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Sue Crouch Elementary students walk into school on their first day of the year on Aug. 13, 2024. Crowley ISD administrators and school teachers gave students a red carpet welcome. (Matthew Sgroi | Fort Worth Report)
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Smaller class sizes and a more personalized learning experience. Those are the top two reasons why Crowley ISD parents Herman and Dulce Solis applied last year for their son to earn a spot inside the district’s newest school.

When they saw their son, Sebastian, walk down the red carpet that welcomed students into shiny, brand new hallways on Crowley ISD’s first day of classes Aug. 13, the parents breathed a sigh of relief.

This year, Sebastian will be a first grader at Crowley Montessori Academy, a new elementary school within Crowley ISD boundaries that promises to apply the Montessori approach in education. Desks and tables are rarely seen in Montessori classrooms — sitting on rugs, together, is common — and students are never lectured to.

It’ll be the perfect environment, Sebastian said, as his classmates stomped up and down the red carpet, high-fiving Crowley ISD board members and Superintendent Michael McFarland.

“I like reading,” he said. “I like reading in a group.”

Sue Crouch Elementary students walk into school on their first day of the year on Aug. 13, 2024. Crowley ISD administrators and school teachers gave students a red carpet welcome. (Matthew Sgroi | Fort Worth Report)Sue Crouch Elementary students walk into school on their first day of the year on Aug. 13, 2024. Crowley ISD administrators and school teachers gave students a red carpet welcome. (Matthew Sgroi | Fort Worth Report)Crowley Montessori Academy, 1101 Bolden Ave., Crowley, on Aug. 13, 2024. (Matthew Sgroi | Fort Worth Report)A sign outside the Karis Homes development tells families and passersby that Crowley Montessori Academy was planned to open in 2024. (Matthew Sgroi | Fort Worth Report)

The Montessori method was a key factor in the Solis family’s decision to apply for the school, Herman said. They were drawn to the way the school vows to teach children to be independent and build essential social skills, reinforcing what they learn at home, he said.

“It always helps if the school really hammers home those skills to the kids,” he said.

Montessori schools are different from traditional schools in a number of ways, according to the district. The method focuses on factors that include:

Student agency: Students are encouraged to choose their own activities and lessons.

Hands-on learning: Montessori schools provide a variety of materials for children to explore and learn with.

Differentiated education: Montessori schools create a different educational experience for each child, taking into account their age and interests.

Teacher role: Teachers act as facilitators, providing an environment where students can choose to participate in a number of developmental activities. Teachers may move around the room, working with students one-on-one or in small groups.

The first few students walk into Crowley ISD’s Crowley Montessori Academy on Aug. 13, 2024, on the first day of school at a brand new campus. (Matthew Sgroi | Fort Worth Report)

While the Montessori method had previously been applied to students inside a wing of Crowley ISD’s Mary Harris Elementary, this is the first time Montessori students in the district will learn in their own classrooms. The school, a $33.3 million project, was funded through a $416 million bond package passed in 2007 to accommodate growth throughout the district. 

Still, more growth is coming. In 2023, Crowley ISD residents voted in favor of a bond package that totaled more than $1 billion.

With district neighbor Fort Worth ISD offering a Montessori school of its own in Daggett Montessori School, officials are optimistic about bringing something new to Crowley ISD.

“We’re excited about the fact that our Montessori program, for the first time since its inception, has its own home,” Crowley ISD board President Daryl Davis said. “Now they’re no longer a school within a school, they have their own home.”

For the moment, the students’ new home, in the middle of district boundaries at 1101 Bolden Ave., is nestled among for-sale signs, housing developments and empty dirt lots as construction crews continue building out the Karis Homes development. Soon, more than 2,000 homes will sit on 565 acres in Crowley, all surrounding Crowley Montessori Academy. 

As students adapt to an environment emphasizing personal growth and interactive learning, the school is poised to help boost educational standards within the district, Davis said.

“Montessori students learn in collaborative environments, and it’s an opportunity for them to excel beyond what happens in a traditional classroom,” Davis said. “It’s a beautiful program and I think our students are going to thrive as a result.”

Sebastian is excited for his classes. As long as he has the time to read, he said, he’ll succeed. 

Matthew Sgroi is an education reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at matthew.sgroi@fortworthreport.org or @MatthewSgroi1. At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.