FAQ

What is the enrollment size?

Full enrollment from grades K–8 is between 110 and 120 for the 2021–2022 school year. Our class sizes range from 12–16 students per class.

Where do GreenMount families live?

Currently GreenMount families live in neighborhoods all over Baltimore City and the surrounding counties including: Charles Village, Hampden, Remington, Bolton Hill, Mt. Vernon, Butcher’s Hill, Lauraville, Original Northwood, Pikesville, Ellicott City, Dundalk, Belvedere, and Lakeside.

What is the tuition for the school?

Currently, tuition and fees at The GreenMount School are $13,680 per year.

Other than the standard subjects, what other programs are offered?

Cultural Studies, Explorations, Art, Music, Physical Education, Life Skills, Apprenticeship Program, Eighth Grade Culminating Experience, and Community Day.

What is Community Day?

Each Friday, the weekly Community Day Program brings the entire school together in a shared activity with their “buddy” in another grade. Kindergarteners and 8th grade students are grouped in buddy teams and students in grades 1–3 are placed in buddy pairs or groups with students in grades 4–7. The Buddy program creates community throughout the school, and most students know every other student in the school in just a short time. Community Day activities are generally centered around the current theme or current events.

What exactly is theme-based learning?

The Theme Studies program enables students to make connections across disciplines in a real-world setting. Students apply and integrate both skills and content in reading, writing, mathematics, science, art, and drama. Theme-based studies provide meaning, engagement, and relevancy to subjects that otherwise can be abstract. Field trips, guest artists, and speakers provide many opportunities for curricular integration and contextual understanding. The whole school works with synergy as the students and teachers together move through learning and projects related to the theme.

Themes are studied for an average of 10 weeks at a time. The U.S history themes are taught in a nine-year cycle and students make references and connections to previous themes to help guide future learning. The cultural theme and multiple intelligences theme are chosen to highlight global understanding within the history theme.

Examples of past themes include: West Africa, Australia, We All Come From Somewhere, the Birth of a Nation, a Nation Torn Apart, from Printing Press to Paperless, All the World’s a Stage, and the History of Rock and Roll.

How does the family cooperative work?

All GreenMount School parents are automatically members of the CO-OP (Community Objective – Operation Participation). Participation in the CO-OP is one of the primary community-building aspects of the school and creates partnership in the educational journey. Additionally, the CO-OP defrays operating costs. See CO-OP for more information.

What is the eighth grade culminating experience?

As a culmination of their GMS experience, eighth grade students participate in an eighth grade trip that may include learning about new cultures, serve as an extenstion of the GMS academics, and/or be focused on service to others. This immersive experience generally takes place in the spring.

What is the Apprenticeship Program?

The Apprenticeship Program places our older students at a local business or nonprofit in order for them to gain skills through real-life work experience. Students spend one afternoon per week serving as an apprentice. Students are guided each step of the way to ensure a positive experience or both the apprentice and the employer. Our students have worked in retail stores and restaurants in Hampden and Remington, for community advocacy organizations, animal rescue shelters, childcare centers, and more.

What are the school hours?

School begins at 8:15 a.m. and ends at 3:15 p.m., Monday through Thursday. On Friday, school begins at 8:15 a.m. and ends at 12:15 p.m. so teachers can meet for professional development. Starting in January, the older students go to their apprenticeships on Friday afternoons.

Is before or after-school care available?

After-school care is provided by ECHOES. It is available from 3:30 p.m. to 6:00 p.m., Monday through Thursday, and on Friday from 12:30 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.

At this time, there is no before-school care offered, however, students can be dropped off at school as early as 8 a.m.

Does GreenMount accept students with learning differences?

The GreenMount School accepts students with a range of abilities and learning styles. Although we do not employ a learning specialist and cannot accommodate all children’s neuro-diverse needs, including learning, behavior, or psychological needs, we can provide some basic accommodations in the classroom. These services are generally determined after the child has been evaluated through psycho-educational evaluation, and a report has been provided to the Head of School.

Accommodations may include a modified program, indicated on the report card, which can include extra time, partial testing, oral explanation of directions, dictation, etc.

It is ultimately the goals of the faculty, staff, and administration of The GreenMount School for all students to learn, be happy, and grow as individuals. This is a team approach, and parent and school communication and cooperation are essential.

Is there a dress code at GreenMount?

Students are expected to dress appropriately for school. Students do not wear uniforms.

Does the school provide food for the students?

GreenMount students (and teachers) bring their lunches to school. There are often other lunch opportunities as well.

Do you have a Modern or Romance Language program?

No, and here’s why: After many years of research we have found that the most successful Modern or Romance language programs are the ones that are immersive. The language program must be a priority. GreenMount has chosen theme-based learning as our priority. To do this well it takes time to expose each child to multiples cultures, concepts, and historical events. The extra time is vital to guiding students as they integrate the contextual learning into their development.

Where do your alumni go after GreenMount?

One hundred percent of GreenMount students attend their first-choice public or independent high school. GreenMount alumni have graduated from: Baltimore School for the Arts, Western High School, Baltimore City College, Baltimore Polytechnic Institute, Baltimore Design School, Bard High School Early College Baltimore, Towson High School (Law and Public Policy Program), Carver Center for Arts and Technology, Loyola Blakefield, The Park School of Baltimore, Mercy High School, Calvert Hall College High School, Baltimore Lab School, Friends School of Baltimore, Notre Dame Preparatory School, Jemicy School, and Garrison Forest School.

GreenMount alumni go on to attend diverse colleges and universities. Examples of these include: Johns Hopkins University, University of Maryland College Park, Maryland Institute College of Art, Towson University, Oberlin College, Parsons: The New School for Design, Rhode Island School of Design, Washington College, Savannah College of Art and Design, Northwestern University, Northeastern University, University of Pennsylvania, Rutgers University, University of Delaware, Temple University, Elon University, Morgan State University, Brandeis University, Columbia University, St. Mary’s College of Maryland, University of Rochester, Portland State University, Goucher College, St. John’s College, Purdue University, Pennsylvania State University, School of Art Institute of Chicago, Hampshire College, Bard College, and the College of Wooster.