Growing Wildflowers in the Northeast!
From Roxbury and Cambridge to the Wampanoag community in Mashpee, a growing cohort of Wildflower Teachers Leaders are blossoming as social entrepreneurs, creating thriving school communities that are racially and economically diverse, responsive, and identity affirming. Wildflower teachers are leaders in the community who believe deeply in providing all children and families the opportunity to choose high-quality, nurturing Montessori schools, raising the bar for equity and access. The Wildflower network stands behind these innovative schools with seed capital, tools, coaching and ongoing support to bring their visions to life and foster their strong and self-sustaining futures.
Wildflower Montessori microschools are well prepared to meet the cultural shifts of this moment. Teachers are looking to create their dream schools and families want smaller, safer, culturally-responsive schools.
We must continue to diversify the educator workforce and empower local community leaders to be innovators and changemakers. In Massachusetts, over 50% of Wildflower school leaders identify as Black, Indigenous, and People of Color, compared to the state average of 9% of teachers, 12% of principals, and 5% of superintendents (US Census 2020).
With your partnership, Wildflower will catalyze the growth of a self-sustaining ecosystem of schools in Massachusetts by engaging and funding training for more Teachers of Color, supporting more teacher entrepreneurs in opening new schools, and ultimately helping more families access affordable, high quality, culturally-affirming education in their own communities. Your commitment will also support current schools that have grown so tenaciously during the challenging years of COVID as they establish strong and stable roots.
Over the past 8 years, Wildflower has grown in Massachusetts from the very first school in Cambridge to 17 vibrant and diverse schools serving their communities’ unique needs – in African-centered schools focused on serving children of the Black diaspora, schools embedded in affordable housing developments and community partnerships, and through Indigenous language reclamation classrooms.
Whether your partnership thus far has been as a family at a Wildflower school, a partner organization, community supporter or funder - we deeply appreciate your role in Wildflower's growth. And we believe this is just the start!
If you're inspired to bring more Wildflower schools to more families in the Northeast, we hope you'll join our community of Wildflower pollinators by donating here and helping us spread the word.
If you’d like to meet to learn more or need information on how to donate by stock or check, please contact Ali Scholes at [email protected].
At Wildflower, we believe something as small as a one room school can transform lives and communities. Join us!
The impact of your investments:
$2,000 can help engage new Teacher Leaders in the School Startup Journey and support them with coaching and tools as they begin their self preparation and planning
$4,000 can fund a Teacher Leader speaker series, sharing their wisdom and expertise in the greater Montessori, education, learning science and parenting communities
$6,000 will cover one scholarship for an exceptional assistant teacher of Color working at a Wildflower school to attend Montessori teacher training - strengthening schools and providing professional and economic development opportunities for educators
With $10,000, we can fund Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging coaching and training for 17 open schools in Massachusetts and three new schools working to open next year, resulting in direct equity support for schools & families
With $30,000, we can fund charter school and district partnerships exploration and strategy in Mass. -- bringing tuition-free Montessori to more local children!
With $100,000, we can fund a full grant for a new Wildflower school, matching a $100K loan from the Wildflower Foundation, that will allow an amazing teacher leader team to bring to life their vision for a community-embedded, identity-affirming, beautiful school accessible to all children and families.