An overview of the five Great Lessons from Maria Montessori from MSR Lower Elementary teacher Babe Clawson. September, 2023.

Allowing students to explore deeply and find new meaning in their world through hands-on and real-world learning experiences such as the Montessori Model United Nations (MMUN) are hallmarks of the MSR experience and reflect Maria Montessori’s belief that by freeing a child’s potential you will “transform them into the world.” In March of 2023, eight Upper Elementary students from The Montessori School of Raleigh (MSR) participated in the 2023 MMUN Conference in New York City as part of an international delegation of students. The conference was the culmination of almost a year’s worth of concentrated preparation by the students who met after school once a week beginning in September 2022. 

In the  Upper Elementary (UE) classrooms at The Montessori School of Raleigh (MSR), a scientific approach is taken when asking life’s “big” questions like, “What does osmosis look like to a gummy bear?” or “What type of hay do goats find most delicious?” Through hard work, planning and experimentation, MSR’s fourth, fifth, and sixth grade students discover the answers to these important inquiries and share what they have learned during the annual Upper Elementary Science Fair.

Recent evaluation finds MSR offers an IB and Montessori experience that is “purposely designed to have maximum impact on students.”

As an official IB World School for the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Programme, The Montessori School of Raleigh (MSR) undergoes regular evaluations both internally and with the IB organization to confirm and support the school’s commitment to and delivery of the IB Diploma Programme to MSR students in grades 11 and 12. IB representatives visited MSR’s Brier Creek Campus in March as a part of one of these evaluations, and recently shared their findings with students in a community meeting and with school leadership.