POCATELLO — In an old schoolhouse in Pocatello this fall, elementary school children will abandon desks and standardized tests and turn instead to sandpaper letters and puzzles.

“The biggest difference (between this school and a traditional public school) is that in a public school you have a teacher who is speaking to the whole class at once,” said Morgan Kirkham, one of the founders of Pocatello Valley Montessori School. “In a Montessori classroom, the teacher is moving around the room working with kids one-on-one. … She comes with as many lesson plans as she has students.”

Pocatello Valley Montessori School will be the city’s first private Montessori elementary school. It will open Aug. 26 to kids in preschool through the third grade. A family project run by the Kirkham family, the school will run on the same calendar year as District 25 and will add more grades as the years go on and demand requires.

The Montessori method of education uses hands-on, tactile activities to teach everything from reading to math. Standardized tests aren’t allowed, teachers won’t lecture and classrooms are a potpourri of different ages. Depending on the school’s philosophy, a Montessori classroom environment can range from chaotic to pensive. Regardless, it is rare to find a completely quiet classroom.

“You would think it would be anarchy based on the description, but that is far from the truth,” Kirkham said. “Kids are always busy working in small groups and there is usually classical music playing in the background. It’s never silent, but it’s never loud.”

Pocatello Valley Montessori will set up in the old Academy Charter School building on East Maple Street. The building is owned by Rich Kirkham, Morgan’s father-in-law and another founder of the school.

Inside the building, first through third graders will all be in the same classroom and supervised by the same teacher. Eventually, the same will be true for fourth-seventh grades, eighth-10th grades, etc. Pocatello Valley Montessori is also offering a preschool-kindergarten class this fall.

The Pocatello school will become the fifth private Montessori elementary school in Idaho, according to accrediting body The American Montessori Society. Tyhee Elementary School offers a Montessori-based option. However, it also requires students to take the same standardized tests as any other school in the state - a major departure from the pure Montessori method.

While there are several local and statewide options for a Montessori preschool education, those options disappear once the student turns 12. Idaho does not have any accredited Montessori middle or high schools.

The transition into a lecture-based classroom style worries many parents who might be otherwise interested in Montessori education.

“It really depends on the kid,” Kirkham said. “The biggest adjustment is probably learning to sit and listen as a whole class. However, educationally the child will be at or above where they need to be.”

Kirkham added that the teacher they hired is familiar with transitioning children into public schools after going through that process with six of her own children.

The concern over transitioning into a public high school after attending a Montessori elementary school is a nationwide issue. While about 82 percent of Montessori schools serve elementary ages, only 10 percent cater to secondary students, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. Others are preschools and combination schools.

While a lack of standardized testing makes comparing achievement outcomes difficult, studies in several scientific journals have shown that children educated with the Montessori method don't fare any worse academically than their public school counterparts. 

A study in the Sept. 2006 issue of the journal Science compared the outcomes of children at a public inner-city Montessori school with children who attended traditional schools. Results indicated that Montessori education leads to children with better social and academic skills. Another longitudinal research study (admittedly supported by the American Montessori Institute) tracked 400 students in Milwaukee. Half the students received only public school education from kindergarten to graduation; the other half attended Montessori schools through fifth grade before transitioning into the public school system. The two groups were carefully matched in terms of gender, ethnicity and family financial status. At the end of the study, which was conducted between 1997 and 2007, test scores and GPAs were compared. The children who had received a Preschool – Grade five Montessori education graduated with higher GPAs.

As with all private educations, outcomes come at a price. According to a 2010 survey by the North American Montessori Teachers’ Association, tuitions at private Montessori schools range from a low of under $999 per year to a high of over $14,000 per year. For students in its first through third grade class, Pocatello Valley Montessori School is charging $395 per month for 10 months, or about $3,950 per year. More information on pricing and the school is available at www.pocatellovalleymontessori.org.

An open house will be held at the school, 240 E. Maple St., on July 23 from 5-7 p.m.

There are 447 public Montessori school programs in the U.S. educating about 112, 486 students, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.