Families moving to Toronto with school-age children will be happy to know that Canada has some of the highest standards of education in the world. In addition to an excellent public school system, major cities like Toronto also have a great selection of Montessori schools and private academies offering alternative styles of education.
The Montessori method emphasizes autonomous learning, with slogans like “follow the child” and techniques like a “prepared environment.” Rather than dictating lessons and concepts to the students, Montessori education allows the children to explore and discover for themselves. This way they learn by experience instead of just instruction. And moreover, they are free to explore for themselves and to pursue their own innate interests and passions.
We are living in an era of enormous technological progress, and an increasingly global economy, and nowhere is that more evident than in a city like Toronto. So many parents and teachers are growing dissatisfied with the methods of mainstream education. So they are turning to Montessori schooling and other alternatives to acquire the necessary skills for the future, like creativity, adaptability, open-mindedness and global stewardship.
For those who are looking for a different type of education, here is a comprehensive list of Montessori schools in Toronto and the GTA.
Montessori Schools in Toronto (in alphabetical order)
Alive Montessori
A pre-school and elementary school founded in 2001 with no religious affiliation. The goal at Alive Montessori is to provide the best possible start for children through proper education, instilling a life-long love of learning in every child. They aim to create a safe, caring and fun environment where every child will learn and will become more and more confident as he or she gains in abilities.
Address: 2 Wembley Rd, Toronto, ON M6C 2E9
Tel: (416) 602-1151
Bannockburn School
Toddler, Primary and Elementary Montessori programs honour the principles and methods established by Dr. Maria Montessori, and offer an enriched curriculum that exceeds provincial standards and inspires a love of learning. Children ages 18 months to 12 years choose purposeful work in nurturing, child-centered environments that cultivate independence, imagination and intellectual curiosity.
Address: 12 Bannockburn Ave, North York, ON M5M 2M8
Tel: (416) 789-7855
Tuition / Fees: Contact the school for tuition information
Beaches Montessori School
Offering a bright and spacious learning environment with two toddler classrooms (18 months – 3 years) and one Casa classroom (3-6 years). Beaches Montessori strives to provide a calm, safe space for children to grow and learn with independence and confidence. Their dynamic curriculum is based on core Montessori principles, enhanced with classes in music, French and outdoor activities in a beautiful backyard.
Address: 950 Kingston Road, Toronto, ON M4E 1S7
Tel: (416) 901-2992
Tuition / Fees: Contact the school for tuition information
Atelier Kids Early Learning Center
Programs for 1-4 year olds are inspired by the Reggio Emilia philosophy of Italy and follow the inquiry-based curriculum document “How Does Learning Happen? Ontario’s Pedagogy for the Early Years”, outlined by the Ministry of Education. This ensures an optimal transition into the Ontario school system.
Address: 15 Oakmount Road, Toronto, ON M6P 2M3
Tel: (416) 604-2442
Tuition / Fees: Contact the school for tuition information
Avalon Children’s Montessori School
Offering a curriculum based on the needs of the children, providing opportunities and experiences for intellectual, social, physical and emotional growth. Avalon provides a quality Montessori education for children up to grade 8.
Elementary School: 2181 Queen St E, Toronto, ON M4E 1E5
Tel: (416) 686-6621
Casa School: 31 Wood Glen Road, Toronto, ON M1N 2V8
Tel: (416) 690-7744
Tuition / Fees: $6,395 to $20,150/year
Bright Scholars Academy
A Montessori network with four campuses in Mississauga and Oakville, with programs for children from the ages of 18 months up to 5 1/2 years old.
Bright Scholars Academy Cooksville: 3180 Kirwin Ave, Mississauga, ON L5A 2K7 (905) 896-4553
Bright Scholars Academy Meadowvale: 5920 Montevideo Rd, Mississauga, ON L5N 3J5 (905) 542-1895
Heritage Montessori Oakville: 1289 Marlborough Ct, Oakville, ON L6H 2R9 (905) 842-3061
Bright Scholars Academy Streetsville: 24 Falconer Dr, Mississauga, ON L5N 2P7 (905) 826-3595
Tuition / Fees: Contact the schools for tuition information
Bond Academy
A private school for all ages, including a Montessori program for preschoolers. Montessori at Bond believes that before a child can take advantage of a good education, he or she needs to discover how to learn. Only then can we aid a child in the development of basic skills and in his or her ability to judge, think and create. Montessori at Bond introduces your child to the joy of learning by providing a framework in which intellectual and social discipline can develop.
