Come & See The Difference
Inclusive Montessori School fosters independence, confidence, critical thinking abilities and creativity in a warm and welcoming environment. Our hands-on, ‘whole child’ approach supports each student’s unique qualities and individual learning style for a learning experience that’s compelling, effective and fun!
✅ Innovative Academic Program
✅ Experienced Faculty
✅ Love & Care
✅ Hands-on Learning
✅ Innovative Learning
✅ Parent Involvement
✅ Early Morning and After School Care
✅ Mixed Age Group
✅ Low Student-to-Teacher Ratio
✅ Beautiful Classroom Space
✅ Private Playground
Now offering early childhood education for children ages 6 weeks-6 years old, and a Before & After School Program for children up to 13 years old. Spots are filling up fast, don’t wait!
Our Mission
Our mission at Inclusive Montessori School is to implement the philosophy, practice and curriculum of Dr. Maria Montessori. We provide individualized Montessori instruction that will enable all students to reach their highest level of academic success. We respect the right and need of each individual child to stimulate the passion to embrace all of life with respect and love. We help children develop the skills necessary for active and intelligent exploration and a lifelong love of learning.
Syeda Lubna Haroon
Owner, Director & Head Teacher
Inclusive Montessori School
Ms. Syeda founded Inclusive Montessori School in 2000 and moved the school to Hamilton on Quakerbridge Road in 2013. She has a Bachelors of Science in Law, a Montessori Teaching Certificate from Mercer County Community College and is a proud member of the American Montessori Association.
As a young girl, Ms. Syeda dreamed of growing up and working to help others. Founding Inclusive Montessori School was the first step towards accomplishing her goal. Ms. Syeda prides herself on her ability to collaborate with parents and guardians, as well as Montessori teachers and staff, to provide the best support of each student’s learning process. She believes in ongoing professional development for herself and her staff and dedicates herself to supporting the children, mentoring the teachers and providing an excellent Montessori experience for all.
The History of Montessori
Dr. Maria Montessori – Founder of the Montessori Philosophy
Maria Montessori was born on August 31, 1870, in the provincial town of Chiaravalle, Italy. Her father was a financial manager for a state-run industry. Her mother was raised in a family that prized education. She was well-schooled and an avid reader—unusual for Italian women of that time. This same thirst for knowledge took root in young Maria, and she immersed herself in many fields of study before creating the educational method that bears her name.
Breaking Barriers
Maria was a sterling student, confident, ambitious and unwilling to be limited by traditional expectations for women. At age 13, she entered an all-boys technical institute to prepare for a career in engineering. In time, however, she changed her mind, deciding to become a doctor instead. She applied to the University of Rome’s medical program, but was rejected. Maria took additional courses to better prepare her for entrance to the medical school and persevered. With great effort she gained admittance, opening the door a bit wider for future women in the field. When she graduated from medical school in 1896, she was among Italy’s first female physicians.
Birth of a Movement
Dr. Montessori’s early medical practice focused on psychiatry. She also developed an interest in education, attending classes on pedagogy and immersing herself in educational theory. Her studies led her to observe, and call into question, the prevailing methods of teaching children with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The opportunity to improve on these methods came in 1900, when she was appointed co-director of a new training institute for special education teachers. Dr. Montessori approached the task scientifically, carefully observing and experimenting to learn which teaching methods worked best. Many of the children made unexpected gains, and the program was proclaimed a success.
In 1907 Dr. Montessori accepted a new challenge to open a childcare center in a poor, inner-city district. This became the first Casa dei Bambini, a quality learning environment for young children. The youngsters were unruly at first, but soon showed great interest in working with puzzles, learning to prepare meals and manipulating materials that held lessons in math. She observed how they absorbed knowledge from their surroundings, essentially teaching themselves. Utilizing scientific observation and experience gained from her earlier work with young children, Dr. Montessori designed learning materials and a classroom environment that fostered the children’s natural desire to learn. Her unique philosophy sparked the interest of educators worldwide and, in the following decades, Montessori schools opened throughout Europe, in North and South America and, finally, on every continent but Antarctica.
Countless books and articles about Montessori have been published in nearly every language. Dr. Montessori first described her approach in Il Metodo della Pedagogia Scientifica applicato all’educazione infantile nelle Case dei Bambini, published in 1909. The book’s English-language version, succinctly titled The Montessori Method, was a ringing success on both sides of the Atlantic.
In 1929, Dr. Montessori established the Association Montessori Internationale (AMI) to support the swell of Montessori schools, teacher education programs and national organizations around the world.
In the United States, Montessori caught on quickly, propelled by prominent advocates and glowing media reports. However, by the 1920s the movement had fizzled, and 40 years would go by before Montessori schools would return in substantial numbers. The leader of the American revival was Nancy McCormick Rambusch, a vibrant, persuasive educator intent on bringing about change. In 1960, Dr. Rambusch launched the American Montessori Society, the first—and still the largest—of several modern-era organizations supporting Montessori programs in America.
Innovator, Feminist & Idealist
Dr. Montessori dedicated the rest of her life to advancing her child-centered approach to education. She lectured widely, wrote articles and books, and developed a program to prepare teachers in the Montessori Method. Through her efforts and the work of her followers, Montessori education was adopted worldwide.
As a public figure, Dr. Montessori also campaigned vigorously on behalf of women’s rights. She wrote and spoke frequently on the need for greater opportunities for women, and was recognized in Italy and beyond as a leading feminist voice.
Dr. Montessori pursued her ideals in turbulent times. Living through war and political upheaval inspired her to add peace education to the Montessori curriculum. But she could do little to avoid being ensnared in world events. Traveling in India in 1940, when hostilities between Italy and Great Britain broke out, she was forced to live in exile for the remainder of the war. There she took the opportunity to train teachers in her method.
At war’s end, she returned to Europe, spending her final years in Amsterdam. She died peacefully, in a friend’s garden, on May 6, 1952.
Information about the history of Montessori gathered from the American Montessori Society