About The School
The school is in Setauket, NY. This location and the surrounding village is filled with American colonial history and an important site in winning the Revolutionary War. Most of the members of George Washington’s band of spies were from Setauket. The school is in a lovely, quaint property.
Montessori School at Old Field is a school born out of a need to provide an authentic Montessori program for children here on Long Island. The school hopes to move as close to what Dr. Montessori envisioned and how her method was to be practiced.
The school has a teaching staff that shares a common educational philosophy that is based on Montessori principles. The school believes that the Montessori Method cannot be compromised or watered down. The school’s goal is to provide a total Montessori curriculum that is integrated and sequential.
The school offers multi-aged groupings which is an essential feature of the Montessori Method. The Casa dei Bambini program includes children from ages 3, 4, and 5. We also have an Elementary Program for children 6+. A qualified Montessori-trained directress is employed to teach your child.
The classrooms are clean, bright and cheerful. Each classroom is equipped with approved Montessori materials only. The school adheres to only Montessori principles and objectives. The Montessori curriculum offered at this school meets if not exceeds the New York State Department of Education for private school education.
About The Administrator
Bernardita (Ditas) A. McHugh was born and raised in Manila, Philippines. She has a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology from the exclusive women’s college, St. Paul’s College of Manila (now known as St. Paul University - Manila). She also completed graduate coursework in Educational Psychology from the University of the Philippines.
She received her AMI (Association Montessori Internationale) Diploma from Centro Internazionale Studi Montessoriani in Bergamo, Italy and has been a Montessori directress since 1981. In addition, she has completed both Level I (ages 3-6) & II (ages 6-9) Training in the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd under the auspices of the Archdiocese of New York. She has also completed the Montessori for Aging and Dementia training under AMI-certified educator, Jennifer Brush.
She has worked in different capacities (classroom teacher, curriculum coordinator and Elementary Headmistress) in prestigious schools here in the United States and abroad. She has extensive experience as a Montessori guide and school director.
Ditas McHugh is not only the Administrator of the school, but she is also in charge of all curricula which she keeps fresh and innovative. Most of the hand-made Montessori materials in Botany, Zoology, and History were created by Ditas McHugh and are registered with the Library of Congress.