Address: 1500 Birchmount Rd, Scarborough, ON M1P 2G5
Tel: (416) 266-8878
Tuition / Fees: Montessori Casa ages 3-6, full time $13,000/year; half day $7,000/year
Casa Vera Montessori School
Casa Vera Montessori School opened on September 2005 and has one Toddler classroom (16 months to 2,5 years) and one Casa classroom (2.5 to 6 years). Children and their families are an integral part of the education and the school. The real happiness and success in children’s life can be created only through very close interaction between the school and the family.
Address: 2000 Keele St, Toronto, ON M6M 3Y4
Tel: (416) 850-9705
Tuition / Fees: Contact the school for tuition information
Central Montessori Schools
Central Montessori School is a non-denominational, co-educational private school that offers a Montessori learning environment enhancing each child’s unique learning style. CMS consists of five Montessori schools in Toronto and the GTA. The Maplehurst campus also offers a French immersion program.
York Mills: 18 Coldwater Rd, North York, ON M3B 1Y7 (416) 510-1200
Thornhill: 72 Steeles Ave W, Thornhill, ON L4J 1A1 (905) 889-0012
Willowdale: 157 Willowdale Ave, North York, ON M2N 4Y3 (416) 250-1022
Sheppard: 200 Sheppard Av E, North York, ON M2N 3A9 (416) 222-5940
Maplehurst: 181 Maplehurst Ave, North York, ON M2N 3C1 (416) 222-9207
Tuition / Fees: Contact the schools for tuition information
The Clover School
First opened in 1996, the Clover School is now a vibrant community of hundreds of children, parents and committed educators, who are excited to learn together and truly love being at school. The school has two campuses in Toronto.
Midtown Junior Campus: 3180 Bathurst Street, Toronto, ON M6A 2A9 (416) 781-4449
Midtown Elementary Campus: 585 Cranbrooke Ave, Toronto, ON M6A 2X9 (416) 781-4449
Tuition / Fees: Toddler and pre-primary full day from $20,500/year; pre-primary half day from $12,700/yr; primary full day from $17,400/yr; elementary from $20,400/yr
Cornerstone Montessori Prep School
The mission of the Children’s Primary Centre and Cornerstone Preparatory School is to educate students who, for the glory of God, are capable of achieving at or above grade level with reasonable effort in a traditional learning environment that prepares students for higher education while developing and implementing a Christian world view that permeates all of life.
Toronto Campus, Children’s Primary: 177 Beverley Street, Toronto, ON M5T 1Y7 (647) 493-8660
Don Mills Campus, Prep School: 33 Mallard Road, Don Mills, ON M3B 1S4 (647) 977-5584
Tuition / Fees: Toddlers $18,000/year; Casa program $16,500/yr; Junior and senior school $13,750/yr
Ellesmere Montessori School
Founded in 1973, Ellesmere Montessori School has been serving children and families for over 45 years. The private school is nestled within the walls of West Ellesmere Community Church in Scarborough, Ontario, providing Montessori education for ages 18 months to 12 years.
Address: 37 Marchington Circle, Scarborough, ON M1R 3M6
Tel: (416) 447-1059
Tuition / Fees: Toddlers half day $12,700/year, full day $15,700/yr; Casa and elementary half day $9,100/year, full day $11,600/yr; discounts for siblings
Ellington Montessori School
Ellington Montessori School is not a chain or a franchise. Theresa Nobilski started this small school in 2012 and still owns it today. Programs are available for children ages 1-6.
Address: 40 Cowdray Ct, Scarborough, ON M1S 1A1
Tel: (416) 759-8363
Tuition / Fees: Contact the school for tuition information
Guidepost Montessori
Guidepost Montessori in Toronto, part of an international network, is a new Montessori community opening in Fall 2020. At the heart of the school is a belief that children thrive when given freedom and responsibility in Montessori environments prepared especially for them.
Tel: (437) 637-0321
Tuition / Fees: Contact the school for tuition information
High Park Gardens
Part of the Mildenhall Montessori family, with two Young Peoples’ Community classes, three Casa, and one Elementary (ages 6-12) class. The Montessori program is enhanced with French, music, art, and physical activity.
Address: 35 High Park Gardens, Toronto, ON
Tel: (416) 763-6097
Tuition / Fees: Contact the school for tuition information
Humberside Montessori School
Humberside Montessori School is enthusiastically committed to the acknowledgement and the support of the wholesome growth and development of all aspects of the human personality during the formative years of childhood. Montessori programs at four levels: Primary level (Casa) for children 2.5 to 6 years of age, Lower Elementary level for children 6 to 9 years of age, Upper Elementary level for children 9 to 12 years of age, and the 2-year Adolescent Program for children 12 to 14 years of age.
