Roadstead’s Academic Program: Introduction

Eran Livni, PhD, co-Head of School

Beyond the Subject List

Our Montessori academic program is much more than a list of subjects to be covered toward high school diploma. For us, authentic learning is a deep process of acquiring skills, knowledge and experience. It allows teenagers to think and act independently, both as individuals and community members. Our students still study math, sciences, literature, history, arts, physical education and all other subjects offered in traditional schools. However, the learning process has nothing to do with checking boxes through endless exams and busywork. Instead, we design a hands-on and real world learning opportunities that aim to fulfill the three parts of the Montessori Educational Syllabus for adolescents:

1. Self-expression through music, language, and visual arts.
2. Psychic development – the ability to understand and engage with human life’s intellectual, emotional, moral, and social dimensions. Students acquire it through the study of mathematics, languages, and moral education.
3. Preparation for adult life is the ability to participate in the building of human civilization. Students acquire it through the study of nature, society and technology.

As I wrote previously, Maria Montessori designated the Erdkinder farm to be the prepared environment for the Educational Syllabus. However, in practice, there has been more than one way to support the growth of children at the adolescent level. Throughout the world, Montessori adolescent programs implement the three parts of the Educational Syllabus in urban environments as well. The urban environment of Hampton Roads, VA is where Roadstead students study and work.

Our Approach to the Montessori Academic Program

In this introductory post, I will present how we bring the Educational Syllabus to life in our Montessori academic program. I invite you to see it as the adolescent version of Maria Montessori’s concept of cosmic education. Students learn how to observe the universe as a whole. Their study is an interdisciplinary investigation of nature, society, art, technology, morality and all other manners of human engagement.

In general, we structure classes at Roadstead in any of the following formats of learning:

1. individual tutoring;
2. academic seminars;
3. practical seminars; and,
4. service-based work-study.

There is a fifth format of learning — community routines — which I discuss in a different blog post. Community meetings, weekly cleaning, lunchtime and daily chores are not academic classes. Nevertheless, they are essential manners of realizing the Educational Syllabus even though they do not count as academic classes. Equally important are annual school events like the meditation course, holiday celebrations, MLK Jr. Day and the graduation party. I will discuss these events in detail in future blog posts.

Let me now introduce the four formats of learning and how they implement the three parts of Maria Montessori’s Educational Syllabus for adolescents. I will delve into the specific subjects of study in depth throughout the blog series that will follow this introduction. Keep these four formats of learning in mind when you read later about the specific subjects. These four formats are central to our program because independent interdisciplinary exploration cannot take place as a formal class task. It happens seamlessly when students study the same subject but simultaneously in different ways.

The Four Formats In Our Montessori Academic Program

Individual Tutoring

In this format, Roadstead students learn math and Latin, our required second language. These are two of the three subjects that support psychic development. The third one, moral education, is often taught with practical lessons of grace and courtesy. The format of individual tutoring also supports the other two parts of the Educational Syllabus. Students express themselves by forming their own original way of organizing and processing information. They also develop executive functioning skills of planning, time management, self-monitoring and other similar tasks crucial for independent adult life.

The study of math and Latin is self-paced and customized to each student’s academic level. Students take math throughout their time at Roadstead. Upon completing pre-calculus, they may take higher level math classes as dual enrollment students with Tidewater Community College. Latin usually starts at 8th grade in tandem with pre-Latin — an academic seminar for 6th-9th graders. We expect the students to complete between two to four levels of Latin. Advanced students may take additional languages either as an independent study or via TCC dual enrollment.

How Individual Tutoring Works

We ask the students to schedule work on math and Latin daily during their work cycle time. For math, we recommend allocating a daily time slot of about an hour. For Latin, we ask students to allocate 30 minutes a day. Additionally, each student has assigned weekly tutorial meetings with the math and Latin teachers. The daily work cycle time is in preparation for the weekly tutorial meetings. During the meetings, the students and teachers follow up on the work process since the last meeting. They also address specific challenges the students have encountered. The students may also approach the teachers for guidance and help at any time outside the scheduled weekly meetings.

