my choice. My child was welcomed into the environment and she adapted well. The other students were also very helpful towards her and helped her to speak and read French. Now they are all friends and happy to see them help each other out.
