Santa Cruz Montessori’s Adolescent Community
Ages 12 – 14
The Wavecrest Junior High Program of Santa Cruz Montessori provides a safe place for adolescents to develop autonomy, initiative, and collaboration in a respectful and caring community. Our students participate in activities that cultivate responsibility for the planet, their peers, and themselves. They learn to embrace challenges, manage their time, self-advocate, and define themselves as citizens of a community and the world.
Our adolescent program is designed to foster self-discipline, confidence, and a personal vision of the self as students transform from children into young adults. Wavecrest students are encouraged to be active participants in their educational process, in addition to guides working closely with parents during this crucial stage of development.
Our staff consists of a Montessori-credentialed director, trained guides from the AMI Adolescent Orientation, specialty instructors, and resource specialists. “Specialty instructors,” which include local experts and parents, are invited to work with the students on a regular basis with various projects, physical education, creative expression, community service, and more. Students organize “coffeehouse” presentations where they can explore their creative self-expression, including dancing, singing, sharing poetry, or producing a play.
In addition to their studies on campus, Wavecrest students explore the Monterey Bay Area and the Central Coast, and take biannual trips to Washington, D.C., and Ashland, Oregon, as well as a yearly trip to Yosemite National Park. Wavecrest students have the opportunity to participate in the Santa Cruz Montessori after-school intramural sports program playing teams from other schools. They are actively involved in community service projects.
Farm Program
Each week, Wavecrest students work at the organic Live Earth Farm Discovery Program in four areas of interest: field studies, health and wellness, creative expression, and micro-economy. The farm program gives students the opportunity to experience farm-to-table work with gardening, cooking, building, caring for animals, production and exchange at their own farm stand, and more. By experiencing hands-on, cooperative work on the land, students develop a sense of worth and identity within the social fabric of their community. The work consists not only of practical experience but also of intellectual growth achieved through formal lessons.
“We came for the arts. We stayed for the academics.”
SCM Parent
Santa Cruz Montessori 