Ross Montessori School alumni and current students gathered Wednesday to talk about how the school has been growing community in the Roaring Fork Valley for 20 years. 

One of the main missions of a Montessori school is to create a strong sense of community — for the older kids to pass down their knowledge to the upcoming generation. Associate Head of School Mandi Franz and Principal Sonya Hemmen understand the heavy importance that impressionable youth place on the older kids in their community. RMS has been hosting an alumni panel for their elementary and middle schoolers since 2016. 

“We have a lot of parents asking how students do when they get to high school,” Franz said. “So we said, ‘Who can talk about that better than our actual alumni?'”

The alumni panel has been an annual event at Ross Montessori School since they moved into their new building almost 10  years ago. 2016 was the first year of the panel, and it has been a smashing hit since then. The town hall gives public speaking confidence to the high school students and unmatched insight into what the future is going to look like for the elementary/middle schoolers. 

Ross Montessori brought in three former students on Wednesday to talk to the current students about their personal experiences at the exploration based school and the transition into “regular” school. 

Colorado Rocky Mountain School senior Will Karow and Basalt and Roaring Fork High School freshmen Emily Michele and Kaytra Moodie visited their old stomping grounds on Wednesday to discuss their experiences and pass down advice to the younger generation. The three high schoolers sat in front of a small and surprisingly attentive group of 4-8th graders on Wednesday and took questions from both staff and students.

They were asked about the contrast from the student-led education style they had become accustomed to and the regular style of the American education system, what their favorite materials were at Ross and how much they miss the personal freedom that a Montessori school provides. 

Karow loved his time at Ross and wanted to return to his old school to describe how wonderful his time was in the uncommon education system. 

“I really enjoyed my time here,” Karow said. “It wasn’t a question for me to come back and share my high school experience. I feel like Ross really did set me up for success and I have really fond memories here.”

Roaring Fork freshman Kaytra Moodie looks back at her time at Ross with rose tinted glasses. She advised the current students to take a second to smell the roses, and enjoy the rest of their time at RMS. 

“When I look back on my time at Ross, it was just such a happy time,” she said during the panel. “Just enjoy it, have fun with your friends, talk to your teachers, do your work, but just like have fun.”

According to the American Montessori Society, the idea of a Montessori school was created at the turn of the 20th century in Italy by Dr. Maria Montessori. The idea is a student-led education style centered around the kids’ natural interests and using physical materials to further solidify the teaching methods. The unique teaching style can completely transform a child’s way of understanding the world and some can argue it gives an unnatural expectation of what is to come later in life. 

Karow spoke frankly about the difference between the two learning styles and what to expect when the current students take the next step. 

“I miss the freedom in the classroom,” he said when asked what he misses the most about his time at Ross. “Being able to decide what I’m doing and the pace that I learn at is something you don’t get in high school. There is just an hour every class, and sometimes classes mean more than others. I wish I had more time to spend on certain subjects.”

The final question they were asked was if they would send their potential children to a Montessori school. The answer was a resounding yes. 

All three students pointed to the individual skills and discipline that they were taught at RMS, but harped heavier on the amazing community that is generated when you are a part of the Ross Montessori community. 

“Community is one of our core values,” Franz said. “You could hear the alumni talking about it, and I hope that our current students also feel the same way. We have students from all over the valley and sometimes it’s hard to connect students from Marble with students from Rifle. I think having students in the same class for three straight years really helps create that sense of community.”