Dear Visitor,

Welcome to our website and our learning community.

In 2006 the National Center on Education and the Economy published a dramatic report, "Tough Choices or Tough Times." In that report, The New Commission on the Skills of the American Workforce concluded that the American educational system needed major reforms in order to prepare students for the work that will be required of the 21st Century mind. We are all familiar with the outsourcing phenomenon that has been occurring in our country for some time and the report predicted that we would continue to depend on the highly skilled, low-wage workers of many foreign countries. In order to compete in the world market, the report suggested specifically that our schools should produce creative, innovative students who can solve complex problems while working collaboratively. The GreenMount School is a school that has been graduating students with these important qualities for many years.

The experiential, thematic approach to learning at GMS offers students choice and the opportunity to explore their personal learning styles and their special talents. GreenMount encourages intellectual exploration, knowing that it stimulates students' imaginations and encourages creative applications of the curriculum. And while students at GMS are developing their personal learning styles, they work in cooperative groups for a good portion of each day, acquiring concrete information from one another, as well as learning how to work with people of different abilities, personalities, and skills. At the conclusion of each of three themes, students create a half-day presentation for the entire GMS community. We call it our "culminating theme event" and it is an opportunity for the children, grades K-8, to showcase the learning and skill acquisition that has occurred over the past trimester—and a way to celebrate and share the joy in learning.

Not only does the curriculum and our approach to learning offer students an opportunity to develop their creativity and ingenuity, but it also serves as the catalyst for relationship building and helps our community learn to appreciate the uniqueness of everyone here at GMS. The small, intimate climate of the school provides the basis for friendships that will last a lifetime. The students are very kind to one another and an atmosphere of helping and celebrating success is obvious to any visitor in our school.

Parents are a key to the success of our school. Indeed, they are the reason GMS exists. Parents are truly a meaningful key to the successe of our school and they are the reason GMS exists, Indeed, GMS was founded as a parent-run coop in 1993, by six Baltimore City mothers who wanted more rigor and creativity than the public schools were willing to offer their children. Today, GMS parents participate in many of the school's functions and provide invaluable support to the everyday operation and support of the school via a volunteer commitment of 40 hours a year. GreenMount School is truly a learning community. The staff is also part of this learning community. Teachers and administrators here are deeply committed to discovering and incorporating "best practices" for classroom instruction and regularly assess students' progress with this in mind.

I hope that as a visitor to our website you have gained a sense of the innovative approach to learning that GMS offers. As our graduates continue to move on to premier city magnet high schools and prestigious independent schools, we continue to build the legacy of 21st Century learning here at The GreenMount School. For a personal look at what our schools offers our future leaders, please feel free to contact us.

Thank you for visiting our website.