McCarver’s Kindergarten in the Seattle suburb of Tacoma is not quite. Normal. First, it is a Montessori school. At the beginning of the school year, in the week of September 5, students from 3 to 5 years old found objects designed by the famous Italian teacher to develop autonomy in his light wooden classrooms: alone or in small groups, at a table. Or a carpet on the floor, they draw in a sandbox, count with pebbles and cards decorated with numbers …
Another originality is that the establishment does not welcome the typical wealthy families of Montessori schools: free and located in a disadvantaged neighborhood, it targets the 50% of Americans who do not have kindergarten because they are too rich and too poor to have access to free public classes. A private school costs around 13,000 dollars (13,000 euros) per year.
Finally, an even more distinctive sign is written in white letters on a blue sign at the entrance: Bezos Academy. In fact, McCarver is one of five Montessori preschools opened since 2019 by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos’ philanthropic fund. This system specifies what it wants to create “17 between 2023 and 2025, in Washington state, Florida and Texas”, for “1,300 students”.
“Build a prototype, develop it and deploy it widely”
The rise of a new class of schools, for the time being, “ordinary”, Meera Debs, director of the Department of Educational Sciences at Yale University (Connecticut), notes. But the Bezos Academy and its president, Michael George “A precision approach inspired by companies like Amazon,” The author of a book on Montessori schools says that during a signing session in 2019, he was visited by this veteran of an e-commerce company where he had spent sixteen years. “Their approach is to build a prototype, then improve it, then deploy it widely.” She analyzes.
“We will use the same principles as Amazon, especially a real obsession with the customer. The student will be the customer. While announcing the project, Mr. Bezos had theorized. What does M think?me Bezos Academy Debs? She is a “Pleasant Surprise” The organization maintains contact with the Montessori community, but also establishes partnerships with city halls, donors or retirement homes. But, regrets the academician, Mr. Could be pesos “Even Bigger Impact” By supporting Montessori organizations working with already disadvantaged populations.
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