RIVER FALLS — Everyone learns a little bit differently, and that is exactly what Montessori education aims to address.

Montessori education is a hands-on, sensory approach to education that has taken off in River Falls, with both a public Montessori Elementary School and Heartland Montessori for preschool.

“It is truly the only educational model that we have at this point that corresponds so thoroughly with how children grow and develop,” Heartland Montessori Head of School Caitlin O’Connor said.

The idea was born in the early 1900s when Italian Maria Montessori wanted an education model that was based around the development of a child. She felt humans need a higher level of understanding of the development process in order to get closer to achieving a more accurate model.

Heartland opened in 1994 and was started by parents in search of alternate elementary education in River Falls.

After about 10 years of operation, O’Connor said the school concluded that in order to maximize the Montessori experience, children ages three through six should get children’s house experience prior to elementary.

O’Connor said people often budget for early childhood care, but things change when they are ready for elementary school, especially with public elementary options in River Falls. Because of that challenge, the Heartland creators helped to develop River Falls’ public Montessori Elementary School.

“The house that Heartland was dreamed up in is across the street from the public Montessori now, so it kind of has a really beautiful lore,” O’Connor said.

Heartland Board Member Gay Ward was a founding member of the public Montessori and established a graduate training program at the University of Wisconsin - River Falls that has brought trained staff to the schools.

The pandemic shut down Heartland for a stretch of about six months, which is when O’Connor was hired as the lone employee in May 2022. O’Connor got the school running again in the fall with four staff and 16 students. They have since grown to 20 staff, around 50 students and two sites.

They chose to start the infant program small with a group of four infants to allow them to build a connection with their teacher. O’Connor said building the attachment allows the infants to be more independent in their lives rather than fearing separation from their birth-giver. Heartland will cycle another four infants in with the current four so eight infants are not all trying to form the connection at the same time.

“In the state of Wisconsin, more child care centers close than they open, so it’s a pretty serious issue,” O’Connor said. “It’s one of my personal passion projects to push and get this infant program going.”

Montessori also brings a much different view to childcare for infants, creating exploration and the development of interests.

“In traditional daycares, you’re going to see a lot of baby containers, so like bouncers, swings, jumpers, playpens,” O’Connor said. “The Montessori model is really different from that. Everything is really experiential, very hands-on.”

A focus of Heartland is maintaining their staff, and they have done just that, nearly keeping every member they have.

“We have a nearly 100% retention rate for our staff,” O’Connor said. “It’s the worst thing for children, especially infants, to be in a center and to suddenly have a new teacher in their room every couple months, which is pretty common.”

O’Connor claimed Montessori education has shown results whether a student ends up switching to a traditional model or not in the future.

“It results in higher test scores, even if they are continuing traditional education throughout high school and college,” O’Connor said. “Having an early childhood Montessori experience leads to higher happiness scores for children, a better well-being.”

Heartland takes children ages six weeks to  5 years old. O’Connor said if a parent is interested, they should come in for a tour and see if it is the best option for them.

“Heartland is special not just because we pay our teachers more, not just because we’ve grown instead of dwindled like so many centers do,” O’Connor said. “The community that we have with staff, with families, is really unlike any other.”