Fayetteville Montessori Celebrates 45th Year

The Montessori School of Fayetteville continues with its healthy vision for the children of Northwest Arkansas. As the founder of the oldest Montessori in Northwest Arkansas and the second oldest in the state, Victoria Butler guides through the education of adults and children. 

Seven teachers completed certification of the Montessori this year. The Montessori School continues to send teachers to NAMTA Montessori conferences paid for by the school travel, board, and conference fees. Teachers this year were sent to conferences in Washington, Portland, and Cleveland. 

The Montessori School of Fayetteville continues its strong belief in the foreign language program, which starts children at 18 months through 6th grade two to three times per week in Mandarin and Spanish. 

The concept of education at Montessori stems from the belief that human beings learn critical thinking skills through discovery. Children grasp abstract concepts literally by putting their hands on them. 

Teachers, parents, and volunteers help children understand the guidelines of social interaction and focus on positive reinforcement of individual characteristics and talents.

As the future unfolds, the school looks toward Junior High and more partnerships in the community. Currently, the school supports several organizations including the library and children's theatre group. The Montessori School of Fayetteville was named the best preschool and second-best elementary school in Northwest Arkansas by CitiScapes Magazine. In addition, the school recently won a design award for its new primary building for 2.5 to 5-year-olds. 

The school opened an extensive science and natural history collection in 2017. This includes more than 40 corals, 100 seashells, 40 rocks and minerals, preserved animals including Alaskan brown bear, bobcat, porcupine, and more. The collection also includes preserved bats, insects, sharks, echinoderms, octopus, snakes, skeletons of animals, as well as early human tools, a real baby swimming dinosaur, and dinosaur footprints and teeth. 

An infant/toddler building with new classrooms for 6 weeks to 18 months is a recent addition to the Montessori School, as well as outdoor musical instruments, a new music room, and a new music teacher - Bernice Hembree. There is an expectation that all students will play wind and rhythm instruments and composition. A new lower elementary Montessori classroom was also added, along with mud and water tables on the yards and primary steel raised garden beds in the shape of triangles and rectangular prisms. 

Community is important in the classroom and for The Montessori School of Fayetteville to continue to set the example.