The FloMont School, located in the heart of Bangalore, the “Garden City” of India, was established in 2015 to serve children in the age group 2.5 to 9 years of age. Shahista Ismail founded this school to meet a need for quality Montessori education in this thriving metropolitan center of computer technology in the southern region of India.
Born in Chennai, India, and brought up in the Middle East (Oman), Shahista comes from a family of educators where she developed her interest in early education at a very young age. With the FloMont School, she hopes to provide a model of quality that will overcome misconceptions about Montessori education and inspire the parents and others in the community about the benefit of this “new education”. She states, “There is a lot of misconception about the methodology… Therefore, a large part of our mission is to educate our parents and bring about a change in their mindsets regarding the importance of experiential learning. Many parents…are now realizing and appreciating the genius of Montessori.”
The FloMont School boasts of seven large well-equipped classrooms, a library, a community dining area and a computer area. Children start their day with an uninterrupted work cycle followed by enrichment program such a STEM activities, music, drama and sports. Shahista says that the school is well on its way to establishing a middle school program on a brand new two acre campus shortly.
At FloMont, Shahista states that, “… parents are treated as partners in their child’s education. They are given opportunities to volunteer at the school, as well as observe their children working with Montessori Materials. FloMont also conducts free workshops for the parent community to help them understand the method better and apply it to their own parenting style. Last year, the school conducted the “Montessori Glass House” where parents got a chance to watch children demonstrate complex concepts in Math and Language. This created a huge impression among the parent community and a sense of goodwill for the school. Parent education is an important aspect of the school’s mission.”
Shahista describes a typical school day with children working with the materials in their classrooms, having discussions in focus groups or working on a project they have decided to research. She notes also that, “The older children in the classroom can be seen mentoring the young ones and each in turn playing their part towards motivating and helping one another.”
Shahista also points out that “Understanding the IMS technology has greatly helped my team in serving our children better. We are a lot more aware as educators and have a lot more clarity regarding our work. We are truly happy to be associated with the International Montessori Society, and pride ourselves as a school that is internationally recognized in this way.”
For further information, contact: Shahista Ismail, FloMont World School, #51, 4th Main,
1st Cross, New Thippasandra, Bangalore, Karnataka, 560075, India, shahista38@ gmail.com; Tel: 9901555667