Admissions
We’re glad that you are interested in enrolling your child at Turtle River Montessori! We are confident that we provide the finest learning experience available today and are excited that you and your child are joining us in this journey!
Admissions Policy
All applicants must tour our facility and meet with our Director before entering the enrollment process. The Admission policies, procedures, curriculum and faculty at Turtle River Montessori have been approved by the State of Florida Board of Education. Turtle River Montessori is accredited by the Association of Independent Schools of Florida and we are a Full Member of The American Montessori Society.
Criteria for Eligibility
Pre-Primary Program
- Children must be at least 18 months at start date.
- If a child has had previous school experience, recommendations and narratives are required.
- Child may be required to participate in a transitional process of after school visits to meet with the teacher one on one, or 15 minute morning visits to participate in the class. Parent must accompany child.
- Length of day and number of days scheduled is dependent on child’s readiness.
Primary Program
- Children must be completely toilet trained.
- If a child has had previous school experience, recommendations, narratives and progress reports are required.
- Candidates who are 4 years or older may be asked to spend an hour in a classroom without their parent.
Elementary – High School
- Children entering the programs must meet all of Turtle River Montessori’s requirements for placement.
- All candidates are required to spend a morning in a classroom.
- All of the official records, recommendations, standardized test scores and professional assessments (where applicable) must be reviewed prior to acceptance into the program.
Application Process
- An appointment is made to meet with the Head of School and or the Administrative Director to understand the Montessori philosophy and method of education, followed by a tour of the school. At this time all questions may be addressed. Please note: tours are scheduled Monday through Friday mornings. Every effort is made to schedule tours for the first convenient date.
- An enrollment agreement and registration packet will be provided upon approval as requested by applicants. A tuition schedule will be reviewed and included with the registration packet.
- A release form for new students requesting school records will be signed by the parent and sent to the child’s previous school (where applicable).
- For new students, a classroom visit will be scheduled (where applicable).
The Independent School Entrance Exam
All 2nd-8th grade applicants are required to submit scores from the Independent School Entrance Exam (ISEE) in order to be considered for admission. The ISEE is a one-hour admission test for students applying to 2nd-4th grade and a three-hour admission test for students applying to 5th-8th grade. Families have several registration options to choose from to help ensure that every student can find a test date and time that works for them.
Enrollment Procedure
Students are enrolled on a first come first serve basis, given the following priorities:
- Returning students are given first priority until the registration deadline date has expired.
- Siblings of Turtle River Montessori students are given priority over new students until the registration deadline date has expired.
- All enrollment paperwork must be received along with the registration fees without which a student is not considered enrolled.
- New students must go through the application process prior to being invited to enroll at Turtle River Montessori.
- When space is unavailable at the time of application, children may be placed on a waiting list at the parent’s request provided the parent agrees to follow TRM enrollment protocol prior to acceptance.
- The registration fee will hold a place for your child and is non-refundable.
- Specific policies contained within the enrollment agreement are binding.
Class Placement
- All class placements are made by Turtle River Montessori administration. Children returning will remain with their classroom teacher (unless a change is in the best interest of the child) until they are ready for placement in the next three year cycle.
- Turtle River Administration reserves the right to place children in order to maintain balanced classes with respect to class size, age, gender and individual needs of the student. We will give consideration to requests for placement, however it is not guaranteed.
Turtle River Montessori welcomes children of all races, colors, creeds and religions.