Montessori Non-Profit School In Chevy Chase, MD

The

future

Needs

Creative

Rebels

Find them at Oneness Family School

Quote: Boris Todorov (’24)

Being from Bulgaria, both my parents saw a welcoming international community, an inspiring, unconventional way of learning, and a school that cares about what’s unique in each child.

Boris shares his 8th-grade graduation speech, given on June 6, 2024.

I am a typical Oneness kid. After eleven years of entering through the same big blue front doors, I can say that with confidence. Nevertheless, when I joined the school, I was too young to make that decision myself. My parents made that choice for me, and I am grateful that they did. Being from Bulgaria, both of them saw a welcoming international community, an inspiring, unconventional way of learning, and a school that cares about what’s unique in each child.

Like a typical student here, I grew up with classmates from all over the world. From Switzerland and Sweden to Cote D’Ivoire and Brazil. From Texas and California to Nepal and New Zealand. With every year, I made connections to more and more corners of our world. Like many students here, I studied foreign languages. Estudió Español por más de ocho años, et j’ai étudié un peu le français aussi.

Like a typical student here, I grew up exploring the world and thinking in unconventional ways. At four years old, for example, I had to boil eggs in school. Not because my mom forgot my lunch (which did happen occasionally), but because I was testing their flotation for a science fair. I first learned to write in a sandbox. In the Arbor, I wrote weekly short stories about my quirky fantasy worlds. I built a rube goldberg machine in my bedroom while learning online. I researched Food Insecurity for Model UN and negotiated realistic solutions with fellow student delegates from around the world.

However, no student here is ever really typical. What makes Oneness special is that it fosters the unique strengths and abilities in every one of us.

Oneness has nurtured quite a few of my unusual side quests. The teachers here let me weave my hobbies into many assignments. I wrote my Genius Hour presentation on building a Desktop Computer. I wrote an excessively detailed Independent Study paper on Formula One. About that: I would like to apologize to the poor teachers who had to deal with my 20-page essay on ground effect and turbo-hybrid v6 engines. Also, I discovered my ongoing passion for music production and engineering here, and I have been able to pursue it in music classes, theater productions, and even for school performances. Here, I have discovered what makes me myself.

As I take my final steps through the big blue doors, my next years are full of change. I’m going to the biggest high school in Maryland, with over 3,000 students! The building’s bigger than most Bulgarian airports!! Will I make friendships as genuine as these here? Will I create as close a bond with my teachers? Will I be as inspired in my classes as I have been so far?

I know one thing for sure. Oneness-Family School has helped me find the strengths I need to find my way.

Why You Should Study At a Montessori School

Montessori uses hands-on materials and real specimens to make the learning process concrete and exciting
Learning is not in the abstract – it is real and relevant to the child’s level of understanding and everyday experience. This keeps students engaged deeply in the learning process, which helps them retain a love of learning instead of becoming bored.
Montessori is a dynamic learning approach
In a Montessori environment, many things are happening at the same time. Teachers may be giving separate lessons to different small groups while other students are doing independent assignments. Teachers monitor student lessons and work every step of the way. The benefit is that students are getting lessons right for them and are also learning to work on their own to accomplish tasks.
In Montessori – the focus is always on the whole – the big picture
Facts are easily forgotten unless they are taught in a broader context. Montessori kids enjoy learning about “big ideas” – the essential concepts of science, geography, and history. They learn these concepts through inspiring stories and creative follow-up activities. Montessori students also continuously learn how to make connections between ideas in different subjects. The benefit is that Montessori students remember what they have learned at a deeper level.
Students progress at their own rate
In a Montessori school, there is no limit to how fast a student can progress. When a student is ready for a new challenge, the teachers are ready to help them to meet it. As a result, Montessori schools like OFS have students reading far above grade level, doing advanced math, learning research methods and utilizing technology to learn and to make presentations.
Multi-age classrooms
Maria Montessori discovered the magic of multi-age classrooms over 85 years ago. Now, the concept has been adopted, in modified form, in many non-Montessori schools everywhere. A multi-age classroom taps into our natural desire to learn from others who know more than us and our joy in teaching others what we know. In addition, the multi-age classroom allows students to go through a 3-year leadership cycle, allowing students and families to stay with a team of teachers to build a deep relationship of trust and communication.
Intrinsic motivation
Montessori schools do not attempt to motivate by grades, threats, punishments, or rewards. Rather, with emphasis on choice and initiative, students take charge of their learning process in partnership with their teachers. Students do assignments not because of the grade they will get but because it has meaning and relevance to them. The reward of learning is the learning itself – not just a grade. In a Montessori environment, assessment can take many forms, including individual or group student projects and presentations – which build very strong communication skills.
Non-competitive learning
Montessori students gain very strong self-confidence because they understand their talents and the areas in which they need to improve. Moreover, they learn to appreciate the gifts of others. How does this prepare them for the “real world”? The more solid students are in who they are – and the greater their ability to empathize with others – the better prepared they will be for future success.
Self-Organization
Montessori students begin to plan their days in preschool. At OFS, in grades 1-3, they learn to do a daily work plan in consultation with their teachers, which includes the lessons they must attend and the independent assignments they will do. When students graduate to grades 4-5, they begin to plan a week at a time, and in grades 6-8, they learn to look at the entire scope of a cycle of learning – about eight weeks.
Montessori classrooms encourage students to ask questions and challenge assumptions
Students learn early on that their ideas are important –and that all great ideas come from deep thinking. Maria Montessori understood that the heart of learning is in the questions students ask. Moreover, where traditional learning focuses on “one right answer,” Montessori encourages students to discover more than one answer where possible. The benefit is that students learn to think differently about topics and to appreciate many viewpoints.
Part of a community
Both the social environment and the curriculum in a Montessori school are powerful reinforcements of the idea that we are part of a greater whole. From 2 years old onward, students learn how to care for their classroom and each other. Students learn to see their place in the community and the world and to understand that they have an important responsibility to support the well-being of our planet and its great web of life.

Quote: Louise Eriksson

At Oneness, I learned to believe in myself—that if something seems impossible, if you stay with it, you will eventually succeed.

At Oneness, I learned to believe in myself—that if something seems impossible, if you stay with it, you will eventually succeed. As a student at this school, I had a sense of inclusion, that my opinions were heard and valued. All teachers knew us as unique individuals. Oneness to me is a family and I keep in contact with my community even though I am far away. I am now living in Stockholm and interning at Gleechi, a company developing software solutions that enable hand interaction between humans, robots, and computers. I have found that I can combine my passion for art and helping others at the same time!