About Us
Harmony Montessori School has been providing a nurturing and enriching educational experience for children since 1994. Located in SE Portland, we serve the Portland area, Gresham and parts of Southern Washington. Our school currently has upwards of 80 children. We serve preschool aged children from 2 1/2 – 6 in our primary classrooms.
We are committed to acceptance of all people from all walks of life. At Harmony Montessori we support inclusion in the classroom, diversity of children, a respect for different cultures and non traditional family make-ups. Our goal is to provide all children with a rich education experience that will instill a lifelong love of learning.
Harmony has a financial aid program to assist families with tuition. In addition, we have a Children’s Fund scholarship program for non-native, non-English speaking local families. We also offer work trade opportunities and we accept DHS (Department of Human Services) assistance. Harmony Montessori is a qualified Preschool Promise School and is a Preschool For All Pilot site. To find out more about these programs, qualifications and how to apply please see our financial aid page.
We have a dedicated and caring staff that each bring their own teaching experience, backgrounds and Montessori credentials to our school. This makes for a collaborative and open ended work environment for our teachers and a more enriching learning experience for the children. All of our lead guides hold a Montessori certification from an accredited training program. Each staff member maintains 20 hours annually of continuing education credits. You can read more about our wonderful teachers on our staff page.
- Embrace inclusion, cultural and social diversity in our school community.
- Maintain an environment of honor, respect and harmony that will assist the children in reaching their fullest potential in life.
- Provide a Montessori curriculum that is holistic, flexible and eclectic.
- Maintain a gifted and dedicated staff by providing a rich and rewarding work environment, and by rewarding them appropriately for their efforts.
- Foster a strong sense of community and cooperation with our families that will encourage parent involvement, education and volunteerism.
These are our core beliefs and Harmony Montessori remains committed to them through the inevitable challenges of growth and change.
1. Harmony Montessori School recognizes that racism, bias and privilege are present in our culture and institutions. We affirm our identity as an anti-racist and anti-bias organization and continue to develop and strengthen an intentionally anti-racist and anti-bias identity. Anti-bias referring not only to race and ethnicity but includes gender, sexual orientation, religion, physical and mental abilities, language and socio-economic class.
2. We acknowledge, respect and embrace our differences and promote positive self and group identity development among children and adults in our community.
3. We seek to apply an anti-racist/anti-bias lens to all aspects of our organization including policy, procedure and classroom curriculum, thus creating a more equitable and inclusive school and community.
4. We are dedicated to providing anti-bias curriculum within our classrooms and we believe honest, thoughtful conversations about race, biases and inequity can and must be happening with our children from a very early age. This is an important part of our work to support the “whole child.” Our children deserve to be equipped with the appropriate tools to fight social injustices. We are honored to have the opportunity to guide the next generation of leaders that will fight for equity, affect change and transform our world.
5. We strive to understand, identify and challenge issues of bias and inequities that may be present within our organization.
Harmony Montessori School was started in May of 1994 when a small group of parents approached our founder Jude Foster. These “pioneer parents” shared a commitment to help create a new, holistic Montessori school in east Portland for their own children and the many children to come. In just three months, these enthusiastic parents, working closely with Jude, found the site, financing and children to open in September, 1994.
Harmony was incorporated as a non-profit school governed by a Board of Trustees from the time of its founding and was granted federal 501(c)(3) status in the spring of 1996.
Since 1994, Harmony has thrived, growing and changing a little each year. In the third year, an all-day Montessori program was established. After five years at the original location, Harmony moved to the Savage Memorial Presbyterian Church and the school grew to two classrooms: the Waterfall Room and the River Room. The third classroom, the Ocean Room, opened in 2008. In 2010, Jude retired from her position at Harmony and with the participation and strong support from our staff, the Board of Trustees hired a new administrator, Kim Greer. Over the years, Harmony has evolved in order to meet the needs of our community, developing an all-day Montessori program which is consistent, flexible, and fully satisfying for our children and families.
In 2013, Harmony acquired a new location on Cherry Blossom Drive and added both an Elementary class (the Forest Room) as well as a fourth Children’s House class (the Lake Room). At the end of the 2022-23 school year the Elementary program ended. Harmony currently serves children 2.5 through 6 years of age in four Primary aged classrooms
In October of 2021, Harmony purchased our forever school at 17630 SE Main St. Portland, OR 97233. We look forward to the future and for we can continue to serve the southeast community!
Through these changes, Harmony Montessori School has remained focused on providing an exceptional Montessori education to all children.