Mission

St. Helena Montessori School provides the Napa Valley community with an Association Montessori Internationale recognized Montessori school that offers a complete developmental program from preschool through ninth grade. The school follows Dr. Maria Montessori’s philosophy of education as an “aid to life” – viewing the child as a being whose physical, cognitive, emotional and spiritual parts are interrelated, and whose educational environment must respect that unity.

Dr. Montessori understood the life of the child as a developmental continuum, each stage of which has its basis in the preceding period, and which, in turn, is a preparation for the next plane of development. She also recognized the dignity of each child as a unique creation of God, having a supernatural destiny and worthy of the greatest respect.

We offer an educational program which has its roots in the Christian tradition, and which promotes family values, cultural appreciation and love of country. St. Helena Montessori supports the traditional position of the Catholic Church that parents are the primary educators of their children, and therefore seeks an on-going communication and collaboration with parents.

St. Helena Montessori offers three levels of Montessori education: a five-day-per-week Primary program for children from the age of 2 ½ years through 6 years, an Elementary program for 6 through 12 years, and an Adolescent / Farm School for 12- to 15-year-old students.

The school offers complete Montessori environments according to the standards, materials and techniques created by Dr. Maria Montessori. Each environment is designed to promote the intellectual, physical, social, emotional, and spiritual development of “the whole child,” according to his individual abilities and needs.

The specialized learning materials and method employed in each Montessori environment motivate the child to explore and study in many different areas, including mathematics, language, science, history, geography, art, music, and practical skills. Movement, music, art, Spanish, and physical education classes are included in the weekly program. Cultural enrichment is augmented through field trips and special visitors.

As we believe that an educational environment that fails to provide for the spiritual dimension of human nature is incomplete, we offer basic instruction in the Catholic faith. Instruction is appropriately suited to the age and interest of each child and utilizes lesson plans and materials of the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd, developed at the highly respected Montessori School of Religion in Rome, Italy.