More Than a School, It's a Family: The Butler Montessori Community
At Butler Montessori, the spirit of community extends far beyond the classroom walls. Graduates return year after year, parents connect and support each other, and our dedicated staff thrives in a collaborative environment. It's a place where fostering a wonderful education and support network for children is a shared mission. For over 50 years, this exceptional community has flourished, and we're grateful for the enduring support of our alumni, students, families, and friends in Darnestown
Our GraduatesWhy choose Butler Montessori for your family?
Alumni parent and current Board member, Joyce Thomas, shares about the lasting impact that Butler Montessori has had on her family. Their experience at Butler, from preschool through graduation, reinforced family values of responsibility and contribution, helping shape their children into capable, thoughtful individuals. Watch to hear how Butler Montessori became a key part of their journey.
The Butler-Parent Connection
The Butler Parent Connection (BPC) is an all-volunteer group, similar to a PTA, focused on community-building!
Whether it’s painting pumpkins at the Fall Festival, showing appreciation for our amazing teachers, or simply connecting with other parents at classroom gatherings, the BPC creates opportunities that foster a supportive and welcoming environment for everyone at Butler Montessori.
Learn More About the BPC
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Graduates & Alumni
Graduates are prepared for the challenges and opportunities ahead, equipped with the academic foundation, life skills, and social-emotional well-being that Butler Montessori cultivates.
Many of our returning graduates express deep appreciation for the communication skills and independent thinking they developed at Butler, along with a strong understanding of their personal learning styles.
Butler Montessori students leave campus with more than academic preparation. They carry an understanding of who they are, confidence in their ability to learn, experience contributing to a community and the courage to step into unfamiliar situations.
Our alumni have continued their education at independent, public, magnet and specialized high schools. Fairhaven High School graduates are continuing to colleges and universities that reflect their individual goals, interests and ambitions.
Their destinations are different because their stories are different. What connects them is the foundation they built at Butler Montessori.
Where Butler Montessori Students Go: College & Beyond
Recent Fairhaven graduates have earned admission to Northeastern University, the University of Maryland at College Park, UMBC, Drexel University, the University of Pittsburgh, Stevenson University, The Catholic University of America, and Goucher College.
The goal is not to direct every graduate toward the same type of college. It is to help each student understand their interests, make an informed choice, and move confidently toward the next experience that fits them.
Visit Our College Page
Butler Outcomes, Alumni Stories, and a Fairhaven First
When families ask, “What does a full Butler Montessori education lead to?” we think about more than transcripts and acceptance letters. We think about who students become along the way: young people who can manage their time, speak up when they need help, contribute to a community, and follow their curiosity with real effort.
This month, we’re sharing a few examples of those outcomes in action, including an exciting milestone for our Upper School (ages 12-18).
Graduate Spotlight: Max
Choosing Challenge and a Wider World
Max will attend Northeastern University through the London Scholars Program and plans to study business, with his specific field still to be determined.
During his Fairhaven High School experience, Max pursued interests including economics, philosophy, cooking, and woodworking. His senior Legacy Project combined those interests and practical skills in a cutting board created for future Upper School students.
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Max describes returning to Butler after attending public high school as a decision to choose a more engaging and challenging education. At Fairhaven, he moved away from doing only what was necessary for a grade and began taking pride in work driven by his interests.
“Without grades, I was motivated by my own interests. I actually felt proud of the work I was doing.”
~Â Max, Fairhaven Class of 2026
He credits Butler Montessori with teaching him that growth often requires deliberately moving beyond what feels comfortable—a lesson he will carry with him as he begins college in London.
Graduate Spotlight:Â Sofia
Finding Her Voice Through Writing
Sofia will attend Stevenson University, where she plans to major in English with a minor in Film and Moving Image.
Sofia’s journey reflects the power of helping a student transform an area of challenge into a source of purpose. She has spoken openly about struggling with reading and language when she was younger. Through writing, creative work and close support from her guides, she discovered that words could become the way she shared the worlds and stories within her.Â
Her senior Legacy Project was a journal designed to give future Fairhaven students a place to record their ideas and bring them to life.
“Take the world a footstep at a time, and you can go anywhere.”
~ Sofia, Fairhaven Class of 2026
Sofia leaves Butler planning to become a writer and imagining the day her name appears on the cover of a book.
