Why Montessori?

We know parents have choices when it comes to their children’s education. We know these choices are not easy. Why do so many families choose Montessori?

Montessori education has been successfully serving children and families around the world for over a century. The basics remain - and for good reason. Our methods are consistently backed by current research in education and human development. As we move forward into an unprecedented future, we believe Montessori has what it takes to prepare innovative and responsible children.

Montessori Emphasizes More Than Just Academics

Conventional methods of education were developed specifically to prepare large numbers of children to enter the workforce. Traditionally, little thought has been given to differentiating instruction or catering to the needs of individual children. That has been changing in recent years, but many schools are still in the early years of personalizing education.

Montessori schools are specifically designed to allow each child to progress at their own pace. We know that learning is not linear, and that children are not ready to learn specific skills according to an adult-prepared timeline, or in perfect harmony with their peers. No two people should be expected to grow at the same rate, and it’s our job as educators to meet children where they are and give them the support they need to get where they want to be.

Academics share equal emphasis with our efforts to develop holistic aspects of the child, including emotional, social, sensorial, and practical life development. We integrate the arts and movement into everything our children do, rather than isolating these areas of study into a separate class. We intentionally teach children how to navigate and resolve conflict and how to adhere to grace and courtesy social norms.

We believe our greatest task is to give children a global view of the world. We want them to understand the interconnectedness of all things, so that they may be fully integrated members of their greater community as they grow and mature.

...But the Academics are a Huge Strength

Montessori academics are often hailed as some of the highest standards there are. It is not uncommon to see four-year-olds in our schools reading, six-year-olds completing long division problems, and nine-year-olds classifying botanical specimens. These tasks are completed joyfully, in part because we present information in such a way that children discover it for themselves, rather than passively taking in facts given by an adult.

Another reason Montessori students work at an advanced academic level is because of what Dr. Montessori called the sensitive periods. Through years of scientific observation, she noticed that young children seemed primed and particularly interested and ready to develop certain skills during very specific time in their development. The Montessori Philosophy completely trusts the child and gives ample time and opportunity for children to focus their interest and repeat lessons many times, to gain mastery.

One of the greatest gifts a Montessori education can offer your child is a lifelong love of learning and the confidence that they can learn anything they set their mind to doing. This passionate belief in their ability to grow and make a difference is foundational to success later in life. It equips your child to do well in an ever-changing workforce, and gives them a sense of purpose that leads to greater satisfaction in life.

Our School Cultivates Community

A Montessori school is more than just a school. First and foremost we are there for our students, but we believe schools have the capacity to be so much more. We aim to make meaningful connections between everyone involved. Some of the ways we do this include:

Giving our guides opportunities for rich professional development
Encouraging our guides to form connections within the larger Montessori network
Making sure parents and guides have ample time to discuss the child’s growth and needs
Providing opportunities for parents to form relationships with one another
Supporting families via parent education offerings
Whole school gatherings
Forming bonds between children at different ages
Reaching out to make connections with the local community
Giving our educators and families a voice in school decision making

We also believe that it is our job to take the guesswork out of making these types of connections. We aim to build in structures that make it simple for everyone to find commonalities and open streams of communication seamlessly.

Montessori Aims to Lift Up Humanity

We know. This is quite the lofty goal. From the very beginning, Dr. Montessori saw it as her mission to improve the world through education. She believed that by giving children the honor and respect they deserved, the benefits would trickle through to families, the community, and society at large. She believed in equality of all people, and saw that education has the potential to be a great leveler.

Montessori schools aim for peace. This starts between individuals, and teaching our youngest students how to be kind and gracious toward one another. A great respect for the environment and other living beings is another important aspect of our work, as is a reverence for the wide diversity of cultures around the globe. Combined, these elements are meant to cultivate within the child a respect for themselves and others, as well as a desire to ensure connection and fairness for all.

"This is the hope we have—

a hope in a new humanity

that will come from this new education,

an education that is collaboration

of human and the universe"

~ Maria Montessori