The Odyssey Montessori School in Palo Alto is the sister school to Odyssey Preschool located in Foster City. Odyssey prides itself in creating a safe and prepared environment for fostering children’s appetite for learning. Our programs begin at age 18 months and runs to six years. The Odyssey Montessori School is a Montessori school with a Mandarin/English bilingual component. Families have the option of an English only program or a Mandarin/English Bilingual program. Children will be instructed in only English if selecting English only, or in both English and Mandarin if selecting bilingual. Odyssey teaches simplified Mandarin used in mainland China.
Mission
Odyssey Montessori is a child-centered learning community committed to respecting the unique personality, gifts, and development of each student. We promote a culture that fosters kindness, curiosity, and cooperation. Our goal is to cultivate both independence as well as an awareness of our global interdependence.
Philosophy
Our philosophy is a developmental theory of education following Dr. Maria Montessori’s method. The Montessori Method is a child-guided educational approach based on Dr. Maria Montessori’s scientific research of children. As the first Italian-female physician, she focused on the whole child-physical, emotional, social, and cognitive. At Odyssey, we focus on providing the students with a prepared environment in order to foster the individual needs of each child. Through observation, we gain an understanding of each child and create an environment specific to our current classes. To quote Maria Montessori, “It is a method which cultivates and protects the inner activities of the child.” The emphasis is on learning, not teaching. By means of modeling, questioning, and reflective dialogue, teachers serve more as guides than leaders.