The Bergamo Preparatory School program is based on the insights of Dr. Maria Montessori and recent and innovative discoveries into children’s learning.

Our programs are divided into Junior Elementary (6-9), which encompasses first through third grades and Advanced Elementary (9-12), which includes fourth through sixth grades.

The Bergamo Preparatory School classrooms are best described as a community of young scholars. Elementary age children are naturally curious. There are no limits to the kinds of questions that they ask. Children readily wonder, “How does the universe work? What number comes after trillions? Which is hotter, a sun or a volcano? How does a fish breathe under water?”

Children are supported in finding answers to these questions through the comprehensive Montessori curriculum, which is designed to educate the whole child. Progressively through our elementary programs, children develop a broad knowledge base with lessons drawn from anthropology, art, biology, botany, chemistry, earth science ecology, geography, geology, geometry, history, language, mathematics, physics, sociology and zoology. In addition to academic rigor, our goals also include learning to make decisions and manage time. Learn more about our courses of study.

An additional component of the integrated curriculum is peace education. Bergamo is a diverse, international school representing the global community, in which our children will live and work as adults.

Key elements of our program include:

• Hands-on materials. Our integrated curriculum uses instructional materials, timelines, pictures, charts, reference materials and computer-assisted instruction. The colors, sizes and textures of Montessori materials are designed to appeal to a child’s sense of wonder. The materials guide investigations and discoveries of patterns and relationships and develop children’s problem-solving abilities.
• Self-paced and self-initiated. The classroom schedule permits uninterrupted periods of work time with focused sustained concentration in relaxed learning environments. Children initiate research projects into topics of their own choosing. They might, for example, read about aquatic environments, analyze water samples, write about and illustrate their discoveries, develop a historical timeline of a water source and present their findings. Because a child’s imagination is immense, there are no limits to the range of topics or depth of research in our classrooms.
• Multi-age community of learners. Collaborative learning and problem solving naturally take place when older children act as mentors to younger children. Older children inspire younger children through more advanced work. When three age levels are represented in a class, children connect with others at their developmental level, not just their numerical age.