Honeypot Montessori in Newark, New Jersey reopened this fall, carrying with it a story of resilience, persistence, and growth. “Honeypot is my love letter to Newark—the progressive, culturally rich city that shaped me as an adult and as an educator,” says founder and Head of School Dr. Deja Jones. To re-emerge with the embrace of Newark behind her is a celebration not only of persistence but of the city’s shared investment in Honeypot’s future.

This fall, as new Wildflower schools open across the country, we’re taking a moment to go inside the story of one. Born of deep partnership and shared purpose, Mountain Laurel Montessori embodies a radical idea: educators stay in the classroom, families are co-creators, and nature and Montessori are central.

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

This past year’s group includes Wildflower’s first schools in San Francisco and Philadelphia, the first Indigenous language reclamation school created in partnership with a tribal community, the first school linked to a Montessori teacher training program, and the first school set in a community-based special education services provider.

Wildflower is launching schools in and around Philadelphia! Known for its diverse neighborhoods and history, Philadelphia is a city filled with possibilities. As a racially and economically diverse city, Philadelphia is rich with the history and opportunities to grow schools that can address its educational inequities while upholding the values and traditions for which the city is known. It is a fertile ground and culture to adapt the liberatory principles of Montessori to th