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Leadership interview with Tammy-Leigh Sage, Fairview Glen Montessori School
- Name
Tammy-Leigh Sage - Title
Principal
Tammy-Leigh Sage, Principal of Fairview Glen Montessori School, shared her perspective on the school's child-centred approach, individualized professional development, strong family relationships, and commitment to developing the whole child. She reflected on how Fairview Glen builds a culture of trust, communication, and respect while encouraging children to embrace challenges, develop problem-solving skills, and grow into confident, contributing members of their community.
Video Contents
- 0:51 - Please describe your professional journey leading up to your current role at Fairview Glen Montessori School.
- 1:57 - What have been some of the major influences on you and how you approach your work?
- 4:09 - What resonates most strongly with you about the history and mission of Fairview Glen Montessori School?
- Show Full Video Contents
Highlights from the interview
One thing that always intrigued me was the science of cognition, and just how the child actually learns.
Taking that approach towards assisting and mentoring our staff in different ways that is more specific to what they need, as opposed to a one-size-fits-all professional development, has really allowed me to give the staff what they need. It has also made our staff feel seen and heard.
- The mission of Fairview Glen Montessori has always been to create a place for the whole family. It's really done out of respect for childhood and respect for the family as a unit.
The mission of Fairview Glen Montessori has always been to create a place for the whole family. It's really done out of respect for childhood and respect for the family as a unit.
It's really about learning to be a good human and learning to make those connections. Those connections aren't limited to student-to-student. Those connections have to be between principal and teachers, family and teachers, family and the principal, and we really rely on those relationships.
Our school culture is really committed to making this the best possible place for learning for the children, and that comes from a lot of trust. Our relationships support trust with our families. We have an open door of communication, and we work together as a unit to find the best path of education for your child.
Friction is necessary, and conflict is necessary for children to learn creative ways of solving those problems and having that mindset that “I can overcome”… Problems are a source of learning, and they shouldn't be avoided.
So, typically, the families at Fairview Glen Montessori School are very professional. They have well-established careers and very little time, yet still find the time to give back to the school through the efforts of the parents' association.
If you're seeking a school that looks at an individual and wants to teach a child how they're going to contribute to society and how they're going to be a valued member of a classroom and then the wider society as they get older, then Fairview Glen is the right school for you.
