Mission

Mission Statement

Founded in 1976, the mission of The Washington Market School is to educate young children in a manner that is consistent with the educational philosophies of Dr. Maria Montessori and the early childhood education programs developed in Reggio Emilia, Italy. Our approach fosters each child's innate sense of self-motivation and curiosity, which in turn leads to greater autonomy and self-sufficiency; it also facilitates creativity through independent and collaborative exploration. We believe in nurturing children's intuitive processes, as well as their capacity for feeling, in order to help them achieve cognitive, emotional, and social growth.

Diversity Statement

The Washington Market School admits students regardless of race, color, creed, ethnic, or national origin who possess the motivation, ability, and character which would enable them to succeed in our School community to the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the School and the School does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, creed, ethnic, or national origin in the administration of its educational policies, admission policies, scholarship and loan programs, and other school-administered programs.

Early childhood education lays the foundation for how our young children will engage in the world around them. 

ABAR work is ongoing and never finished and requires our active engagement in continually assessing and understanding our own biases as adults. Our children are at the perfect age to develop a keen understanding of fairness, (having what you need to work, live and play). As they grow older, their working definition of fairness will begin to translate into valuing and standing for equity for all people. 

We are deeply immersed in a multi-year professional learning experience with New York Times Bestselling author and Montessori educator, Britt Hawthorne, who commenced her work with our faculty and staff during the 2022-23 school year. With Britt, we are concentrating on examining our work through a 4-part ABAR Framework, based on the work of Louise Derman-Sparks, Debbie LeeKeenan and John Nimmo, which is designed specifically for the age group we serve.