It's back to the physical classroom for most families at Joliet Montessori School

Unlike many of their peers, 61 students in the Joliet area will be returning to in-person schooling Aug. 20.

After sending out a survey to parents in the summer, Joliet Montessori School in Crest Hill decided to offer both in-person and at home-learning options – with 95% of families choosing in-person, school leader Heidi Geiger said.

JMS is not offering a hybrid option, Geiger said.

The 52 schools in the Diocese of Joliet area also returning to in-person schooling, according to the Diocese of Joliet website.

Geiger said JMS created a comprehensive reopening plan for the 2020-21 school year. She said the plan takes into account the guidelines from the Illinois Department of Health and the Illinois State Board of Education.

“We are an ISBE recognized school so we do follow ISBE guidelines,” Geiger said.

Montessori education is built upon mutual respect among its students and a hands-on experience, according to a news release from JMS.

Although the hands-on experience might make remote learning more challenging, it also doesn’t make in-person learning more of a risk, Geiger said.

That’s because the Montessori learning methods and its individualized curriculum work well with Illinois guidelines for reopening schools.

For instance, Montessori schools typically have large, open classrooms and students spend a great deal of time outdoors, both of which lend themselves to social distancing, Geiger said.

The mutual respect factor makes it easy to emphasize the necessity of frequent handwashing, good hygiene practices and monitoring for symptoms of illness.

“We’re just really happy we can make the accommodations,” Geiger said. “They took hours to plan.”

Geiger said she is confident in the JMS reopening plan and so are parents – especially after they saw how classrooms were arranged when they attended orientation.

She also foresees only one possible “drastic” reason why JMS might have to switch to fully remote during the 2020-21 school year.

“If [Illinois] moves back into Phase 2,” Geiger said.

But Geiger is also confident in the fully remote program for parents who have chosen that option.

Like other area schools, JMS had to quickly create an at-home option last spring during the stay-at-home order.

“Our teachers had to be very creative and come up with ways to continue the Montessori experience from afar,” Geiger said.

To read JMS's reopening plan, visit bit.ly/34hYj9P.

JMS is also still accepting applications for the 2020-21 school year for students ages 3 to 15 (ninth grade).

For more information, call 815-741-4180 or visit jolietmontessorischool.org.