Montessori School Tour Checklist: What to Watch and What to Ask

Book a weekday morning visit while children are working, and watch for at least half an hour before you start asking questions. Look for children choosing their own work, a teacher giving short lessons to one child or a small group, and adults who comfort children and talk with them at eye level. Leave with the fees, calendar, hours and contract terms in writing.

When Should I Book the Tour?

• Ask for a weekday morning during the work period. AMI’s standards ask 3 to 6 and elementary classes for an uninterrupted three-hour block on five mornings a week, and toddler groups for two hours every morning (AMI/USA standards). An open house or an empty room after school shows you furniture.
• Ask whether you can watch arrival. Drop-off shows how adults greet children and handle a hard goodbye.
• Ask how long you can observe, where to sit, and whether your child can come.
• Bring this page and the few dealbreakers you wrote down using our guide on how to choose a Montessori school.

What Should I Watch in Any Montessori Classroom?

• Children choosing work from low, open shelves and putting it back when they finish
• The teacher sitting with one child or a small group for a short lesson while the rest of the class keeps working
• Mixed ages in the same room, usually spanning three years
• Materials complete and in good repair, with few plastic toys, worksheets or screens
• A long morning, not chopped into short rotations and whole-class lessons
• What an adult does when a child is upset, stuck or wandering
• Whether adults kneel or sit at the child’s level when they talk
• Children moving and talking quietly, as opposed to sitting still in silence

What Should I Watch at Each Age Level?

Under 3

Watch the handover at drop-off, where children sleep and eat, and how many adults are in the room for how many children. AMI’s standards call for one adult for every three babies in a Nido and one for every five or six children in a toddler community. Our guide to Montessori daycare has a side-by-side sheet for this age.

• Who will look after my child during the first days, and how does settling in work?
• How will you let me know if the separation is taking longer than expected?
• Can I see where children rest, and how you help with diaper changes and the toilet?

Ages 3 to 6

Watch an arrival and part of the work period. See who helps a child who drifts without choosing anything, and whether older children help younger ones.

• Can I observe an arrival and part of the morning work period?
• Who helps a child who isn’t choosing any work, and how?
• What are the entry rules for my child’s birth date? (See what age your child can start.)
• Does my child need to be toilet trained, and what happens after an accident? (See potty training requirements.)

Ages 6 to 12

Watch how children plan their work, how many work in small groups, and how the teacher keeps track of who has had which lesson.

• How do you welcome a child who has never used the materials?
• Can you show me an anonymized record of a child’s progress in reading or math?
• What do you do if a child avoids one subject for weeks?
• Can a child join partway through the 6 to 9 or 9 to 12 cycle?
• How often do teachers and families meet, and which records go with a child who leaves?

Our guide on whether Montessori schools give grades explains the reports you are likely to see.

Ages 12 to 18

Ask whether your teenager can join the visit. A half day with the group tells you both far more than a tour of empty rooms.

• How many students my child’s age will they work with?
• What does a real week look like, hour by hour?
• Can my child meet the group and spend half a day with them?
• Which courses are running this year, with enough students to go ahead?
• Who guides college and career plans?
• Which diploma or transcript will my teenager leave with, and could we see a sample with names removed?

Our guide to Montessori high schools covers what to look for beyond middle school.

What Should I Ask Every School?

Teachers and Training

• Where did my child’s lead teacher train, for which age level, and is the training finished?
• What training do the assistants have?
• How long has this team worked together, and who covers absences?

“Montessori trained” is half an answer. You want the organization and the age level, for the teacher who will be in your child’s room. If a program name is new to you, look it up in the MACTE directory, which lists accredited Montessori teacher education programs. Our page on AMI vs AMS compares the AMI and AMS routes.

The Class and the Day

• How many children and adults are in the class?
• How long is the morning work period, and what interrupts it?
• How much time do children spend outdoors?
• How do you handle conflict between children?

Progress and Communication

• How do you report progress, and how often?
• How would you tell me about a concern with behavior or learning?
• Can parents observe a class after enrollment?

Money, Hours and Status

• What is the full annual cost, including application, deposit, materials and care fees? (See our guide to Montessori school costs.)
• When does class end, when does paid care end, and what does care cost?
• Which days is the school closed, and is there summer care?
• Is financial aid available, and when is the deadline?
• Is the school an AMS member, verified or accredited, or recognized by AMI/USA?
• For a program below kindergarten, does it hold a state child care license?
• For a public program, how does admission work, and is there a lottery or a waiting list?

You can check affiliation yourself in the AMS school directory, which you can filter by pathway stage, and the AMI/USA school locator. Our guide to Montessori school accreditation explains what each status covers. For licensing, start from your state’s page on ChildCare.gov. For public programs, the Montessori Census lists public and private schools, and Are Montessori Schools Public or Private? covers lotteries and zones.

What Should I Get in Writing?

• The fee schedule for the year you will enroll, with every fee on it
• The school calendar, with closures, breaks and summer weeks
• Class hours and paid care hours, the latest pickup time and the late fee
• The enrollment contract, with the deposit, acceptance deadline, and withdrawal and refund terms
• The toilet policy and settling-in plan, for children under 6
• License status, for programs below kindergarten
• The parent handbook

What Should I Do After the Tour?

• Write your notes the same day, while you can still tell the schools apart.
• Compare at least two schools on the same points.
• Email the school about anything still unclear, and ask for a normal classroom visit if you only saw an open house.
• Ask to speak with a current parent whose child is in the same class level as yours.

If your shortlist feels thin, find more Montessori schools near you and open each school page for its hours, programs and directions.