As we step into 2026, we’re returning to a core question: what becomes possible when teachers are trusted to lead—and children are known deeply?

This school year, we had 124 educators and community members dial in for our Teacher Leader Stories Zoom series!

Wildflower Schools – Minnesota hosted a virtual town hall with a panel of Black and Indigenous education leaders and institution-builders from around the United States. The panelists shared the life experiences, spiritual preparation, and practical skills they build upon to use Montessori education as a tool for racial justice and liberation.

The most relevant and authentic aspects of the Montessori pedagogy are those that can be used today as tools for our liberation. My mentor Asa Hilliard, Black psychologist and Montessorian writes, “Montessori is a metaphor for humanity because it is a pedagogy that helps humans receive what they naturally need”