Immanuel and Ava Wanas Montessori School, Mount Airy

When her first son was in preschool, Marie Atalla desired a school where the principles of Dr. Maria Montessori are purely applied, so as to provide children with a unique stimulating and nurturing educational environment that will allow them to acquire positive work habits and develop the academic basics with joy, pride and sense of accomplishment. The school opened its doors on September 12th, 2007 with one fully prepared Montessori classroom that accommodates twenty-seven children between the ages of two and five. In 2010, the school opened a second classroom with the same capacity. Our school’s philosophy adheres to the principles of Dr. Maria Montessori who believed that children have a great capacity to learn at a very early age and therefore designed an environment that fosters that capacity and helps children develop both emotionally and academically. Our school further believes that any child can enjoy being and learning in a Montessori environment and it is therefore our policy not to test any child before admission. Testing, we believe, puts the child under an unnecessary pressure and takes away the pleasurable aspect of the educational experience that we would like to offer our children.