When "Just Trust Us" Isn't Enough

While doing focus groups at a Montessori school in the Pacific Northwest, I am reminded that what attracts parents in preschool and Kindergarten ends up repelling them by 4th or 5th Grades.  This effect is to some degree present in most independent schools, but it is especially potent in the Montessori environment where classroom methods are rather set and consistent from the early years onward.

In my experience, Montessori administrators (and teachers) typically fail to anticipate this effect, and end up wondering why some parents flee by the upper elementary or middle school years.  The "just trust us" answer isn't enough to mollify today's suspicious and questioning parents.