As the number of Catholic schools in the United States declines, one educational leader is proposing a solution: Embrace the Montessori method.
“The Montessori method really does help to reinvigorate a Catholic school that may be in dire straits of closing,” JoAnn Schulzetenberg, executive director of the Catholic Montessori Institute (CMI) at the University of Mary in Bismarck, North Dakota, said of the child-centered approach to learning. “It offers something new and beautiful.”
Schulzetenberg, a seasoned Montessori educator, spoke with Our Sunday Visitor after the recent launch of CMI, which calls itself “the world’s first and only global center dedicated to advancing Catholic Montessori education.” She described CMI as a home for Catholic Montessori educators and aspiring educators, where they can access professional development opportunities, resources, networking and community.
She leads CMI at a time of decline in Catholic schools. In the fall of 1960, more than 5 million students attended nearly 13,000 U.S. Catholic elementary and secondary schools, according to the U.S. government’s Institute of Education Sciences. Over the decades, those numbers have plummeted: Today, 1,683,506 students attend 5,852 Catholic elementary and secondary schools, according to a report by The National Catholic Educational Association for the 2024-2025 academic year. While 24 schools opened, another 63 closed.
A new institute
Schulzetenberg said that she hears from schools and communities that want to pursue Montessori education.
“The most challenging part is finding a guide or someone who’s trained, which is why my hope is … to really have a place then to train these young people, or these older people even, to get into the environments and be able to guide children in their learning,” she said. “That is the part that is missing.”
She said she has seen enrollment increase and new waiting lists created when struggling Catholic schools embrace the Montessori method. Looking forward, Schulzetenberg anticipated that the demand for Montessori education, which embraces hands-on learning, will grow as other schools welcome screens and artificial intelligence into the classroom.
“I think parents in this market today are really looking for something different,” she said. “They know themselves that technology affects them and their relationships” and want something different for their children.
A Montessori education
Nearly 16,000 Montessori schools exist worldwide, according to a study shared by the Association Montessori Internationale, with 5,000 in the U.S., according to the American Montessori Society. Programs can educate students from infancy through high school. Maria Montessori, an Italian Catholic physician and educator, developed the method in the early 20th century.
“It’s really looking at the whole child development and academic excellence, as well as really empowering independence and intrinsic motivation,” Schulzetenberg said, contrasting it with a traditional classroom that hands out stars or letter grades.
A Montessori education, Schulzetenberg said, also values social and emotional maturity and building strong communities.
“Our students learn to collaborate so well together in our settings because they are in a three-year cycle of students within every community,” she explained, referring to the practice of grouping children together across three years rather than placing them only with classmates of the same grade or year.
A Montessori education also prioritizes critical thinking, creativity and the use of executive function, Schulzetenberg said.
“It is very much tailored to children and their needs and giving them practical life and real-world skills that they’re going to need, whether it’s planning, organizing, persevering through challenges,” she said.
In her experience, she has found that Montessori inspires joy in students. She likened a Catholic Montessori education to a homeschooling environment with trained educators.
“It’s very much like a homeschooling type of atmosphere,” Schulzetenberg said. “But with solid educators that have been formed and have been able to adapt the learning, through their Montessori training, to meet the needs of the child.”
An alternative
The Montessori method provides an alternative to classrooms that embrace screens and technology.
“It’s all hands-on,” Schulzetenberg said of Montessori learning, comparing it to learning how to garden by being in a garden and actually planting.
“You’re doing your research,” she added. “But we are asking our students to actually use books … to continue the old model of education, if you will, of actually going to a library or actually collecting resources to do their research.”
She said that educators have found this leads to students who are more engaged, more interested in their work and better able to retain what they learn.
Schulzetenberg also emphasized the importance of connecting with people and developing social skills in the Montessori method.
“The lack of technology in our classrooms certainly helps our children to be much more well-rounded and socially invested in others and the community,” she said. “By eliminating that technology piece, it just helps enhance their overall skills that they can utilize for life.”
An integrated approach
Cost need not prevent schools from embracing Montessori, Schulzetenberg said.
“Those that are trying to implement it … the initial cost may be expensive, but eventually that cost goes down and it’s much more affordable for families,” she said.
She pointed out, for example, that with Montessori, schools don’t need to buy all new materials every year, and the teachers or guides are trained for three age or grade levels.
At CMI, Schulzetenberg hopes that educators who receive training from them or interact with them take away the importance of a strong prayer life and a formation that enables them to pass on the Catholic faith.
“The academic piece is very important as well, but it’s all integral,” she said. “The number one piece is really to save souls and to bring them to Christ.”
