There was a second within the mid-2010s when Montessori was inescapable. The century-old training philosophy, which prioritizes independence from a younger age, had was a way of life model. Blocks and different wood exercise units had been remarketed as “Montessori toys.” Dad and mom flocked towards outside studying, which frequently concerned livestock on a farm, typically dubbed “Montessori farms.”
“I believe Montessori has been round for a really very long time, and there have been every kind of waxes and wanes, with generations discovering Montessori time and again for very completely different concepts,” Mira Debs, director of training research at Yale College, says. “As somebody who studied Montessori over an extended historic interval, what I discover so fascinating is the way in which it retains being remodeled by new audiences and folks for no matter they’re in search of for his or her kids.”
However over the past 5 years — and within the final yr significantly — the training panorama has modified dramatically. With a dipping economic system, a combat about faculty voucher choices and confusion about what the “Montessori” time period even means, is Montessori nonetheless the “it” development within the preschool world?
The questions come up as one outstanding chain of Montessori-inspired faculties shrinks quickly.
A Century-Lengthy Rise and Fall — and Rise Once more
Angeline Lillard grew to become conscious of the Montessori methodology when she was 3 years previous, attending a Montessori faculty alongside her sister when its resurgence hit within the Sixties throughout a cultural shift towards particular person autonomy. Lillard grew as much as grow to be a scholar who has spent 20 years finding out Montessori faculties and authored “Montessori: The Science Behind the Genius.”
Curiosity within the philosophy, first created by Italian physician and educator Maria Montessori within the early 1900s, tends to fall throughout occasions of recession and develop throughout financial upswings, in response to Lillard, which might account for its seemingly pervasive presence within the late 2010s.
“Each faculty dips when the economic system isn’t doing effectively,” she says. “Progressive, child-centered methods had been going robust till World Struggle II. You may see cycles the place there’s sure challenges and we’ll retreat to the Despair-era practices.”
Whereas it has been related to wealthier, sometimes white households, a number of Montessori establishments have pushed towards serving to lower-income kids, too. For instance, Magnolia Montessori for All made headlines when it opened its first location in 2014 in East Austin, Texas, an space dwelling to lower-income residents.
Lillard additionally believes the programming most not too long ago skilled a surge largely as a consequence of what she calls the “constitution faculty motion,” the place households forgo the standard public faculty path and as a substitute select publicly funded, privately run constitution faculties based mostly on their households’ wants. Montessori faculties that supply solely preschool usually are not essentially competing with many public establishments. However those who present elementary or center faculty training do vie for college kids in opposition to public Okay-12 faculties.
Immediately, households can enroll their kids at Wildflower Montessori Faculties, which declare 60 faculties in additional than a dozen states. Or at a location of Bezos Academy, which touts itself as “Montessori-inspired” and is sponsored by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, who attended a Montessori faculty himself in Albuquerque, New Mexico, as a toddler.
Maybe most well-known is Guidepost Montessori, which splashed on the scene in 2016 and ballooned to greater than 130 areas throughout the globe.
However late final yr, the privately backed chain of colleges started quickly closing areas in Virginia and Ohio, adopted by a slew of closures thus far in 2025 — 5 areas in Colorado, three in Ohio and two every in Minnesota and Iowa. Openings already deliberate for different areas had been placed on indefinite maintain. Different areas stay open, and the chain itself has not declared chapter or introduced its folding.
Nevertheless, firm co-founders Ray and Rebecca Girn introduced in February they had been each stepping down from the corporate.
“In our eagerness to satisfy the huge imaginative and prescient of our mission, we overextended ourselves, rising our college community past what we might successfully assist, each financially and operationally,” a firm weblog publish mentioned, including the corporate was within the means of closing one-third of its faculties “which have so lovingly been constructed over the previous 9 years.”
Guidepost is owned and operated by Greater Floor Schooling, an training administration firm centered on Montessori and backed by non-public enterprise capital {dollars}. EdSurge was unable to achieve a Guidepost or Greater Floor Schooling spokesperson for feedback after repeated makes an attempt.
But some observers consider the chain’s faltering doesn’t sign the tip for Montessori programming.
“I’ve no purpose to suppose Montessori as a philosophy goes out of vogue,” Elliot Haspel, senior fellow on the household coverage suppose tank Capita, says. “There are fads, however Guidepost is lots much less about Montessori and extra a few profit-driven chain that made actually unhealthy enterprise choices.”
Lack of Guardrails — and Trademark — Trigger Considerations
It’s robust to trace Montessori program enrollment numbers. Though faculties and lecturers have the choice of incomes accreditation from Montessori associations, there is no such thing as a set definition, or trademark for “Montessori,” so any establishment might arguably dub themselves a “Montessori faculty,” or comply with Bezos’ lead and declare to be “Montessori-inspired.”
