About Us

The Montessori Classroom

The Montessori classroom is a nurturing and stimulating learning environment for all ages of children from the youngest babies in the infant room to the young adolescents in the middle school. The indoor and outdoor spaces are consciously prepared to invite exploration and discovery.

Teachers present lessons, prepare self-directed, hands-on projects, and guide children in their daily work. Children work independently or in small groups with increasing degrees of complexity and challenge. As children interact with the people and beautiful learning materials in the cooperative learning community, their inquisitive minds expand as they gain new knowledge and master new skills. The interactive learning activities in the Montessori classroom inspire curiosity, increase motor dexterity, and develop higher order thinking skills as well as social and personal skills. Children experience their growing capacities for freedom, personal responsibility and independence.

Two Locations

3701 E. River Road
Tucson, AZ 85718
520-529-3611

The River Road school hosts a middle school class (grades 7-8) and three classrooms at each level–infant/toddler, pre-k, lower elementary (grades 1-3), and upper elementary (grades 4-6), as well as before school, after school and summer programs. Outdoor spaces include playgrounds, athletic fields, gardens and desert habitat on a five acre campus.

3244 E. Camden Street
Tucson, AZ 85716
520-319-2622

The Camden Street school is in a quiet midtown neighborhood close to the downtown and university areas. The small cozy school setting has classrooms for 1st through 3rd grade, children’s garden, outdoor classroom and playground. Classes are offered during the school year.

School Culture

Maria Montessori was inspired by the potential she saw in young children for caring, peace, respect and collaboration. In the Montessori classroom children of all ages learn to care and take responsibility for themselves, each other and the world we share. Montessori called her schools Casa Dei Bambini, children’s house, a home away from home.

Children are immersed in a community environment where the values of personal responsibility, hard work, initiative, achievement and excellence as well as contribution, caring and compassion are lived each day. The students and school have received recognition for academic excellence, poetry, music, chess, and community service.

Khalsa Montessori School is a community of school faculty and families working together for our children, our future. We have extended Montessori’s vision for the classroom community to our extended community of adults and children. Parents, teachers, relatives, support staff, administrators, children and volunteers are welcomed and valued. Our active parent group, the Khalsa Community Organization (KCO), is the wind beneath the wings of many of our activities and projects.

With our motto of respect for ourselves, each other and the world we share, Khalsa Montessori School has responded to wellness initiatives from the community which have become important aspects of our school culture. These include vegetarian and sugar-free dietary guidelines, sun safety, fitness and sports including recreation facilities and yoga, green programs such as water harvesting and recycling, as well as personal growth and relationship programs including Non-Violent Communication, Arbinger, The Virtues Project and Positive Discipline.

Affiliations

Khalsa Montessori School is actually two unique entities, both operated by Khalsa Family Services, an Arizona nonprofit corporation and federally recognized 501c-3 charitable organization.

Khalsa Montessori School is a private childcare agency, licensed by the Arizona Department of Health Services. We offer school-day and extended day preschool and childcare for ages 0 to 6, extended day programs for school-aged children in grades k-8, and summer enrichment classes for all ages. Khalsa Montessori School programs are fee-based and parents pay tuition for these services.

Khalsa School is a charter school which offers a free public education to students in kindergarten through 8th grade. Khalsa School is chartered by the Arizona Board for Charter Schools and has achieved Arizona’s highest ranking as an Excelling School. There is no charge for charter school programs offered during the regular school day and school year. Extended day and summer programs are available to charter school students through the private school and there is a charge for these programs.

Khalsa Montessori School is a member of the American Montessori Society (AMS), and the International Montessori Council (IMC). The charter school is an active member of the Arizona Charter School Association (ACSA). We have collaborated with other community organizations such as YES 2 KIDS, The Arbinger Institute, The Center For Non-Violent Communication and Ashoka’s Start Empathy Network of Changemaker Schools.