Have questions? We hope you’ll find answers here! This Q & A is divided into three sections: The Basics, Student Learning, and More Details. First, the basics!
Where does Prairie Song Academy meet?
For our first two years, we met at First Presbyterian Church in Kirksville, and were thankful for their hospitality. Beginning in Fall 2023, we were able to rent a building exclusively for our use, with most of the costs associated with the building being donated. We continue to meet in this new location, previously Jacob’s Winery, at 26178 Eagle Lane. Here we’re able to give students plenty of room to run and explore outdoors!
When do elementary students attend on site?
Lower Elementary students (grades K-3) attend on site on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday of each week, from 9:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. For Fall 2026 we may be able to add optional Tuesdays to their schedule, pending available staffing.
Upper Elementary students (grades 4-6) attend on site Tuesday-Friday each week, from 9:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. Mondays are off-site school days for Upper El.
When do junior high and high school students meet on site?
Junior high and high school students also attend Tuesday-Friday each week from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. on site. High school meets for an additional hour once per week to accommodate our science lab block.
Is Prairie Song Academy a religious school?
No. We are a secular school, and no religious instruction of any kind is included. We respect those of all faith traditions and those of no faith tradition. We teach our students that all people deserve our kindness and love, but we do not do so as part of any particular religious framework. We explore many religions as part of our literature and history curriculum, where we find that this is a common theme among all of them!
What dates will school be in session?
You can always find our most recent calendar under the “Resources” tab on our website!
Why do you have so many weeks of breaks during the school year?
We’ve discovered that both students and guides do much better work when we have predictable rhythms of work and rest for them. When we are in session, we work very, very hard! Knowing that we have a true rest break coming up within six-eight weeks allows us to maintain our stamina. We don’t have to use filler activities with students to allow our teachers to get a mental break, and students are more willing to engage in their work with energy and effort. Guiding students as they develop is a true privilege, but the mental load and strain of that work is also very heavy. Regular rest breaks help our guides rest, reset, and refocus, making them more effective as they work with your students! It also helps our students reset and have a break from one another, so that they’re able to maintain positive relationships in the classroom!
Is child care available during breaks?
Currently we do not have the staffing to be able to provide child care during breaks; this is something that we hope to be able to provide in the future! Families are generally able to achieve the child care they need by coordinating with other families and by leveraging their personal support networks. We encourage our families to be active participants in our Prairie Song community events, so that you get to know one another and are able to help one another out as needed!
Will there be snow days?
There are sometimes snow days. We do NOT follow the Kirksville district’s determination of snow days any longer as our considerations are different. We generally do not cancel for cold as we do not run buses. We announce our cancellations via email and via Remind, which families can sign up for to get text alerts.
Do you require vaccinations?
Yes. It is important to us that we protect the most vulnerable among us, which includes immunocompromised Prairie Song members. We also care about the health of our broader community, and want to do all we can to prevent an outbreak of a vaccine-preventable disease. We STRONGLY encourage our families to vaccinate their student according to the 2025 CDC schedule and recommendations, unless that child cannot be vaccinated for medical reasons.
The State of Missouri’s requirements for immunizations in order for a child to attend school can be found here. These requirements apply to private schools in the same way they apply to public schools.
Can high schoolers get the A+ scholarship for Missouri when they graduate?
Yes! We are an A+ school in Missouri as of 2026. Students must have a 95% attendance rate for grades 9-12, maintain a 2.5 unweighted GPA, get an 18 or better on the math section of the ACT, and complete 50 hours of mentoring (which they can easily do on site!).
Eligible students receive scholarships to participating community colleges and vocational schools, and many four-year colleges also offer scholarships based on this qualification!
See full details for requirements and benefits here!
Now, on to questions about student learning at Prairie Song:
You have multi-grade classrooms; which grades are in each classroom?
We have four classrooms. Lower elementary is for ages 5-9, or grades K-3. Upper elementary is for ages 9-12, or grades 4-6. There is overlap between the lower and upper elementary classrooms, as students generally make a gradual transition from one to the other during the year in which they are nine years old. The two classrooms are directly across from one another to facilitate this.
Our junior high classroom houses students aged 12-15, or 7th-9th grades. Our ninth grade students are considered high school students and earn high school credits (and pay high school tuition) as they do additional off-site work each week, and participate in our lab block each week as well.
Our high school classroom is for students in 10th-12th grades.
Each of our classrooms currently has a cap of 12-15 students.
You say your school is Montessori based. What does that mean?
At its most basic, it means that we follow the cardinal Montessori principle: Follow the child. We observe and interact with our students to find out what they need, and then we meet that need. We introduce new academic material when their interest is high whenever possible, because students learn best when they are interested in the topic. We still require work in areas students are less interested in as well, as it is important for them to become capable, well-rounded students in all areas.