The anomaly is just like cleansing provides carrying the label “eco-friendly.” It’s not at all times clear to customers what that really means.
Lillard, who studied play and cognition throughout her Ph.D. program, finally despatched her personal kids to a Montessori-branded faculty — however quickly observed a discrepancy. Her kids had been filling out math worksheets earlier than getting to pick their very own actions. In true Montessori packages, kids are allowed to decide on the order through which to finish duties.
“After I didn’t like one thing on the faculty, I might ask my household and they might say, ‘Nicely that’s not Montessori,’” she says. “That’s an issue — dad and mom do not know. You realize it’s a ‘Montessori faculty’ however there’s an enormous selection, and it’s as a result of the time period isn’t trademarked.”
The American Montessori Society didn’t reply to EdSurge requests for remark however states on its web site there are roughly 5,000 Montessori faculties within the U.S., with 4,500 of these non-public and the rest public.
Ellen Frede, a not too long ago retired co-director of the Nationwide Institute for Early Schooling Analysis, says whereas it’s at all times been a extra area of interest program, she agrees it has fluctuated in recognition.
“It’s not one thing I’ve studied, holding observe of what’s taking place in Montessori, however being deep within the discipline I might agree it’s an ebb and circulation,” she says. “It’s at all times been there. It’s one thing you’re conscious of — there are Montessori packages round you, you understand somebody whose youngsters are going to at least one — however there usually are not these huge packages.”
Any present potential dip in Montessori enrollment might be partly as a result of reality there are fewer kids on the planet generally proper now, Frede says, coupled with fewer kids enrolled in early childhood teaching programs throughout many states within the U.S.
Sarcastically, the shortage of guardrails that helped unfold the Montessori philosophy far and huge in additional mainstream faculties might truly undermine true Montessori packages. Little one-size furnishings, for instance, is a staple in Montessori school rooms that’s now ubiquitous in preschool school rooms throughout the U.S. It has additionally largely been adopted in homeschool methods, one other training avenue that has been on the rise.
And for a lot of households, selecting Montessori — or not — merely comes down to what’s most accessible. In any case, the commonest youngster care association within the U.S. is leaning on household, mates and neighbors for assist.
“In a variety of instances, due to the shortage that marks the U.S. youngster care system, dad and mom are making selections on what’s round and accessible,” Haspel says. “I’m sure there’s a cadre of oldsters which are Montessori as a result of they deeply consider in it, however I additionally consider if there’s Montessori down the road they’re going for it — and equally if it’s not down the road, they are going to go for a special form of program. I do not suppose it has revealed preferences a lot as selecting any youngster care and early training slot that may work for his or her household.”
Caught within the Crossfire of Voucher Packages
In the meantime, Montessori faculties might face an existential menace from at present’s political battles over training.
Debs, at Yale College, says constitution faculties have been caught within the crossfire of the push towards voucher packages, which take state funds and provides them to households attending non-public or spiritual establishments.
“Either side have veered away from constitution faculties proper now; Republicans are supporting vouchers and the privatization of training and within the face of that, a variety of Democrats are turning again towards conventional faculties,” Debs says. “Which have led to constitution faculties being deserted. Montessori and the shortage of funding for constitution community growth is form of on pause proper now.”
She mentioned some faculty districts, like these in Detroit or Grand Rapids, Michigan, have been opening their very own Montessori public faculties in an try and woo again households which have gone to constitution faculties.
However with state-funded pre-Okay on the rise in lots of states, Montessori might be getting left behind. Frede pointed towards state-funded packages needing their very own certification. Montessori has its personal educating strategies and is essentially run by impartial house owners, that means these house owners must apply for state certification on their very own volition.
“So it’s a double whammy,” she says. “It is a entire motion, and it is onerous for Montessori to suit its sq. peg into the spherical gap of state-funded pre-Okay. Sometimes they know what their program is and aren’t as open to modifying it to suit the state of affairs. And I do suppose it harms them typically.”
There’s additionally the potential impression of the declining economic system. Most non-public faculties, together with Montessori packages, are backed by non-public donations, and with an ever-weakening economic system, these might grow to be sparse.
“There have been extra restricted donors supporting the Montessori mannequin versus different kinds of high-intensity packages,” Debs says, particularly pointing to KIPP, a nationwide public constitution faculty chain centered on making ready college students for faculty.
“However I believe it’s actually onerous to say by way of any tendencies with Montessori demand if the cooling off is extra so influenced by the financial sector or by way of creation of latest public faculties,” she says. “And I believe that has much less to do with the parental demand for Montessori.”