Teacher Spotlight – Mary Taylor, Lower Elementary
January 14, 2015

While pregnant and waiting for a new life to come into this world, I, like most mothers- to-be, realized my life was going to be very different after the birth of my child and felt certain this new little being would bring much change.

The change started even before my son was born. A friend gave me a Montessori book to read while pregnant in the hopes that I might be interested in exploring Montessori education for my son. At the time, the most I knew of Montessori was that it was a day-care choice for some working parents…hardly what it really is! I read the book and wished that my own learning path had started with Montessori.

My journey started with reading a book and has blossomed. As my son grew older and neared school-age, I explored various pedagogies: public schools, private schools, Waldorf and Montessori. After doing thorough research on them all, I found myself coming back to Montessori full of resolve, and made the informed decision to enroll my son in Montessori school for primary and elementary.

While I was a stay-at-home parent after working many years in the corporate world of human resources, I also pursued service work by teaching Sunday school classes and found I really enjoyed working with children. At the same time as my son enjoyed his Montessori education and I planned my re-entry into the workforce, I found myself drawn to a career in education, exploring various programs until Montessori, with its focus on the whole child, resonated the most for me, too.

I was fortunate enough to find an Assistant position at MSLF, which allowed me to experience the Montessori learning environment to determine if becoming a Montessori educator was the path for me. I found myself in a beautifully-prepared Montessori environment within MSLF. This was an invaluable gift before I pursued formal Montessori training.

At that time, I was torn between Primary and Elementary training. After working as an Assistant in Elementary, I knew Elementary was the place for me; it allowed me to meet the children within the broadest range of ages, from 6 to 12, while aiding the children’s potential as they develop the faculties of their mind and imagination. I was also drawn to the interconnectedness of the lessons in Elementary and how the curriculum is so interrelated. Teaching a lesson in history might involve geography, biology and language and this appealed to me.

I began my Elementary Summer training in Milwaukee, commuting over three summers to and from Milwaukee. I found myself among a cohort of people from all over the world each with various Montessori and life experiences, yet all of us drawn to what Maria Montessori had written over a century earlier!

Since I have been in the classroom, it has been a gift every day to be with the students. As much as we teachers work to prepare our rooms and lessons, the students in return give so much back to us through the look of excitement in their eyes or changes in their facial expressions when they truly understand something they previously thought was hard, discovering for themselves that through efforts and persistence they can master hard things.

As I reflect on Montessori’s life, she too experienced so many hard things and much change in her lifetime: a female doctor in Italy, pioneer in education, World War I, exile from her home country, and World War II, to name a few of her life experiences. Yet through it all, she continued to believe in the potential of children and humanity. What drew me to Montessori was the deep belief in humanity and the vision of the potential of human beings, especially children.

I owe a debt of gratitude to my son who has indeed changed the course of my life in so many unexpected and welcomed ways. I am also grateful to MSLF as well as the many families over the years who have also believed in Montessori and this community. This quote drew me into Montessori and it still applies more than 60 years later:

“Times have changed, and science has made great progress, and so has our work; but our principles have only been confirmed, and along with them our conviction that mankind can hope for a solution to its problems, among which the most urgent are those of peace and unity, only by turning its attention and energies to the discovery of the child and to the development of the great potentialities of the human personality in the course of its formation.” (From the foreword to “The Discovery of the Child”, 1948)

Finally I owe a debt of gratitude to my friend who gave me the Montessori book, as well as to so many people who have supported me along the way, and finally to Maria Montessori for having the courage and perseverance to forge this path for us to follow in our love of humanity and children.

— Mary Taylor, January 2015

Graduation Message from Head of School, Hope Allegretti

By Teresa Pavelich • June 10, 2026
Hello everyone! Thank you for being here today to celebrate this year’s stepping up and graduating students. This day is always a bittersweet one as we celebrate all their accomplishments and all their hard work while also preparing to say good-bye as they join new classrooms and embrace new opportunities ahead. They’ve earned their key of knowledge, completed their Elementary cycle, and are graduating from the Adolescent Program and are moving on to high school. As hard as it is to say good-bye as these students step up or graduate, we do so with the confidence that they are better prepared for life having received the gift of a Montessori education. It’s been a true pleasure this past week watching key recipients receive their key of knowledge and wear it proudly for all to see. I have loved hearing all the speeches from our 3rd and 6th year stepping up students and our 8th year graduates as they share their fondest memories of MSLF and offer thanks to all those they are grateful to. I love hearing what memories they will take away from MSLF with them. Baking in their Primary classroom, building forts in Elementary, finding a turtle on a nature hike, learning to play the ukulele in music, visiting Nature’s Classroom with their classmates, performing in the school play, a research project they worked on with their friends, selling coffee at Friday Markets in AP. These are just a few of the memories shared by stepping up and graduating students over the years. These are all incredible memories to have from school and to be able to take with you. But what I’ve come to realize is these are really more than just memories. These are significant, impactful moments that will likely, in some way, shape our students’ lives. They may not know it yet. But 5, 10, 20 years from now, when these memories are reflected on and shared again, they will become part of each student's legacy—a collection of experiences, values, and lessons that help define who they are and how they move through the world. And just as important, they become part of MSLF’s legacy as well. Each graduating class leaves behind something meaningful: traditions, friendships and memories that become woven into the story of our school. The theatre student will remember the feeling of performing in their first school play. The entrepreneur will remember the excitement of planning for their first school market. The new parent will share their love of nature with their child as they remember nature hikes at MSLF. These memories are moments of self-discovery. Opportunities for our students to learn about themselves. Experiences that help guide their future. These memories will be their compass as they enter high school, college and beyond, guiding them towards a joyful life. And all those they thank are the ones who helped guide them towards that joy. Their teachers, their parents, their peers will have all impressed upon them knowledge and experiences that have helped them learn, problem solve, adapt and teach others, all of which are life skills that any of us need to succeed. They enter the world well prepared for what will come next thanks to the memories they have made here. And I hope to be here long enough to hear you share them again someday as you set out to do great things. So, Graduates, no matter where your compass guides you, I hope you will always remember MSLF as we will always remember you. YOU are our memories. YOU are part of our legacy. And YOU have helped shape our future, just as MSLF has helped shape yours. So, thank you!  Please join me in congratulating all our stepping up and graduating students today. Congratulations graduates!

Human Tendencies: Why Montessori Still Feels So Relevant

By Teresa Pavelich • October 21, 2025
From curiosity to self-control, Montessori aligns with the human tendencies that help children grow, adapt, and flourish.