Forest Park Montessori has been serving children in St. Louis for over a decade. Located in the historic Shaw neighborhood, our vibrant learning community fosters a spirit of cooperation, compassion, and self-discipline. Forest Park Montessori currently has two classrooms and enrolls children ages two to six years old. 

Trish Curtis, a dedicated Montessorian with AMS credentials at the Elementary level, founded the Urban Montessori Institute and Forest Park Montessori to increase access to Montessori education in St. Louis City, therefore furthering the impact of this transformative approach to learning.

The Urban Montessori Institute of St. Louis was founded to promote affordable educational opportunities to optimize the natural development of children.  With a profound desire to honor their unfolding intelligence and compassionate spirits, the Forest Park Montessori school exists to prepare children for a world of challenge and change, using the timeless wisdom of Dr. Maria Montessori.  We believe the well-rounded children and adults we influence will change the world.

Every child deserves the opportunity to grow up in an environment that is deeply respectful of his/her unique spirit.  At Forest Park Montessori, we hope to reach as many children as possible with this 100-year-old method and philosophy of teaching.  In the Montessori environment, which consists not only of many specially designed learning materials but also the prepared adult guides (teachers), the child has all the “tools” needed to develop intellectually, socially, physically and spiritually. Regular, frequent communication and cooperation between home and school serves to enhance the loving home parents work hard to create for their children. We also understand the importance of reaching out to the wider world to help them understand how a Montessori program can lay the foundations on which a more peaceful world can be built.

"Every child contains a seed of perfection that fully blooms in an environment created for the purpose. The Montessori classroom is indeed such a world.  Geared to the size, pace, and interests of children, it offers each child great, important, and profoundly satisfying work. Every classroom is meticulously prepared with experiences that challenge and fulfill each child as they move from one level of complexity to another.  Montessori teachers are profound observers and recorders, trained to recognize each period of growth, need, and readiness. The result is an independent, and balanced human being whose love of learning knows no bounds."

-Mary Zeman