The Educational Program at Olive-Mary Stitt

Olive-Mary Stitt Elementary School offers children in kindergarten through grade 5 a wealth of varied learning experiences. Searching for a different way to teach children, in 1969 Olive School principal Mary Stitt and the Olive staff began grouping children of different ages together. For more than thirty years, this multi-age program has been refined and improved, and today Olive-Mary Stitt School offers elementary school age children an established and successful educational program including both single-age and multi-age classes. The Olive-Mary Stitt program has for many years served as a model for other school districts studying the multi-age philosophy. In 1992, when principal Mary Stitt retired, Olive-Mary Stitt Elementary School was renamed in her honor.

Olive-Mary Stitt staff members work with parents to ensure that all children are placed in classrooms that meet their needs. Kindergarten children are placed together in single-grade kindergarten classes. Beginning in grade 1, children may be placed in single-grade classes or in multi-age classes incorporating grades 1 and 2 and grades 4 and 5.

The emphasis at Olive-Mary Stitt is on providing developmentally appropriate, hands-on instruction that children view as purposeful and relevant. The school provides a child-centered, risk-free, cooperative environment in which children are motivated and invested in their learning.

As a "Community of Learners," the value and excitement of lifelong learning are a focus for both the children and adults of Olive-Mary Stitt.

Before- and after-school care is available at Olive-Mary Stitt through the CAP (Children at Play) program, run by the Arlington Heights Park District.

The majority of Olive-Mary Stitt students attend Thomas Middle School for grades 6-8, except for those students living in the area bordered by Dryden on the west, Oakton on the north, and Euclid on the south. Those students will attend South Middle School.