Welcome Message from Principal Dr. Michael Gossen

Greetings to all of you and welcome to Cowles Montessori School!  On behalf of our entire staff, I would like to welcome you and your child to Des Moines Public Schools.  It is the mission of DMPS to provide all students with the knowledge, skills and abilities to be successful at the next stage of their lives.  We believe that Cowles Montessori students will be prepared for a global community through diversity, respect, and love of learning through the Montessori approach.  Our Cowles staff is dedicated and committed to collaborating with families to empower all students to achieve individual excellence.

Here at Cowles Montessori we are continually finding ways that we can improve so that we can provide the best educational opportunities possible for your child.  This is accomplished by prioritizing strong one-way and two-way communication with stakeholders.  We are committed to providing transparency regarding our method and process for learning as well as garnering feedback for continuous improvement.  This is also accomplished by an organizational strategic plan that utilizes Multi-Tiered Systems of Support structures and the Professional Learning Communities Framework.

We, as a staff, are a group of people that not only focus on your child’s learning, but also view ourselves as part of a learning community as a whole.  We are continually finding ways to improve our own skills and practice to ensure the best education for your child.  We do this by structures of continuous improvement through professional learning plans, opportunities for feedback, assessments, and various professional development opportunities.

We utilize a variety of summative and formative assessments in order to gather data to determine the next steps for both student learning as well as instruction planning.  We utilize FAST (Formative Assessment System for Teachers) assessments designed for screening, progress monitoring, and program assessments in the area of Literacy and Math.   We use these screeners three times each year to understand the baseline performance of the students and chart their growth throughout the school year.  We also conduct a screener to assess the social/emotional/behavioral/mental health capacity of students.  Later in the Spring, we complete the ISASP (Iowa Statewide Assessment of Student Progress) in grades 3-5, as well as the Conditions for Learning Survey.

Of course, none of this could be possible without the collaboration of you as the parent.  All of us at Cowles Montessori encourage and value your active involvement as a partner in learning and community.  We have seen that by and large children pursue the interests of their parents. When you are interested in your child’s progress at school, your child’s interest in their own progress will follow.  Your interest in your child’s educational progress will motivate your child to want to learn and do his/her very best at school.

You will find that my office is always open to parents, students, and staff.  Usually there is no need for an appointment, but please call ahead should I be away from the office spending time in the classrooms or between schools.  I encourage you to contact me with any questions or concerns…or just to drop by to say hello.  I look forward to getting to know you.  I love working with children, families, and fellow learners.  Rest assured, I will work my hardest every day to ensure that every child and adult at Cowles Montessori is safe, happy, and able to do their best.

Your Principal,

Dr. Michael Gossen