Students at Polaris Montessori learning long division through "test tube division."

By Tommy Osborne

Adaptable Education

Polaris Montessori’s unique approach gives all students a space to succeed

Apr 19, 2024 | 4:43 PM

PRINCE GEORGE – Staying in a classroom all day and being mostly confined to a desk can be quite challenging for some students, especially those with ADHD or are neurodivergent. However, the Polaris Montessori school helps solve this problem, as it tailors its education to specifically accommodate a wide variety of students’ needs.

Among many other things, a big way the school adapts its education style to work for ADHD students is by creating a classroom with plenty of open space so students can move freely.

“Some students are sitting at tables, some are at the floor. There’s a lot of movement built in to our prepared environment just by the students moving about the classroom to get materials from the shelves to work with a friend. Within our prepared environment, we also have opportunities for cultivating mindfulness and practicing mindfulness and taking body breaks,” said Jody Hoffman, a teacher at Polaris Montessori.

Based off of the work of Italian Educator Maria Montessori, Polaris Montessori’s education system has a strong focus on material learning. Teacher Janice Butchart explained students frequently use physical objects to learn a wide variety of concepts, and there are different materials to teach the same concept so students can find a style that resonates with them. Saying “the hand educates the mind,” Butchart says working with physical objects can make complex concepts easy to understand.

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“My students are working with something called test tube division that just breaks down the steps of long division and really shows them each part. So through the use of materials, they’re able to really take it into themselves. We find (with) sandpaper letters, they’re able to activate, remember and recall the sound that a letter makes just by tracing it,” said Butchart.

Given its adaptive style to a wide variety of student needs, Polaris Montessori’s education system is quite flexible, as it tries to focus on a student’s interests and find ways to connect that passion into other subjects.

“Some children are really passionate about math and they might be working with multiple different math materials, and other children might just be working with the item that we have asked them to work with,” said Hoffman.

Polaris Montessori’s unique approach to facilitate learning for students with ADHD is certainly appreciated by the students themselves and their families.

“Neither of my children would have done well sitting in desks all day with worksheets. They needed to do hands on learning and be able to move their bodies,” said Tricia Wright, a mother of two students at Polaris Montessori.

“I have always felt really supported by the teachers and the staff and the whole system,” she added.

Wright is also a registered clinical counsellor, and having seen how effective Polaris Montessori’s system is with her children, she hopes other schools take a page out of Polaris Montessori’s education style.

“I think the Montessori philosophy could be helpful in any school environment, little pieces of the way that they do things could be used elsewhere. It’s helpful for all children, but I think it’s especially helpful for children with Neurodivergence,” she said.

While other schools already do some of what Polaris Montessori does and are able to support students with different needs, Polaris Montessori shines as an example of the power of adaptable learning to suit a wide variety of student needs.

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