The Montessorians is the largest open source dataset of Montessori alumni who've gone on to do great things.

The Montessorians is a project that aims to celebrate and document the achievements of individuals who were influenced by Montessori. An alternative method to public school, Montessori has led to extraordinary outcomes as evidenced by the many pioneers, innovators, and trailblazers who we strive to chronicle on The Montessorians.

Created by Renaissance, an education startup studio, The Montessorians is fully open source and community-driven. It is open for contributions under a Creative Commons CC0 license.

What is Montessori?

Pioneered by Maria Montessori, the Montessori method is a progressive educational approach that emphasizes children's natural interests and activities, rather than traditional teaching methods. Montessori classrooms focus on hands-on learning and developing real-world skills.

Notable features of the Montessori method include mixed-age classrooms, student freedom (including their choice of activity), long blocks of uninterrupted work time, specially trained teachers, and a prepared environment.

“The greatest sign of success for a teacher is to be able to say, "The children are now working as if I did not exist.” – Maria Montessori

Our Mission

Beyond spotlighting the achievements of Montessori alumni — which spans beyond famous figures to include extraordinary everyday people — we hope to offer a greater understanding of the potential of alternative education outside of the public school system.

Although we have transformed how we bank, shop, and work... school and education largely remains the same as it did 150 years ago. And in today's fast-changing world that has already been reshaped by the advent of AI, we need to rethink how we educate our children.

We believe this begins with choice and discovery. With an understanding of the options available. With this, we can begin to make informed, intentional decisions around our children's education.

In our search for notable alumni who have been through alternative pathways to education (such as Montessori), we found there was no comprehensive source of information.

We hope to change that with the first and largest open source dataset of Montessori alumni.