Wildflower Schools

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Wildflower Schools

Wildflower is an ecosystem of decentralized Montessori micro-schools that support children, teachers

Wildflower is an innovative, open-source approach to Montessori learning. Its aim is to be an experiment in a new learning environment, blurring the boundaries between home and school, between scientists and teachers, between schools and the neighborhoods around them. At the core of Wildflower are 9 principles that define the approach. Read more about them here: http://wildflowerschools.org/princi

ples

A growing number of shopfront Montessori lab schools have been started using the Wildflower approach. Click here for a list of schools: http://wildflowerschools.org/schools

09/03/2026

Fundraising isn’t just about asking for money. It’s about inviting people to be part of your story and make a real impact.

Whether you’re opening a school or launching a new program, funders respond to asks that are specific, time-bound, and grounded in real community need. This guide walks through five questions to help you find that story.

Swipe through for the five questions. From the archives, read the full piece. Link in comments.

09/01/2026

Over 90% of elementary students at Indigo Montessori in Baltimore are reading above grade level. Many started the year behind.

Kate Lechner and Sarah Tupper, the school’s Teacher Leaders, will tell you it isn’t a special curriculum. It’s something harder to build.

“As long as it is phonics-based, the curriculum doesn’t really matter,” Kate says. “It’s the consistency.”

Read what that actually looks like, day after day, for every child at this Montessori elementary school. Link in comments.

08/27/2026

Wildflower Montessori Public Schools of Colorado are growing in Colorado!

Meadow Rue Montessori's Upper Elementary program opened its doors, welcoming 4th through 6th graders who started together back in 2024 as the school's first Lower Elementary class. Teacher Leaders Megan Smith and Dayana Sanchez built a school that meets kids where they are, and it's tuition-free and public, with free breakfast and lunch for every student.

In Grand Valley, Lavender Bee Montessori opened as a second site within Wildflower Montessori Public Schools of Colorado, Grand Valley, starting with a Primary classroom. Teacher Leaders Lexi Brown and Meg Gil met through Cactus Bloom's Community Design Team, and spent this summer together at a Montessori teaching residency to get ready for opening day.

Two schools, two stories, one growing Wildflower community in Colorado.

Congratulations, Meadow Rue and Lavender Bee!

08/25/2026

One more opportunity to join us this month!

This Wednesday, August 26 at 7:00 pm ET, we’re hosting our last FREE info session on the Wildflower Charter Incubator: a program for Montessori-trained educators and community-rooted leaders exploring what it takes to open a Montessori school that’s tuition-free and open to all school-aged students.

Come with your questions. We’ll walk you through what the Incubator covers, who it’s designed for, and what the path to opening a charter school actually looks like.

Register at the link below. We’d love to see you there!

08/24/2026

Wildflower is growing in Minnesota!

Years in the making, Starflower Montessori School opened its doors this summer in North Minneapolis with a Toddler and Primary program. The school's values are rooted in the principles of Kwanzaa, guiding a community built on unity, purpose, and creativity. Starflower is also part of the Montessori Partners Serving All Children (MPSAC) collaborative (Montessori Center of Minnesota), a network supporting Montessori access across Minnesota.

Krista Lucas has been a Montessori Guide in North Minneapolis since 2014. Krista grew up on the East Side of St. Paul and now calls South Minneapolis home. She holds two Montessori certifications, for ages 3–6 and 0–3, and says her favorite part of teaching is getting to know each child's individual personality. Her passion is making high-quality Montessori education available to all families.

Congratulations, Starflower!

08/20/2026

Somewhere in your head is a school. You know the room. You know who walks through the door every morning. You know it’s tuition-free, the way a public charter school should be: open to every student starting in Kindergarten, no cost to families.

Getting from that picture to opening day is real work. You’ll spend weeks getting clear on your community’s "why" and on whether the landscape around you can support a new charter. You’ll build the team who carry it with you: a board, an administrative partner, people who know the local charter terrain. You’ll draft the plan piece by piece, from your mission to your first five years of finances, before you ever submit an application.

It’s slow, and it’s demanding, and it’s also how a real school gets built: yours to lead, tuition-free, and open to every eligible child in your community.

Our free Wildflower Charter Incubator info session is where that work starts. You’ll leave knowing:
🗓️ What the ten weeks actually ask of you
🧑🏽‍🏫 What kind of team you’ll need beside you
📝 Your next step, if this is your moment

Monday, August 24 at 7:00 pm ET
Wednesday, August 26 at 7:00 pm ET

Register for one or both of these sessions now. Links in the comments.

08/18/2026

Congratulations to Sandra Schwehr, founding Teacher Leader of Little Tree Community - A Wildflower Montessori School in Hollister, California, named the San Benito County Chamber of Commerce's 2026 Woman of the Year.

Sandra opened Hollister's first nonprofit Montessori microschool in the neighborhood where she grew up, using sliding-scale tuition so families across income levels can enroll. Beyond the classroom, the school runs food drives, blanket collections, a holiday family adoption program, and ongoing support for a school in Saint Lucia.

We're proud to have Little Tree Community as part of the Wildflower network. Congratulations, Sandra!

08/13/2026

Many Montessori Teacher Leaders come to this work after years in traditional classrooms, carrying both what worked and what didn't.

For Brandi Silsby, Founding Teacher Leader at Bergamot Montessori, that experience sharpened her sense of what she wanted her own classroom to look like.

“My time in traditional classrooms was valuable, but often stressful—the system placed so many constraints on both teachers and students. Montessori helped me see that children aren’t meant to be controlled, but respected and understood. It’s about creating a calm environment where learning unfolds naturally, where the child—not the teacher—is at the center, and where there’s time to truly master something without constant urgency.”

Stories like Brandi's are why this work matters.

08/11/2026

Long before a charter school opens, it starts as an idea and a team willing to build something that doesn't exist yet.

In Aurora and Grand Valley, Colorado, that's now four, soon to be five public Montessori schools, tuition-free and open to all eligible students. Built one school at a time, each with its own Teacher Leaders and its own community behind it.

What could your community's version of this look like?

Join us for a Wildflower Charter Incubator info session, Monday, August 24 or Wednesday, August 26, 7:00–8:00pm ET.

Register for August 24 or August 26, links in the comments.

08/06/2026

The first day of Montessori doesn't look like the first day most of us remember. No rows of desks, no waiting for instructions. Just a prepared room where every material has its place on the shelf, ready for a child to choose.

Your child might work at a table, alone or with a friend. Or unroll a mat on the floor and spread out there instead. They'll get a lesson on a material, then return to it at their own pace, for as long as their focus holds.

That freedom is wonderful. It can also feel like a lot on day one.

A few things help before school starts:
🏫 Visit the classroom together so the space feels familiar
👕 Practice small independence at home: dressing, tidying up, helping set the table
🧩 Find one activity that holds their attention: a puzzle, building blocks, threading beads, and let them stay with it as long as they want, no rushing to the next thing

The most helpful thing you bring on day one might just be your own calm. Children notice.

Wildflower Teacher Leaders understand this transition and are ready to help guide your child through it. Reach out with any questions along the way.

Address

New London, NH
03257

Website

http://wildflowerschools.org/

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