History of Maria Montessori School

Like most successful enterprises, our school has undergone significant evolution.  It began in 1975 as two  classrooms in a former nursery school building in Bay Park.  Once the site was purchased there was no time to spare, so after business on Friday a dedicated staff and their own teen-age children began work on the classrooms.  By the end of the weekend they had completely transformed the space, so that on Monday morning a beautifully prepared Montessori environment awaited 25 eager preschoolers.

Those first few years, teachers not only took care of the children and their needs, but did the janitorial duties as well.  Before long a third classroom was added in the building next door.  Then the beginnings of an elementary program took root.  In 1981, as our programs flourished, the school moved to its current site where it would have some growing room.  Over spring break, parents with pick-up trucks and vans moved the school contents from Bay Park to where we are today.

Maria Montessori Elementary was established to compliment Montessori School House and we grew in scope until grades one through six were fully represented.  Soon the school was filled to capacity.  Additional rooms were built over time, and available space has often been managed to maximize use. Finally in 2009 the school launched the first authentic Montessori middle school in San Diego.  The resulting trio of age ranges took on the unifying name “Maria Montessori School.”  Our school qualifies as a Full Member of the the American Montessori Society (AMS).

Argonauta Educational Programs is the non-profit corporation that administers Maria Montessori School.