We watch to see what socio-emotional skills are needed based on individual and classroom dynamics, and then we teach those specific skills. We individualize students’ curriculum so that they are working at a level that challenges yet does not frustrate them the majority of the time. We do not expect them to follow a single prescribed path as they learn elementary academics. In our secondary program, we allow space for students to follow their interests as well, through our weekly Project Seminar block.
We do not have fully-trained Montessori guides, and we do not follow the pure Montessori curriculum. We adapt it as necessary to our circumstances, our students, and our teachers. We do use many of the Montessori manipulative materials for the elementary classroom, particularly in math. We follow Maria Montessori’s educational theory in that we encourage children to be as independent as they can be, and we support them in their development. We provide only the amount of structure students show us they need. We want students to be autonomous and intrinsically-motivated learners.
How do students stay on task in a self-directed learning environment?
Both our elementary and junior high classrooms have a morning work cycle each day that lasts three hours. During this time there is a whole-class read aloud, guides are giving presentations, and students are working independently, both on their own and in small groups. We have a variety of strategies to help students make the most of their on-site work time. One is the work plan, which is created by the student in collaboration with their guides for each week. Guides require certain works to be completed, and students choose other work they would like to do. Completing these works involves movement, which helps students stay engaged. Some works offer students a chance for a brain break and self-regulation, which they can use as needed. Elementary students are required to record the work they do during the work cycle in their work journals; we also use this for Junior High students when needed. This serves as a method of accountability and organization for the student, communication with the guide who checks in each week, and communication with caregivers; you can look each day to see what your student worked on at school!
Guides also have a variety of classroom management strategies we use to help students maintain their focus, and avoid interrupting other students while they are working. None of these, however, involve rewards or punishment. We work with the child to develop their independence, self-discipline, and resilience.
Our classrooms will not be the best environment for every student; those who need intensive one-on-one support will not be able to receive that at Prairie Song as we are unfortunately unable to fund it. Some students are unable to acclimate to a self-motivated environment, and for those students we recommend a more rigidly structured learning environment, as it will serve them better. Students who have spent years in a traditional, highly-structured classroom with little choice sometimes are not able to adjust to the increase in freedom and the lack of a rewards system. We do our best to help students adjust when they come to us as older students, though, and are often successful!
Do high schoolers also participate in self-directed learning?
In Project Seminar, yes! But they do not direct their learning in the way that our elementary and junior high students do, partially a function of their need to earn specific high school credits and also due to the fact that our current high school students did not grow up in a Montessori-based learning environment. As students come up through our system, our high school courses will evolve along with them.
While high school learning is not self-directed, it does include a significant element of student choice. Most assignments given in literature and composition and in history allow students significant choice in specific topic and/or type of writing, while still developing a common base of knowledge so that they can participate in frequent small-group and whole-class discussions. Learning is also experiential to the greatest degree possible. High school students direct the pace of their math instruction; they have a specified path set out, sometimes choosing between curricula to find the best fit for them, and they then work at their own pace through algebra I, geometry, algebra II, and pre-calculus. They meet with our lead math guide daily for new lessons and help with problem sets. For courses beyond pre-calculus, we currently encourage dual enrollment at Truman or MACC.
High school learning is truly and completely self-directed in their Project Seminar, which is an annual and required course. Students must propose a project, fill out the project proposal form, and get it approved, and then work to complete that project. These projects range from semester-long research studies to theater productions to learning fiber art skills to writing projects to organizing community events…and so much more! This is the most unique aspect of our program, and it is where our high school students can really follow and showcase their interests.
What do “on-site” and “off-site” days mean?
We offer a unique hybrid of on-site an off-site instruction for our students. Three days a week for Lower El and four days a week for Upper El, we will meet on-site for lessons and learning activities. The other one or two days a week students will learn independently or with their caregiver at their homes (or other location the family decides upon). For more information about what their learning will look like on-site and off-site, see our Curriculum page.
Can you educate children who have special needs?
Sometimes. It depends on the type of needs the child has. Many students with ADHD thrive in our classrooms, because they have freedom of movement and significant choice in their work, enabling us to cater to their interests. Most students with dyslexia also thrive, because our language program includes explicit phonics instruction, and we do not hold dyslexic children back from challenging academic material, regardless of their reading level. Some autistic students also do very well with us. We will always seek to meet the demonstrated needs of our students, and work in partnership with their families to achieve the best outcomes for the child.
