Montessori school geared toward Black children hopes to expand in Birmingham
Students in a Montessori class are free to wander around the room as they please, and they each have individual plans for the day with the assistance of their teachers.
There are 19 students enrolled in what appears to be the only Montessori school inside the municipal limits of Birmingham, Alabama, and administrators hope to double that number by next year.
Urban Community Montessori, founded by Courtney Davis, is a private school in the Titusville neighborhood primarily serving Black and brown families, according to WBHM News.
After spending more than 10 years working in neighborhood Montessori schools, Davis launched UCM two years ago, saying she was motivated to do so by the lack of diversity she noticed in those classrooms.
Students in a Montessori classroom are free to wander around the room as they please, and they each have individual plans for the day, which they follow with the assistance of their teachers. While one child can draw or concentrate on reading skills, another can learn history or work on fractions.
UCM charges tuition on a sliding scale based on family income. Although Davis is aware that a Montessori education may not appeal to some children or families, she makes a lot of effort to persuade them to try it.
Toni Greene said she has witnessed the success of her 4-year-old twin boys — who are enrolled in the UCM pre-K program — at home and school. She said her children had great independence “because of what’s been instilled in them at school,” noting that they could already fold clothing and wash dishes.
“[Davis] has done a beautiful job in creating a space where you don’t have to choose between quality education and exposure to your culture,” said Greene, according to WBHM. “We get the best of both worlds.”
Greene said the Montessori school she attended as a child helped mold her into who she is now. She wanted to offer her kids that experience yet didn’t want them to be the only Black students in the class — and UCM was the perfect fit.
“It’s something that I know that has given my children the self-confidence to be able to take on the world without fear,” said Greene.
Montessori education, she added, also benefits Black and brown students since it helps shield them from the difficulties of conventional public school settings. For instance, compared to their peers, Black students are more likely to face disciplinary action at traditional schools.
Montessori was developed in Italy in the early 1900s, with its cornerstone being that children naturally desire to learn and absorb knowledge from their surroundings. The first Montessori school was established to educate underprivileged and poor children, but the approach changed when it arrived in America. Today, Montessori school locations and pricing continue to favor white, affluent families.
Davis noted that the bulk of Montessori schools in Birmingham are in locations that are inaccessible to families who live in the city. “And we know that Black and brown communities are mainly in Birmingham City,” she contended.
In addition to location, she said, costly tuition kept many Birmingham-area families away from Montessori. Not anymore, she hopes.
“I believe in being fair,” said Davis, WBHM reported. “I’ve opened this school up so that Black and brown communities can see that, number one, that someone who is Black cares about Black children. And that this opportunity is missing, and that it is now accessible within the city limits.”
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