In this Wisconsin district, public Montessori is more popular than ever

Even as public school districts around the country battle dropping enrollment—and by extension, shrinking funding—public Montessori options within those same districts are growing in popularity. But popularity comes with challenges of its own as districts struggle to staff their Montessori schools in the face of increasing demand.

The Milwaukee Public School (MPS) district, home to one of the country’s oldest public Montessori programs, is a textbook example of this dynamic. In a story published this week in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, the district’s eight Montessori schools are lauded for bucking the district-wide enrollment-decline trend while also meeting or exceeding expectations on the latest state report cards. Public Montessori’s long-standing success in Milwaukee is one of the reasons the National Center for Montessori in the Public Sector (NCMPS) held its successful conference there earlier this year.

But in the story, MPS Montessori coordinator Abigail Rausch highlights a struggle particular to public Montessori, explaining that “staffing is the biggest roadblock to expanding the program,” thanks to the need for public Montessori teachers to hold both a state teaching license and a Montessori certification. The wait list K3-K5 in MPS is hundreds of students long, and has increased over 60% from the 2024-25 school year, the story explains.

MPS’ solution is an in-house teacher training program created in 2023. In an increasingly common arrangement, the district foots the bill for training in exchange for a three-year commitment at an MPS Montessori school.

Districts facing similar staffing challenges have turned to the Montessori Training Residency (MTR) program offered by NCMPS. MTR is a MACTE-accredited residency model, embedded within the schools where the adult learners are working, and is a complete Montessori teacher preparation aligned to public school standards. It also features additional course work specific to public Montessori.

Read the full story in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel here.

Andrew Marshall

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Andrew Marshall is an award-winning journalist and visual artist.

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