Why Montessori?
What's special about the Montessori Method?
As Montessori education has evolved to serve families over more than a century, the core principles haven’t changed, for good reason. Our methods are consistently backed by education and human development research. As we look toward a rapidly evolving future, Montessori Center School knows what it takes to prepare children for life, from their earliest days as toddlers through to adulthood.
Self-directed learning
In a carefully prepared environment rich with time-tested learning tools, our Montessori teachers meet students where they are, giving them individualized learning activities based on their specific interests and abilities—and plenty of freedom. This flexibility fosters confidence and enthusiasm as students experiment and explore new knowledge and answer their own questions.
As they mature, children learn to look critically at their work, and become adept at recognizing, correcting and learning from their errors. Our Montessori materials are self-correcting, thoughtfully designed with a control-of-error feature so that students can work with increasing independence even as the curriculum increases in rigor.
Close, caring community of global citizens
The multi-age classroom—typically spanning three years—recreates a family structure. Older students enjoy stature as mentors and role models; younger children feel supported and gain confidence about the challenges ahead.
Teachers model respect, loving kindness, inclusivity and peaceful conflict resolution. Our greatest task is, we believe, to give children the tools to become positive forces to care for and transform their 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.
Research-backed methods
Up-to-date research supports the 100-year-old Montessori Method's effectiveness. We see again and again that children who learn in Montessori classrooms demonstrate stronger social-emotional skills in many areas versus children in more traditional environments. In a meta-study of 2,012 articles published in 2023, researchers concluded that a Montessori education results in better outcomes for students overall in both academic and non-academic areas. Similarly, a 2021 paper published in Frontiers in Psychology reported strong evidence of “improved psychological well-being” among adults who attended Montessori schools for at least two years as children.
Joy in learning
We know that students are happier and healthier when they’re free to explore in a supportive space without fearing failure. We have designed our curriculum and school intentionally so that, as students learn at the highest levels, they feel awesome walking into MCS every day!
