“Development takes the form of a drive toward an ever-greater independence. It is like an arrow released from the bow, which flies straight, swift and sure. The child’s conquest of independence begins with his first introduction to life. While he is developing, he perfects himself and overcomes every obstacle that he finds in his path.”

Our Mission

Our singular mission at Guidepost is to guide and empower each child as she grows in her independence.

In every child lives limitless human potential. For the child to realize that potential is to confidently grow and to joyously learn. It is to create and to love herself while gaining the knowledge to form a unique vision of her singular life. It is the security to live that vision, to dare greatly, to love others.

The Montessori approach to human development is based on the belief in the potential of the child, and on the belief that it is only the child herself who can realize this potential. To grow up well is to grow up to be increasingly independent — to be increasingly capable, increasingly confident, increasingly secure, increasingly able to meet one’s own needs, forming one’s own values, and authoring one’s own life. Our job as caretakers is to understand and to love this process as it unfolds for children in our care, and to support the child in blazing her trail.
 

The circumstances of children are as varied as children themselves. The specific needs, the precise resources available, the particular constraints faced by each child and each family are different. As times change, there is a need to keep step and to ensure that the application is timely. But the fundamental need is timeless: to help the child achieve her own development. So, too, is the fundamental method: to provide the child with material, environment, and guidance that is lovingly optimized to support her in that work.
 

Guidepost Montessori is many things. It is a network of Montessori schools. It is a community of Montessori parents and educators. It is a growing encyclopedia of Montessori resources. It is virtual and at-home and self-serve Montessori programming. The common denominator, the undercurrent, is the Montessori approach of fostering independence in developing human beings.

 

Curiosity Is At the Heart of Our Approach

The centerpiece of Guidepost’s Montessori approach is the creation of conditions in which the child can perform this deep, developmental engagement. “The role of education,” at all levels, Montessori wrote, “is to interest the child profoundly in an external activity to which he will give all his potential”. The fundamental impetus for this effort comes from within the child; our job is to ensure that the activities and materials that she engages with are challenging and valuable, and that they inspire her to keep the flame of inner curiosity burning.
 

The result? Children who grow by their own effort. Children who genuinely experience success independently. Children who are joyously earning confidence. Children who know that they can do real things and engage in real learning. Children whose growth and learning are coeval with their burgeoning spiritual independence. “The calm, serene child, attached to reality, begins to achieve his elevation through work”.

 

Guidepost Values

The core values of Guidepost reaffirm our aim to create thriving school communities. This journey requires curiosity and ambition, recognition of the nature of the children in our charge, and traveling together as a team.

1. We Revere the Child

• Montessori is a deep, sophisticated theory. But if it had to be boiled it down to just one key point, it would be to foster independence.
• Maria Montessori’s key insight was that childhood is a constant, healthy drive towards independence — and the only way to gain independence is to practice it.
• The journey is the child’s to make, and only he can choose to make it. We must give him the tools to learn, explore, experiment, and self-correct (the “guideposts” to follow), and then get out of his way.

2. Guide and Be Guided

• Whenever a hard problem comes up — whether it’s an exceptional student, or a difficult classroom dynamic — our approach is to solve it with thoughtful collaboration.
• Guidepost schools are hubs of creativity and intelligence; the most valuable resources at any Guidepost campus are the minds and character of its staff.
• We have enormous confidence in our staff to play an irreplaceable part in this great work. And we have confidence that as a team, we'll achieve more than the sum of our parts.

3. Partner With Parents

• There can be no compromise in an educator's devotion to what's best for each child under her care. Above all, this requires the recognition that the most important people in a child's life are his parents.
• Whatever role we can play in a child’s life — and we believe as educators we can play a critical role, otherwise we wouldn’t be here — there’s no more valuable lever for educating a child than forging a meaningful partnership with that child’s parents. It is only with the parents' wholehearted help and involvement that we can accomplish our mission.

4. Be Your Own Compass

• Just as we're responsible for fostering a child’s growth, happiness, and success, we’re similarly responsible for fostering and renewing these things in ourselves.
• Be generous with yourself, and on the lookout for ways to gain energy from and take pride in your work. Be forgiving of yourself when you make mistakes, and supportive of yourself when you feel unsteady or insecure.
• In so doing, you'll not only tend to your own well-being; you'll also become a role model of adult independence and self-management for the children at Guidepost.

5. Be A Practical Idealist

• Sometimes we need to go the extra mile to pitch in for an event, or put together a plan to tackle a thorny student issue. Our vision is not just a dream; it's a goal that demands work — and work that is often hard in ways that we don’t expect.
• Be a practical idealist. Have not only the vision, but also the drive to do all the things that go into making that vision a reality. Commit to responding to the unexpected, to adapting to facts on the ground, and to actively creating the place we want to work and live in: a community that nourishes each of its students, staff, and parents.