In Montessori, the child is the curriculum — yet many new microschool founders still find themselves searching for the perfect boxed program. In the rush to open, curriculum planning often becomes an afterthought, overshadowed by the urgency to finalize spaces, schedules, and enrollment. The result? Too often, leaders turn to online or pre-packaged curricula to manage multiple ages and, without realizing it, end up recreating public school on a smaller scale.

While those quick solutions can feel efficient, they often miss the deeper, hands-on, relationship-driven learning that children need. There’s a better way — one rooted in over a century of child development science. The Montessori method was built for exactly this: blending independence with guidance, structure with flexibility, and creating a classroom community where children learn at their own pace and through meaningful work.

Designing curriculum the Montessori way begins with observation. Instead of asking, “What should I teach next?” educators ask, “What is this child ready for?” Lessons unfold in response to interest and readiness, allowing learning to grow from within rather than being imposed from above. The result is a living, responsive framework — one that honors individuality while maintaining structure and intentionality.

Meridian’s microschool mentorship, in partnership with The Institute of Montessori Training (IMT), supports this process by combining authentic Montessori foundations with personalized implementation. Leaders gain practical strategies to design curriculum that is developmentally aligned, mission-driven, and sustainable for small learning environments.

When curriculum grows from the child, it becomes more than a plan — it becomes a pathway toward deeper, more meaningful learning for every student.

Explore mentorships and other Meridian community resources here.

Montessori’s multi-age method has been used successfully for more than a century — and it remains one of the most powerful ways to guide students. So why are so many microschool founders still searching for solutions that already exist?

Too often, microschool leaders rely on online curriculum to meet the needs of multiple ages. While it can seem like a quick way to cover content, it often misses the deeper, hands-on, relationship-driven learning that children need. There’s a better way — one rooted in the science of child development. The Montessori method, refined over decades, was built for exactly this. It blends independence with guidance, structure with flexibility, and allows children to learn at their own pace while growing within a connected classroom community.

In a multi-age classroom, children learn not just from the teacher but from one another. Younger students absorb lessons through observation and participation, while older students deepen their understanding by mentoring peers. This dynamic creates a natural cycle of collaboration, leadership, and empathy — qualities that can’t be replicated through screens or standardized pacing.

Meridian’s microschool mentorship, in partnership with The Institute of Montessori Training (IMT), helps microschool leaders strengthen this approach through Montessori-based guidance and practical implementation support. Together, we focus on the skills that sustain authentic, human-centered classrooms — observation, preparation, and community.

When authentic Montessori practice meets intentional support, multi-age classrooms become more than possible — they thrive.

In a world that grows more technologically advanced by the day, we find ourselves facing an ironic paradox: despite having more ways to connect, many people feel more isolated than ever.

At Meridian Learning, we believe that real learning—and real living—happens in the context of community. Since our founding in 2008, we’ve been helping families step outside of systems that devalue relationship, creativity, and local connection. We’ve guided parents and educators alike in building small learning communities, designed to serve as support networks that feel both deeply personal and profoundly human. Now, in this dawning age of artificial intelligence, our work feels even more urgent.

AI is powerful, efficient and capable of solving problems at astonishing speed. But it cannot replace what we are biologically, emotionally, and spiritually designed for: belonging. As many grow weary from years of feeling unsupported—through crises, through institutional failure, through the loneliness of modern life—we’re seeing a cultural shift toward extreme self-reliance. People feel like they have no choice but to do everything themselves. But self-reliance without community is not resilience. It’s survival. And we were made for more than just surviving. At Meridian, we are countering this trend by building spaces—both physical and relational—where children are seen, families are supported and educators are valued. Our work is rooted in trust, collaboration, and freedom.

Preserving community today requires intention—but it also requires radical transformation of our systems. And that kind of transformation doesn’t happen from the top down. It happens when people lead in their own communities. It happens when families reclaim ownership of their children’s learning. And it happens when government truly serves its purpose: of the people, by the people, for the people. We remain steadfast in our commitment to continue building that kind of world—one community, one relationship, and one courageous family or educator at a time.

Education can often feel like a race — a high-stakes push for performance, recognition, and results. Awards and innovation contests promise transformation, but too often they reward visibility over value, spotlighting a select few while leaving countless educators behind.

Jeff Yass, the hedge fund billionaire behind one of the largest “education innovation” contests, is worth an estimated $59 billion, according to Forbes. That’s enough to fund 59,000 $1 million prizes — or, more impactfully, to fully cover the education of tens of thousands of children, no competition required. Interestingly, many of the same voices championing these contests have spent years methodically steering education toward privatization, turning learning into a for-profit venture under the banner of “reform.” These so-called change-makers aren’t disrupting the status quo — they’re maintaining it, repackaged as innovation.

To be clear, this isn’t a critique of the educators and organizations applying. Most are doing meaningful work and seeking support wherever they can find it. But participation in these contests can unintentionally uphold a system that values competition over collaboration, and spectacle over substance.

At Meridian Learning, our focus is on the day-to-day, relationship-driven efforts that foster real growth. We know from nearly two decades in education that lasting change isn’t built on contests, but on commitment, community, and quiet consistency. Instead of diverting energy to chase prizes, we’re investing it where it matters most: the advancement of meaningful learning through the empowerment of educators, children and families.

At Meridian Learning, we believe true educational freedom means staying rooted in our mission—not tethered to unstable state programs or outside corporate influence. One of the reasons we chose not to participate in Ohio’s EdChoice voucher program was our concern that the program would face constitutional challenges and legal instability. That concern is now being realized, with courts ruling the program unconstitutional and further litigation ahead.
👉 Read our full letter to families here.

Much of the current conversation around vouchers is framed in terms of “school choice,” but the truth is — parents already have choice. There are more educational options available than ever before, from microschools to homeschooling to hybrid models. Real choice doesn’t depend on a state-funded mechanism; it depends on access to clear information, community support, and a system that values flexibility and innovation.

At the same time, we’re witnessing a growing trend that threatens the freedom and integrity of education in another way: the rise of private equity in the education sector. The recent acquisition of ACT, the college testing organization, by a private equity firm is just one example of how investor-driven entities are beginning to see education not as a public good, but as a profitable industry.

This kind of corporate influence can lead to standardization, cost-cutting, and top-down decision-making—values that run counter to the grassroots, learner-centered model we believe in. As more educational ventures become shaped by investor returns rather than student outcomes, the freedom to teach, to learn, and to lead authentically is at risk.

Looking ahead, we continue to forge our own path—preserving our grassroots origins, maintaining our independence, and staying intentionally small. This allows us to stay focused on what matters most: advancing meaningful learning through the empowerment of educators, children, and families.