Mission and Vision
With the innovative and proven Montessori method at its core, Aidan prepares children to learn confidently, think independently, and succeed wherever they go.
Our Mission
Aidan’s mission is to create and sustain an optimum Montessori educational environment to enable all children to realize their richest potential for learning and to become independent, self-motivated and contributing members of the world community. This is best accomplished by:
- Providing a curriculum adhering to rigorous Montessori standards, informed by current thinking and research on child development and learning;
- Fostering a love of learning;
- Embracing a diverse student body in which students experience and learn to respect racial, ethnic, cultural, economic and other differences and to seek and identify common ground;
- Recognizing that personal growth involves responsibility toward others and toward the earth;
- Facilitating the involvement of parents, teachers, students and the larger community.
Our Vision
Aidan has inspired a love of learning in children for more than fifty years, and we continue to thrive. We are building on our legacy as a leader in Montessori education – a sturdy framework that allows us to both sustain what is working and integrate new discoveries in the fields of science and human development that reinforce our current methods.
Our Core Values
The core values at the heart of our community provide the best environment for students to develop skills in critical thinking, civic engagement and creative problem solving.
Nurturing independence
Our classrooms are thoughtfully designed to meet our students’ developmental needs and support and nurture their natural curiosity for learning. By guiding rather than mandating the learning process, we encourage the natural development of the student’s independence, self-direction and self-motivation.
Inspiring empathetic leadership
Our classroom communities provide the perfect setting for students to explore and fulfill their need for social order. They are free to be a follower at some times and a leader at others. Our RULER curriculum, together with lessons in “Grace and Courtesy,” give our students the vocabulary and self-awareness to recognize and regulate their feelings, the ability to feel empathy for others, and the strategies and tools for managing conflict. They understand that they have a shared responsibility for the group’s well being.
Cultivating a love of learning
A well known and closely followed Montessori phrase is “Follow the Child.” Aidan teachers understand that children have an innate sense of wonder and curiosity, and they foster this by allowing the child to follow that curiosity. Students are encouraged to research and learn more, taking as much time as they need, until that curiosity is satisfied. Given the right environment and supporting materials, a socially and emotionally balanced community, teachers who guide rather than mandate, and the freedom to follow their own curiosity, Aidan students discover the true joy of learning.