Island Village Montessori School (IVMS) adheres to the point of view that intelligence is not rare and that self-realization is the foundation for future fulfillment. IVMS is dedicated to teaching core values of peace, integrity, community, and tolerance through a scientific and culturally oriented Montessori curriculum which reveals to the child the diversity and richness of human experience.

    The mission of Island Village Montessori School is to provide children with spontaneous and creative opportunities as well as an organized curriculum that engenders self-discipline and responsibility. IVMS is also committed to providing a safe environment that is psychologically and emotionally nurturing and which is conductive to learning: equally about academics as well as oneself.

    Montessori teachers are trained to be acute observers who can "follow the child" to understand how best to tap their interests and talents, as well as inspire them to grapple with the wonders and mysteries of the universe. Through the use of this "cosmic" curriculum combined with comprehensive, didactic materials children learn the foundations of reading, writing, and arithmetic at an early age.

    Not only are the academic aspects of the child nurtured by this method, but the "whole child": cognitive, social, emotional, as well as spiritual. The social, emotional, and spiritual aspects of the child's education have to do with practicing the values of compassion, honesty, self-reliance, service, and tolerance rather than indoctrination into any particular religious point of view. At IVMS, adults will model these core values and the children will learn by their example. In such an atmosphere, children can become peaceful and tolerant members of society who wish to succeed by bringing others along.

    Academically, children are encouraged to move ahead in a challenging curriculum that is supported by ingenious and time-tested materials designed by Dr. Maria Montessori and other Montessori trained educators.

    Children are able to work at their own pace with materials they have chosen. They work either in small groups or individually. While students are expected to master the same reading, writing and computation skills required of them in any public school curriculum, there is flexibility inherent in the system to accommodate each student’s academic interests and potential.

    The aim is to encourage active, self-directed learning and to strike a balance of individual mastery with group collaboration.

Island Village Montessori School offers Montessori early childhood programs, summer camps for preschoolers, after school programs and tutoring for elementary and middle schoolers.

    In addition to the Montessori scope and sequence, our curriculum includes foreign language, drama, computers, art, and music at every level.

    The School is currently a member of the American Montessori Society and has applied for accreditation by AMS, NAYCE and Gold Seal for our early childhood programs, as well as AMS and SACS (Southern Association of Colleges and Schools) for our elementary and middle school programs.