You don't have to figure this out alone.
And you shouldn't have to.A free online community built exclusively for Montessori school leaders and administrators — resources, connection, and support from people who understand exactly what this work is like.
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The Montessori Thrive Podcast
A show for the person holding the whole thing together.
New episodes every week — real conversations for school leaders, founders, and directors.
Sessions happening now — join live or save your seat.
From Playground to Prepared Environment
with John LaPointe, Founder of GRG Playscapes.
Montessori classrooms are designed with intention, so why stop at the door? In this session, John LaPointe shows how outdoor spaces can extend the prepared environment — looking past the traditional climber to landforms, natural materials, and overlooked corners that invite children to explore, take healthy risks, and follow their own curiosity. Walk away with practical ways to evaluate your outdoor space and plan improvements that support independence and discovery.
A free, ongoing weekly training for classroom assistants. Featuring guest speakers who are experts in Montessori principles, this course aims to enhance skills and understanding of the Montessori method. We know that effective Classroom Assistants are crucial for children's success.
View Upcoming Sessions & Register
Montessori Thrive Parenting Education Series
Featuring engaging speakers and subject-matter experts helping parents navigate the real challenges of raising children in the modern world.
An ongoing resource for school leaders to share with parent communities — live once a month on Zoom. Free to attend for all families.
All Mics On
An open hour with no agenda — a place to talk shop with other Heads of School and directors.
Join the next oneThe Montessori Thrive Podcast
A show for the person holding the whole thing together. The founder. The head of school. The owner who hasn't taken a full week off in years.
In every episode, we take one thing that keeps school leaders up at night and make it a little less lonely and a lot more doable.
LATEST EPISODES
Recent conversations & deep dives
Episode 12
When Growth Becomes a Problem
Can growing your school actually break it? An honest conversation about why growth stress-tests a school instead of rewarding it — and why the bravest thing a leader can sometimes do is fill the seats they already have and say "not yet."
Episode 11
The Parent You're Trying to Reach with Suzanne Yatim
An honest conversation with a Montessori parent about community and engagement from the family's side. Real community isn't built by reaching more parents with more stuff — it's built one family at a time, with the individual child at the center.
Episode 10
Nothing on Your Calendar Is Neutral with Sarah Fondriest
Nothing on your calendar is neutral. Sarah Fondriest reframes calendar planning from a scheduling chore into the clearest statement of what your school values — who each event is really for, why you're doing it, and why timing quietly decides whether it builds community or drains it.
Episode 9
What Parents Actually Want to Learn with Isabella Cai
Parent education isn't really parent education — it's adult learning. Isabella Cai reframes the intention gap between what schools intend parents to learn and what parents actually want to understand: their own child.
Episode 8
Why the School Was Never About You
This week we trade one word for another: founder, for steward. A founder builds a thing and owns it. A steward holds it in trust for the people who come after, and hands it on stronger than they found it.
Episode 7
Who Decides When You're Not in the Room
Governance isn't a boardroom or a binder nobody reads — it's the answer to one question: who decides what, and who holds them accountable? Across three movements: the two hats, the rules of the room, and the school that outlasts you.
Episode 6
No School is an Island (Community and your Montessori School)
Widening community into three rings: the belonging inside your walls, the local ecosystem around your school, and the civic layer beyond your gate.
Episode 5
You Don't Hire Great Staff, You Nurture It
Why the hiring market feels impossible, and how intentional mentorship and culture build a team that actually stays.
Episode 4
A Deep Dive into the Montessori Enrollment Flywheel
Moving from stressful admissions campaigns to a sustainable, year-round flywheel that compounds over time.
Episode 3
The Eight Areas Every Montessori School Runs On
A complete walkthrough of the operational pillars every school leader balances — and how to spot which one is quietly leaking energy.
Episode 2
The Six Stages Every Montessori School Moves Through
From Start to Legacy: recognizing what phase your school is navigating right now and what breaks at each transition.
Episode 1
Building a Montessori School — The Podcast Trailer
An introduction to the show built specifically for the founder, head of school, and administrator holding it all together.
Self-paced trainings you can start today.
Two practical, free courses built for Montessori school leaders — work through them at your own pace.
Financial Clarity for Montessori Leaders
A practical walk-through of the numbers side of running a school — budgeting, reserves, and reading your own financials with confidence.
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The Montessori Enrollment System
Enrollment isn't a funnel — it's a flywheel. A framework for building steady, sustainable growth without living in a constant state of urgency.
Join freeFree downloadable resources.
Practical templates and guides you can put to use right away — organized by the pillar they help strengthen.
One email a week. No pitch, ever.
The Thrive Brief — practical notes for running a school, from people who've run one.
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