Inly school opened in 1973 as The Montessori Community School with only 36 children enrolled and a faculty of four. In 2004, the name was changed to Inly School to reflect the school’s growth into the upper levels, as well as the uniqueness of our curriculum, which is grounded in Montessori methodology, guided by educational best practices, and infused with creativity. Inly is an actual word! To do something “inly” is to do it “with deep thought and understanding.” This captures the essence of our approach to education and to the challenge we set before our students. Over the past 46 years, Inly has grown into an innovative and dynamic school serving a population of over 275 toddler through middle school students on an expansive 10-acre campus.
Share with TSSM a bit about the Montessori philosophy.
As a Montessori school, Inly embraces student-centered learning. A Montessori education is designed to adapt to and fit a student’s needs, interests, and development while still teaching core academic subjects and fundamental skills. Inly brings this to life by constantly developing new curriculum, learning materials, and experiences for its students. Our innovative approach strengthens critical thinking, problem-solving, collaboration, communication and global awareness—essential skills for the next century. In addition, as an innovative Montessori school, Inly integrates many beliefs and practices, including…
- Learning through exploration and discovery, with concrete, hands-on materials.
- Respect for the individual and recognition of individual learning styles and paces.
- The balance of freedom and responsibility in the classroom (freedom within structure).
- Respect for each child as a competent learner, and trust in the child’s basic desire to learn.
- Noncompetitive work which compares only to the child’s previous work.
- Opportunities for both independent and cooperative work.
- Social and learning environments designed to help children feel good about who they are and what they have the power to accomplish.
What ages / classes are offered?
We can start children once they are 18 months or older (by June for our Year-Round program, and by September for our School-year program). Our school goes from 18 months old all the way up through 8th grade!
What’s new at Inly?
1. Just released — we are now offering an option for an entire year-round (12 month) program for 18 month olds through rising Kindergarteners. We want to better support working families and those who need full time care. You can opt into this program (vs the regular school year program) and you can choose as few as 44 weeks of the year, or as many as 49 weeks of the year. Care is available from 7am to 6pm.
2. Many people think our main building is the colonial house you see from Route 123. This building houses our Middle School. The main campus is a short drive up Watch Hill Drive,— It looks like this! Also, we house 7 very colorful cows on our campus — come visit and see if you can find them all!
What do the Inly families and students love about the campus and its location?
Inly’s 10-acre campus allows for beautiful and peaceful interior space, consisting of open, sunlit, and cared-for classrooms, while still preserving over 5 acres of outdoor space that include sports fields, a Spartan obstacle course, playgrounds, nature trails, enchanted woods, gardens, a greenhouse, basketball court, turf field, 4-square court, labyrinth, rock wall, and more. Our school is easily accessible, right off of the Route 3 rotary in Scituate, to multiple towns on the South Shore.
How would Inly families describe Inly?
In a recent survey, Inly parents used the words “supportive,” “caring,” and “community,” as their top 3 descriptors of Inly.
“Mom, I love this place. I had the best day ever.” –Matt, Grade 5
What are some of the FAQ during the open houses?
1. What are your student to teacher ratios? From 3 years old on up, our ratios are 24 children to 2 teachers in one classroom. There is often a 3rd specialist (i.e.: spanish teacher, environmentalist, etc.) in the room during parts of the week as well, or small grouping of the classroom out at a different specialist (i.e.: sports, daVinci studio, Library, etc.). For the toddlers, it’s 12 children to 2 teachers plus a floating teacher who goes between classrooms.
3. I’ve heard kids can do whatever they want in Montessori classrooms, is that true? In a Montessori classroom there is an extensive repertoire of lessons, arranged by scope and sequence that the children progress through. Children have the freedom to select which lesson they would like to work on, and the teachers as trained observers, watch that child in each particular lesson. The teacher is able to gently guide each individual child along their journey as they need more supportive materials, or more challenging work. The freedom of the child having the choice of their lesson builds independence, self-discipline, and the ability to concentrate. That freedom, however, is always within the limits that are subtly and artfully set and crafted by the observant teacher.
What does a typical day at Inly look like?
The typical school day begins at 8:30am. The toddler and preschoolers have the option of heading home at 11:30am, or can stay until the Kindergarten and older children stay, until 3pm. We also offer Before and After Care from 7am on, and until as late as 6pm. Each age group has specialists throughout their week, including: sports, art, science, library, innovation in the da Vinci studio, Spanish, music, and Chinese (for Kindergarteners and the 3 and 4 year old afternoon program).
What should our readers know about the teaching staff at Inly?
In the same recent survey of Inly parents, “Teachers” was listed as the #1 reason for satisfaction at Inly. Each multi-age classroom has two highly-qualified teachers working together each day. They not only support one another, reducing “teacher burnout,” but one or both are readily available to answer a parent’s questions, and provide one-on-one attention to a student. Our faculty are made up of a group of Montessori-trained educators, those with advanced degrees, world travelers, and more. Our teachers are provided a multitude of opportunities to further their own professional development throughout the year.
What is the best advice you have for local families looking to enroll their child in a school?
Come observe a classroom. The feel of a classroom is beyond what a photo, video, or statistics can tell you. Our Admission staff is on campus 5 days a week and is happy to have visitors call or email to setup a visit on any day.
What does Inly offer the community?
Each year, Inly has a community outreach initiative with “Fill the Truck Fridays” where students, parents, and faculty bring in donations for a different non-profit charity each week. Some of the organizations we have given to include: Scituate Animal Shelter, Wellspring Multi-Service Center, Friendship Home, Cradles to Crayons, The Pajama Program, Friends of Boston’s Homeless, Boston Children’s Hospital, Interfaith Social Services, and The Boys and Girls Club of Brockton. Recently, our Upper Elementary students each partnered with a local organization such as, North and South River Watershed, Lifecare, Scituate Community Christmas, NOAA Stellwagon Bank, Weir River Farm, and Interfaith Social Services to learn about an organizational challenge that they were faced with. The students then developed a solution for their organization’s challenge by writing an essay and creating a project to illustrate their proposal. The projects were presented at our Learning Fair on March 8th. Inly can also be seen at many local family events—we will have a table at Hingham’s Race for Peace and Touch a Boat, Norwell Summerfest, and the Cohasset Farmers Market.
