Montessori Collective

Expanding Access to Montessori Education in Underserved Communities 

"Within the child lies the fate of the future."

Maria Montessori

Our Vision

Every child has access to a classroom that honors their unique development and culture, fosters their independence and innate desire to learn, and frees their potential. 

What we do

We expand access to Montessori in underserved communities by partnering with schools to convert existing classrooms to Montessori.

We provide:

Montessori materials at no cost to schools

Full scholarships for Montessori teacher training

Image Credit: Loyola University

Family Engagement

Image Credit: Hershey Montessori School

Professional development and coaching grounded in anti-racism

Image Credit: Montessoriforsocialjustice.org

Technical support with licensing waivers and Montessori accreditation

Image Credit: Montessori.org

Why Montessori?

Superior academic academic outcomes 

Closes the Income Achievement Gap


Increases Executive Functioning

Lillard, A. S., & Vu, A. (2017). Montessori: The science behind the genius. Oxford University Press. 

A Planting Seeds Approach

We call our method to expanding access to Montessori a "planting seeds approach." Starting a new school or developing an entire program is a monumental task, and limits the reach of Montessori to one school. But with the support of Montessori Collective, traditional public schools can start with one classroom, plant one small seed. The investment and risk are minimal.  With a this approach, schools allow underserved communities to experience Montessori for themselves, and then empower them to advocate for the education they want for their children. 

Support our work

Sources Cited

Friedman, S. L., Bender, R. H., Spieker, S., Keating, D. P., Scholnick, E. K., Vandergrift, N., Pasek, K. H., Park, Y., & The NICHD Early Child Care Research Network. (2014). Planning in Middle Childhood: Early Predictors and Later Outcomes. Child Development, 85(4), 1446–1460. http://www.jstor.org/stable/24032177 

Lillard, Angeline S., Heise, Megan J., Richey, Eve M., Tong, Xin, Hart, Alyssa, Bray, Paige M. (2017). Montessori Preschool Elevates and Equalizes Child Outcomes: A Longitudinal Study. Frontiers in Psychology, 8. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.01783 

Lillard, A. S., & Vu, A. (2017). Montessori: The science behind the genius. Oxford University Press.

Rodriguez, L., Irby, B. J., Brown, G., Lara-Alecio, R., & Galloway, M. (2005). An analysis of reading achievement related to pre-kindergarten Montessori and transitional bilingual education. In V. Gonzalez & J. Tinajero (Eds.), Review of research and practice (Vol 3., pp. 45-65). Mahwah, NJ: Laurence Earlbaum Associates.