Wildflower Schools

Who We Are

At Wildflower, we are committed to the liberation of every human being, every community, and the human spirit, so that we may all live in harmony with our individual purpose and the world around us, free from oppression and able to follow life’s unfolding journey.

Wildflower Schools is a national network of decentralized, teacher-led Montessori microschools serving children from infancy through high school. The Wildflower (WF) school model started as a partnership between parents, teachers, and researchers at the MIT Media Lab who envisioned a new, community-centered educational model very different from traditional approaches that treat students as products, uniform outputs as desirable, and teaching as a standardized industrial process. In WF schools, researchers imagined that children, families, and educators would be understood  and respected for who they are, supported as they develop, and that they would flourish as individuals and in community. Nearly a decade later, the WF Network has grown to 59 schools across 14 states and in Washington, DC and Puerto Rico, propelled by affinity for this teacher-led, community-nested school model by educators and families alike. Our schools are intentionally small, and while they share our Wildflower values and principles, each Wildflower school is unique, a reflection of the training, life experiences and educational vision of the small team of teachers who lead it. WF schools exist as independent schools and early childhood centers, and the WF community holds charters in Minnesota, New York, Washington, D.C., and Colorado. Our network is supported by a foundation that works to build capacity, systems, tools and research to grow and strengthen the network.

Our Beliefs/How We Work

Wildflower is an ecosystem of decentralized Montessori micro-schools that support children, teachers, and parents. At the core of Wildflower are the purpose, values, norms and principles that define the approach. Wildflower is nonhierarchical and rooted deeply in our liberatory purpose and our commitment to self management, where we foster independence in ourselves and each other, and we help each other non-coercively. To learn more about the ideas that drive us, check out How We Work and Reinventing Organizations by Frederic Laloux. At Wildflower, we are committed to the liberation of every human being, every community, and the human spirit, so that we may all live in harmony with our individual purpose and the world around us, free from oppression and able to follow life’s unfolding journey. We are driven by our deep commitment to equity and liberation, and through our schools, we work to create diverse, inclusive learning environments that work for justice as the foundation of peace.

Values & Norms

• Connectedness: We value connectedness among all people, all of nature, and all facets of ourselves, as the pathway to peace.
• Growth: We value growth along one’s evolutionary path, the blossoming of one’s inner essence, for children, teachers, families, all of our partners, and the whole world.
• Anti-Bias Anti-Racist and Unity: We center marginalized people and perspectives, and we work to transform ourselves, decolonize our environments, and dismantle systems of oppression, so that we may honor the common humanity of all people and embrace the beauty and power in our differences. 
• Awareness and Compassion: We cultivate our capacity to be present, to observe without bias or judgment, to seek the truth, and to act with empathy and love, toward ourselves and each other.
• Autonomy with Support: We foster independence in ourselves and each other, and we help each other non-coercively.

Our Schools

Wildflower schools are very small - typically serving 20-30 students. They are committed to equity, and unite diverse communities of children, families and teachers in a shared pursuit of interconnectedness, justice and peace. Wildflower schools are Montessori schools with certified teachers who embrace the qualities of authentic Montessori education - mixed ages, the full complement of materials for each age group, and a child-led, individualized approach within a beautiful, peaceful environment

Wildflower Schools are teacher-led, community embedded and offer beautiful, child-centered learning environments that support children and families as they follow life’s unfolding journey. The model brings to life the Montessori principles of collaboration, autonomy and the liberty for the teacher to truly model the impact their life’s work in the community through the creation of their very own schools-Montessori for adults. Wildflower schools combines time-tested, research-supported Montessori methods in one- room, neighborhood-nested shop fronts with promising new ideas in parent engagement, intentional student diversity, teacher empowerment, and data- driven instruction.

While they share our Wildflower values and principles, each Wildflower school is unique, a reflection of the training, life experiences and educational vision of the small team of teachers who lead it. Because Wildflower schools blur the boundary between homeschooling and institutional schooling and between education and the rest of life, Wildflower teacher-leaders have extraordinary autonomy to extend the prepared environment in any direction to serve the needs of families, children and educators.

Our Teachers

Wildflower teachers are certified Montessorians that come from all walks of life. Our teachers are entrepreneurial and serve as both classroom teachers and administrators of their own micro-school. In addition to teaching in the classroom, teachers also manage finance, marketing, and operations of their school. The Wildflower Foundation offers an "autonomy with support" approach, empowering teachers while providing resources and tools to streamline the school startup process and help teachers establish and run their dream schools. Our decentralized model empowers teachers to lead and make the best choices for their schools and communities.

Learn More

To learn more about Wildflower Schools, please visit wildflowerschools.org.

Click on “get involved” from our homepage to learn more about starting a school near you.

Twitter:@wildflowerschls

Instagram: @wildflowerschools

Website: https://wildflowerschools.org