Mission Statement:

The mission of The Montessori Children's House of Nantucket is to prepare children for a life of learning, by nurturing and fostering each child’s academic, social, creative and emotional development.  Following Dr. Maria Montessori’s belief that each generation of children has the opportunity to remake the world it inherits, the school encourages children to respect themselves, their peers, different cultures, abilities, creeds, and the global environment. We strive to cultivate children’s innate love of learning, as they prepare for a life of purpose, integrity and accomplishment, as well as to empower them to create a positive vision of themselves in the world they will encounter. Our vision is to enable our students to put their values and ideals to work in making the world a better and more peaceful place.

General Overview of the School:

The Montessori Children's House of Nantucket is a non-profit Montessori pre-school. We serve families on Nantucket with children ages 2years and 9months - through 6 years old. Our enrollment capacity is 40 students.

The school employs five Montessori trained, state accredited teachers, and one Montessori trained teacher’s assistant. Our student teacher ratio is 1 to 7. The school owns the building it occupies for its academic program. Tuition is subsidized by various fund raising efforts to make it as affordable as possible to island residents. The school has an excellent reputation in the Nantucket community, and enrollment has always been strong.

The school has remained successful due to several important factors: Dedicated and well educated teachers are a crucial for any school, and the Montessori Children’s House has been blessed with a staff of talented, caring, and creative teachers, some of whom have been a part of the school since its inception and others for many years. The school owns the duplex adjacent to its academic facility and is able to provide affordable housing to staff members who might otherwise not be able to live on the island. 

Another component, without which the school could not exist, is the many parents who want the very best educational experience for their children. Parents who consistently and generously donate their time, talent and money to the operation of the school, including serving on the Board of Directors, who oversee the many business details, and make short and long term decisions affecting the viability of the school.

School History:

The Children's House of Nantucket was founded by Lucille Jordan in the fall of 1982; the building was purchased in December of 1986, the duplex in 2003. It is a non-profit, tax-exempt corporation, and enrollment is open to as wide a range of cultural, racial, religious, sexual, and economic backgrounds as our Island has to offer.