Demand for a Montessori Education

The demand for Montessori education in the United States is rising at a faster rate than ever before. According to the American Montessori Society, there are currently an estimated 22,000 Montessori programs in 110 countries, and nearly 4,000 of them are in the US. That means that over 18% of all Montessori programs globally are in the US. Although most of those programs are private, public Montessori programs have doubled over the last 15 years to account for roughly 450 programs. In both the public and private sector, demand from parents for a Montessori education for their children is rising at such a rapid pace that existent programs simply cannot keep up. Waitlists all over the country are growing. According to Loyola University Maryland, Baltimore City’s only public Montessori school currently has 1,200 students on its waitlist. In Washington D.C. the Latin American Montessori Bilingual public charter school has over 530 students on their waitlist. Another Montessori school in Washington D.C. has over 700 students on their waitlist. The Montessori program at Broadwater Elementary School in Montana, received over 100 applications for only 36 available seats. Public schools in Dallas, St. Paul, Juneau, as well as dozens of other cities all cannot meet the current demand for a Montessori education. All around the country, more and more Montessori programs are forced to turn away students or place them on the waitlist because the demand is simply too much for existing programs to be able to handle. It is time to meet the demand and to provide access to the thousands of children eagerly waiting to begin their Montessori education.