Steve (right) and Lily (left) in a math tutorial meeting

Academic Seminars

This format is where students engage most directly with the interdisciplinary core of our Montessori academic program. The subjects learned in this format relate to two parts of the Educational Syllabus. The first is artistic self-expression. The second are the three academic fields Maria Montessori designated as education in preparation for adult life:

1. the study of earth and of living things;
2. the study of human progress and the building up of civilization; and, 
3. the study of the history of humankind.

Secondary 1 students (6th-9th grade) study earth and environmental science, visual and language arts, pre-Latin, civics and human geography. 

Secondary 2 students (9th-12th grade) study biology, chemistry, physics, computer science, history, literature and writing, and fine arts.

We limit the maximum capacity of a seminar section to eight students. This is the magic number that allows students to express themselves both individually and as part of teamwork. If the number of students taking the seminar exceeds eight, we open an additional seminar section.

The seminars are scheduled in advance for the entire school year, usually as a 55 minutes time slot. Class assignments are given a week in advance. Students work on them during their work cycle time.

Frontal lectures are limited to the minimum in favor of open-ended discussions as well as collaborative and individual work guided by the teachers. Seminar sessions resemble college level seminars. Students always work in preparation for the next meeting. This is unlike homework in traditional schools which summarizes or follows up on the previous class session.

Katie (center) instructs students how to throw clay on a pottery wheel in fine arts seminar

Practical Seminars

This format includes seminars such as Makerspace, sailing, physical education and nutrition, video, and master gardening. This cluster of subjects addresses the needs of preparation for adult life. The students learn how technology has empowered humans to take charge of nature and society. We call these seminars practical because they center on learning by doing. The students become highly proficient in operating many different manual and power tools. 

Practical seminars usually take place off-campus. The students are mentored by professional craftspersons (not necessarily teachers) at their own workplace. There is a highly important set of soft social skills adolescents can acquire only by working in such locations. They learn very quickly that the livelihood of these professionals does not depend only on mentoring our students. They are happy to work with our school if we add value to their business. However, this also goes in the other direction. They will cut their work with us if anything in our presence harms their business in any way.

This is an essential practical life lesson that also underlies the next format of classes. Students learn that mutual benefit is the only way to build lasting work relationships.

Henry works on a street clothing project at 757Makerspace

Service-Based Work-Study

For us, community service is not volunteering hours students need to report to fulfill high school graduation requirements. We deem service work an important part of our Montessori academic program often integrated in our academic and practical seminars. It is highly important for adolescents to grow a sense of self-worth, self-value, capability and competence. That sense comes only from tangible work in service of fellow humans.

In Montessori terminology, a positive sense of self that comes from service work is called valorization. It is a central goal in the Montessori Educational Syllabus. Valorization ties together self-expression, psychic development (especially as part of moral education) and preparation for adult life. Adolescents experience valorization when they attain economic independence. Much more than just earning money, economic independence means becoming active agents within human networks of value exchange. The students experience the power of independence that comes from being able to produce value for others. Even when not paid directly, serving others’ interests is the key to opening opportunities for self-realization.

Whom We Have Served Thus Far

Later in this series, I will present specific examples of how we incorporate service-based work in different academic and practical seminars. For now, let me show you a partial list of the great service work Roadstead students have delivered:

• Ushered entire school matinee seasons, created lobby display, distributed posters, and assisted with set building for the Virginia Stage Company;
• Ushered full seasons of the opening night show for the Virginia Opera;
• Maintained raised beds and carried out routine tasks at the Downtown Norfolk Community Garden;
• Conducted primary historical research and constructed a database of enslaved laborers in Norfolk, VA (CA. 1810-1862) at the Sargeant Memorial Collection;
• Created a database about a historical immigrant Jewish neighborhood for a local Jewish Museum and Cultural Center;
• Maintained an educational greenhouse at the Culinary Institute of Virginia;
• Produced instructional videos for the Virginia Symphony Orchestra;
• Interned in a biomedical lab, civil engineering company, hotel operations and other professional organizations.

Forthcoming the 2026-2027 school year, Roadstead students will:

• Cook meals at a community kitchen operated by Mercy Chefs;
• Assist with pre- and post-performance school workshops for the Virginia Stage Company.

Students assist with set building for the Virginia Stage Company

Coming next is an in depth presentation of selected subjects from our Montessori academic program. Stay tuned for the first one which is still in process. This blog post will unfold the process of psychic development that comes from learning a foundational language such as Latin.

Let’s continue the conversation