Countryside Montessori

About Countryside

Countryside has been providing an exceptional learning environment for children in preschool through 6th grade for over 40 years.

Countryside has no religious affiliation and welcomes students of every race, sex, color, and national or ethnic origin. It is a not-for-profit corporation with financial assistance available to those who qualify. Each applicant is individually considered for admission and offered the opportunity for enrollment. The school draws students from Chicago's North and Northwest suburbs.

Brief History

In 1967, Franklin C. and Annette B. Kulle founded Countryside Montessori School, starting operations in Glenview. Satellite classes were opened in Skokie in 1969 and in Northbrook in 1970. In 1971, they moved the school to its present site. The Elementary Program was added in 1972. A major addition was completed in 1995, and other renovations were completed in 1999. Today, Countryside has an enrollment of over 150 students.

CMS had been an AMI school for 31 years and chose not to pursue AMI recognition in 2013 due to conflicting understanding of how to integrate specialty teacher into the elementary program, including art, music and Spanish. AMI/USA is currently undergoing a change of leadership, and as the changes unfold we will regularly reassess our decision to withdraw and will re-apply for recognition should we find it in the best interest of our students to do so. We will continue to hire only AMI trained teachers, to retain membership, to send our teachers to AMI refresher courses, and to use AMI consultants in order to ensure that we are maintaining the high standard of excellence that our families, students and staff have become accustomed to.

Fully Accredited

Countryside is accredited by ISACS, the Independent Schools Association of the Central States which involves review and oversight of our governance, administration, finance,curriculum, and programming. Countryside is also a member of NAIS, the National Association of Independent Schools.

Serving the Needs of the Child

Our classes are multi-age, in keeping with the Montessori practice. The mixed age groups provide for peer teaching, role models and leadership experience; they also enhance the sense of community within the classroom.

Since a successful Montessori environment depends so greatly on children having focused periods of time in which to complete tasks and activities, we make a priority of maximizing uninterrupted work time.

Above all, we place the highest importance on serving the needs of the child, for as Maria Montessori said, "One test of the correctness of educational procedure is the happiness of the child itself."

Everything in the classroom is designed to meet the developmental needs and interests of the children. There is no ceiling to what children can learn, and they are able to advance through the curriculum as they are ready, without being limited by the progress of their peers.

Countryside's traditional materials have been researched and developed during decades of classroom use. Our teachers take great care in preparing the environment so that materials are arranged sequentially, children have comfortable work space and there is freedom of physical movement.