EST. 2024
EST. 2024
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“We shall walk together on this path of life, for all things are part of the universe and are connected with each other to form one whole unity.”
- Dr. Maria Montessori
The Why
The Montessori Lab School at Xavier University, established in 1966, is recognized nationally as a cornerstone of Montessori education, serving as an educational institution for children and a training laboratory for future Montessori teachers. Recently, Xavier announced that Montessori Lab School is transitioning to a traditional school model, prompting many families in our community to urgently seek to continue its mission in a new space.
Our new institution—the Martha McDermott Montessori School—will exist separate from the University and require private sources of funding to succeed. We need your support now and in the future to preserve the Montessori Lab School’s values and ensure our new school thrives for future generations of children and educators. Please consider contributing to the Martha McDermott Montessori School. Your donations and pledges will help us maintain high-quality Montessori education that is rooted in a spirit of service and global citizenship. Thank you for your generosity.
Our Philosophy
Sustainability and Care for Others
At Martha McDermott Montessori School, we instill in our students a deep respect for the world and its people. Through sustainable practices, environmental stewardship, and lessons in social justice, we empower students to act as caretakers of the planet and champions for positive change. By cultivating empathy, compassion, and responsibility, we guide our students to leave a lasting impact on their communities and beyond.
Our Vision
Empowering students to become lifelong contributors to society as global thinkers, innovators, and respectful communicators, with the confidence to make a difference in the world.
Our Mission
Martha McDermott Montessori School is a vibrant community of students, families, and educators rooted in high-quality Montessori pedagogy. We ignite a passion for learning by equipping students with the tools to fuel their innate curiosity and quest for knowledge. Through an integrated curriculum, students develop critical thinking skills, form intellectual connections, and nurture relationships with their environment and each other. Our goal is to cultivate independent, lifelong learners with a growth mindset who are inspired to care for the planet and humanity as confident global citizens.
Our Curriculum
Dr. Maria Montessori developed an educational pedagogy that cultivates critical thinkers through a sensory filled environment, beautifully crafted materials, and trained and passionate educators. In this tradition, Martha McDermott Montessori School embraces each unique child through a holistic methodology focused on independence, social justice, and a love of learning. Specific educational practices common to Montessori programs include multi-age groupings, carefully designed learning environments, child selection of learning materials from within an appropriate range, teacher observation and research, development of the whole child, and consistent social and behavioral expectations.
New Beginnings
Xavier University has decided to transition the Lab School away from Montessori pedagogy and into a traditional laboratory school model. While the end of the Montessori Lab School is unexpected, it gives our community new opportunities to honor our past while preserving the value this wonderful school brings to students, future Montessorians, and the Montessori community as a whole. Martha McDermott Montessori School is named after Montessori innovator Martha McDermott, who was instrumental in the development of elementary Montessori pedagogy and expanding Montessori education in Cincinnati and worldwide. Martha dedicated her life to teaching and was a source of joy to anyone she met. Her love of Montessori was an inspiration and the legacy she left will always be part of who we are.
"Education is a natural process carried out by the child and is not acquired by listening to words, but by experience in the environment."
- Dr. Maria Montessori
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Non-Discriminatory Policy
Martha McDermott Montessori School recruits and admits students of any race, color, national origin, ethnic origin, religion, gender identity, and sexual orientation to all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school. In addition, Martha McDermott Montessori School does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, ethnic origin, religion, gender identity, or sexual orientation in administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, employment, scholarship and loan programs, and athletic and other school-administered programs.
Martha McDermott Montessori School will not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, ethnic origin, religion, gender identity, or sexual orientation in the hiring of its certified or non-certified personnel.