The 411 for Pittsburgh Montessori:  

Contact Information, District Links, Cafeteria Information and Common Terms

How to Contact Pittsburgh Montessori

This website and the Pittsburgh Montessori Facebook Page are maintained by the Pittsburgh Montessori PTA.  This means these sites are not a direct line of communication with the school. 

Therefore, when you have a concern or specific question about the classroom, please don't hesitate to contact school staff directly, starting with your child's teacher! 

Go-To Contacts for Pittsburgh Montessori:

How do I contact a teacher? 

  • You can find the email address for your child's teacher (plus specials teachers, tutors and other staff) at http://www.discoverpps.org/montessori 
  • Click on the "Staff" icon to pull up the staff directory.  
  • All school staff can be reached by calling the main school phone number: (412) 529-2010. 
  • PPS has changed email domains. Though some emails are listed in the directory with the old domain, other parents have recommend you use the domain @pghschools.org. The first part of the email address remains the same for all staff. 

* Family and Community Engagement (FACE) Coordinators promote student achievement by collaborating with school staff, parents and family members, and community organizations to provide a network of support for students. 

District Office Contacts and Resources

District Transportation

  • PPS Transportation Office: (412) 529-8125: https://www.pghschools.org/transportation
  • PPS Transportation Carrier Information: https://www.pghschools.org/Page/698
  • PPS Transportation Office Staff Directory (with emails): https://www.pghschools.org/Page/399
  • Families received a route sheet from the transportation office at the beginning of the year that includes the name of the bus company and their contact information. Families can save this information, as well as the information for the transportation office in their phone in order to have easy access

Cafeteria Information

  • Breakfast and Lunch are free for all students, everyday! 
  • Cafeteria Menus are provided online:
  • Students are also welcome to pack lunches, if that is what they prefer. When packing lunches, particularly for pre-K students, please try to use containers and packages they can open independently. 
  • Front doors open for breakfast at 8:50 am daily. This entrance, the handicap accessible entrance located on the Graham Street side of the school, closes when the last bell rings at 9:10 am
    • Student arrival will begin at 8:50 for students eating breakfast ONLY  
    • Arrival will be through the front door for all students eating breakfast 
    • Students not eating breakfast will be admitted to the building and will proceed directly to the classroom at 9:10 
    • Demountable students not eating breakfast will report directly to the Demountable at 9:10
    • Homeroom will be from 9:10-9:20. Students arriving after 9:20 will be marked tardy unless late arrival was a result of bussing. 
  • FYI, while some PPS cafeterias sell snacks or drinks separate from meals (“School Café”, the Pittsburgh Montessori Cafeteria does not.
  • If your student has food allergies, please remember to discuss this with your teacher and file a “Medical Plan of Care” with the PPS Food Service Department. This will ensure the cafeteria is providing safe and allergy-appropriate substitutions for your student (like soy milk for a child who is allergic to dairy milk). 
  • The Lost-and-Found collection is located in the Cafeteria. Parents and caregivers are welcome to enter the cafeteria during the breakfast period to look for lost items! Can't make it to the school during this time? Ask for assistance on the Facebook group!

Facebook Resources

The Pittsburgh Montessori PTA maintains a Facebook Page.

Common Terms you’ll hear at Pittsburgh Montessori

Classrooms Groupings: one of the most unique things about Pittsburgh Montessori is our mixed age classrooms! These are valued element of any Montessori education that provide numerous benefits for students. Students typically continue in the same classroom, with the same teacher, from year to year, transitioning to a new classroom when they move to the next age grouping. Each classroom is balanced with approximately the same number of students from each grade level – so a lower elementary classroom typically contains 7 1st graders, 7 2nd graders and 7 3rd graders (although exact numbers may vary by classroom). 

At Pittsburgh Montessori, you’ll find: 

  • Children’s House Classrooms/3-6: Also known as the pre-K/K classrooms, these are home to pre-K 3, pre-K 4 and Kindergarten students. They are located in both the demountable (detached building) and on the first floor of the main building. 
  • Lower Elementary/6-9: The lower elementary classrooms are for 1st, 2nd and 3rd grade students. There are Lower Elementary Classrooms on both floors of the main building. 
  • Upper Elementary/10-12: The upper elementary classrooms are for 4th and 5th grade students. These classrooms are located on the upper floor of the main building. 

Dismissal: 

  • Pre-k pick-up is at 3:35 on the blacktop
  • K-5th Grade dismissal is at 3:50 

Half Day Dismissal:

  • Pre-k half day dismissal at 12:15
  • K-5th grade half day dismissal is at 12:30

Specials: “Specials” refer to the classes taught by specialized teachers or that students take part in on certain days. Specials at Pittsburgh Montessori include Art, Physical Education, Music, Library and Spanish. 4th/5th grade students also have the opportunity to take part in Instrumental Music.

All Pittsburgh Public Schools follow a district-wide 6-day rotation schedule, where each day corresponds to a specials class. For example, your students may have Gym on Days 1 and 3 (so those are days they will need sneakers/tennis shoes!) 

Ask your student’s homeroom teacher for their specials schedule and you can follow along with what day it is at:  https://twitter.com/WhatDayIsItPgh

Peachjar: Why are you getting emails from Peachjar? Peachjar is a system for sending flyers about district events and district-partner events home electronically. If your email is on your student's record you'll likely receive this occasionally from "Montessori PreK-5 - school@peachjar.com" 

Greenway: Greenway is the name for Pittsburgh Public's Gifted and Talented Center, which serves students who have been enrolled in the Gifted and Talented programs. Greenway programming is for grades K-8. Students who participate travel from Pittsburgh Montessori to Greenway on Thursdays. Parents, teachers or other stakeholders can request that a K through 8th grade student be evaluated for Gifted Services by Pittsburgh Public Schools. Learn more about that process and PPS's Gifted and Talented program here. 

 

What other terms do you hear that you’d like us to define here? Let us know!