MISSION

Ancona educates students to become creative problem solvers, confident risk takers and independent, lifelong learners. Rooted in the Montessori tradition, our child-centered school stimulates the joy of learning and builds a strong academic foundation. We inspire children to nourish their inner lives, find the power in their own voices and strive for justice and peace. In a community of cultural and economic diversity, Ancona cultivates understanding, care and respect for others.

HISTORY

A powerful sense of possibility inspired five young Hyde Park families in the summer of 1962 to place a want ad in the Hyde Park Herald asking, “Montessori, Anybody?” By autumn, the then called Ancona Montessori School opened in a storefront on 53rd street and Lake Park Blvd., and a school that offered a philosophical difference astonishing for its time was born.

Read more about Ancona’s history here>

ACCREDITATION

Ancona School is accredited by ISACS, and is a member of the LMAIS, NAIS, and the American Montessori Society.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

The Ancona School is an Independent private school that educates children ages 3 through the 8th grade.

There are 242 students enrolled at the Ancona School for the 2016-2017 school year: 73 students in Early Childhood classrooms; 87 in the Elementary grades; and 82 in the Middle School.

Preprimary (Early Childhood) includes multi-grade classrooms for three to five year olds and includes Kindergarten. Primary (Elementary) School includes multi-grade classrooms for the first and second grades and third and fourth grades. Middle School consists of multi-grade classrooms for fifth and sixth grades and seventh and eighth grades.

The Preprimary student-teacher ratio is just over 12:1 including a classroom head and assistant teacher. The Elementary and Middle School student-teacher ratio of just over 8:1 includes all classroom head and assistant teachers and co-curricular specialists.

Ancona teachers have a median of 17 years experience teaching. In addition to on-going teacher training throughout the year at workshops, seminars and professional development classes, Ancona teachers spend an average of two weeks each summer at internationally recognized programs and conferences to bring cutting-edge thinking and best practices in education back to the school, to keep their classroom fresh, relevant and inspired. Meet our teachers.

The Ancona School year begins on the Wednesday after Labor Day and continues into the second full week of June.

The NAIS document Values Added: The Lifelong Returns of an Independent Schools Education offers an in-depth review of the value of an Independent School education.

The Ancona School is an accredited member of the Independent School Association of the Central States (ISACS), the Lake Michigan Association of Independent Schools (LMAIS) and the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS). The Ancona School is an affiliate member of the American Montessori Society (AMS).