Welcome to the Kennebec Montessori School

A Message from the Head of School: This month we celebrate Valentine’s Day, but also Montessori Education week, Feb. 21-27—which seems like the perfect opportunity to share with you what I love about Montessori, and especially KMS. My first visit to KMS was an open house many years ago. It was love at first sight! The beautiful classrooms seemed to bring the whole world inside (from Japanese calligraphy to polar bears), yet kept the beauty of the natural world in full view through the spacious picture windows. From that moment I knew this was where I wanted my daughter to start what I hoped would be a lifetime of learning. Click here to read more ...

KMS is the only licensed, non-denominational alternative Primary and Elementary school in the greater Waterville area. Our school is accredited by the American Montessori Society. At our location in Fairfield, we offer Primary and Elementary Montessori programs to 80 children from age 3 to 9. Our four classrooms are all multi-age: three Primary classrooms (ages 3 to 6) and one Elementary classroom (Grades 1 to 3). We also have a Before and After School Care program, licensed through the Department of Human Services.

The school stands on 14 acres of fields and woodlands, with a stream and beautiful views, convenient to Interstate 95. Children can cross-country ski in winter and garden in the spring and summer sessions. There is a large playground with new play equipment that overlooks an adjoining farm. The facilities are bright and cheerful. The classrooms and the day care room each have their own bathroom, kitchen unit, and door to the outside playground and gardens.

Founded in Fairfield in 1976 by a group of parents, KMS quickly grew to two Primary classrooms. In 1988 a lower Elementary classroom was added. In 1995, after two years of fund-raising and with the generous support of present and past parents and community businesses, KMS was able to realize its dream to construct the first stand-alone Montessori school in the state of Maine.

Students come from diverse backgrounds, bringing together the families of teachers, farmers, artists, professionals and business people. Many commute from surrounding communities, including Pittsfield, Clinton, Freedom, Skowhegan, Belgrade, China, Vassalboro, and Augusta.

The school operates as a non-profit 401(c) corporation, governed by a six-member Board of Directors, comprised of community members, past parents, current parents, the head of school and a non-voting teacher representative. Read our Strategic Plan.

KMS Board of Directors
Bill Batten, Chair
Rebecca Green, President
Karen Thompson, Treasurer
Mary-Lou Ogden, Secretary
Diane Tucker
Mark Tappan
Emanuel Pariser

KMS School Calendar

Our Mission
The mission of the Kennebec Montessori School is to provide young children with an educational program rooted in the philosophy of Dr. Maria Montessori, in which respect for self, others, and the environment are fundamental. The program is designed to heighten intellectual and social development through the process of exploration and discovery with concrete materials, while nurturing a natural curiosity and a love of learning.

The school is a hidden treasure that needs to be seen!
American Montessori Society Accreditation Team Report

I attended Kennebec Montessori School in 1987. I will be starting a master's program in the fall, and of my sixteen years of schooling, my fondest memories are of my year at Kennebec Montessori. I still remember circle time, drawing, painting and cooking. When I have children I plan to send them to a Montessori school.

Sarah Swift-Simons, former student