Teachers and Administrators from Daycroft Montessori School of Ann Arbor to Learn the Latest on Innovation in Education

School’s Preprimary and Elementary Campuses to Close for Two Days in Early November While Staff Attends Professional Development Conference in Detroit

Ann Arbor, MI (October 7, 2011) — Daycroft Montessori School of Ann Arbor will close for two days in early November while teachers and administrators attend “Innovation: Thinking Outside the Box” — the 2011 annual conference of the Independent Schools Association of the Central States (ISACS; www.isacs.org).

The conference will take place on Thursday and Friday, November 3 and 4, at Detroit’s Cobo Center. Staff from both of Daycroft’s Ann Arbor campuses, preprimary and elementary, will attend presentations and workshops covering the state of the art in educational philosophies, approaches, curricula, methods, and skills. Attendees will choose from nearly 150 sessions during two full days of programming.

The conference’s keynote speaker will be Guy Kawasaki, the best-selling author, former Apple Computer technology evangelist, and noted Silicon Valley venture capitalist. He will inspire attendees to continually innovate for improved results in their classrooms.

Another keynote presenter — Jane McGonigal, Ph.D., of the Institute for the Future — will share education-related wisdoms gained from her years in designing award-winning alternate-reality video games. She will tell how her experiences point to opportunities for greater collaboration, discovery, and fun in classroom problem-solving and learning.

“The ISACS conference is an exceptional opportunity for professional development,” said Diane Mukkala, Daycroft’s head of school. “With the conference happening so close to us this year, we couldn’t pass up the chance to have our whole staff there.”

Mukkala added, “Daycroft parents have been completely supportive of our plan to close the school while we attend the conference. They know that the ultimate beneficiaries will be their children, who will gain from the learning concepts we take in and apply.”

More information on the “Innovation” conference can be found at www.isacs.org.

About Daycroft Montessori School

Daycroft Montessori School blends the distinctive student-centered teaching methods of Maria Montessori with traditional and progressive teaching methods. Daycroft thus accomplishes its educational mission: to provide a personalized learning environment that appreciates individual differences, nurtures the whole child, and enables students to develop at their own pace and achieve to their full potential.

Daycroft is one of Washtenaw County’s leading private schools. It began as a preschool program in 1968. Daycroft has since grown to include a full-day kindergarten program, an elementary school program through 6th grade, before-school and after-school care, summer camp programs, and enrichment classes.

Daycroft has earned accreditation from ISACS. It is a member of the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS; www.nais.org), and is affiliated with the American Montessori Society (AMS; www.amshq.org).

Daycroft Preprimary School (preschool and kindergarten) is at 100 E. Oakbrook Dr., Ann Arbor, MI 48104. Phone: (734) 930-0333.

Daycroft Elementary School (grades K through 6) and Daycroft’s administrative offices are at 1095 N. Zeeb Rd., Ann Arbor, MI 48103. Phone: (734) 662-3335.

Media Contact:
Chris Kochmanski
DesignHub, Inc.
(734) 944-8705
chris@design-hub.com

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