Learning Center Taps into Creativity With Maker Spaces

Students build a table at the NH School of Applied Learning. Courtesy Photo.

The NH School of Applied Learning, a middle school focused on the Montessori teaching philosophy where students participate in self-directed, hands-on learning, opened this school year with maker spaces to allow students’ imaginations to run free.

It is the sister school of Southern NH Montessori Academy in Londonderry, which opened in 2009 as a private school for toddlers through elementary ages. It expanded this school year to include the NH School of Applied Learning (NHSAL).

The maker spaces provide students with a variety of materials and technologies including circuitry, a 3-D printer, woodshop materials, video equipment and clay for pottery. Projects include a 10-foot by 10-foot roller coaster.

“Our students may not always be leaders, but they are not followers,” says Debra Repoza-Hogan, founder and head of school. What began with only 12 students, grew sevenfold to 85 students this year, including the middle school.

While NHSAL is rooted in Montessori education philosophy, it is not exclusive to it. The focus is on self-directed and group project-based learning, but students do participate in some standardized testing such as the PSAT. “No two students have the same work plan,” says Repoza-Hogan. Tuition is just over $1,000 a month.

Between the Montessori elementary school and NHSAL, there are a total of eight full-time, Montessori-certified teachers, which allows the school to maintain class sizes of 12 to 15 kids. According to the NH Department of Education, the average class size for students in grades K-8 in public schools is about 18.

“Social development is as important, if not more important, than their academic development because that is who they bring to every different scenario,” Repoza-Hogan says of the need for small classes. Also helping to build those social skills is Repoza-Hogan’s dog, Guardian, a registered therapy dog that engages with students.

Repoza-Hogan loves her school and is committed to the Montessori teaching philosophy. Therefore, she does not want her school to grow beyond the point where the students can no longer have individual access to teachers or receive the attention that they need. “One of the attributes of our program is the intimacy in which we can establish a relationship with the student,” Repoza-Hogan says.

For more information, visit nhsal.org.

By Michala Foster of the Young Reporters Project, a partnership between Business NH Magazine and University of NH Manchester.