Student OutcomesWashington Montessori School
New Preston, Connecticut

What Happens After Montessori School?

Graduate success is often a principal concern for those new to the Montessori Method. Some find it difficult to imagine how mixed-aged classrooms and unique learning materials could ever match the rigor of a traditional educational environment. Others have come to Montessori by way of famous graduates like Google founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page, and expect the same stratospheric success for their children.

On this page, we hope to provide you with an accurate picture of a Montessori graduate by exploring outcomes, charting academic trajectories, and sharing the stories of a wide variety of WMS alumni. 

“This was a place where learning was something that occurred all day, not simply during class.”

Portrait of a Washington Montessori Graduate

Dr. Maria Montessori instructed educators to “Follow the child,” and this idea is the foundation on which Montessori classroom environments are built. Students are encouraged to choose their schoolwork, explore their interests, and cultivate their curiosity. This freedom of choice does not lead to chaos in the classroom, but rather empowers students to develop their faculties of awareness, accountability, self-discipline, social-emotional intelligence, and communal responsibility. What they are intellectually drawn to may vary, but how Montessori students are taught to learn leaves graduates with a measurable impression.

Since 1965, Washington Montessori School has sent graduates out into an ever-changing world with a strong sense of our school values:

Independence. Belonging. Purpose.

Let’s take a closer look at how these values emerge in our students after they graduate from WMS.

Where do WMS students go after graduating?

Washington Montessori School has gained a reputation for graduating students who are self-motivated, confident, and curious thinkers, well-prepared to take on the challenges of a rapidly changing world. 

WMS alumni have attended a wide range of high schools, including the following: 

Many high school educators recognize the benefits of a Montessori education and choose to send their children to WMS...
32 current students are the children of local independent school educators, including two Heads of Schools.
Over half of our current faculty have enrolled children or grandchildren at WMS.
“Knowing how to move forward, when there’s not an off-the-shelf solution, when there’s not a roadmap, is what a school like Montessori teaches kids."

WMS Student Outcomes

Over the school’s 60-year history, we have received extensive feedback about our graduates from secondary school educators across New England, and we consistently hear the same things about our students.

Habits of mind

Though academic interests and strengths vary by student, WMS graduates are unilaterally appreciated for their approach to learning. Our students have a reputation for taking pride in being prepared, organized, and accountable — and finding joy in creativity, innovation, and self-expression. They are known to think critically, analytically, and deeply. They are collaborative and proactively seek assistance. They understand learning continues beyond the classroom and are tenacious in pursuit of improvement.  As one high school educator put it, “WMS students have strong habits of mind. They don’t see their education as transactional.”

Unique interests

For many of the high school educators we’ve spoken to, the most notable feature of WMS graduates is the passion they have for their varied interests. Our curriculum includes a broad range of experiential learning opportunities, specials, and extracurriculars designed to cultivate an early appreciation for art, athletics, movement, music, outdoor adventure, and theatre. We routinely graduate students destined for the stage, committed to playing varsity sports, or pursuing more niche passions — like regenerative gardening!

Social-emotional intelligence 

Our students are also singled out for their advanced social-emotional learning (SEL) skills. They are often described as being more self-aware and empathetic than their peers. They are praised for their strong communication skills, leadership, and collaboration. They are thoughtful and resilient in the face of challenges. They have a deep respect for community and make decisions that prioritize the good of the group. They understand, based on deep experience, that they have space and energy to thrive as individuals because of the health of the community as a whole.

Webinar: The Benefits and Strengths of a WMS Education

WMS graduates students prepared to succeed in an ever-changing world, but you don’t need to take our word for it! Check out this webinar, featuring educators and alumni, discussing the strengths of a WMS education:

“I got the best grades (albeit checkmarks) of my life because I was celebrating my ideas and collaborating with my peers. I didn’t know it then, but WMS was giving me the essential ingredients to become an actor. I walked around in socked feet, high-fiving teachers. I had found a comfort in being myself that enabled me to trust my own creativity and intelligence. I thank WMS for this and try to call upon it for every job, every challenge, every family photo.”

Washington Montessori Graduates in College and Beyond

WMS graduates who choose to attend higher educational institutions have thrived at a broad range of colleges and universities (*recruited student-athlete):

  • American University
  • Barnard
  • Bates
  • Bentley
  • Boston College
  • Boston University
  • Brown
  • Bucknell 
  • Chapman
  • Colby
  • College of Charleston
  • Columbia
  • Colorado College
  • CU Boulder
  • Cornell
  • Dartmouth
  • Dickinson 
  • Drexel
  • Emerson
  • Georgetown
  • George Washington 
  • Hamilton
  • Haverford
  • Hobart William Smith*
  • Hofstra
  • Howard University
  • Iona
  • Kalamazoo
  • Kenyon 
  • Lafayette
  • Michigan State
  • Middlebury* 
  • Mount Holyoke
  • Northeastern
  • Northwestern
  • Notre Dame
  • NYU – Tisch
  • Oxford 
  • Princeton
  • Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
  • Saint Andrews
  • Skidmore
  • Smith
  • Stanford
  • Syracuse
  •  
  • Trinity
  • Tulane
  • Tufts
  • University of Chicago
  • University of Connecticut
  • Union
  • University of Miami
  • University of Mississippi
  • UNC – Chapel Hill
  • University of Pennsylvania*
  • University of Rochester
  • University of Vermont
  • University of Washington, Saint Louis
  • University of Wisconsin
  • University of Southern CA
  • Vassar
  • Villanova
  • WPI
  • Yale
  • Wellesley
  • Wesleyan*
  • Williams*

Other graduates have followed their interests into trades or along more entrepreneurial paths. 

Increasingly, we have also seen WMS graduates returning to campus to rejoin our community as parents, trustees, and faculty members. Currently, five members of the WMS faculty, and two members of the Board of Trustees, are WMS alumni.

“The nature of the Montessori philosophy to be supportive and to give to your community in service, are qualities that were modeled by both the faculty and extended family of WMS. The feeling of gratification of helping others that I experienced during my elementary years at WMS have stayed with me.

What kind of careers do Montessori graduates have?

Our alumni have found success in the arts, business, education, journalism, law, medicine, technology, writing, and many other careers and vocations. You can read some of their stories below.

Courtney and Ashley - Alumni Spotlight
Alumni

Alumni Spotlight | Courtney & Ashley

In our years since graduating from WMS we continued our education together at Loomis Chaffee. Our bond as sisters grew with Courtney helping Ashley with living away from home as

Read More »
Cyrus Read - Alumni Spotlight
Alumni

Alumni Spotlight | Cyrus Read ’94

I have been at the AVO for about five years now. My title here is Geophysicist, but my day-to-day duties are more engineering-oriented than geology or physics-based. Along with two

Read More »
Ryan Sager - Alumni Spotlight
Alumni

Alumni Spotlight | Ryan Sager ’93

I’ve never considered it a coincidence that a good deal of my career to date has been spent in start-up environments. My earliest journalistic endeavor, aside from whispering to classmates

Read More »
Rebecca Couto - Alumni Spotlight
Alumni

Alumni Spotlight | Rebecca Couto ’93

While I have settled far from Connecticut, WMS teachings remain inside of me, always accessible. The school’s fostering of my curiosity, openness, fairness, and resourcefulness has defined my life and

Read More »

The WMS annual Auction: Celebrating 60 years

The WMS Annual auction is a wonderful opportunity to gather with fellow members of our community in support of our school.

We hope you can join us in celebration of our “Diamond” anniversary honoring
our legacy, our children, our community, and our bright future.