Montessori in the United States

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This article discusses Montessori in the United States.

Main article: Montessori method

[edit] Montessori schools

Because there is no official registry or even definition of what constitutes a Montessori school, there is some dispute as to the number of private Montessori schools in the United States. Estimates range from just under 4,000 to greater than 8,000. There are about 250 public and 120 charter schools that include Montessori programs (see below). Most private schools have a primary program (from 3-6 years) and often a lower elementary (6-9 years). Upper elementary programs (9-12 years) are less common, although about one school in eight will have this program. At this time Montessori junior highs and high schools are rare. However, the first public Montessori high school in the country, Clark Montessori located in Cincinnati, Ohio, was started in 1994. Several pilot Montessori junior high schools have opened based on writings by Montessori on Erdkinder, German for "Children of the Land", which was a term Montessori coined for children ages 12 through 18. The last few years have seen the advent of infant and toddler Montessori programs. Many schools offer "Mother and Child" programs in which parents can learn about Montessori and how to apply the philosophy to their child-rearing practices. In many other schools, the demand for high-quality childcare has spurred the growth of Montessori infant, or "Nido" (the Italian word for "nest") and toddler, or "Infant Community" programs.

The AMS (American Montessori Society) located in New York appears to act more as a figurehead than being the regulatory body for which Montessori Schools are assessed a membership fee. There have been numerous schools in the Northeast corridor that use the Montessori name but have a curriculum that acts contrary to the Montessori Philosophy.^{[citation needed]} The AMS seem incapable of acting as a check on this as well as numerous issues like addressing pay for teachers, accreditation of teachers, misinformation of parents and quality of schools.^{[neutrality disputed]} It is therefore imperative for Parents to be educated on the type of schools their children will be attending, especially as the Montessori school fees are unfortunately beyond the reach of lower income parents, another facet which is contrary to Maria Montessori's "Casa dei Bambini" where she catered for poorer children.

[edit] Montessori programs in public schools

Public school districts in the U.S. began experimenting with Montessori classrooms in the mid 1970s in Arlington, VA, Philadelphia and Reading, OH. By the mid-80s there were about 50 sites. With funding support from federal magnet grants and desegregation efforts, that number surpassed 200 by the beginning of the 21st century.

A survey conducted in 1981, collected data from 25 of the approximately 57 school districts nationwide known to have Montessori programs at the time of this study (Chattin-McNichols, 1981). The only other study of public Montessori programs is much more recent. During school year 1990-91, this study received responses from 63 of the 120 school districts or schools to whom surveys were sent (Michlesen and Cummings, 1991). Results from this study indicate that the number of students in the schools or school districts averaged 233, with an average of 10 teachers per program. A total of 32, or 58%, of the schools surveyed reported that they were magnet schools. A total of 69% of the Montessori programs shared a building with other programs. District funding for the training of Montessori teachers was provided in 66% of the districts. Only 42% of the programs provided the three-year age span of three-, four-, and five-year-olds. This indicates that the degree to which particular districts implement the Montessori model varies.

A total of 16 of the 57 schools charged tuition for some part of the program. About two thirds of the programs provided free transportation. In addition, two thirds of the districts reported that additional staff were used in the Montessori magnet schools. These factors can add to the overall costs of the program.

In January 2007, The Washington Post published an article titled "Montessori, Now 100, Goes Mainstream".^[1] The article discussed the increasing number of Montessori public school programs, particularly in African American communities.

Once a maverick experiment that appealed only to middle-class white families, Montessori schools have become popular with some black professionals and are getting results in low income public schools with the kind of children on which Montessori first tested her ideas.

The article goes on to discuss how Montessori has been implemented in the public schools, and has become an attractive option to black, middle class parents because it provides an alternative to the "No Child Left Behind" strategies in most current public school curricula.