Oneness-Family School

Oneness-Family School is an independent, coeducational day school whose lower-school campus is in Chevy Chase, Maryland, and its upper-school campus is in Kensington, Maryland. It offers a Montessori education for students age 2 through grade 12, making it the only private Montessori high school in the Washington, D.C., area.^[1] A nonprofit organization with 501(c)(3)status,^[2] the school is a member of the American Montessori Society and National Association of Independent Schools.

Oneness-Family School
Location
6701 Wisconsin Avenue Chevy Chase, Maryland United States
Information
Type	Independent
Established	May 18, 1988; 37 years ago (1988-05-18)
Head of school	Andrew Kutt
Grades	Preschool through 12
Enrollment	146
Average class size	17
Student to teacher ratio	1:12
Website	www.onenessfamily.org

Patricia (Pat) Dubin is the chair of the board of trustees.^[3] Andrew Genova, a former alumnus, serves as the treasurer.^[3] Andrew Kutt is the head of school.^[3]

History

Kutt was working at the Barrie School in Silver Spring in January 1988 when he first discussed the idea of founding a school with Barrie headmaster Tim Seldin. Oneness-Family School was incorporated in the District of Columbia on May 18, 1988, and held its first classes the following September with 10 students.

The lower school, pre-school through 8th grade, is located on the grounds of St. John's Episcopal Church, Norwood Parish, in Chevy Chase. In 2017, the school added a second campus, for high school students, at Grace Episcopal Day School in Kensington.^[4]

Demographics

In 2017-18, the racial makeup of Oneness-Family School's K–12 students was 74.4% white, 10.2% Hispanic, 10.2% African American, and 5.1% Asian/Pacific Islander.^[5]

About 40% of families are international, representing more than 60 countries.^[6]

Academics

Keeping with Montessori principles, students learn in mixed-age groups instead of single-grade classrooms. Those include the Little Stars program for 2- and 3-year-olds, the Children's Peace Garden for 3-year-olds to kindergarteners, the Peace Arbor for grades 1 to 3, the Peace Academy for grades 4 and 5, the Peace Ambassadors program for grades 6 to 8, and the high school program for grades 9 to 12.^[7][8]

The curriculum emphasizes global awareness and the study of other cultures.^[9] Students annually celebrate the founding of the United Nations with diplomats stationed in the local area.^[10]

In addition to traditional academic subjects, Oneness-Family School teaches nature experiences, meditation, yoga, and tai chi to help students work on self-discipline and relaxation^[6] as part of its Self-Discovery curriculum.