Monarch Montessori of Lake Mary
Code of Ethics and Principles of Good Practice

Reporting Misconduct

All instructional personnel, educational support employees, and school administrators have an obligation to report misconduct by instructional personnel, educational support employees and school administrators which affects the health, safety, or welfare of a student. Reports of misconduct of employees should be made to Director of Elementary Education and Director of Primary Education. Reports of misconduct committed by administrators should be made to the Head of School. Legally sufficient allegations of misconduct by Florida certified educators will be reported to the Office of Professional Practices Services. Policies and procedures for reporting misconduct by instructional personnel or school administrators which affects the health, safety, or welfare of a student are posted in the staff room and the back office and on our website at mmolm.org.

Training Requirement:

All instructional personnel, educational support employees, and administrators are required as a condition of employment to complete training on these standards of ethical conduct.

Reporting Child Abuse, Abandonment, or Neglect

All employees and agents have an affirmative duty to report all actual or suspected cases of child abuse, abandonment, or neglect. Call 1-800-96-ABUSE or report online at http://www.dcf.state.fl.us/abuse/report/.

Liability Protections

Our primary focus will always be the well-being and best interests of our students.

We recognize that a Montessori school is more than a place of learning; it is a community of children and adults that have a significant impact on our students’ capacity to learn, grow, create, develop, assimilate values, and relate peacefully and respectfully to other people and to the natural world.

We treat all students, families, teachers, and staff members with kindness, warmth, and respect.

Our school uses the Montessori approach to discipline that includes peace education, conflict resolution, and grace and courtesy. Our school will never permit the use of corporal punishment.

We consciously teach our students values fundamental to Montessori education, which include: respect for oneself, others, and their property; peacefulness, empathy and kindness; truthfulness; a search for the solution fairest to all; the pursuit of independence and self-mastery; and a love of work and a passion for excellence.

We endeavor to provide a school environment that will promote and protect the physical and emotional well-being of our students and staff.

We seek to instill in our students, parents, and staff not only a reverence for the earth, its waters, and all living things, but also a sense of conviction of our individual responsibility for the beauty of the land and the health of our ecosystems.

We are committed to the principles of diversity. In that spirit, we do not discriminate in matters of admission or employment in violation of the law on the basis of race, religion or creed, color, sexual orientation, age, physical challenge, nation of origin, or gender. We consciously teach children to accept, respect, and celebrate the rich cultural diversity of the global community.

Any person, official, or institution participating in good faith in any act authorized or required by law, or reporting in good faith any instance of child abuse, abandonment, or neglect to the department or any law enforcement agency, shall be immune from any civil or criminal liability which might otherwise result by reason of such action. (F.S. 39.203)

An employer who discloses information about a former or current employee to a prospective employer of the former or current employee upon request of the prospective employer or of the former or current employer is immune from civil liability for such disclosure or its consequences unless it is shown by clear and convincing evidence that the formation disclosed by the former or current employer was knowingly false or violated any civil right of the former or current employee protected under F.S. Chapter 760 (F.S. 768.095)

We are committed to standards of exemplary integrity in our professional relationships with parents, students, faculty, and other Montessori schools. Although our philosophies and programs are diverse in their emphasis, structure, and style, we follow a common code of ethics that emphasizes fair and consistent policies.

Our school agrees to abide by the following code of ethics and principles of good practice:

We pledge to represent our school truthfully and accurately to the general public and internally to our parent community.

We further pledge ourselves to respect the diversity of the community of Montessori schools. We will not engage in negative public relations nor make any negative statements about another Montessori school.

Our school honors its financial commitments to parents, staff, vendors, and others.

We consciously work to build a constructive partnership between the family and school in support of each child’s educational development.

Within reasonable guidelines established to ensure the integrity of our educational program and the privacy of other students’ records, parents are welcome to visit the school to observe their child in class or to review his/her academic progress.

We will promptly consult with parents should it ever become clear that a student is not benefiting from the school’s program, or if the school is not the best program to meet his/her needs.

We consciously follow fair and equal employment practices in hiring, assigning, promoting, and compensating both teaching and non-teaching staff members. We endeavor to employ persons solely on the basis of the factors necessary in the performance of the job and the operation of our school. We do not discriminate in matters of employment in violation of the law on the basis of race, religion or creed, color, sexual orientation, age, physical challenge, nation of origin, or gender.

No official of our school will to seek to induce a teacher who is under contract at another school to break that contract. There is nothing deemed improper if a member of the teaching or administrative staff of one school independently approaches another school about possible employment beyond the obligations of their current contract.

Our school will take all reasonable and lawful precautions to maintain the confidentiality of records and information concerning teachers and other staff members who are applying for employment at another school, in accordance with the rights of the individual.