Our History

Waterfront Montessori was founded in 2003 by some Jersey City mothers who were frustrated by both the limited education options and the lack of enrichment activities that were locally available.

We set out to create what we did want in a school:  A place where our children could get an exceptional education; a place where the activities we wanted for them – art, music, theater, foreign languages, movement – were either part of the curriculum or otherwise offered; a place with talented and highly qualified teachers who would guide our children; and, a place in which we were confident our children would be as well off, if not better off, than in our own care.

We set out to create what is now Waterfront Montessori -- a parent-run school with strong community ties and a drive to achieve the highest educational standards for each and every child, including our own. 

In the spring of 2013, Waterfront Montessori was designated an IB World School, joining a select group of schools that share a common educational philosophy and a commitment to the high quality, challenging, international education that we believe is critical for today’s students.

Waterfront Montessori is a full member school of the American Montessori Society and a member of the International Montessori Council.  Waterfront Montessori is also a member of the New Jersey Montessori Association Corporation (NJMAC), the advocacy organization for all New Jersey Montessori schools regardless of other affiliations.  Waterfront Montessori’s Head of School, Karen Westman, served on the Board of Directors of NJMAC from 2010 to 2016, including a term as President of NJMAC.

As parents, choosing a school for our children is one of the most difficult things we do.  We have so little information on which to base our decision; the more we learn, the more questions we have.  What kind of education will work?  Which curriculum is better?  Is the fit right?  What will my child learn?  What skills will he or she need and when?  What will help my child to get ahead?  Will it be enough?

When I tell people what motivated me to start this school, I tell them that I am first and foremost a parent.  I am not a Montessorian, nor an educator, nor an entrepreneur.  Like each of you, I simply wanted what is best for my child.  My son had to spend two bored, unhappy days in a traditional preschool after a year in a Montessori classroom before it dawned on me that Montessori was different, extraordinary and, most of all, essential.  At that time, the next nearest Montessori schools were in places like Springfield, Edgewater and Guttenberg:  If I did not want to drive my son back and forth for hours every day to get him to a school, I was going to have to build a school myself.  Once we opened, the addition of the elementary school and then the middle school were inevitable:  With the extraordinary results we saw in our own children each year, why would we want to send them anywhere else?

Many years of research later, I remain committed to Montessori.  The more I read, the more I learn about current thinking in education, current thinking in what our world will be, and current thinking in essential skills for the future, the more admiration I have for Maria Montessori and her method.  More than one hundred years after Montessori opened her first Children's House, we have—through neurology, pediatrics, other scientific study, and with our sophisticated research and technological tools—come to many of the same conclusions about child development, childhood intelligence, learning and ways to foster growth that Montessori came to through mere observation.  She gave us an educational system that nurtures independence, critical thinking, integrative acquisition and creative disposition of information.  It trains thinkers, it trains leaders and above all, it gives us children who find tremendous joy in learning.

There were times that I was not sure that my son was getting the “right” education.  I crossed my fingers and cautiously waited them out.  Now I am sure.  The capabilities of my son, who now has a Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering and a team leadership position at a tech company, are far, far beyond what I had hoped for, socially, emotionally and academically. I am astonished by his drive, his knowledge, his abilities, his leadership, his people skills and his passion for what he learns and can create. Regrettably, I cannot claim credit as a parent:  I was far too busy for most of his childhood building the vehicle for his education.  The credit goes to his school and to the wonderful teachers he had along the way (some of whom are still here!) —to Waterfront Montessori, where my son is just one of the many extraordinary students we serve and have graduated.

Amazing things happen here.  Please do not take my word for it.  Come and see us!

Thank you for your interest in Waterfront Montessori.  We would love to share what we have learned with you.

Sincerely,

Karen Westman
Mother of Hank, Founder and Former Head of Waterfront Montessori