Our Career Opportunities

What distinguishes Sapientia Montessori School from other workplaces? Our care for and commitment to enriching the lives of everyone in our community – children, parents, staff and the community-at-large alike; unparalleled passion for educational excellence; our integrity and regard for the highest human values.

In providing the highest standards of Montessori education, Preschool and Private Elementary education, our teachers and staff are very carefully chosen with the highest regard for nurturing, integral and professional qualities. Our teachers are AMI-Montessori certified, while most of them also hold Masters degrees from prestigious colleges around the nation.

A Montessori teacher is properly called a “Guide”. This title adequately describes the true role of the Montessori educator: An observer whose primary goal is to understand (many times sense) the child’s abilities, needs and interests and direct him/her accordingly. The younger and less experienced the child, the less abstract the lessons are and more active the role of the Guide, presenting activities based on the child’s requirements.

As the child develops, guides intervene less and help the child to increasingly assert his/her independence. Through his/her demeanor, approach and lessons, the Guide generates an atmosphere of peace, order and joy in the class, supporting and encouraging children across their efforts, and fostering self-confidence and discipline.

Understanding how to constructively observe and when, and how far to intervene, is one an essential talent the Montessori Guide. Such skills are initially acquired through an intense and comprehensive AMI training course (there are centers throughout the USA and worldwide) and of course, through years of experience.

Immediate positions may not always be available, although we are always on the lookout for highly qualified and dedicated staff.

Positions of interest:

• Lead Teachers
• Teachers Assistants
• Administrative Assistants

For any of the above positions: If you love children, have a passion for teaching and believe that your qualifications will be a fit to our philosophy and values, please send us your resume. You may contact us at (512) 260-2261, email admin@sapientiamontessori.com, or fax your resume to (512) 259-4410, Mon – Fri, 8:00 am – 5:00 pm.

We Offer Enrichment Programs

The following extra-curricular programs are offered at the school through specialists in each subject:

Although our curriculum inherently includes a wide array of the traditional enrichment areas, including Character and Human Values education, the programs listed below are also available as after-school options:

• Art
• Music and Instruments
• Foreign Languages
• Computer and Engineering
• Athletics and Sports
• Creative Movement, Dance and Yoga

Elementary Class

Children of Elementary age are generally characterized by their inquisitive minds, high creativity and imagination, and a boundless need for discovery. They form their knowledge and their view of the world by evolving from the concrete concepts to the abstract experiences (source – AMI).

Elementary-aged children (ages 6 – 12; grades 1st – 6th) want to expand their understanding beyond the simple and concrete; they want to use their imaginations – an extremely important tool of learning. Elementary students start questioning the world around them, with significant focus on nature and society – the fabric of our most fundamental concepts and needs.

Our curriculum includes all the core subjects: Math, language, geography, geometry, sciences, history, sociology, government, art, music, foreign languages, among many others. Additional enrichment subjects such as culinary skills, specialized subjects, research projects, community service projects, field trips and such are also an integral part of the curriculum.

During the Elementary years, children also develop appropriate accountability for their studies and work, record-keeping, time-management, responsible behavior and other important and healthy living habits.

Even though our academic standards and placement rank significantly higher than traditional Schools, our elementary curriculum conforms to State guidelines for each grade level.

Children ages 6 to 12 years (1st – 6th graders) want to transcend the concrete and use their imaginations – a very powerful tool of learning. Students at this age begin to question deeply the world around them, focusing intently on nature and society.

Language, mathematics, geometry, sciences, geography, history, government, sociology, music, art, community service programs and field trips are all part of the curriculum. Children learn adequate study habits such as record keeping, time management and taking responsibility for their behavior and studies. Students also participate in various community service projects throughout the year.

Montessori Classrooms

The concepts of the Montessori approach to education are elegant in their simplicity, yet based on sophisticated understandings of the relationship between human development, learning, and environment. After studying children in a variety of countries and from a number of different cultures and backgrounds, Dr. Montessori came to the conclusion that the human mind is constructed to organize and learn from the environment. Based on this recognition, she developed a prepared environment carefully designed to support the young child’s “absorbent mind” and to assist their complete development.

If a school is recognized by AMI, your child will be engaged in the authentic Montessori experience developed by Maria Montessori. Schools with an AMI Certificate of Recognition have undergone a rigorous review process. When you visit an AMI Montessori school, regardless of location, you will see the same standards applied.

 

The Montessori Classroom Experience:

 

• Includes one AMI trained teacher at the appropriate age level for each class.
• Features a mixed, three-year age group in each class.
• Has an appropriate number of children to insure social development.
• Is driven by a three-hour uninterrupted work period in the morning and a 2-3 hour work period in the afternoon.
• Has a complete set of materials for each class from a manufacturer authorized by AMI.

 

Student work

Perhaps the greatest testimonial to the success of the Montessori method is Montessori student work. The quality, creativity, and cross-disciplinary nature of the following class work speaks to the intelligence and curiosity of the Montessori students that created it.

Why (AMI) Montessori?

