Publicly Funded Khalsa Montessori Schools
Gurudev Kaur Khalsa
Los Angeles, CA. U.S.A.
The following excerpts are from the Arizona Daily Star newspaper: "There’s a revolt in public education and it’s happening in Arizona. Over the last two years, more charter schools have been started in Arizona than any other.
The state legislature approved charter laws in 1994, which offers freedom from most education regulations. Twenty-five states have enacted laws for Charter Schools, which are public schools under contract -- or charter -- from public funds to a group of parents, teachers, a business or others who want to create alternative and choice."
The Khalsa Montessori Elementary School of Phoenix and Tucson was the first school to meet the stringent guidelines in 1996 and to be granted Charter School status, which means they have a 15 year contract with the state of Arizona to provide public elementary education, with Montessori philosophy and curriculum, and the tuition of the students attending is publicly funded by the state of Arizona.
Many states are considering incorporating charter schools into their public education system, but Arizona enacted one of the most lenient laws in the United States. With the charter school option available, SS Sat Want Singh Khalsa, the director of the successful Khalsa Montessori School in Phoenix, which was established 26 years ago, was able to work with SS Nirvair Kaur Khalsa, an experienced Montessori teacher and director of the 10 year old school in Tucson, to institute a Khalsa Montessori School in each city as a Charter School.
These Khalsa Montessori Schools have been enthusiastically received by the parents and students, with children from ages 5 to 11 enrolled in these schools.
Beginning this school year, the Phoenix school will have students from first grade to fifth grade, and the Tucson school will have students from kindergarten to second grade. Each school will add one grade per year until they reach the grades allowed by their Charter School agreement. The current enrollment in Phoenix is 70 students, with 45 children currently enrolled in Tucson. Enrollment is projected to increase to 115 new children in 1997-1998, and 150 new children in 1998-1999. Both schools continue their private pre-schools. Phoenix has an enrollment of 90 pre-schoolers. Tucson has an enrollment of 50 pre-schoolers.
In Phoenix Sikh Dharma owns the buildings where the classes are held, with the campuses consisting of four buildings. The Tucson campuses consists of two buildings.
The philosophy of Khalsa Montessori Schools is one of respect for the child and their inner light and inner teacher. It encourages self-direction, and responsibility for self, for each other and for the world. Yoga and meditation are a part of the curriculum of both schools, and in fact is written into the charter contract, and has been taught at the Khalsa Montessori School in Phoenix for 25 years.
Recently at a Teacher’s Training course there was a student who originally began taking yoga at Khalsa Montessori School when they were four years old! The goal of teaching yoga in the schools is to show the children that yoga can be fun, and that can be incorporated into their daily life and interactions with each other. It also serves to give them the ability to consciously choose how they act, rather than to react to situations. As older children become more knowledgeable about yoga they actually are encouraged to teach the warm-up yoga exercises to the younger children. In other words, they are given the opportunity to become teachers, and view themselves that way.
In both schools, some parents are enrolling their children because of the yoga classes that are taught. One mother told of hearing her daughter falling asleep at night while doing a meditation she had been taught in class. The yoga class curriculum is also structured to teach the children about their body and how it functions. For instance they will learn about the circulatory system and also learn about exercises that benefit that body system, as well as things that harm it.
In Phoenix, all children have a weekly yoga and meditation class, taught in groups of 10-14 children, with additional daily yoga and meditation sessions after recess. The curriculum and twenty age-specific classes have been developed and are being being taught by SS Dr. Hari Simran Singh and Sat Ratten Kaur Khalsa. Khalsa In Tucson, the children each have a weekly yoga and meditation class as well.
Khalsa Montessouri School students had some of the highest achievement test scores in the district. National percentiles on the Standard 9 test were 86% in reading, 63% in mathematics, 72% in language, and 81% for the total battery.
Bravo to SS Sat Want Singh Khalsa and SS Nirvair Kaur Khalsa for this inspiring step forward in the growth of conscious educational alternatives in our schools! If you would like to talk with them about how to pursue Charter Schools in your area, or if you are a Montessori teacher who might want to teach in these schools, you can reach SS Sat Want Singh Khalsa at (602) 252-3759 and SS Nirvair Kaur Khalsa at (520) 325-3870.