Hello Vanessa and Families,

Thank you for your passion for the Montessori program at Rodriguez and for all you do to support it. I've included Ashley Bird and Roxanna in this email to ensure we're all on the same page.

Roxanna shared your concerns about the traffic safety and library vacancy and we agree these are important issues. In terms of the expansion of Rodriguez to middle school, this is not part of the Montessori Network plan. As you know, there is a pathway for Rodriguez students to attend the middle school at Steele. Having one middle school program for the Network will allow it to be a robust program that is fully enrolled. When districts attempt to grow Montessori programs too quickly, they end up with under enrolled programs that lack the allocations to generate a robust experience for students.

Some of you may have been at our fall breakfast gathering when we talked about this question. We shared all the resources it takes to fully implement a middle school program. The original charter for Rodriguez only went through 5th grade and with the support of SAISD was extended to include 6th grade- allowing for a 3 year cycle and pathway to Steele. As we said at the fall breakfast, the Montessori Network of San Antonio is not at a place to support expansion beyond 6th grade. 

I'm sharing this to ensure we are united in our vision as we build strong public Montessori programs for the children and families of San Antonio. 

Thank you again, for sharing your plan with us. I will be on site the last week of April and look forward to connecting with you then.

Sincerely,

Elizabeth Slade
PMAI - Public Montessori in Action International