Checklist
How to spot a real Montessori school
In the United States, ‘Montessori’ is not a protected term. Any school may use the name, and many use it for a room with some wooden materials and a normal timetable. Here is what to look for instead — all of it visible on an ordinary morning.
Nine signs
What to look for, in the order you will see it
Ask to visit during the morning work cycle. A classroom at 4 pm will tell you almost nothing.
- A work period of two to three hours, uninterruptedAsk what time the morning work cycle starts and what interrupts it. If the answer includes circle time, snack time and a specials rotation, the cycle is not really there.
- Children choosing their own workWatch for ten minutes. If everyone is doing the same thing at the same time, the word on the sign is doing a lot of work.
- Mixed ages in one roomA three-year span is standard. Single-age classes are the clearest sign a school has kept the materials and dropped the model.
- One of each material, on open low shelvesNot sets of thirty. Scarcity is deliberate — it is how children learn to wait, ask and negotiate.
- Real materials, in reach, in good repairGlass and china rather than plastic, at child height. A broken or incomplete material tells you how closely anyone is watching.
- The teacher kneeling, not standing at the frontMontessori teaching is mostly individual and small-group presentations. If the adult is addressing the whole room for most of your visit, ask when they do the presentations.
- Children putting work away without being toldCare of the environment is the curriculum, not tidiness enforcement.
- Trained teachers, and a straight answer about the trainingAsk where each lead teacher trained and in which age range. Any school should be able to answer that immediately, and the answer should name a training program.
- A three-year cycle they want you to completeAsk what happens in the kindergarten year and what comes after. A school that is relaxed about children leaving before the third year may not be running a cycle at all.
Use it here
Yes, including on us
We publish this knowing parents will bring it to our tours. That is the point — a school that would rather you did not have a checklist is telling you something.
- Come during the work cycleAsk for a morning. We schedule tours during the school day for this reason.
- Watch before you talkStand at the back for ten minutes first. The room answers most questions on its own.
- Ask the awkward questionsTraining, age span, what interrupts the cycle, what happens in the kindergarten year. Ask us the same way you would ask anyone else.
Questions
What parents ask about telling schools apart
- Can any school call itself Montessori?Yes. ‘Montessori’ is not a protected or trademarked term in the United States, so any school may use it regardless of what happens inside. This is exactly why the observable things on this page matter more than the sign.
- What about accreditation — should I insist on it?Accreditation and membership are useful signals and worth asking about at every school you visit, including this one. Ask which body, at what level, and when it was last renewed, and expect to be shown something in writing. Treat a vague answer at any school as an answer.
- What should I ask on a tour?Four questions get you most of the way: when does the work cycle run and what interrupts it; what is the age span in this room; where did this teacher train and in which age range; and what happens in the kindergarten year. Then stand at the back and watch for ten minutes.
- Is Mills a ‘real’ Montessori school by this list?Use the list on us — that is what it is for. Come during the work cycle rather than at the end of the day, watch before you talk to anyone, and ask the four questions. Call 650-616-9000 and we will arrange a morning.
Bring the checklist
Tours run during the school day, year-round, so there is something to look at.