Montessori Partners Serving All Children (MPSAC) is an initiative of the Montessori Center of Minnesota (MCM). Through MPSAC, MCM forms partnerships with local communities to increase access to high-fidelity Montessori early childhood education (0-6 years), and to strengthen bonds between home, school, and community in a culturally responsive way.
The mission of MCM is to transform lives and society by broadening access to the power of Dr. Maria Montessori’s proven method of education. As an organisation, MCM expands access through teacher training programmes, Cornerstone Montessori School (an on-site early childhood programme), Birth to Five Montessori Family Programme, teacher mentorship, and outreach programmes, including MPSAC. Since 2008, MCM has been committed to diversifying the Montessori teacher training pool by making training more accessible to communities of colour and low-income individuals—including providing scholarships and living stipends.
MPSAC Partner Programmes include community-rooted schools as well as less conventional educational settings. Each MPSAC Partner brings its community’s values, strengths, and traditions to the partnership. Each community has unique needs and goals—such as language and culture revitalisation—and brings powerful perspectives and resources to the MPSAC community. Partner schools enhance the lives of children and families by providing much-needed high-quality early childhood education to under-resourced children and families through their unique mission, independent funding, and staffing. These programmes influence the educational landscape at MCM and the greater community, and assist and empower each other and MCM via participation in quarterly MPSAC collaborative meetings.
Partner Programmes
Acacia Montessori is built upon friendships that demonstrate the power of diversity and collaboration. We have a special focus on Somali culture which includes translated language material, books, food, music, and stories. Our Somali enrichment avenue is a focal point designed to launch all children on the journey of cultural exploration with confidence and curiosity. It is our hope that our cultural enrichment will grow with our school and that children and families will share with us their unique expression of culture.
Birth to Five Early Childhood Programme is a component of the MPSAC initiative and a collaborative programme with Opportunity Neighbourhood and Ames Lake Community Centre. Birth to Five is a free, interactive early childhood programme for parents and young children up to age five that introduces Montessori and supports positive parenting practices. The Programme provides developmental support to families who face social or economic barriers to accessing high-quality early childhood programmes.
Cornerstone Montessori School opened in 2008 as a pilot programme of the Montessori Centre of Minnesota (MCM). Intentionally located in an ethnic and economically diverse neighbourhood, Cornerstone mirrors this diversity through ongoing efforts to serve families within a 5-mile radius of the area, regardless of their background. Cornerstone hires and retains staff from diverse backgrounds, reinforcing its commitment to the community and providing children with role models who look and sound like them. Cornerstone is committed to maintaining its high-quality Montessori standards and to advocating for the reduction of systemic disparities and educational inequities that impact families.
Cosmos Montessori collaborates with families to offer an authentic, equitable, and accessible Montessori education serving children ages 3 through 3rd grade. We support dual language (English & Spanish) acquisition and cultural competency development through a holistic approach within a nurturing and multicultural environment. Through such an environment, students learn to become responsible members of a diverse, inclusive, and cooperative community.
Lirio Montessori is a dual immersion (Spanish/English) Children’s House located in south Minneapolis in the Powderhorn neighbourhood. Lirio serves children ages 33 months to 6 years old. Lirio is committed to supporting all children realise their fullest potential and feel empowered with the necessary skills and confidence to serve as leaders and change agents in their community. Lirio Montessori is part of the Minnesota Wildflower Montessori Charter School and the MPSAC partner programme.
Montessori American Indian Childcare Center has been serving the East Metro American Indian community since 2014. Governed by a 7-member Board of Directors, our non-profit has continued to grow and evolve in purpose, direction, and experience. We pursue opportunities that create and improve access to a high-quality early learning experience for the American Indian children and families we serve. Our inspiration is consistent as we advocate, educate, inform, and raise awareness about the success of an Indigenised Montessori approach that acknowledges the cultural strengths and assets of the American Indian community.
Morning Glory Montessori (MGM) is a Black-led environment serving boys 3-6 years old, with plans to expand programming to serve toddlers through 3rd grade. It is the first school of its kind to blend faith through the Christian lens of liberation theology, African American culture and history, and Montessori pedagogy. In collaboration with the IMPACT LIVING Ministry, MGM designed an environment and developed an original holistic curriculum, reflective of and rooted in the richness of African American faith tradition, culture and history. In the future, the F.A.M. curriculum (the acronym stands for Faith, Afrocentric, Montessori and is a colloquial abbreviation for “family”) will be made available to other African American faith communities and educators, locally and beyond.