Montessori is an extremely advanced educational program which focuses on developing “the whole child”, academically, socially and emotionally. The primary goal of Montessori education is to help children reach their full potential. The AMI Montessori Method of Education is supported by over a century of research and its foundation is recognized by developmental researchers, child psychologists, teachers, schools and colleges all over the world.

Below are just some among the vast number of benefits derived from AMI Montessori education (Also see: Why AMI Montessori?)

Above all, AMI Montessori children are:

• Happy, self-motivated and enthusiastic learners
• Better socialized and able to solve their conflicts
• Fluent readers and masters of abstract mathematical concepts
• Well advanced in grade placements
• In possession of natural self-esteem, courteous and compassionate

Additionally, through Montessori:

• Children are guided to learn at their own pace, through individualized lessons and specialized materials.
• These lessons are introduced in stages, starting with very simple and concrete, allowing for a thorough understanding of the subject and a sense of achievement. Overtime, lessons are added higher levels of complexity and abstraction until the more advanced concepts are fully mastered, thereby also cementing the child’s      self-confidence, independence and self-esteem.
• The curriculum is organized into overlapping subjects rather than individual ones. This approach enables children to study over extended periods of time the various aspects and levels of each topic, while solidifying the understanding of the core concepts and avoiding the over-reliance on memorization.
• Multi-age class groups and a variety of group activities throughout the day enable advanced cross-learning, profound socialization and leadership opportunities.

Ideally, the Montessori should be introduced at toddler-age, between ages 18 and 36 months. The Toddler Program creates a significant foundation for the Primary program. You may of course also start your child in the Primary Program at the age of 3 – this is a three year program, which includes the Kindergarten year. The Primary Montessori Program is a 3-year program for a very valid reason. It is important that the child completes the Kindergarten year in order to gain the maximum benefit from the program.

Further, Sapientia Montessori School and Cedar Park Montessori School are among the very few that offer an advanced and fully accredited Montessori Program for Elementary education. This program is aimed at gifted and talented children who wish to pursue even higher levels learning through the Montessori Curriculum. The Elementary Program is generally available for children who have completed the Primary Program, although on the individual basis, we may consider students come from other preschool and kindergarten programs. Even though our academic standards and placement rank significantly higher than traditional schools, our elementary curriculum conforms to State guidelines for each grade level.

Children's Primary Program

-Half-Day: 8:00 am – 12:00 pm

-Extended-Day: 8:00 am – 3:00 pm

-Full-Day: 8:00 am – 6:00 pm

-Early Arrival: 7:00 am – 8:00 am

 

Children in our Primary Program (ages 3 – 6 years) have a wide and comprehensive curriculum. Areas of learning include but aren’t limited to: Mathematics, language, math, geography, science and botany, art, music, culture and social studies, etc. This program imparts children with a solid foundation in the core subjects which will be recurring across future learning years.

Many of the lessons imparted in the Primary class in fact, begin preparing children for abstract, even college-level, concepts, such as calculus.

In the Primary classroom and consistent with the Montessori Method, lessons are appropriately introduced by the teacher individually. Progression, whether on the abstraction of a particular lesson or into other lessons, is based on the child’s readiness and ability. The classroom environment is meticulously prepared so as to promote creativity, self-guided learning, independence and socialization. The Montessori lesson invites children to work at their own pace until the work is completed fully and correctly.

The Primary Montessori Program is a 3-year program for a very valid reason. It is important that the child completes the Kindergarten year in order to gain the maximum benefit from the program.

Each lesson is appropriately introduced by the lead teacher on a one-on-one basis, based on the child’s abilities. Therefore, depending on the abilities of the child he/she is introduced to the proceeding lesson. The classroom is carefully prepared in such way so as to promote creative learning, socialization, self guided studies and independence. Each lesson invites the child to work at his/her own pace until the work is completed satisfactorily.

Our Toddler Class

The first three years of a human being’s life are the most important in their overall development and determine his/her overall potential for latter years. During this period, the child’s physical development is significant and requires our highest care and focus. However, an even deeper development is taking place within the child, despite it not being so immediately apparent. It is during the child’s first three years of life that intelligence, culture and language are defined, and in which the foundational social patterns and the foundations of personality and spiritual life are formed. A thorough understanding the stages of development of a child as the AMI Montessori Method provides, allows for the creation of a fully supportive environment around the child and his/he needs (source – AMI).

From 18-36 months, children possess an incredible need to explore their environments. Every item and circumstance they experience, they must rush to it and explore it through their senses. At Sapientia Montessori School and Cedar Park Montessori School, the Toddler community is mainly a nurturing extension of the child’s natural environment – his/her home. The goal is to impart a basic foundation about life’s key concepts, while allowing for joy, comfort and safe exploration.

Specific to the Montessori Method, it is in the toddler class that children are introduced to basic guidance in preparation for the upcoming Primary environment: Receiving a lesson, eating etiquette, potty training, working at a table, social grace and courtesy, among others. Children develop independence through practical life skills such as wiping a spill; putting on their shoes; carrying, pouring and arranging items; among many others. The toddler community is the important foundation to make the transition into the primary class simple.