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National Center for Montessori in the Public Sector | Trust for Learning

With public Montessori Pre-K associated with stronger Kindergarten outcomes, how can we ensure policy and practice align with the research?

Because this study was specifically conducted in public schools, it does show that Montessori can be considered an at-scale model for publicly funded programs. But that’s not the way Montessori has typically been looked at, either by school districts or by state policymakers. This is a really important opportunity for the Montessori community to ask those policymakers to take a different perspective when considering the needs of Montessori classrooms, and to really look at Montessori as a relevant, but also completely separate type of education. – Denise Monnier, MPPI and Ideal Learning Roundtable member

If we want meaningful policy change, we need researchers, policymakers, and practitioners to be in dialogue with each other. This is especially relevant today for public Montessori, after the latest – and long-awaited – national randomized study of children in public Montessori preschools found the Montessori programs delivered better outcomes at sharply lower costs compared to traditional preschool.

The study focused specifically on end-of-Kindergarten outcomes, revealing results that stand in sharp contrast to the typical fade-out effect, where benefits from preschool are evident at program completion but largely vanish by the end of kindergarten. Watch our Q&A with lead researcher Dr. Angeline Lillard for a breakdown of the study’s key findings.

How can these findings help shape public policies and perceptions around Montessori? What are the potential policy implications of Montessori’s lower cost over three years? And how can effective policy help bridge the gap between research and practice?

Watch this engaging conversation co-hosted by Trust for Learning and the National Center for Montessori in the Public Sector (NCMPS), where a team of researchers, practitioners and policy experts dig into the policy implications of these new findings and discuss the challenges that stand in the way of fully implemented public Montessori programs and what it will take to overcome them.

Panelists:

  • Dr. Corey Borgman | Education and Outreach Director, Montessori Science Program, University of Virginia
  • Denise Monnier | Senior Director of Policy & Advocacy, Montessori Public Policy Initiative
  • Dr. Karuna Skariah, NBCT | Montessori Instructional Program Coordinator, Robert Goddard Montessori, Prince George’s County Public Schools
  • Dr. Sara Suchman (moderator) | Executive Director, National Center for Montessori in the Public Sector

 

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