Overview

The Latin American Montessori Bilingual Public Charter School's (LAMB) goal is bi-literacy in English and Spanish. LAMB currently has three classrooms of 3-, 4- and 5-year-olds, and two classrooms of first through third-graders, with two to three trained instructors per classroom who teach using Montessori curriculum core academic and non-academic subject matter. 

Chartered in 2001, LAMB is the only dual-language Montessori public school in the Washington metropolitan area and one of only a few nationwide.  LAMB just began its fourth year of operation, but draws from the rich history of its founding agency, the Latin American Youth Center (LAYC), which celebrated its 30th year of incorporation in 2004.

An eleven-member volunteer Board of Directors, including parents, teachers, academic advisors and attorneys, governs LAMB and is ultimately responsible for its overall policy development and financial viability.  LAMB has a staff of 13and many active parent volunteers. Already, LAMB has built strategic alliances with the National Council of La Raza, Georgetown University Graduate School of Linguistics and KaBOOM!.   LAMB's 103 students are 50 percent Spanish-language dominant and 50 percent non-Spanish language dominant, providing a multicultural and diverse student body.  Thirty-percent of LAMB’s students are eligible for free and/or reduced lunch, and five percent are special-needs students.

Montessori trained educators provide classroom instruction to three multi-aged classes of pre-school, pre-kindergarten, and kindergarten students, and one class of first and second graders.  Instruction is given in English and Spanish using the Montessori curriculum, which incorporates sensorial, language, math, and practical life skills. LAMB students receive a full day of instruction and activities; generally mornings are conducted in Spanish and afternoons in English.  Bilingual before and after care is available  on-site by certified child-care providers through Innis Enterprise, Inc.

Mission

The Latin American Montessori Bilingual Public Charter School’s mission is to foster bilingualism in a self-directed learning environment in which children build a foundation of knowledge essential for a lifetime of learning.

Applying to LAMB

Admission Policy

LAMB is a public charter school in the District of Columbia, which means it is free and open to all DC residents.  LAMB admits students of any race, color, national or ethnic origin to all the rights privileges, programs and activities made available to students at the school.  The school does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national or ethnic origin, religion or sexual orientation in any way. LAMB admissions will be offered to 3- and 4-year-olds whose parents submit applications. Children must be three or four years of age before September 30th.  If there are too many applications to fill the number of available spaces, a lottery will be conducted (more information on the lottery procedure is below).

Because the school's bilingual component is based on the Dual Language Educational (DLE) model, half of the student population must be native speakers of the targeted language (in LAMB's case, Spanish).  The other 50 percent of the school population can be second- or third-language learners. 

In order to follow the DLE model and to ensure language balance, we will perform two lotteries - one for Spanish language dominant children and another for non-Spanish language dominant children.

The Application Process.

Applicants will be placed in two different lotteries, to occur simultaneously; one for Spanish dominant children and one for second- or third- language learners.  Parents and community members are invited to the lottery.

Applicants who do not receive a space at the school will automatically be placed on a waiting list. 

Applicants who are offered a space at the school will be sent an enrollment form to complete.

Any family which receives a space at the school, but fails to submit any required forms (including health certificates and an Emergency Contact form) by the dates specified by the school, will be replaced by the first applicant on the waiting list.

Families will be eligible to remain on the waiting list and will be notified of any opening if their child(ren) is/are still within the age range (3- and 4-year olds before or on September 30).

Families of enrolled students will be asked to resubmit enrollment forms for the following year so that the school knows how many open places it will have. 

Hours

LAMB School hours are:

8:30 a.m. – 3 p.m. Monday through Friday

Please contact Michelle Marbury, Innis Enterprise, Inc, at 301.589.5555 for on-site Before and After Care.    You may also pick up an application form for the before and after care program at LAMB.

Weather

LAMB follows the District of Columbia Public School’s weather policy for weather-related school closings. Closing information will be reported on most local radio and television stations, including:

Radio:

Radio America (1540AM) – Spanish
WAMU (88.5 FM)
WHUR (96.3 FM)
WMAL (630 AM)
WOL (1450 AM)
WTOP (1500 AM, 103.5 FM)

Television Channels:

Channels 4, 5, 7, and 9 as well as cable channels 8 and 28.

Location

LAMB is located at:

1375 Missouri Avenue, NW (corner of 14^th and Military Road, NW)

Washington, D.C. 20011
Phone: (202) 726-6200
Fax: (202) 722-4125
email: diane@layc-dc.org

Board

Ana María Ramos-Kohn,
Chair

Barrie Lynn Tapia,
Vice Chair
LAMB Parent

Darryl M. Grady,
Treasurer
LAMB Parent

Holly McMinn-Bautista,
Secretary
LAMB Parent

John Lujan,
Teacher Representative

Kimberly Keating
LAMB Parent

Lynne Robinson,
LAMB Parent

Lee A. Smith,
LAMB Parent

Rocio Inclan-Rodriguez,
LAMB Parent

Staff

Leticia Torres, BA, Montessori Certified, AMI

Katherine Avery, BA, Montessori certification in progress, AMS

Desiree Foster-Jackson, MA, Special Education, Montessori Certified

Andrée Salomon Llanes, MAT, Montessori Certified, AMS

Claudia Luna, Montessori Certified, AMS

Margarita Diaz, MS, Montessori Certified, AMS

Susana Silva-Canales, BA with Montessori certification

Alba Beltran, CDA, Support Staff

Luz Patino, CDA, Teacher Assistant

Jasmine Williams, BA, English Literature

John P. Lujan, BS, Montessori Intern

Eligia Argueta, Senior Aide

Ana Rebeca Mo-Salazar, Administrative Assistant 

Arthur C. Hoene, C.P.A., J.D., Controller

Maria Cristina Encinas, MA, Principal

Diane Cottman, MAT, Executive Director