Nearly half of all public Montessori schools in the U.S. operate as charters. But it can be difficult for charter school authorizers— who encounter a wide variety of educational models as a part of their job—to know what to look for when authorizing and supporting a Montessori school.
That’s why a new resource produced in collaboration between the National Center for Montessori in the Public Sector (NCMPS) and the National Association of Charter School Authorizers (NACSA) is such a game changer.
Authorizing Unique and Innovative School Models—Montessori is a twelve-page, easy-to-parse document that explains the Montessori model in detail and supports the explanation with comprehensively-cited outcomes research. Even more helpfully, the document includes, concrete, actionable guidelines for evaluating a Montessori charter school application. It’s just the kind of tool charter school authorizers need for assessing the Montessori charter applications that are almost sure to come across their desks in the near future.
Because while most charter school authorizers have no Montessori in their current portfolio, and those that do only have one or two schools, that’s probably about to change. And soon.
More Montessori charters on the way
According to information compiled by the Montessori Census, an average of seven new Montessori charter programs open every year. Since the first Montessori charter opened in Minnesota in 1993, the total number of new charter Montessori programs has increased with each successive decade.
There are now 231 charter Montessori programs in the U.S. Montessori is the largest single alternative approach in education in the U.S., with public options reaching 600 programs across the U.S. Eleven states have more than 20 programs in the public sector, and nine out of the nation’s 10 largest school districts have at least one public Montessori program.
The growth that began in the 90s has continued in recent decades as outcomes research continues to be more available and public awareness of Montessori increases. Meanwhile districts are facing declining enrollment and are actively seeking to keep or attract families. And more and more families are feeling the pinch of uncertain economic times. The upshot? Continued interest in the Montessori approach, especially when the model is publicly available.
Better together
The development of resources for charter authorizers is the natural outgrowth of a long-running and fruitful relationship between NCMPS and NACSA. The partnership began with a speaking invitation for NCMPS Executive Director Sara Suchman at the 2022 NACSA conference and has since flowered into an ongoing collaboration, one that has produced presentations and helpful documents like NCMPS Essential Elements for Montessori in the Public Sector and the Essential Elements Implementation Rubric.
Last month, the two organizations came together for a three-part webinar titled “Authorizing Montessori Schools.” The webinar was the first of an ongoing series aimed at leveling up authorizers when it comes to understanding different models.
Now, with Authorizing Unique and Innovative School Models—Montessori, that partnership has reached a high point—but not an end point. With the shared goals of getting more quality applications approved, opening more public charter Montessori schools, and giving more students greater access to a unique and innovative school model, NACSA and NCMPS have plenty more work to do. And each new resource they create together makes that work just a little bit easier.
Andrew Marshall is an award-winning journalist and visual artist.
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