Montessori Collective

Montessori Collective's vision is that every child has access to an early childhood learning environment that honors their unique development and culture, fosters their independence and innate desire to learn, and frees their potential. We achieve this vision by converting existing preschool classrooms in underserved communities to Montessori. 

Montessori is a method of education that values individualized instruction, develops independence, and nurtures creativity and flexibility. It has been show to increase students' executive functioning skills, social emotional development and academic performance while closing the achievement gap between higher-income and low-income students.

We refer to our approach as “planting seeds.” We believe that communities cannot choose what they do not have access to. Therefore, our goal is to provide access to more Montessori classrooms in existing neighborhood schools. By dispersing Montessori classrooms across Denver, we will create more access because families are no longer limited by geography. Montessori Collective provides the technical and financial support to allow schools to convert one existing preschool classroom to a Montessori pilot classroom. Over the course of the initial year, the school will gain feedback from families and then make a collaborative decision about whether or not to expand Montessori into other classrooms. This creates an authentic opportunity for collective decision making between the school and community. 

Though we are a new organization, we have strong momentum! We currently support three partner classroom in Denver, which serve a population that is 89% Students of Color and 88% low-income. We are supporting two additional classrooms opening in the 2024-25 school year.

There are currently four other schools in low-income Denver neighborhoods who are hoping to convert one or more classrooms to Montessori in the 2025-26 school year, which will only be possible through the support of Montessori Collective.

Learn more about our work at www.montessori-collective.org.