However, there are needs that we cannot meet in such a small school. We do not have paraprofessionals, and cannot offer a child constant attention or care. Some mild behavioral challenges can be accommodated, but we do not have the resources to address more significant behavioral challenges that disrupt the learning environment. Please contact our Head of School to discuss any special needs your child has to see if our school would be a good fit for them. We do not wish to turn any interested students away, but we also take the education of our students very seriously, and will not commit to taking on a student we are not sure we can serve well, or who will cause other students to receive less attention than needed for good academic progress.
Is there any virtual instruction on off-site days?
No. We do not offer any virtual instruction through Prairie Song Academy. We send off-site bags with Lower and Upper Elementary students each week, and families are also welcome to implement their own learning plans on off-site days. Junior High and High School students access their work via a Canvas classroom, and complete that work independently, on their own schedule. Junior High and High School students DO need to be able to access the internet in order to do their work on off-site days.
How do you grade students?
We don’t, unless they are earning high school credits…and even then, we give only a grade for the semester, which is collaboratively determined at the end of the semester by the student and their guide for each subject. Grades are supposed to be a measure of student progress, showing when a student has mastered a topic; in practice, however, they do not do this, and they cannot be made truly objective. Grades encourage a student to work for the grade itself rather than work to master a topic. They encourage students to attempt only subjects in which they can excel, and discourage them from trying new things that involve failure at first. Because we want students to view failure as an integral and valuable part of the learning experience, we do not grade them in any subjects. We do, however, monitor their progress at school and communicate it to the caregivers. We simply use informal assessments and observation to do this. All students have a narrative progress report for each semester, but these reports do not include letter grades for elementary or junior high students.
Do you offer gifted education?
Yes, but not in the way you might expect if you’re coming from a traditional school. Pull-out programs are usually offered in traditional schools so that gifted students have the opportunity to work at their own academic level and engage in challenging projects. At Prairie Song, we offer this type of instruction to ALL students. Each child is working on an individualized curriculum, at the level they need, every day. Each child is encouraged to work on challenging projects, every day. There is no need for a separate pull-out program to accomplish this. This also has the benefit of eliminating competition for scarce access to the best instruction. Further, it promotes stronger relationships among students in the classroom. Students are able to accelerate their learning in any given subject as it is appropriate for them.
And finally, a few more details:
Do you offer scholarships?
Because we value a truly diverse student body, we have chosen to implement a sliding scale for tuition for every student rather than offer scholarships. Drawing on the experience of other independent schools, we know that offering financial aid creates a dynamic in which there are students from families who can easily afford full tuition, and there are some students on scholarship, but there are no students in the middle, and we miss out on many excellent students. We have designed our sliding scale to be as equitable as possible, in accordance with our mission (find out more about our mission and our values here). You can find our sliding scale on our Tuition page. If you find yourself in circumstances that make your tuition impossible to pay, please contact us.
Do you require standardized testing?
No. As an independent school in Missouri, there is no requirement for standardized testing of any kind. We measure student progress in a variety of ways, and communicate that to caregivers frequently. We may offer standardized testing, but it will never be more than once per year, never before third grade, and always in consultation with caregivers.
We also do not require any type of testing as part of our admissions process.
Can caregivers volunteer in the classroom?
Absolutely! We always welcome volunteers. We do require a simple background check prior to volunteering; just let a guide know that you are interested to initiate that!
What is your student-to-teacher ratio?
Our maximum student-to-teacher ratio for the 2025-2026 school year is 1:6 for elementary classrooms; for junior high and high school, it will generally be a max of 1:8 but may sometimes be 1:15. We try to have two guides in each classroom at all times; staff illness will sometimes mean that we only have one. No classroom will have more than 15 students in it.
Are Prairie Song teachers certified?
The State of Missouri does not require state certification for teachers at private schools. Three of our teachers were previously certified when teaching for Missouri public schools, and all lead guides have formal training in education. Find out more about all of our teachers’ qualifications on our Meet the Team page.
Is Prairie Song Academy accredited?
No, not yet. We are only just now eligible to begin an accreditation process based on the length of time the school has existed. We may pursue accreditation through ISACS, the Independent Schools Association of the Central States; the timing of this will primarily depend on our funding and staff capacity for complying with the administrative demands of this process. Having carefully reviewed the process and requirements, we do not anticipate that the accreditation process would result in substantial changes to our operations, so the high costs of accreditation and membership in ISACS cannot currently be justified while maintaining our current tuition scale. Unfortunately these accreditation processes do not yet have accreditation protocols adapted for microschools (though they are beginning to work on this!), so it is not practical for us to pursue at this time.
U.S. colleges and universities do not require graduation from an accredited high school for admissions or scholarships, so this will not adversely affect your student.
Do you have a dress code?
Yes. We ask that all students and staff wear clothes on our on-site learning days. We do not allow t-shirts or other clothing that have words or phrases that are demeaning or hateful toward others.
Prairie Song Academy 