01 Educational Program Your program should reflect a very careful sense of your mission and identity. For a school to grow and enjoy respect, parents should be confident that their children’s experience in the school will be highly consistent from year to year, from one class to another, and from one level to the next.
02 Faculty It encompasses all your staff from teachers to the janitorial staff, your faculty is selected because they’re able to create and sustain the education program you have envisioned.
03 Facilities A great Montessori school feels like a children’s house, and it has timeless beauty. The facilities should support the educational program.
04 Finances To be excellent, a school must be financially sound. To become financially sound, a school must have a budget, a good bookkeeping system, and a financial plan that focuses on funding growth.
05 Administration Capable to run a Montessori program that runs smoothly and is a leader to all the community.
06 Board It is critical to clearly define the authority of the Head of School in contrast with that of the Board. All too often, confusion results when the roles of the Board and the Head of School are not clearly defined. It is not uncommon to see Board members performing administrative functions or making decisions more appropriately by the Head of School. This can lead to mistrust and conflict among the Head of School, the Board, and the faculty. This has the very real potential to destabilize the school.
07 Admissions/Marketing A school should clearly define its unique character and understanding. It places a high priority on designing admissions processes that find families for whom the school is a perfect match. This contrasts with policies aimed at simply filling openings.
08 Building Community/ Retention Attrition refers to a reduction in enrolment from children leaving for reasons other than graduation. To be truly effective, the Montessori program requires that children stay for a full three-year cycle at the very least. This means that the school actively works to retain students once enrolled. Ideally, schools should aim for attrition of no more than 10%.
09 Fundraising/ Gathering Capital Capital Create a culture of giving where your community feels inclined to support, volunteer and donate for the growth and development of the school.