Starflower Montessori School will serve children ages 16 months to 6 years in North Minneapolis. Starflower Montessori School is an authentic Montessori environment that affirms the identities of every child and frees them to rise to their highest potential. We are a community embedded school that welcomes and nurtures children and families in a culturally sustained environment. Our vision is to develop well-rounded children who flourish in all that they do on an academic, social, and emotional level. All families will be confident that their children are in loving hands and are receiving an excellent education.
Thunder Valley Community Development Corporation (TVCDC) is a Lakota grassroots-led nonprofit in the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota.Our Lakota Language & Education Initiative is an effort to reclaim, revitalise and sustain the Lakota language and lifeways through a multigenerational and multifaceted approach. Through our Lakota Immersion Montessori, Elementary Montessori, Parent Education, Elder Preservation, and Curriculum Design & Development, we are working directly with the families and communities in the Pine Ridge Reservation to bring back our language and lifeways through high-quality and innovative Lakota educational services.
Water Lily Montessori provides a courageous space for children to develop self-confidence, personality strengths, and pride in their abilities. At Water Lily, the classroom is intentionally constructed to maximise independence, nurture exploration, and foster equitable community engagement with peers and adults.
Hmong American Partnership (HAP) Montessori is a non-profit organisation committed to providing a nurturing and inclusive learning environment grounded in Montessori principles. Our mission is to foster a life-long love of learning and empower children to develop to their fullest potential—academically, socially, and emotionally. Relaunching in fall 2025, the school is set to serve 24–30 children in a thoughtfully prepared environment that honours each child’s individuality and innate curiosity.
Evaluating Our Work
In our work with the young child, we always dwell in the possibility. Conscious evaluation of results is essential to our work at the Montessori Center of Minnesota and we now have data to show that the possibility can be a reality. In 2012, we commissioned a three-year evaluation of then four MPSAC affiliate partners. In all three years, data showed no statistically significant disparities related to ethnicity, socioeconomic status, or language spoken in the home, with children performing mostly in the average and above average range. During 2014-2015, we saw a statistically significant growth in African American children’s proficiency in mathematical thinking over the course of that school year, with an improvement from 60% of children scoring proficient in the fall to 93% scoring proficient in the spring. Read our full evaluation report here.
One of the most important outcomes of our program evaluation is validation of the social justice mission of this work. Program evaluation evidence has demonstrated that the Montessori approach works for all children, regardless of culture or socioeconomic status. Our work has provided a foundation upon which others may build similar work around the United States and the world.
We contribute to the efforts of Access Montessori to increase access to the benefits of Montessori education and family support services to our most vulnerable children. We are a focus of the Following the Family study, which examines the process of how high-quality Montessori education and attention to the entire family can serve to ameliorate the social and education effects of poverty. Finally, we are a “chapter” in the full-length documentary film, Building the Pink Tower, which reimagines school through the lens of the possibilities of Montessori.
2026 Update
After closing during the COVID-19 pandemic, Hmong American Partnership (HAP) Montessori reopened their doors in January 2026. HAP Montessori offers an environment rich in Hmong language and culture to the community, expanding access to culturally responsive Montessori education for children and families. We are excited to have them back in the MPSAC community.
Susana Rodriguez Founder and Director of Lirio Montessori, was the recipient of the 2026 Lawrence O’Shaughnessy Legacy Award. Named in honour of Lawrence O’Shaughnessy, who founded the first Montessori school in St. Paulin 1963, this award recognises leaders who carry forward a legacy of equity, access, opportunity, and belief in the potential of every child. Susana founded Lirio Montessori in 2018 as a dual-language Montessori programme serving the Latino community. Through her vision, perseverance, and deep commitment to children and families, she has expanded access to authentic, high-quality Montessori education in powerful and lasting ways.
Our hope is that MPSAC continues to demonstrate how Montessori can serve as a catalyst for social impact. As the collaborative grows, we envision expanding opportunities for children and their families, strengthening culturally responsive community partnerships, and supporting local leaders increasing sustainable Montessori initiatives that reflect the strengths, languages, and traditions of their communities.
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