Maria Montessori School in works in partnership with children, families and the community to:
* nurture intellectual, emotional, social, and physical growth;
* encourage values which promotes a just and peaceful world; The American Montessori Society is committed to promoting quality Montessori education for all children from birth to 18 years based on these key concepts:
* The aim of Montessori education is to foster competent, responsible, adaptive citizens who are lifelong learners and problem solvers.
* Learning occurs in an inquiring, cooperative, nurturing atmosphere. Students learn by manipulating materials and interacting with others. These meaningful experiences are precursors to the abstract understanding of ideas.
* The individual is considered as a whole. The physical, emotional, social, aesthetic, spiritual, and cognitive needs and interests are inseparable and equally important.
* Respect and caring attitudes for oneself, others, the environment, and all life are necessary. The Montessori teacher is educated in these areas:
* Human growth and development.
* Observational skills to match students' developmental needs with materials and activities. This allows the teacher to guide students in creating their individual learning plan.
* An open-ended array of suggested learning materials and activities that empower teachers to design their own developmentally responsive, culturally relevant learning environment.
* Teaching strategies that support and facilitate the unique and total growth of each individual.
* Classroom leadership skills that foster a nurturing environment that is physically and psychologically supportive of learning. A Montessori classroom must have these basic characteristics at all levels:
* Teachers educated in the Montessori philosophy and methodology appropriate to the age level they are teaching, who have the ability and dedication to put the key concepts into practice.
* A partnership with the family. The family is considered an integral part of the individual's total development.
* A multi-aged, multi-graded, heterogeneous group of students.
* A diverse set of Montessori materials, activities, and experiences, which are designed to foster physical, intellectual, creative and social independence.
* A schedule that allows large blocks of uninterrupted time to problem solve, to see the interdisciplinary connections of knowledge, and to create new ideas.
* A classroom atmosphere that encourages social interaction for cooperative learning, peer teaching, and emotional development.