Address: 121 Kennedy Ave, Toronto, ON M6S 2X8
Tel: (416) 762-8888
Tuition / Fees: Contact the school for tuition information
Manor Montessori School
Manor Montessori has a unique French program to ensure that students are ahead of students from other schools when they enter mainstream schools. The school also encourages physical activities with skating, skiing and swimming programs.
Address: 909 Mt Pleasant Rd, Toronto, ON M4P 2Z6
Tel: (416) 488-4218
Tuition / Fees: Toddlers half day $12,700/year, full time $19,100/yr; Casa half day $11,900/yr, full time $17,100/yr; Elementary $20,300/yr
Maria Montessori School
Founded in 1975, this is one of the oldest Montessori schools in Toronto, operating in the same Leaside neighbourhood location for more than 40 years. Currently the school serves children from 16 months to 12 years of age with a Young Children’s Community (toddler), three Casa and two Elementary communities. Total enrollment is about one hundred and thirty children.
Address: 125 Brentcliffe Rd, East York, ON M4G 3Y7
Tel: (416) 423-9123
Tuition / Fees: Contact the school for tuition information
Mildenhall Montessori
Mildenhall includes three Montessori schools in the Toronto area, Mildenhall, Taddle Creek and High Park Gardens. They are all committed to educating children who will thrive in a diverse, ever changing, global community. Mildenhall School, in the Etobicoke neighbourhood, has two Casa classes, one Lower Elementary, one Upper Elementary, and a Middle School. The Montessori program is enhanced with French, music, art, and physical activity.
Address: 35 Ourland Avenue, Toronto, ON
Tel: (416) 259-2822
Tuition / Fees: Contact the school for tuition information
Montessori Jewish Day School
Montessori Jewish Day School is an inclusive, pluralistic, egalitarian school dedicated to instilling respect for the individual and for the community. MJDS provides an engaging Jewish educational experience that embraces the diversity of Jewish practice, integrates Hebrew, and responds to a child’s natural search for spiritual and intellectual growth.
Address: 55 Yeomans Rd, North York, ON M3H 3J7
Tel: (416) 784-5071
Tuition / Fees: Contact the school for tuition information
Pine Lake Montessori School
Pine Lake Montessori School offers an educational experience unlike any other to families living in the Toronto area. As an accredited Montessori school licensed by the Ministry of Education, they ensure to offer a safe, nurturing, and quality educational experience, with programs for children 18 months to 9 years of age.
Address: 255 Sheppard Ave W, North York, ON M2N 1N2
Tel: (416) 227-9100
Tuition / Fees: $1,350-1,550 /month
Taddle Creek Montessori School
Part of the Mildenhall Montessori family, Taddle Creek is located in the Annex neighbourhood of downtown Toronto, surrounded by the cultural opportunities of the AGO, ROM, and University of Toronto, to name just a few.
Address: 39 Spadina Rd, Toronto, ON M5R 2S9
Tel: (416) 413-9493
Tuition / Fees: Contact the school for tuition information
Waterfront Montessori Children’s Centre
Located on Algonquin Island, WMCC is part of the Toronto Island Residential Community. They offer pre-school students the unique experience of connecting with nature each and every day. Children can walk to school in a car-free neighbourhood, explore the many areas of the island, and enjoy a playground that backs onto a meadow.
Address: 18 Wyandot Ave. Algonquin Island, Toronto, ON M5J 2M9
Tel: (416) 203-1017
Tuition / Fees: Contact the school for tuition information
Waverly Road Montessori School
Waverley offers a happy and caring place for children to learn, while supported by Montessori teachers and assistants, with the freedom to explore and discover through self-initiated activities. The school offers two separate programs for Toddlers (18 months to 2.5 years old) and Casa children (2.5 years old to 5 years old).
Address: 129 Waverley Rd, Toronto, ON
Tel: (416) 351-1600
Tuition / Fees: Contact the school for tuition information
Westside Montessori School
Located in the heart of downtown Toronto’s Kensington Market, Westside Montessori School is an ideal environment for then urban family. Housed in a historical mansion on a beautiful tree-lined residential street, they offer a nurturing and educational programs for Toddlers (18 to 30 months), Children (2½ to 6 years old) and Elementary students aged 6 to 12 (Grades 1-6).
Address: 95 Bellevue Avenue, Toronto, ON M5T 2N8
Tel: (647) 430-5321
Tuition / Fees: Contact the school for tuition information
Additional References
ARIANNE has been helping families and professionals relocate to Canada for more than 20 years. We have a range of products and services to make your transition go more smoothly.
Also check out some of our other in-depth articles on Toronto and Canadian education:
- Moving to Canada as a Student
- Moving to Canada with a Family
- International Schools in Toronto
- Toronto Real Estate Tips for Foreign Buyers
PHOTO CREDIT: Natalia Zhuravleva (Wikipedia)
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