Why Choose Lake Country School?
Choosing a school for your child is one of your most important responsibilities as a parent.
If you're like most parents, you want your children to be educated in an environment where their intellectual abilities and self-esteem grow hand-in-hand, where imagination and curiosity are cultivated, where critical thinking and competencies flourish, where students learn to respect all cultures and all people, and where teachers care deeply for the whole person who is their student... and your child. We believe Lake Country School is such a place.
Lake Country is a diverse learning community where independence, positive self-esteem, critical thinking, responsibility to self and others and a peaceful, appreciative stewardship of the Earth are fostered in each and every student.
Lake Country is a Montessori learning environment, and is affiliated with Association Montessori Internationale (AMI) - the original European Montessori organization. In addition to their undergraduate and graduate educations, our faculty are trained Montessorians, well versed in this nearly century-old educational philosophy. In addition, we are fully accredited by AMI/USA and the Independent Schools Association of the Central States (ISACS).
Lake Country School was founded in 1976 by Lawrence and Patricia Schaefer. Today approximately 300 students are being educated at the following levels:
Children's House:
ages 33 months - 6 years
Elementary 1:
ages 6-9
Elementary 2:
ages 9-12
Junior High:
ages 12-15
Lake Country offers a complete continuum of Montessori education from pre-school through junior high. While a student can enter or leave Lake Country at any point, the power of a twelve-year Montessori education cannot be underestimated.
Read about our school, attend a Thursday morning observation session, and talk with our faculty, administration and parents. Then decide if Lake Country School is for you and your child. We welcome and encourage your interest.
Lake Country School is a Montessori learning environment. But what does that mean?
Montessori is both an educational philosophy and a vision of childhood. Montessorians recognize the power of each child and respect individual patterns of growth. At Lake Country, the physical surroundings, the learning methods and the ways in which students interact with one another are choreographed to create an environment in which children can discover their unique relationship to the world.
At Lake Country, we believe independent choice and authentic interest are key elements in learning. With each learning activity based on the needs and interests of the children, they develop independence and the ability to make good choices early on. It is through their own work in our specially prepared environments that children develop self-discipline and self-teaching abilities that will last a lifetime.
Montessorians believe that children learn by doing and are lovers of purposeful work, spontaneously chosen and carried out with profound joy. Montessori education also attends to the total development of the child - social, emotional, intellectual, physical and spiritual. As Montessori educators, we believe that these spheres of a child's personality and intellect must be integrated and balanced through the child's activities.
Montessori hands-on materials incorporate many of the most current learning theories. The materials begin at a very sensorial level and become increasingly abstract as the student's understanding grows. Montessori materials are sequential: for example, the skip counting beads in the Children's House form the foundation of the junior high student's abstract understanding of cube root and algebraic formulas.
Lake Country School's Intensive Specialist Scheduling (ISS) in music, French, and art distinguishes us from other Montessori schools in the Twin Cities. Rather than short weekly sessions, specialists establish intensive three-month residencies in each classroom, immersing students in the subject. After the residency has ended, regular classroom teachers provide additional guidance in these areas. A physical education specialist works with elementary and junior high students throughout the year.
A Child-Centered Learning Environment
A Lake Country classroom feels very different from a traditional classroom. Rather than placing a teacher at the center, here you'll find students directing their own activities and learning from one another. While one student reads about Renaissance painters, another works at a computer and another dissects a flower with a friend. The teachers circulate throughout the room, observing and coaching individuals or groups. Multi-age classrooms promote collaborative learning, a cornerstone of the Montessori philosophy, and encourage the development of a strong community, in which only one-third of the students change each year. Over three years, a student and teacher create a rich relationship based upon trust and an understanding of learning styles.
Class size is an important component of a Montessori education. Maria Montessori prescribed a class of about 35 students to promote both independence and interdependence. Lake Country's classrooms are about 28 at the Children's House and elementary levels. The junior high level averages 50 students, with four full-time teachers and four specialists. Teachers are always accessible as students are free to move about the classroom. Montessori classrooms buzz with a variety of activities and conversation. Guidelines for speaking, interrupting, handling the materials and interacting with classmates are established in collaboration between students and the teacher.
Celebrations and rituals are important components of life at Lake Country. They are a key to building community, to understanding other cultures and to preserving memories for children. Birthdays, holidays of many religions and cultures and global events are marked by celebrations at Lake Country. Celebrations that have been held in recent years include Wisdom Day (Russian) which inaugurates the school year, Santa Lucia (Sweden), Kwanzaa (Africa) and Earth Day.
Additional information concerning Lake Country School's history, philosophy and programs (Children's House, Elementary, Junior High and Land School) can be found in our About Lake Country School web pages.
For further admissions information please contact Lucinda Anderson,
LCS Admissions Director, at
612.827.3707 or admissions@lakecountryschool.org