History of The World Learner School

The World Learner School was started by local families and Jonathan Montessori staff with an interest in extending Montessori education beyond the preschool years.  Jonathan Montessori has, for over 36 years, offered high quality preschool experiences to children 2½ to 6 years old.  Both schools are non-profit organizations where parents are highly involved in the leadership of the school and in the classroom support.  It was the vision of these families and of the Jonathan Montessori staff that led to the creation of The World Learner School.  While several options were considered for creating a Montessori elementary school, the concept of a charter school was the first choice.  Charter schools are public schools and funding comes from the State’s per pupil allocation, as it does for other public schools.  Therefore, tuition is not charged to families for their child’s attendance.  The families and staff who developed the school wanted to create a learning community open to all families without finances being a concern.

The World Learner School has worked closely with the administration, teaching staff, and school board of District 112, our sponsoring district.  While the sponsor does not provide financial support for the charter school, they do agree to work together to ensure success.  The State of Minnesota Department of Education has complimented The World Learner School and District 112 for their exemplary cooperation and positive working relationship.
    
The school opened on September 5, 1995 with one class of children 6 to 8 years old.  The class was made up of learners with both previous Montessori experience and those who had not attended a Montessori preschool.  Since a portion of the children were familiar with the Montessori materials and learning procedures they served as mentors to new students entering the class.
    
The following year, the school expanded to include another class of children 6 to 9 years old.  The World Learner School was housed in the lower level of the Jonathan Montessori building and at that point filled both classrooms in that space.    
During the 1997-1998 school year, the school added its first upper-level class consisting of 12 children 9 and 10 years old.  These students became pioneers, attending class at the campus of The World Learner School in downtown Chaska.  With the completion of our building project in 1999, the upper elementary class joined the rest of the school in the Jonathan Montessori building in December of 1999.  Our most recent building renovation project and expansion was completed in January 2003.  The building is now owned by the JMS/WLS Building Company and plans to expand again are in process.  In 2004-2005 we added our middle school which serves 7th and 8th grade students, and we graduated our first eighth graders on June 7, 2006!  Today, World Learner School continues to offer a positive Montessori experience in a public education setting to children of the eastern Carver County area.